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

with the recovery process there and everything, but just exciting news there for the new baby. And so, so yeah, but be in prayer for all these and specifically Anastasia because she's, yeah, so she's next. So, but be in prayer for all ladies on the pregnancy list, obviously, that everything goes well with the delivery, the baby, everything's healthy, all that. Are these our new visitor cards? So instead of just giving a three by five card, we actually got fancy visitor cards. So we're like a real church now or something, you know? But so these would be good cards, one, if we have any visitors, but two, if you're ever out soul winning, it's good to have something like this. A lot of times I'll get someone's number or I remember with Denzel, we were like riding on the side of an invite and there's no room on those things to write anything as far as like taking down his number or taking down our numbers and stuff like that. So soul winners, it's probably a good idea to just have some of these with you going out soul winning. And so we're not ones that are gonna follow up on every single person we win. If someone comes to church, I'll follow up with that. But there's just all the people that say they're gonna come. I don't know how many times we've gone back to the people multiple times. Our follow up plan will be that we're gonna knock that neighborhood again and we'll run into them again. So that'll be our follow up plan. Obviously we'll follow up if they're reaching out to us or if they're wanting to come and all that. But these cards will be good for that. And so, by the way, I was searching and our whole Bible dilemma thing is not really that big of a dilemma because there's another site that has those same Bibles with the mountain range on it. So dilemma solved and we're gonna go that route. But it's not just that, the font size, I was finding out that the font size in those mountain range ones were like eight point font and the ones that we have are like 6.7 or something like that, at least one of them was. The other ones just say five to seven. So I know this is that it's not more than seven. But that being said is that we'll obviously use those that we got, we got like a case of each one of those. We'll use those and then we, I didn't realize that they're on backorder, but they have some giant print ones. When they say large print or giant print, it's like 10 point font, so it's nothing crazy. But we'll get some of the bigger fonts as well and have those available for those that have a hard time with the other font. So that being said is that we got that kind of dilemma solved there. I think that's it for announcements as far as, was there anything else going on? The sign, the sign is gonna be put in, government. That's all, I just gotta say that is pretty much useless in a lot of cases and incompetent. But anyway, we're gonna shift our sign a little bit and then hopefully have that in. So it should look good. So the sign guy said that it looks awesome. So we're excited about that once we get that in there. But yeah, so not sure how long it's gonna take him to get it all set up, but I know he's gonna be working on it here soon. That's about all I got for announcements. We're gonna be doing, so to end out the year, I'm gonna do second John and third John. So I've done first John and we have two more Wednesdays. And just because I'm OCD and I wanna start off the new year in like chapter one, instead of like chapter three and whatever we're going into, we're gonna do second John, Lord willing, obviously tonight and then Lord willing third John next week. And then we'll be jumping in to another book. I think I made up my mind that we're gonna go through Exodus and so get out of Egypt and go into the wilderness at Exodus. So excited about that, but we're jumping back to the Old Testament again, but today he's gonna come and sing one more song and brother Anthony, are you reading tonight? Brother Anthony is gonna read the entire book of second John for us. All right, take your song books and turn to song 429. Song 429. We'll sing Hark the Herald, song 429. Hark the herald angels sing, Glory to the newborn King, Peace on earth and mercy mild, God and sinners reconciled, Joyful all ye nations rise, Join the triumph of the skies, With angelic hosts proclaim, Christ is born in Bethlehem, Hark the herald angels sing, Glory to the newborn King, Christ by highest heaven adored, Christ the everlasting Lord, Late in time behold Him come, Offspring of a virgin's womb, Veiled in flesh the God at sea, Hail the incarnate deity, Pleases man with men to dwell, Jesus our Emmanuel, Hark the herald angels sing, Glory to the newborn King, Hail the heaven born Prince of Peace, Hail the Son of Righteousness, Light and life to all He brings, Healing in His wings, Mild He lay His glories by, Born that man no more may die, Born to raise the sons of earth, Born to give them second birth, Hark the herald angels sing, Glory to the newborn King, Come desire of nations come, Fix in us thy humble home, The woman's conquering seed, Bruise in us the serpent's head, At arms likeness now we face, Stamp thine image in its place, Second Adam from above, Re-enstate us in thy love, Hark the herald angels sing, Glory to the newborn King. All right, take your Bibles and turn to the book of Second John. Second John. Brother Anthony will come and read that for us as I go get up here for Tom. Second John. Robert reads, the elder unto the elect lady and her children whom I love in the truth and not I only, but also all they that have known the truth. For the truth's sake which dwelleth in us and shall be with us forever. Grace be with you mercy and peace from God the Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the son of the Father in truth and love. I rejoice greatly that I found of thy children walking in truth as we have received a commandment from the Father and now I beseech thee lady not as though I wrote a new commandment unto thee but that which we had from the beginning that we love one another and this is love that we walk after his commandments. This is the commandment that as ye have heard from the beginning ye should walk in it. For many deceivers are entered into the world who confess not that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist. Look to yourselves that we lose not those things which we have wrought but that we receive a full reward. Whosoever transgresseth and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ he hath both the Father and the Son. If there come any unto you and bring not this doctrine, receive him not in your house, neither bid him God speed. For he that biddeth him God speed is a partaker of his evil deeds. Having many things to write unto you, I would not write with paper and ink but I trust to come unto you and speak face to face that our joy may be full. The children of thy elect sister greet thee, amen. Let's pray, Lord thank you for this night where we can gather and we hear your word preached. Lord I pray it should be with us as we learn from second John and be with Pastor Robson and fill him with the Holy Spirit. In Jesus name I pray, amen. Amen. So you're there in second John and it's a short book but there's a lot of good stuff in here, same thing with third John. Second John is written obviously I believe by John but he refers to himself as the elder and I think of first Peter or second Peter, yeah no first Peter chapter five where it says the elders unto the elders I write to him also an elder and Peter refers to himself as an elder and he's talking about being a shepherd or being an overseer of the flock and so I believe that John was a pastor and he's referring to himself as the elder and in third John he does the same thing when he's talking to Gaius. Now in this letter he's speaking to a lady and