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Well, good morning, everyone. Welcome to Mountain Baptist Church. Take your songbooks and turn to song 245. Song 245, if you would stand, will sing the old account with settled song 245. There was a time on earth when in the book of heaven, old account was standing for sins yet unforgived. My name was at the top and many things below. I went unto the keeper and settled it long ago, long ago, long ago. Yes the old account was settled long ago. And the record's clear today for he washed my sins away when the old account was settled long ago. The old account was large and growing every day for I was always sinning and never tried to pay. But when I looked ahead and saw such pain and woe, I said that I would settle and settled it long ago, long ago, long ago. Yes the old account was settled long ago. And the record's clear today for he washed my sins away when the old account was settled long ago. When in that happy home, my Savior's home above, I'll sing redemption story and praise him for his love. I'll not forget that book with pages wide as snow because I came and settled and settled it long ago, long ago, long ago. Yes the old account was settled long ago. And the record's clear today for he washed my sins away when the old account was settled long ago. Oh sinner, trust the Lord, be cleansed of all your sin for thus he hath provided for you to enter in. And then if you should live a hundred years below, up there you'll not regret it. You settled it long ago, long ago, long ago. Yes the old account was settled long ago. And the record's clear today for he washed my sins away when the old account was settled long ago. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, Lord, we just want to thank you, God, for just this beautiful day you've given us to meet in your house and hear your word preached. I pray, Lord, that you would just receive all the honor and glory out of everything that's said and done. For it's in Jesus' name we ask all of it, amen. You may be seated and just turn one page over to song 246. Song 246, we'll sing Redeemed, song 246. Redeemed how I love to proclaim and redeemed by the blood of the lamb. And through his infinite mercy, his child and forever I am, redeemed, redeemed, redeemed by the blood of the lamb. Redeemed, redeemed, his child and forever I am, redeemed and so happy in Jesus. No language my rapture can tell. I know that the light of his presence with me doth continually dwell. Redeemed, redeemed, redeemed by the blood of the lamb. Redeemed, redeemed, his child and forever I am. I think of my blessed Redeemer. I think of him all the day long. I sing for I cannot be silent. His love is the theme of my song. Redeemed, redeemed, redeemed by the blood of the lamb. Redeemed, redeemed, his child and forever I am. I know I shall see in his beauty the king in whose law I delight, who lovingly guardeth my footsteps and giveth me songs in the night. Redeemed, redeemed, redeemed by the blood of the lamb. Redeemed, redeemed, his child and forever I am. Amen. Well, welcome to Mt. Baptist Church on this Sunday morning. It shouldn't be raining later on. I was checking the weather, so for our soul winning, we should be good today. Actually, brother Ritchie, I checked out. We have not hit those apartments, so hopefully you found a little honey hole for us to go soul winning there. But just some announcements here that all the service times are normal today and this week. So we have our Sunday morning, obviously right now, our Sunday afternoon at 4 p.m. and then just some general church announcements. We have the offering box in the back there, so if you want to give any tithe or offering, you can. And then the mother baby room is right behind the bookshelf there. That's the main mother baby room. And so that's for mothers and babies only. The other two rooms are for any parent that needs to take their child out for any reason, or you can go outside, whatever you want to do. And then as far as upcoming events, we have the men's prayer meeting this Friday. So that's at 7 p.m. So this Friday at 7 p.m., any of the men that want to come out for that, you're more than welcome to. Also, if you have any type of sermon or anything that you've been reading that you want to bring up at that time, you're more than welcome to. And so I think we had a couple last time, so that was a treat for sure. And then the women's prayer meeting will be the next Saturday. So as far as when we get into September, we're going to have a lot going on there. Don't forget, in September, when we have our anniversary service, on the 12th, the 11th, we're going to do a soul-winding marathon up in Moundsville. So we've gone up the wheeling a couple times, and we still haven't made it to Moundsville. But we're going to make it to Moundsville this time. So put that on your calendar if you can. That Sunday, though, we usually have our soul-winding time, but since we're doing the whole day soul-winding marathon, we're going to have a fellowship between the services at that time. So we're going to have all kinds of food and all that. Eventually, we're going to sign up cheap. But it's not even August yet, but I do want to give you a heads up on the soul-winding marathon, anybody that wants to come out for that. And just a heads up, YouTube channel has terminated for life, apparently. YouTube told me that I'm just a hateful guy. But we do have some backup channel. I have a backup channel that I had before when I got a strike. And then we have the KGB soul winners. So that one, I stole from