it says unto the elect lady and her children and elect obviously I believe is talking about the fact that she's saved, right? So we're the elect, we're God's elect, elect means chosen and obviously we're chosen unto salvation by faith in Jesus Christ so the fact that he's calling her the elect lady is basically talking about she's saved, okay? Now at the end of the chapter talks about thy elect sister, obviously talking about you have a saved sister all that. Now you may ask the question like who is this lady, okay? Now I've heard some people say which I don't subscribe to is that this is John's wife but to me that doesn't make a lot of sense because it says unto the elect lady and her children to me if that was like he's writing to his wife unless she has like children from someone else that just kind of wouldn't make sense for that to be the case. I believe the reason and this is just my thoughts on why it's just saying unto the elect lady and doesn't give a name is because this is an epistle that's written first of all to a lady and so that's something that ladies can kind of hold on to and say hey this is, obviously it's written to all of us just like everything else but specifically this letter was written to a lady, okay? And it's a general lady so any saved lady out there could take this epistle and look at it as if John's writing it specifically to them. There's a lot of good teaching in here and something to just think about there as far as sometimes why maybe the Bible's a little more vague because you know what you can kind of personalize that and put yourself in the shoes of this elect lady. But the first thing that we see here is that of course the elder's writing it unto the elect lady and her children but notice what it says here in verse one. It says whom I love in the truth and not I only but also all they that have known the truth. So he's basically stating that it's not just me that love you but it's all those that have known the truth and this comes down to brethren and the fact that if seeing you have purified your souls through the spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that you love one another with a pure heart fervently. Okay and this kind of goes into that aspect because it's talking about the fact that I love you and not only I but all those that have known the truth but then it's talking about loving one another later on. Because as a saved person, we have this inward unfeigned love of the brethren. I think about when you go out soul winning and we run into people that are saved. There's just an automatic love for the brethren. You don't know that person from Adam or that Adam but you don't know that person but at the same time you love that person because they're a believer. Like that's a brother in Christ, that's a sister in Christ and you just have this unfeigned love of the brethren inwardly towards them and obviously we can get angry with our brethren, we can be on bad terms with our brethren but then really there's this unfeigned love of the brethren that's there and so obviously we need to reign in the flesh where our flesh could hate our brethren, our flesh could be angry without a cause toward our brethren but there is a love that's there and it's not just John stating this to the lady to the elect lady. He's saying anybody that's known the truth or also all they that have known the truth also love you. And so that's something that is going to be there and something that we can just recognize. You just know that from experience of running into people that believe the gospel, that are saved and all that. Now keep reading there. It says in verse two, For the truth's sake, which dwelleth in us and shall be with us forever, grace be with you, mercy and peace, from God the Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father and truth and love. Now we see here, verse three there is, this is kind of a typical opening. Who's writing it and unto who and then the greeting usually has grace, mercy and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ our Savior. Like it will say in different ways, but basically that's kind of the way that a lot of these letters are opening up. But the thing that I love about this verse in verse three is the fact that it says the Son of the Father. Now it shouldn't be out of the ordinary to think of the Son of the Father, right? That Jesus is the Son of the Father. But you know what, for modalists out there, that kind of would be a little weird considering that they say that Jesus is the Father. So is he the Father of the Father? Is he the Son of the Son, right? And this kind of really just shows you that hey, no, he's the Son of the Father. He's not the Father, he's the Son of the Father, okay? And so it's just a very simple verse, but it really just puts that to bed all at once right there that Jesus Christ is the Son of the Father and he's not the Father, okay? Now that doesn't take away from his deity, he is God, but we believe that the true God is the Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost, and these three are one. For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost, and these three are one, okay? So that verse just always sticks out to me when I see that. But the thing that I want to really point out here is in verse two it says that for the true sake which dwelleth in us and shall be with us forever. Go to John chapter 14, John chapter 14, and you'll see as we go through here, I'm gonna be going back to John and 1 John to really explain some of these verses, but John is always the commentary. If you want to think of 1 John, 2 John, and 3 John, the book, the Gospel of John is your commentary. If you want to see what is this talking about, how does this make sense, go back to John because John already had talked about it and maybe in some cases a lot more detail. Now that doesn't say that there's no point in reading 1 and 2 and 3 John because obviously there's other details that are there, but it'll really show you the context of what exactly is being said, okay? Where if you go to 2 John, you can pull all kinds of stuff out here because it's such a short book to where you can just start pulling all kinds of things out because there's not a lot of context when there's 13 verses, okay? But when you compare it to the whole Gospel of John, when you compare it to the book of 1 John, then you know what, everything has to fit and it'll all make sense. Now I believe that when it says, for the true sake which dwelleth in us and shall be with us forever, that this is a reference to the Holy Ghost, okay? The Holy Ghost or the Holy Spirit is referred to as the Spirit of truth. Now notice what it says in John 14 verse 16. It says, and I will pray the Father and he shall give you another comforter that he may abide with you forever. Even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him, but ye know him, for he dwelleth with you and shall be in you. So who's gonna be in you? The Spirit of truth. And it talks about the truth that dwelleth in us and shall be with us forever, okay? And the Holy Ghost I believe is going to be with us forever. We're the temple of the Holy Ghost and he's dwelling within us. Go to Ephesians chapter one, Ephesians chapter one. Ephesians chapter one and verse 13. Ephesians chapter one and verse 13. It says, in whom ye also trusted after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, in whom also after that ye believed ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession unto the praise of his glory. So you're sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise. Go to Ephesians chapter four and verse 30. And this is a part of this verse anyway, we usually use a lot when we're talking about eternal security, different things like that. But in verse 30, so Ephesians four and verse 30 says, and grieve not the Holy Spirit of God whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. So it's kind of saying the same thing that chapter one says, the fact that we're sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise until the redemption of the purchased possession, right? Which is obviously talking about the resurrection. And it says that we're grieve not the Holy Spirit of God whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. So we're sealed by this Holy Spirit of God and the Holy Spirit of God dwells within us and shall be with us forever, okay? So once you have the Holy Spirit of God dwelling in you, you know what? The Holy Spirit of God is gonna be with us forever. Now there's another, just a surface meaning here, the truth, okay? The truth dwelleth in us as believers and shall be with us forever. Meaning this is I do not believe that someone that's a believer can become an unbeliever. Okay, that that truth will always be there. You get saved, you believe the truth, that truth dwells in you and it will be there forever. So, you know, there's verses in the Bible and for example, it says, if we believe not, yet he abideth faithfully cannot deny himself. And, you know, I'm not against using this verse especially when someone says, what if we stop believing or whatever the case may be? I use this verse when they say stuff like this, but I usually, I say this, it's obviously possible for Christians to have doubts. It's possible for Christians to lack faith or even in some cases, Jesus says, where is your faith? Why do you have no faith? Now it's usually dealing with in certain circumstances that he's stating that, but at the same time, you know what? That's something that a Christian can fall into, doubts, having a lack of faith or even having zero faith in some areas. And the idea there is that that doesn't mean that you're not saved. That doesn't mean that you've lost your salvation because obviously that's impossible. But this, know this, is that the truth of salvation I don't believe ever departs from a Christian. That that's always going to remain there. So a Christian or a believer is not gonna become a God-hating atheist. They're not gonna become some, you know, reprobate. You know, as far as like going into the most vile stuff that maybe a reprobate would do, for example. So I believe this verse is showing us that, that hey, that truth, you know, whom I love in the truth, not only I, but all they that have known the truth, for the truth's sake which dwelleth in us and shall be with us forever. And I believe what it's stating is that once we have that truth, that truth is gonna be there. It's gonna be there forever. And that's not gonna depart from you and to where you're gonna become some unbeliever. So yes, a Christian can lack faith. A Christian can, you know, lose faith and even have doubts and be bewitched. I mean, think of the Galatians, right? The Galatians were bewitched to think that there was works involved after salvation. Now obviously he even said later on, he's like, I'm afraid of you, lest I bestow labor upon you in vain, because if you're justified by the law, then Christ shall profit you nothing. And he's basically going into the fact that if you truly believe that works are involved in salvation, then that's not by grace. You've fallen from grace, you know, and he kind of goes into all of that. But he does give the avenue that, hey, you could be bewitched. Someone messed you up in this. You need to get this sorted out, okay? So I do believe it is possible for people to get mixed up in salvation and mixed up in doctrine. But there are bounds to that, okay? That is not something that is just like no bounds. Like you could just straight up become an unbeliever. You could just straight up become an atheist and just straight up start blaspheming our savior and saying that he's not the Christ and all that. I mean, that's just insanity. And I believe the Bible teaches against that. And I believe this passage is showing you that, no, that truth will be with you forever, okay? And go back to 2 John in verse four there. 2 John in verse four. 2 John in verse four, and we'll read down to verse six. It says, I rejoice greatly that I found of thy children walking in truth, as we have received a commandment from the Father. And this verse, you know, is obviously a great verse, but even in chapter, and we'll get to 3 John. But, you know, I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth. But he's hitting on that here about her children, because he's talking about Gaius, you know, in 3 John. But here, John is talking about this lady's children. It says, I rejoice greatly that I found of thy children walking in truth. So as much as you obviously are gonna have no greater joy than when your children walk in truth, you can also rejoice and have great joy when you see someone else's children walk in truth, okay? Because obviously, you know, even on a physical level, there's not gonna be any greater joy to me than seeing my children walk in truth, see my children get saved, see my children love the Lord. And, you know, that's my biggest goal, is that they'll love the Lord, they'll wanna serve the Lord, you know, to think of them going out and winning someone to Christ. I mean, there's gonna be no greater joy than that. I mean, obviously, getting them saved is gonna be a great joy, but on top of that, you know, seeing them walk in the Lord. But I can also rejoice in seeing someone else's children, you know, grow in the Lord and walk in the Lord, okay? It's just something to rejoice over. I mean, think about it. I mean, if I saw someone discipling somebody or if I, you know, any of the families in here and your children got saved and you won them to the Lord and then you're getting them to go out soul winning and then they win someone to the Lord, I mean, I'm gonna be rejoicing with you. And I believe that's what John is doing here, is that he's rejoicing greatly because of her children that are walking in the Lord. And, you know, it's just something that we should all rejoice over, for sure. Now, look at verse five there. Verse five, it says, and now I beseech thee, lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment unto thee, but that which we had from the beginning that we love one another. And this is love, that we walk after his commandments. This is the commandment that as ye have heard from the beginning, ye should walk in it. Now, I wanna touch on this, you know, this, because 1 John hits on this as well. Go to 1 John and something 1 John says, and it's always one of those things that, if you didn't read the Gospel of John, you'd be like, what are you talking about? Why do you keep saying this, right? I didn't write a new commandment, but an old one, that ye should love one another. One reason I love that it says this, both in 1 John and 2 John, is because a lot of people believe that in the Old Testament, we're just taught to hate everybody, right? Like in the New Testament, it's like, well, you know, in the Old Testament, God was just mean, and we were just, you know, eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth, but, you know, in the New Testament, it's love thy neighbor as thyself. You know, love one another, and, you know, do unto others as you'd have them do unto you, as if that didn't apply in the Old Testament or before the Old Testament, but that's what unbelievers think. That's what a lot of even, you know, people that just don't know their Bible at all think, but I love how 2 John is basically saying, this isn't new to love one another. This is not some new commandment, but notice what it says in 1 John 2 and verse seven. 