Brother Jeff. No, actually, he contacted me and said that I'm welcome to use that. So we took that over. But we'll see what happens. I think we're just going to have to put some stuff on our website that we're going to have to just embed or something like that to where certain things that we definitely want to make sure we can reference to people, especially out soul winning, that it's not banking on YouTube, not taking us down. So we definitely have some visitors that have come in. And so I know we have a family from North Carolina. They're coming down from Maine and then California. And you guys just walked in, so I don't want to embarrass you. We're with them. Oh, OK, sweet. So North Carolina as well? So awesome. But obviously, if you haven't got a chance to say hi to them after the service, definitely say hi to them. And then soul winning times. Again, we have our soul winning time at 1 PM today. So you're more than welcome to come out. And any of the visitors, too, if you want to come out, we'll team you up if you have time, if you want to. Our regional soul winning times are Monday and Tuesday this week. And so just get on the WhatsApp there. And our two leaders will tell you where they're going to be, when they're going to be there, all that. So besides that, we have our memory, chapter memory. So Galatians chapter 3 is the chapter we're memorizing this month. And so get on that. We're actually going through the book of Galatians now on Wednesday. So one of my favorite books in the New Testament for sure. And then John 8.47 is our memory verse for the week. He that is of God heareth God's words. Ye therefore hear them not because you're not of God. Now, that's going to be pertinent to the sermon. But it's a good verse to have memorized. After you hear the sermon, you'll know why. But John 8.47. And I think we have some many birthdays coming up here. Well, we have to sing Happy Birthday to Kelly. So I think that's it for birthdays. And then we sing Happy Anniversary. And it is our anniversary, Holly and I's anniversary tomorrow. So you can sing to us or not. I'm not going to command you to do that. So seven years, right? Seven years, right? It all gets fuzzy after five. But no, obviously excited about that. Actually, it doesn't feel like seven. It feels like we just got married. But for your sakes, you're probably glad I didn't just get married because that would be not good. And then pregnancies, we have all the ladies on here on the pregnancy list. So be in prayer for all the ladies here. Be in prayer for all the ladies in our church in general because I know sometimes we don't know what's going on. That maybe haven't announced anything yet or anything like that. Or families that want to have kids and stuff like that. So when you're looking at this pregnancy list, for those that are pregnant that are going through that right now, not going through it. They're enjoying it, right? Sounds like it's tribulation. It kind of is. But be in prayer for all the ladies in our church that are maybe wanting to have more kids and stuff like that. So that's about all I got for announcements. Brother Dave's going to come and sing one more song. And brother Anthony's going to be reading John chapter 10 for us this morning. Yeah. All right, take your song books and turn to song 114. And we'll sing The Great Physician. But before we do that, we need to sing a happy birthday and a happy anniversary. When was Kelly's birthday? Friday. Friday. Gotcha. All right, we'll sing happy birthday to Kelly. She want to stand up? There we go. Hold her up, Lion King style. All right, there we go. Perfect. I will sing happy birthday, ready? Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday, God bless you. Happy birthday to you. She's excited. That's right. Then we have our pastors and Ms. Holly anniversary. So you guys are going to stand up? And there we go. I will sing happy anniversary to the Robinsons. There we go, ready? Happy anniversary to you. Happy anniversary to you. Happy anniversary, God bless you. Happy anniversary to you. Happy anniversary. There we go. Still fire. All right, we'll sing song 114, The Great Physician. The Great Physician now is near the sympathizing Jesus. He speaks the drooping heart to cheer. Oh, hear the voice of Jesus. Sweetest note and seraph song. Sweetest name on mortal tongue. Sweetest carol ever sung. Jesus, blessed Jesus, your many sins are all forgive. Oh, hear the voice of Jesus. Go on your way in peace to have and wear a crown with Jesus. Sweetest note and seraph song. Sweetest name on mortal tongue. Sweetest carol ever sung. Jesus, blessed Jesus. All glory to the dying lamb. I now believe in Jesus. I love the blessed Savior's name. I love the name of Jesus. Sweetest note and seraph song. Sweetest name on mortal tongue. Sweetest carol ever sung. Jesus, blessed Jesus, and when to that bright world above we race to be with Jesus, we'll sing around the throne of love. The name of Jesus. Sweetest note and seraph song. Sweetest name on mortal tongue. Sweetest carol ever sung. Jesus, blessed Jesus. All right, take your Bibles and turn to John chapter number 10. John chapter number 10, and we'll have Brother Anthony come and read that for us. John chapter 10, the Bible reads, verily, verily, I say unto you, he that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same as a thief and a robber. But he that entereth 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. This parable spake Jesus unto them, but they understood not what things they were, which he spake unto them. Then said Jesus unto them again, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep. All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door. By me, if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out and find pasture. The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. I am the good shepherd, the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. But he that is in hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth, and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep. The hireling fleeth, because he is in hireling, and careth not for the sheep. I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. As the father knoweth me, even so know I the father, and I lay down my life for the sheep. In other sheep I have, which are not of this fold. Them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice, and there shall be one fold and one shepherd. Therefore doth my father love me, because I lay down my life that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my father. There was a division, therefore, among the Jews for these sayings, and many of them said, He hath the devil, and is mad, why hear ye him? Others said, These are not the words of him that hath the devil. Can a devil open the eyes of the blind? And it was at Jerusalem the feast of the dedication, and it was winter. And Jesus walked in the temple in Solomon's porch. Then came in Jews round about him, and said unto him, How long dost thou make us to doubt? If thou be the Christ, tell us plainly. Jesus answered them, I told you, and ye believe not. The works that I do in my father's name, they bear witness of me, but ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me, and I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish, and neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My father, which gave them me, is greater than all, and no man is able to pluck them out of my father's hand. I and my father are one. Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him. Jesus answered them, Many good works have I showed you from my father, for which of those works do ye stone me? And Jesus, then the Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not, but for blasphemy, and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God. Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law I said, Ye are gods? If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken, say ye of him whom the father hath sanctified and sent into the world, thou blasphemous, because I said, I am the son of God? If I do not the works of my father, believe me not, but if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works that ye may know and believe that the father is in me and I in him. Therefore they sought again to take him, but he escaped out of their hand, and went away again beyond Jordan into the place where John at first baptized, and there he abode. And many resorted unto him and said, John did no miracle, but all things that John spake of this man were true, and many believed on him there. Let's pray. Dear Lord, thank you for your word. Thank you for this morning. We can gather again and hear your word preached. I pray God you'll be with Pastor Robinson filling with your Holy Spirit, help us all to learn. In Jesus name I pray, amen. Amen. So you're there in John chapter 10. And I want you to hold your places there. But I want you to go back to John chapter eight and verse 47. John chapter eight and verse 47. And this is gonna be the title of our sermon. John chapter eight and verse 47. The Bible reads, he that is of God heareth God's words, ye therefore hear them not, because you're not of God. That's the name of the sermon, he that is of God heareth God's words. Now there's a question that's been brought up to me, but it's just a question we all have, as far as knowing if someone's saved or not. That's a big question. And a lot of times, preachers give the wrong answers and that and they say, well, if you're living right, then you're saved. It's like, well, there's a lot of unsaved people that live right and aren't out like murdering, stealing and drinking and doing all this other stuff. So that's not a good gauge on how to know whether someone's saved. Now, a lot of times, we'd say, well, it's what they believe, yes, and that's true. Meaning that when someone basically comes up to you and says, I believe that Jesus Christ had an cross for my sins, it's by him alone, it's by faith alone, can't lose your salvation. That's probably the easiest way to just know whether someone's saved, but in the end, someone could lie about that. But in the end, when you look at that type of stuff, add the abundance of the heart, the mouth, speak it, eventually it's gonna come out what they really believe. But here's a way that I usually, let's say you're out soul winning, and let's say someone comes up to you and they're a little confused, or they don't give the right answers exactly, or they may say something that's a little off, right? It's not necessarily that they're just unsaved immediately because they say something that's off. Know that in Galatians, there was people that were being bewitched to think that you had to be circumcised to be saved, and Paul was still thinking they're saved, having some doubts, kind of based off how far are they taking this. But that being said is that people can be bewitched, they can be kind of like led away a little bit, but only to a very small extent, okay? And the point I wanna get to here is that those that are saved will understand God's word, okay? Meaning this is that when it says he that is of God heareth God's