1 John 2 and verse seven, it says, Brethren, I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment which ye had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which ye have heard from the beginning. Again, a new commandment I write unto you. Now, I'm gonna explain to you why he's saying this, okay? A new commandment I write unto you, which thing is true in him and in you, because the darkness is past and the true light now shineth. That's why it's gonna be new, okay? The true light now shineth. I'm gonna show you that that's talking about Jesus, okay? That the true light, the light is coming to the world. Obviously, this is why it's a new commandment, okay? Meaning that it's not new in the fact that we weren't supposed to love each other or whatever before, but I'm gonna show you exactly why. But keep reading there. It says in verse 10, I'm sorry, verse nine, He that saith he is in the light and hateth his brother is in darkness even until now. He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him. But he that hateth his brother is in darkness and walketh in darkness and knoweth not whither he goeth because that darkness hath blinded his eyes. So what commandment are we talking about? We're talking about loving one another, specifically talking about loving the brethren and saying that if you love your brother, there's none occasion of stumbling in him, right? You're walking in the light. You have that true light that you're walking in. But if you hate your brother, you know what? Then you're gonna stumble, fall. That is not what you're supposed to be doing, meaning that you're supposed to love the brethren, not hate the brethren. But what is this new commandment? What are we talking about here? Well, go to John chapter 13. Again, John will give you definitions here. It'll put a light on this. And not to say that 1st, 2nd, and 3rd John are cryptic, but they definitely are not as, they're a lot more complex, okay? It's almost like we've assumed that you've read John before you get the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd John. Does that make sense? Think about like if you were to go into mathematics, right? You'd have like the fundamentals of mathematics before you got the calculus. You're gonna learn how to do addition, subtraction, fractions before you get into trigonometry, okay? That's how I view, it's not that it's cryptic necessarily. It's just the fact that there's some like foundations that are being said in the book, the Gospel of John. Then you get the 1st John and you're like, okay, I know all this foundational stuff. Now I can build off of that, okay? Now in John chapter 13, verse 34, notice what it says here. Now this is Jesus talking. It says, a new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another, notice this, as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another. Now this explains 1st John pretty much, okay? Meaning this is that 1st John 2, you know why he says, I write no new commandment unto you? A new commandment I write unto you, right? Because to love one another is not new, but to love one another as Christ loved us when he was walking on the earth, that's why it's new. Meaning that that example of Christ in the flesh, loving us, dying for us, that's why that's considered new. Even though it's not new, but here's why it's new, okay? And it also says, by this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one toward another. That is what 1st John is dealing with. 1st John is dealing with being a disciple. It's not talking about, I mean, obviously chapter five is saying these things have I written unto you, that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and it's getting into the gospel and what you need to believe to be saved, right? But the first part of the book is saying these things have I written unto you that your joy may be full. These things have I written unto you concerning them to seduce you, right? And it goes on to like these are why I'm writing these things unto you. You know, these things have I written unto you that ye sin not. And so there's different reasons of what it's writing it there, but ultimately it's writing to saved people and showing them, hey, here's how to be a disciple. Another way to say that, here's how you walk in the spirit. Another way to say that, here's how you walk in the new man. And that new man is that child of God. So that's why when you go to like first John chapter three, when it says whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin for his seed remaineth in him and he cannot sin because he's born of God. You're talking about the new man. He that abideth in him, sinneth not. You're talking about the new man. When it says that this is, and this are the children of God manifested, you're talking about the new man. You're talking about walking in the spirit, walking in the new man. That's how it's manifested because if you're walking a new man, you love your brethren. And if you don't walk in a new man, or if you're hating your brethren, you're not walking in a new man. You're not abiding in Christ. You're not being a disciple. That's what first John is dealing with. But those two verses right there will really show you that one, doesn't it? Just those two verses in John 13 will show you what verse seven through 11 is talking about. That why it's a new commandment is because the true light now shining. Because the light of the world, Jesus Christ is coming to the world and we are to love one another as he loved us. And you know the Bible says, look at John 15, John 15 and verse 12. John 15 and verse 12. John 15 and verse 12, it says, this is my commandment, that ye love one another as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Hereby perceive we the love of God because he laid down his life for us and we ought to lay down our lives for brethren. I love the book of John, if you can't tell, okay? The book of John is my favorite book of the Bible, okay? Obviously it's a book, and when I put a little card in there, I'm like, hey, read the book of John to new believers. You know, that could seem like condescending, here's the most simplest book, but you know what? It's my favorite book. And I've read through the Bible a few times, okay? So, you know, I love the book of John, but I also love 1 John, 2 John and 3 John. And so, because there's so many great truths in here as far as how everything just fits hand in glove, with walking in the truth, loving one another, loving the brethren, all of that, okay? Now go back to 2 John and verse seven. So we're kind of just chugging along through this book. It's a smaller book, but there's a lot of, you know, cool information, just things that, little details that maybe 1 John doesn't bring up, or John, you know, maybe more details to the book of John, essentially. But this verse right here in verse seven is kind of a bigger portion than 1 John, which is dealing with someone that's an anti-Christ. And that term anti-Christ is not used that much in the Bible, actually it's only used in 1 John and 2 John. But in 2 John and verse seven there, it says, for many deceivers are entered into the world who confess not to Jesus Christ as come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an anti-Christ. I love this verse because, you know, when we were doing the Lord's Supper, I read through Matthew 27 and remember where it says, remember that that deceiver said, you know, and it's talking about it saying, on the third day I will rise again. And they call Jesus a deceiver. But the truth of the matter is they're the deceivers. They're the ones that are deceiving you. And isn't it interesting because they're the ones that said, go and say that his disciples took him away, right? Like the next chapter when he did rise from the dead, when he was raised from the dead, that they're just like, yeah, go tell everybody that. And it says this was commonly reported among the Jews unto this day. It's like a bunch of deceivers. And so it's just like going right back on them. What they said is coming right back on them. It's like the fine irony when it