word, or heareth his words, when we're talking about hearing it, obviously everybody that can hear can hear it, right? They can hear what's being said, but the difference is is do you hear it though, right? Because if someone were to say something to you, and let's say you didn't understand what they said, you may ask them, you know, say, well, I didn't hear you. Let's say they said it, but you didn't get it all, or maybe it was too muffled or it was too low. It's not that you didn't hear them speak something, or maybe you didn't even hear what they said, it may just be the fact that you didn't understand what they said, okay? And when it comes to saved people, those that are of God, the Bible says that those that are of God hear God's words, but the specific group he's talking to here is a bunch of reprobates. He's talking to those that he says you're your father the devil, okay? So he's saying to them, ye therefore hear them not because you're not of God. So he's saying all this stuff and they're just not getting it, right? If you think about John chapter six, you know, they're like, oh, should we eat your flesh and drink your blood? You know, they're just not getting what he's saying. He's the bread that came down from heaven, and he's given an allegory of the fact that just like the manna that came down from heaven, Jesus, the son of God came down from heaven, the son of man came down from heaven, and you need to partake of him. You need to believe in him to be saved, and it's just, you know how easy salvation is? It's like eating a piece of bread. It's like drinking a cup of water. It's like, in John chapter 10, opening a door and going in, right? And that's how easy salvation is, and they're just choking on it. They just don't understand what he's trying to say, and when it comes to those that are saved, I believe they will know the shepherd's voice. Okay, go to John chapter 10. This is our text passage here. This is a very simple truth, but I want to get this across here, is that I believe saved people will know the shepherd's voice. They'll know the word of God, meaning this is that they'll know that that's the word of God, okay? When it comes to all these perversions out there, when you think of the NIV and the ESV and all that, you know what? Saved people will know that there's something off, okay? Meaning like you just know, like there's something just not right about what's being said here, and when you read the King James, you're like, that's the shepherd's voice, okay? And you say, well, that's just a translation. It says the same thing in Greek, by the way, and by the way, I just read through John. You know, I'm reading through John. I'm almost done with John in the Greek New Testament, and guess what? Everything that we're reading right now is exactly what it says in the Greek, okay? Now, you don't want to take my word for it, but here's the thing. Before I ever learned how to read Greek or ever read the Greek New Testament, you know what? I knew that the King James Bible was right. I knew it was God's word. Why? Because here's the thing, you don't need to know Greek in order to do this. You don't even need to do all the study to know where the King James came from or even know that all these other versions have all these mistakes in them, although I think that helps you understand and see the big picture, right, in the fact that the King James has no errors. If you think there's an error, come to the afternoon service. I'm going through 101 supposed contradictions in the Bible, and they're all ridiculously stupid, okay? But if you want to do that with the NIV, good luck. You want to do that with the New King James, good luck. You want to do that with any of the new versions, good luck. They're gonna fall apart, and there's no way you can defend it. But all this to say is that take away knowing all the history about the King James Bible. Take away knowing all the history about the translations. Take away knowing any Greek or Hebrew or knowing any of the original languages. You can know that this is the shepherd's voice just by being saved, okay? I want to get this across very clearly, meaning like when you go out soul winning, they don't need to know any of that to know that this is the shepherd's voice, okay? And notice what it says in verse four, John chapter 10, verse four. You know why? Because the word of God is quick and powerful and sharp in any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit and the joints of merit and is the discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. And listen, that's in any language. I don't care what language you put it in. That is the power of the word of God. So if you put it into Spanish, you put it into French, you put it into whatever language, it's going to be that powerful to where you know that's the shepherd's voice. Now in John chapter 10, verse four, notice what it says. It says, and when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice, okay? So four there would be like because, why do they follow him? Because they know his voice. It says, and a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him, for they know not the voice of strangers. Now this isn't talking holistically following the Lord, because no one holistically follows the Lord. Listen, I'm the pastor of this church, but do you think I holistically in every point in my life follow the Lord to the T? Listen, we don't follow this lordship salvation type of mentality where you make him fully Lord of your life and you're not saved. The idea here is that obviously we're trying