comes to the Jews and what they did there. But this passage here is stating, and you'll see a very common thread here, who confessed not that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh. And go to 1 John chapter four. The reason I think this is interesting is because you may think when you're in 2 John like this is just kind of popping up out of the blue. I mean, there's only 13 verses, so there's only so much. I mean, you're kind of writing on these little topics. But remember what was said at the beginning. It says that, and I'm gonna misquote it now, but it says, whom I love in the truth, and not I only, but also all they that are of the truth, for the truth's sake, which dwelleth in us and shall be with us forever. And remember how I was linking that to the spirit of truth? Well, now think about this. In 1 John chapter four, it says, beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits, whether they are of God, because many false prophets are going out into the world. Now, I'm gonna show you that I believe you're dealing with deceivers and antichrists. I mean, those that are false prophets are gonna be considered antichrists. Now, notice what it says in verse two there. It says, hereby know ye the spirit of God. Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God. Sound familiar? That's exactly what it says, the opposite of what it says in 2 John dealing with the antichrist. It says in verse three, and every spirit that confesses not that Jesus Christ has 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 it in the world. So there's gonna be a spirit of antichrist to come, but there's already a spirit of antichrist. Now, what's that spirit of antichrist, that Jesus isn't the Christ, that Jesus Christ hasn't come, that the Christ has not come in the flesh, and that Christ is not Jesus? That's the spirit of antichrist. That's a deceiver and an antichrist. And keep reading there, it says, ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because what? Greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world. They are of the world, therefore speak they of the world, and the world here at them. We are of God, he that knoweth God heareth thus, he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth and the spirit of error. You know how we know the spirit of truth? Because we have the truth dwelling in us, and the truth shall be with us forever. That's how we're gonna know, greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world. What are you talking about, the spirit of truth? The spirit of God is within you, the spirit of error is in the world, and how are you gonna know the spirit of God, because the spirit of God is in you? And you're gonna know that anybody that says that Jesus isn't the Christ is not of God, and is antichrist. Now go to 1 John chapter two, 1 John chapter two. 1 John chapter two and verse 18, where we're gonna see the antichrist mentioned. So in both these, in 1 John two, you see the antichrist mentioned, but then there's many antichrists. And then you see in 1 John four, you're gonna see, or we saw that there's the spirit of antichrist that's gonna come, but it's already in the world. And that's where I think you're dealing with the mystery of iniquity does already work, only he who now let is will let until he be taken out of the way. You're dealing with the spirit of antichrist is already working, but there's gonna come a time where the antichrist is gonna come, he's gonna be taken out of the way, he's gonna be resurrected, or sent out of the bottomless pit, if you will, and then shall that wicked be revealed, okay? And that's another summer for another day. But in verse 18 here, so 1 John chapter two and verse 18, it says, little children, it is the last time, and as you have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists, whereby we know that it is the last time. So notice that antichrist shall come, that's singular. We're talking about the antichrist that's gonna come. But it says even now are there many antichrists, because there are people that go around saying that Jesus isn't the Christ, isn't there? So there's false prophets today. There were false prophets among them, and there shall be false teachers among you. That's just facts. But there was antichrists back in Paul's day, in John's day, in Peter's day, and there's antichrists today, but there's going to be the antichrist one day. Verse 19, and this is what I want you to really just remember as we go to the rest of this chapter here, or the rest of this book in 2 John. We're talking about antichrists coming, but there's many antichrists. And it also says we know that it is the last time. It is the last time. We are in the last days, okay? And that was back in his day, okay? And we're still in the last days. And you say, well, how can that be? It's been 2,000 years. Yeah, because one day is what the Lord is 1,000 years, and 1,000 years is one day. So that's how that works, okay? But in verse 19, I want you to really think about this. It says they went out from us, but they were not of us. Or if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us, but they went out that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us. Are we talking about people that just left church because they got sick of the preacher? And we're talking about people that went out from us because, you know what, they're just lazy, okay? They went out from us, you know, for whatever. I mean, there's all kinds of reasons that someone could leave church, but what's the subject and what's the subject matter that's being talked about? Antichrists, okay? Antichrists went out from us because they were not of us. Or if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us. But what specifically are we talking about? We're not just talking about the fact that they would have stayed with us or continued in what? In a certain doctrine, okay? Now notice what it says in verse 20. It says, but ye have an unction from the Holy One and ye know all things. Now this is, the unction is talking about the anointing, okay, just another way of saying anointing. And later on it says, an anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you and ye need not that any man teach you, but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things and is truth and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you shall abide in him. Okay, we're talking about the Holy Ghost. He's basically saying, you have the Holy Ghost within you and you know all things. I'm not writing unto you because you don't know what we're talking about here. Notice what it says in verse 21. I'm not writing unto you because you know not the truth, but because you know it, and that no lies of the truth. Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist that denieth the Father and the Son. Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father, that he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also. So when they went out from them, what did they, what was the, what is he talking about they did not continue with us? They did not continue with us in the fact that they, they were denying that Jesus was the Christ. They were denying the Son. Now, that is just a matter of fact of what we're talking about here. That if they, if they were of us, they would no doubt have continued with us. That's, you know why? Because the truth that's in us shall be with us forever. That's why. But go to 2 John and notice what it says here. And the reason I show you this is because in 2 John, it just, it talks about abiding in the doctrine of Christ. Well, what's the doctrine of Christ? Well, in context, what's the doctrine of Christ? That Jesus Christ has come in the flesh. That's the doctrine of Christ, that Jesus is the Christ. Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God. That's the doctrine we're talking about. Now, within that, you know, that Jesus is, you know, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Christ meaning anointing that he's the Messiah and that he's the Son of God, that he is God, okay? That doctrine of Jesus being the Son of God, the Christ that takes away our sins, okay? And the fact is that Jesus is the Christ, what does his name mean? He shall be called Jesus for he shall take, or for he shall be, oh man, I'm gonna misquote that. I'm gonna say, because for he shall take away our sins, but that's not, that's not, I'm thinking of a different verse and I'm melding it. And he shall be called Jesus for he shall save his people from their sins. I was wanting to say take away the people's sins or something. He shall save his people from their sins, okay? That's what his name means. That's what it represents. So when it says Jesus is the Christ, or that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh, we're talking about God being manifest in the flesh, that he's the anointed Messiah, his name is Jesus because he's gonna save his people from their sins. That's what we're talking about, that doctrine. If you don't abide in that doctrine, you weren't saved. You were not of us, okay? Facts. There's no one that's saved that's not gonna abide in that doctrine. You're like, well, you know, we believe in eternal security, we believe you can, no. That person was never saved. That person didn't have eternal life. That person didn't have the truth because it's impossible. Do you know there's certain things that's impossible for a Christian to do? Because how about this? If it were possible, the Antichrist would deceive the very elect. You know what that means? Not possible. Hey, there's certain things that just aren't possible. They're not a hypothetical that you can use. So put away that hypothetical, that a saved person's gonna become an unbeliever, that a saved person is going to deny the doctrine that Jesus is the Christ. Not gonna happen, okay? And these verses are bolstering that. Now in 2 John, verse nine, it says, Whosoever transgresseth and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, hath both the Father and the Son. Does it sound familiar, though, from what we read in 1 John? You know, it says, who is a liar, but he is denied that Jesus is the Christ. He is Antichrist, is denied both the Father and the Son, right? And I'm gonna misquote it if I, I'm like, you ever look at a page and you're like, verse is right there in front of me, but I'm not seeing it. Denied the Father and the Son. Whosoever denied the Son, the same hath not the Father, but he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also. Do you see something that's very similar to what's being said here? Now what's the doctrine? The doctrine is that Jesus Christ is coming to flesh, that Jesus is the Son of God, that whosoever denied the Son, the same hath not the Father. And when it says, well, you say, what does it mean by whosoever transgresseth? Well, how about this? If you've never sinned, then you don't have to worry about it, do you? Right? Do you need a savior if you've never sinned? But at the same time, there's not a just man upon earth that doeth good and sin is not. You know, for all of sin and comes to the glory of God, so you know what? Everybody's gonna be in that camp of whosoever transgresseth, because we've all transgressed. We've all sinned, and transgression, it says sin is the transgression of the law. So if you've sinned, you've transgressed. But if you transgressed, and you don't abide in the doctrine of Christ, then you don't have the Father or the Son. Okay? Listen up, Jews. Not none of you guys. Jews. You can't say, well, we got the Father. Now, I'm probably not even talking to Jews, I'm talking to, aren't you Zionists? Okay? You Baptist Zionists out there? You can't say that Jews had the Father, because if you don't have the Son, then you don't have the Father. You don't have the Father, you don't have the Son, you don't have the modalists. It's the trinity. And the doctrine of Christ is obviously that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh, that God was manifested in the flesh, justified in the spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the world, and received up in the glory, and I think I missed a part there. But, I think there's one more point there. Preached unto the, yeah, anyway. So, you know what, you get my point. So, but that being said here is that that's what this is talking about, is it's talking about, you know, you say, well, I mean, hopefully I, is this saying that I could lose my salvation? Well, if you can stop believing that Jesus is the Christ, then you would not have the Father and Son. But here's the thing, that's impossible as a believer. Just as much as it's impossible for that eternal life to end. Just as much as it's impossible for God to lie. Just as much as it's impossible for God to cast you out. It's impossible because you're locked in. But what this is stating is that if someone doesn't abide in that doctrine, meaning they just give lip service to it, they don't have the Father or the Son. Because there's a lot of people that can say it. There's a lot of people that can put on a show and say, well, you know what, I believe that Jesus is the Christ, I believe in eternal security, I believe that it's everlasting. And then they go off. And listen, I know people that have. You know, that said they believed everything we believe. Now they're like some Catholic somewhere who said they believe what we believe. And now there's some God-hating atheist, and if you think that I believe that person is saved for one second, think again. That person was never saved. You know what that shows me? They went out from us because they were not of us. But if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us, but they went out that they might be made manifest, that they were not all of us. So they go out, meaning this is that out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaketh, and eventually it's gonna come out. Eventually they're gonna show that they don't actually believe it. Now let's keep reading there. This is pertinent because what are we talking about? We're talking about people that don't hold this doctrine, they don't abide in this doctrine. So in context, verse 10, if there come any unto you and bring not this doctrine, what doctrine? That Jesus is the Christ, that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. How about that He's the Son of the Father? I mean, think about what was just said in this passage. The Lord, Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, the Lord. Can you think of some people that could bring this doctrine, that don't bring this doctrine? How about Jehovah Witnesses? How about Mormons? How about Islam, Muslims? How about just a lot of different religions that are out there that don't believe this doctrine? And notice what it says here. It says, if there come any unto you and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him Godspeed, for he that biddeth him Godspeed is partaker of his evil deeds. Now I want you to think about this. Who's this written to? A man or a woman? A woman. Now, I do believe it applies to us too, meaning that I'm not gonna bid someone Godspeed that says this, okay? But if you know that Adam was first formed, then Eve, and the woman being deceived was in a transgression, and Adam was not in transgression, meaning this is that there's a difference between men and women, and this is a stark warning to women, listen, do not let these people in your house. Do not give them Godspeed, and this applies to men too, okay? I'm not saying this doesn't apply to men, but it's aimed at a lady, and saying don't bid them Godspeed, don't let them into your house, and what does it mean Godspeed? Well, I mean, think about where our, you probably heard the term, well, goodbye, for example, right? Or adios, okay? There's terms like adios, there's different things that mean like God, or just different things like that. It basically, these terms like goodbye, or hi, or hello, or just different terms like that usually mean like be in good health, you know? Like have a good day, right? Godspeed would basically be like God bless you, essentially. But essentially, it's just kind of like just bidding someone be well, and be prosperous, you know, kind of thing, and so obviously we do that kind of in a flippant manner, I guess, you know, because we kind of say that to pretty much everybody that we run into, and but here's who we're not supposed to say that to. You know who I don't say goodbye to? Mormons, Jehovah Witnesses, false prophets, reprobates. I don't say goodbye, I'm like see ya, because I will. I'll see them at the great white throne judgment when they're dropped in, or when they're being cast in a lake of fire. So I'm not lying to them. See ya later, you know, whenever that is. But I'm not gonna bid them Godspeed, I'm not gonna bid them good health, because you know what the Bible says? That if you bid them Godspeed, you're particularly evil deeds, okay? So it may be awkward, you're like, oh, that's awkward. Well, that's just, that's what the Bible teaches. You're not supposed to be like giving a blessing unto some false prophet. Now if you run into somebody out sowing, now what we're talking about here is someone bringing it. Okay, I wanna make a distinction here. Someone's bringing you this, okay? So let's say you're talking to someone that's a Mormon, okay, and you're trying to give them the gospel, and I'm not trying to bring it to you, you're just trying to get them saved. You can tell them to have a good day. Does that make sense? Like, it's not, it's those that are bringing the doctrine to your house, the ones that are bringing it to you, okay? Because not all Mormons are reprobates, okay? Obviously someone that hates God, we're not supposed to bless ever, okay? But what we're talking about here is someone that brings that doctrine to you. So if you're out sowing, and someone, let's say you run into someone that's a Jehovah Witness, you run into someone that's a Mormon, and you give them the gospel. Listen, I remember giving the gospel to an ex-Mormon, and then someone that became a Mormon, and the ex-Mormon got saved. I was hoping the other one just became a Mormon, because it's funny, because the ex-Mormon made her, like, converted this Mormon into being a Mormon, then she became, then she got away from Mormonism, got saved, and now this person's in Mormonism, so I don't know how that makes her feel now, but that being said is that, you know what? That person wasn't bringing that to me, and for all intents and purposes, they're just stuck in some cult somewhere, right? And so I'm not gonna be like, you know what? You need to get saved now, or I'm gonna put a curse upon you, or I'm not gonna, you know? We're talking about people that are bringing it to you. Now, I've been out soul winning, where I've run into a Jehovah Witness. I think Brother David was with me, and this guy was, like, preaching it. And he was, obviously, I was at his doorstep, and he was allowing me to go through the gospel, but really, it was one of those people that was, wanted me to talk so that they could start preaching to us, and he starts preaching his false garbage, and Brother David was there, and you know what? I didn't bid him Godspeed, and he pointed that out. He's like, you're not gonna say goodbye? I'm like, no, I'm not, because he knew. He even knew that I'm not supposed to bid someone Godspeed that's bringing that doctrine to me, okay? So there is a difference there, dealing with, like, if you're going to somebody, and you're preaching them the gospel, and you're trying to get them saved, and they're in some false religion that doesn't believe right, okay? Because that means that we should never say goodbye to, like, a Muslim or something like that, because obviously, they don't believe that Jesus is Christ. That would be anti-Christ. But specifically, they're bringing it to your house. They're trying to shove it down your throat. They're preaching it. They're prophets of it, okay? And when we're talking about this, we're talking about people that are preaching it, that are propagating it, that are publishing it, and not everybody in those cults are publishing it. Now, Jehovah Witnesses, a lot of them are, okay? They're very well known for that. Same with, but usually, it's the Mormons. It's just, like, the 18-year-olds that are doing it, you know, 17-year-olds, the elders, okay? So, that being said, is that that's something that we need to think about, and this also goes into the aspect of voting, okay? Laying your hands on something suddenly, you know, you're not supposed to do that, or you can be partaker of someone's, you know, sins, and so that means, like, ordaining somebody, you know, like, putting your stamp of approval on somebody. But I look at this as well as far as, you know, I'm not gonna vote for somebody that's like this, someone that's just propagating some false gospel out there. That's just me. I mean, I'm not gonna put my stamp of approval and say, well, God bless you and your activities, when they're propagating false gospels and propagating a false doctrine that goes against the doctrine of Christ, okay? And so, you know, something to think about there when it comes to, you know, bidding Godspeed, you gotta be careful with that, and don't just do a catch-all. Now, we don't know who's a Mormon all the time. We don't know who's a reprobate all the time. We don't know who's, you know, in these false religions, or even that's propagating it, okay? So you can't just go around and be like, listen, I wanna say goodbye to you, but I need to know something. You don't by any chance go door to door and, like, preach a false gospel, do you? Okay? So obviously we can't, that would be weird. Don't do that, okay? It's like this, I love people unless it's clear I shouldn't. You know, I'll bless, I'll say goodbye, Godspeed, you know, and usually I refer Godspeed to my brothers in Christ. Okay, just to be honest with you, usually when I'm using that term, we're going out soul winning, we're gonna go win someone in Christ, you know, Godspeed. But at the same time, you know, I default to loving people, I default to giving people a blessing, I default to being nice and all this stuff to other people unless it's very clear that I shouldn't, okay? So I don't want you to just go out there and just be like, all right, who should I love? Okay? The majority of the people is who you should love, okay? It's a small group of people that we should not love, it's a small group of people that we should not big Godspeed to, okay? Don't think that the Mormons and Jehovah Witnesses are like literally the majority of the people around here, because they're not. So default to obviously being nice, blessing, say hello, say goodbye, you know, have a good day. And you know what, I look at it as, you know, when you eat meat that's taken in the shambles, ask no question, take no thought for conscience sake. You know what I mean? Now, if you ask them and they're like, yes, sir. I go out every Saturday and I take the watchtower with me and we go out preaching a false gospel. Now they're not gonna say it like that, but at that point you kind of have to be like, well, I can't, see you later, you know? But if you didn't ask that question, you'd have no idea. You know, and I don't believe God's up there like, you should have asked before you said goodbye, you know? No, but obviously if it's very clear they're bringing a false gospel to you, they're bringing some other doctrine to you, you know what, we're not to just be like nice to that person and say, God