to follow him, but on the terms of knowing the shepherd's voice, what's the context of the shepherd's voice? You know that, and any saved person is going to know that and will not follow a stranger, okay? This is why when it comes to preachers that get stuck on these other versions, there's two things going on there. They're either not saved, okay? Because you can't discern the shepherd's voice from that, or there's a lot of pride going on they don't want to let go, okay? And I've seen this happen where you have people that will use the King James for everything until it comes to a doctrine that they can't prove from the King James. And then they're like, well, I like the way the NIV says it here. I'm like, I'm sure you do, okay? Because it's gonna tailor to what you're trying to say. You know what? In the end, we're just looking at this from the outside on other people. But here's the thing, if you don't understand the Bible, you don't understand what's being said, then you should probably look in the mirror, okay? Because the Bible talks about examining yourselves whether you be in the faith. If you just can't understand anything in the Bible, then there's a problem. Now, in John chapter 10, verse 27, he goes on with this, basically saying, his sheep, it says in verse 27, my sheep hear my voice. Now, you remember what it said in John 847? It says, he that is of God heareth God's words, okay? And you say, well, that's a little different because it's Jesus' voice. Yeah, because he's the Word of God, right? In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God and the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld his glory, the glory is ever the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. And the idea here is that he's saying, my sheep hear my voice, okay? And he said, you know what that means is that his sheep are of God, his sheep are saved. And he's gonna go on with that and say, my sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me. Why, because they follow the voice of the shepherd. They know the voice of the shepherd, right? And it says, and I give unto them eternal life and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father which gave them me is greater than all and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. I and my Father are one. That was a great eternal security verse, obviously, because not only is it saying that he gives unto you eternal life, you could just stop right there and say, well, you can't lose that, it's eternal. But also he goes on to say, you'll never perish. So he gives you the positive and the negative, then he says on top of that, by the way, you're in my hand and no man's able to pluck you out of my hand. That's not good enough for you, you know what? I'm in my Father's hand and no man's able to pluck you out of my Father's hand, okay? And so it's just a great eternal security verse. But the point that I'm trying to get here is the fact that it says my sheep hear my voice. My sheep hear my voice and they will not follow a stranger, meaning that you're gonna know whether that's a stranger or not. You're gonna know whether this is the word of God or not. And a lot of people look at, well, how do you know this is the word of God? Because it's the word of God. I mean, honestly, you could do all the study and say, well, this is where it came from and all that. And listen, that's great. And I think it's great to study all that stuff, right? As a pastor, I think I should know that type of stuff. Where did the King James come from? What was going on with the word of God back then? As much as you can know. But in the end, let's say you just dropped the King James Bible down and had no idea where it came from, you're going to know that that's the word of God. That's how powerful the word of God is. And as a saved person, that's something that he says to us, he says, you'll know. You'll know that's the shepherd's voice. Now, go to John 1, verse 43. I want to give you an example of this, of someone knowing the shepherd's voice, someone that's saved knowing the shepherd's voice. John 1 and verse 43. John 1 and verse 43. And you say, why do you bring this up? Well, I've been out saluting before. And you know what, I'll ask the questions. Do you know 100% sure you're going to heaven? And they'll say yes or whatever. And then I'll ask certain questions like, what do you think, you can lose it? Well, no, I don't think so. I think it's eternal life. They'll kind of give that answer. And then you'll ask, what if you were to commit suicide or commit murder and be like, you know what, I never thought about that. Just kind of that kind of question, right? And it's easy for us to be like, well, you're unsaved because you don't know that answer, right? But here's the thing, though. If I were to show them a verse, and it said, you know, you have eternal life, you'll never perish, you'll never die, whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. And you show them that and they're like, well, yeah, of course you can't lose it. I mean, good night, it's right there, black and white. Do you see how they know the shepherd's voice? You see how it's like very clear, like that person's saved, they know it. It wasn't like I had to really, I didn't just get them saved right there. It's just the fact that they know the shepherd's voice. And here's the thing, when people are out of church and they're not reading their Bible, how much more are they gonna be bewitched by the things of this world than the people that are in the churches of Galatia that are being