bless you, have a good day. Now I'm gonna say, you know what, I hope you trip on the way out that door, you know, with your false gospel if you're not gonna get saved and you're gonna propagate that to other people, okay? Now, a verse I skipped over here and reason why is I kind of wanna really get to that meat there is in verse eight. It says, look to yourselves that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we should receive a full reward. Now it does not say, you know, look to heed to yourselves that we lose not our salvation, okay? Or that we receive salvation, right? That we're talking about as Christians, as disciples, and what does it mean to not lose those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward? Well, let me show you another verse, go to the Revelation chapter three, and I'm gonna explain to you what I believe this is stating, okay? I do not believe that you get a reward in heaven, like let's say you won someone to Christ or you did something to where in heaven there's a reward that's given for that. I don't believe that can be lost, okay? But I do believe that you can lose potential rewards, okay, if that makes sense, and I wanna kind of show you what I mean by that. In Revelation chapter three and verse 10, it says, because thou has kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth. Behold, I come quickly, hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown, okay? What is this talking about, like, okay, well, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, that no man take your crown, okay? Obviously no one in heaven's taking that crown away from God and like not giving it to you, but you can allow people and allow yourself to take away your own rewards, okay? And what I believe this is stating is that there are works, Ephesians 2, 10, okay, it says this, it says, for we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus under good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. So from the beginning of the world, he has ordained that we should walk in certain works or a certain path, but what if you don't? Hey, we're not Calvinists, so we don't believe that it says that you will without choice walk in them. So you have a choice to walk in them, but that means that you have a choice, if you have a choice to walk in them, you have a choice not to walk in them, and if you choose not to walk in them, you're gonna lose the reward. You never had it, but it was prepared for you, right? It was available. Let me give you a stark picture of that. Go to 1 Corinthians chapter three. 1 Corinthians chapter three. That we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward, okay? That's what I don't believe. It doesn't say that we don't lose a reward, okay? It's basically saying that you have the fullest reward as possible. You have a potential of a certain amount of awards, okay? Look at it that way. Let's say you had this potential of like, you have this much lifespan, you have this much time to do all this work, you have these works that God has ordained for you to do, you have this potential, right? Imagine it's like this stack of crowns or rewards that you're able to get, okay? It's your choice whether you actually do those works to get those crowns, though. And if you don't, somebody could cause you to lose that crown. And you say, well, you know, that term loss, I mean, it kind of seems like you had it, though, to lose it, okay? Well, let's see what the Bible says here in 1 Corinthians 3 and verse 11, dealing with the judgment seat of Christ. It says, for other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. There's salvation. Now if any man build upon this foundation, gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble, every man's work shall be made manifest for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire, and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. But if any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer what? Loss. But he himself shall be saved, yet sowed by fire. So let me ask you a question. Did that person have it in their possession to lose it? They didn't have it in their possession yet to lose it, but yet they lost it, okay? What is that? You're talking about potential rewards, and in the end, you're gonna see what the potential was. Okay, imagine that you had this mound of rewards. That was the potential. What's gold, silver, and precious stone is what you retained, and what is wood, hay, and stubble is what you lost. Okay, and what is stating here is that, take heed to yourselves so that we can receive a full reward. The ultimate goal is that you don't lose anything, right? You literally, the fire set ablaze, and it's just, everything stays. Nothing's burned up. Now, do I think that's actually gonna happen to anybody? I don't think so. I think everybody's gonna have some loss to a certain extent, because none of us are perfect, none of us walk in the Lord like we should all the time, but at the same time, there is a potential there, and there's a potential for great loss when it comes to those rewards. Okay, so that's why I believe these passages are talking about. And the last thing here in 2 John is the salutation, if you will, at the end. It says, having many things, verse 12, having many things to write unto you, I would not write with paper and ink, but I trust to come unto you and speak face to face that our joy may be full. The children of thy elect sister greet thee. Amen. Now, this could very well be that the children of thy elect sister is his wife, right? This could be his sister-in-law, right? Or it could just be the fact that he knows her sister and her children, okay? But that being said is that he's stating that I trust that we'll see each other face to face, that our joy may be full. And that is a very strong theme dealing with even the book of John, that not just salvation, but that your joy may be full, that you don't just have life but that you have life more abundantly, right? That's a theme that you see there is that let's not just stop at being saved. Let's go on from that. And obviously there's great joy in seeing the brethren and seeing loved ones in the faith. And the salutation is obviously a loving salutation stating that he hopes to see her face to face and that they'll have joy when they see each other. So Lord willing, we're gonna get to 3 John next week and see about Gaius, Diotrophes, and Demetrius, and some cool stuff there. But the book of 2 John, hopefully maybe you learned something out of that. I know it's a small book and sometimes we can read through it real quick. It's only 13 verses, but there's a lot of stuff in there. And I love all the books of John. And Revelation, we're going through that. By the way, that was written by John. So let's end with a word of prayer. Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you for today. Thank you for your word and just thank you for the book of 2 John and just help us to apply what these passages say for everything down to not bidding someone God's speed that would bring some false gospel to us, to just knowing the truth that you're with us forever and you're dwelling in us and that that truth is gonna remain with us in us forever. And we just thank you for these truths and these guidances. And Lord, we love you. And pray also in Jesus Christ's name, amen. So by the day, we'll come and sing one more song and then we'll be dismissed. All right, song 428 in your song book, song 428. And we'll sing, It Came Upon a Midnight Clear, if you would stand. We'll sing song 428. It came upon a midnight clear, if you would stand. We'll sing song 428. It came upon a midnight clear, that glorious song of old, from angels bending near the earth to harps of gold, peace on the earth, goodwill to men, from heaven's all-gracious King, the world in solemn stillness lay to hear the angels sing.