bewitched? Does that make sense? A lot of people that we go to, they're not in church. And listen, most Christians don't read their Bible. Most Christians that are in churches don't read their Bible, let alone those that don't go to church as far as reading their Bibles, okay? That means is that they're just ripe for falling into false doctrines and all that. But here's the thing, a saved person will know the shepherd's voice. They'll know, okay, that is the word of God. And that's what I wanna show you. Now, in verse 43 here, this is the story of Philip and Nathaniel. In verse 43 here, it says, "'The day following, Jesus would go forth into Galilee "'and findeth Philip, and saith unto him, Follow me.' "'Now Philip was of Bethsaida, "'the city of Andrew and Peter. "'Philip findeth Nathaniel, and saith unto him, "'We have found him of whom Moses in the law "'and the prophets did write, "'Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.' "'And Nathaniel said unto him, "'Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? "'Phil saith unto him, Come and see.'" So get the story, Philip is finding Nathaniel, which I personally believe this is Bartholomew, one of the 12, but that's another story for another day. But Nathaniel, he finds him and says, hey, we found the Christ pretty much, basically what he's getting at. And he's saying, Jesus of Nazareth, and basically Nazareth is in Galilee, he's like, is there any good thing to come out of Galilee? So he's already just kind of doubting like, how could this be the prophet, right? And go on, verse 47 there says, "'And Jesus saw Nathaniel coming to him and saith of him, "'Behold, an Israelite indeed in whom is no guile.'" So before he even spoke, or basically Philip said anything to him, he's saying, behold an Israelite indeed. Now indeed meaning, like truly this is an Israelite, this is a true Israelite, okay? That's what that would mean, like this is indeed meaning that, not like indeed like in works or something like that. But it goes on to say, in whom is no guile, I'm gonna go back to that, okay? But notice what it says in verse 48, "'Nathaniel saith unto him, whence knowest thou me?'" Notice that terminology, whence knowest thou me? And notice what it says here, "'Jesus answered and said unto him, "'Before that Philip called thee, "'when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee.'" So he's like, how do you know me, from where do you know me? And he says, I saw you under the fig tree, okay? Notice Nathaniel's response to that, that's all Jesus said, I saw you under the fig tree, right? It says, "'Nathaniel answered and saith unto him, "'Rabbi, thou art the Son of God, "'thou art the King of Israel.'" Do you see how it didn't take much? Like he didn't say, believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, now shall I be saved, he didn't like give like this whole parable or anything like that, he just said, I saw you under the fig tree. That's all he said, okay? Notice that Jesus even is referencing that and noticing what his answer is, and Jesus answered and said unto him, because I said unto thee, I saw thee under the fig tree, believeth thou? Thou shalt see greater things than these. So get this picture, you have Philip is coming to him, he's already like, you know, is anything good gonna come out of Galilee? He's already doubting in his mind. As soon as he hears Jesus say, when I saw thee under the fig tree, he's like, that's the Son of God, okay? And here's the thing, what did Jesus say? He says, my sheep hear my voice and I know them. What did he say, you know, what did Nathaniel say? He said, whence knowest thou me? And notice that he called him by name and all this, but the thing is here is that before he just basically, when he saw Nathaniel, he says of him, behold in Israel, indeed in whom is no guile. Go to Psalm 32, Psalm 32, it's very clear that Nathaniel was already saved. Now, there's like a false doctrine out there basically stating that there's this transition period between the Old Testament and New Testament where people had to get re-saved or something like that. They were saved under the Old Testament, but they weren't saved under New Testament. That was called the everlasting gospel, my friends. You were either saved or you weren't. And listen, those in the Old Testament had eternal light just as much as us in the New Testament have eternal light. And so this is a great example of what would happen, like this hypothetical, what if someone was saved in the Old Testament and then they're going in the New Testament? Now, by the way, this is still the Old Testament in this story because the New Testament doesn't start until Jesus dies on the cross. So the New Testament doesn't have power until the death of the testator, the Bible says. And so we're still in the Old Testament anyway, but Psalm 32, by the way, is in the Old Testament. Verse one there, Psalm 32 in verse one, it says, blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord impudeth not iniquity and in whose spirit there is no guile. So what was he saying of Nathaniel? Was he saying that he's sinless, like holistically? No, because the Bible says if we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us, okay? No, what he's talking about is in his spirit, there is no God. He says, behold, an Israelite indeed in whom is no guile. And you know what that means? Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin, for his seed remaineth in him and he cannot sin because he is born of God. Whosoever is born of God, sin is not, the Bible says. And so you're talking about spiritually speaking, he looks at Nathaniel and says, this guy's spiritually clean. And this is before Nathaniel even knew that Jesus of Nazareth was the Christ. But you see how quick that happened? He said, I saw the end of the victory, thou art the Son of God, Rabbi, which means master. So he says, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God, thou art the King of Israel. That's all it took. Now I could show you Apollos. Apollos is kind of another example of this, where Apollos was saved. He believed what John said, believed on him that should come after him, that is on Christ Jesus. He just didn't know that it was Jesus, okay? Then they expounded the word of God more perfectly unto him and he was already saved. He just understood that, hey, it's Jesus. Who I believe on is the man Christ Jesus who died on the cross and all that. So go to 1 John chapter four, 1 John chapter four, because we see in John chapter eight, he that is of God heareth God's words. It says that my sheep hear my voice and they follow me, meaning that they're not gonna follow a stranger, okay? We're talking about following the voice, right? We're not talking about following the church or following all the footsteps of Jesus, right? We're talking about his voice, the words of God. You're going to know that's the shepherd's voice and you're gonna heed unto that. So in 1 John chapter four and verse four, a very similar thing is being said here. 1 John chapter four and verse four, it says 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. They are of the world, therefore speak they of the world and the world heareth them. We are of God, he that knoweth God heareth us, he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth and the spirit of error. So now you have John, who's an apostle, writing this and stating that if you hear us, then you're of God. If you don't hear us, you're not of God, right? The idea there is that I'm gonna show you that the apostles were, what we have in the Bible that the apostles wrote in the New Testament is inspired by God, okay, they're scriptures. And go to Titus chapter three, Titus chapter three, because when we go out soul winning, for example, we use this principle right here, that, and I'm gonna read this to you right here, at Titus three and verse 10, it says, a man that is in heretic after the first and second admonition reject, knowing that he that is such is subverted and sinneth being condemned of himself. So you say, well, how much, you know, like, if you, let's say you're talking to somebody about the gospel, and you say, well, how far do you take this, right, you know, to me, it's gonna be an instant thing, right? Now, barring the person is like, mentally all there to understand what you're saying, okay, obviously, there's cases where people are inebriated, or they're high as a kite, and they're just not mentally there, or they just have a mental disorder to where it's gonna be hard for them to comprehend what you're saying in general, okay, but barring, you're just dealing with, you know, a typical person that has, you know, some cognitive, you know, aptitude to understand what you're saying, then in this case, when it comes to, if someone's mixed up on the gospel, usually it's like the one time, I'm like, all right, they either got it or they don't, but I'll usually give them another one. But in this case, you're dealing with a heretic, right? Let's say you're dealing with someone that's like, ah, I know I'm saved, and then they're like, obviously off on something. Let's say it's like, you know, you gotta turn from your sins, you gotta stop sinning, or something like that, right? They're mixed up on that. You show them one, they reject it, okay. I'll show them another one, they reject it, you know what, heretic. Okay, and I'm talking about someone that is preaching heretical doctrine, right? I'm not talking about like whether you believe that the pre-trib rapture's right, or whether you believe that the Jews are God's chosen people. I'm talking about the gospel. I'm talking about salvation, okay? Because there's heresies, but then there's damnable heresies, okay? Meaning that, do I think that Zionism is heresy? Yes, okay. Do I believe that dispensationalism, basically across the board, is heresy? Yes, but it's not damnable unless you're getting into the fact that people are saved differently, and there's a different gospel, okay? And in both those cases, you can have that case where it's damnable heresy. But in this case, you know, we use this principle that when we say we give them an admonition, we're not just talking about like we're just speaking to them and be like, we're talking about Bible verses, okay? The admonition is the word of God that we're giving them, and so if you give them a verse or you give them a passage, and then they're just like, no, that's not what it's saying, you know? And they're just completely rejecting the truth, okay? And then you show them another passage, and you're like, no, it's not what it is. Then, you know what, don't waste your time. And that person's definitely not saved. You know, if you run into somebody and they reject two clear passages about salvation, they're not saved, because he is of God, heareth God's word, ye therefore hear them not, because you're not of God. You know, we are of God. Heareth us is of God, heareth us not is not of God. And so, you know, I just wanna show this as a way that you can kind of judge or discern whether someone's saved or not, okay? And go to 2 Peter chapter one. I'm gonna show you that the apostles, you know, when it says he that heareth us, because here's the thing. Obviously, that verse is not saying, you know, he that heareth the words of a Christian in general is of God, okay? Because my words are not scripture. They're not the word of God. They're not inspired by God, okay? But you have John, who's under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, writing the book of 1 John. As he's saying that, that verse is scripture. What he's saying is scripture, okay? But I'm gonna show you that Paul also, what he wrote was scripture, and it's clearly stated that it's scripture. Notice in 2 Peter chapter one and verse 19. We have also a more sure word of prophecy. Whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shines in the dark place until the day dawn, and a day star rise in your hearts. Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation, for the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man, but holy men of God spake as they are moved by the Holy Ghost. So it's very clear how things are inspired, or basically how scripture is given. Is that God uses men, and he moves them with the Holy Ghost to speak or to write, right? David said my tongue is the pen of a ready writer, and it says that David spoke, or it says the Holy Ghost spake by the mouth of David, okay? So they don't necessarily have to be the ones writing it down, but the idea is that when they're speaking, being moved by the Holy Ghost, that's the word of God, and whoever's writing it down, obviously is writing down the word of God, okay? I mean, Jeremiah had a scribe, and so it doesn't have to be the person that's speaking it to write it, okay? It's not about the ink or the paper or anything like that. But notice in 2 Peter chapter three, 2 Peter chapter three, notice what it says in verse one. 2 Peter chapter three, in verse one, it says, This second epistle, beloved, I now write unto you, in both of which I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance, that you may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us, the apostles of the Lord and Savior. So notice how he's coupling those together, because really what you have here is when you look at the Bible, you have the prophets all the way up to Malachi, right? You say, well, you know, it's the law of the prophets. Yeah, well, Moses is called a prophet, just so you know. Even Noah was called a preacher of righteousness and all that. So there was prophets even before the prophets, like the major and minor prophets. But then you have the commandments of the apostles. And I believe from Matthew to Revelation, that's all written by apostles, okay? Now, a lot of the New Testament's written by Paul, and he literally opens up his letters usually with Paul an apostle. But all the other ones, you say, is Mark and Luke an apostle? I believe they are. And I preached on this actually on Wednesday, I think, we were talking about, or I was showing in Galatians 1, for example, James, the brother of Jesus, is called an apostle. Okay, so it's not just 12. It's actually, I believe, all those that he appeared unto, and they were eyewitnesses of his resurrection. That's what made you an apostle, or he would call people to be an apostle. And that being said is that I believe the whole New Testament is written by apostles. That's why you don't have any more revelation now, okay? Because Paul said he's the last to see Jesus. So, sorry, all these charismatic out there. Sorry, Mormons, there's no more apostles, okay? And the only apostle that you're gonna see coming next time is the apostle of our faith, which is the Lord Jesus Christ. You know, Hebrews 3 calls Jesus the apostle, right? So, but in 2 Peter 3, go down to verse 14. I'm gonna prove to you or show to you that Paul's writings, or his epistles, are scripture, okay? I don't think you need to know this, but the point I'm getting at here is that in 1 John 4, when it's saying that he that heareth us, you know, he that knoweth God heareth us, he that is not of God heareth not us, hereby knoweth the spirit of truth and the spirit of error, the idea there is that we're not just talking about Christian's words, you know, because you can't just take what I say and just be like, well, if they don't hear Pastor Robinson and what he says, they're not of God, okay? You can't do that, or just any Christian for that matter. No, if you're hearing the words of the apostles, which is the word of God, by the way. I'm not here to distinct. I'm not saying you need to have different colors for the different people that are talking. You know, it's all God's word. But notice what it says in verse 14. Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot and blameless. And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation, even as our beloved brother Paul also, according to the wisdom given unto him, hath written unto you. As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable rest, as they do also the other scriptures unto their own destruction. So here we see that, you know, Peter is basically saying, hey, you know, you've heard of Paul and all the stuff that he's saying. And there's a lot of people that are struggling with what he's saying. And rest meaning like, you think of the term wrestle, right? That's where you have that W-R-E-S-T. Rest meaning like they're twisting it, right? Or rest judgment would be like pervert or twisted, right? And so the idea here is that he's saying that you, all these epistles that he wrote unto you, there's people that are unlearned, unstable, they rest those epistles, as they do also the other scriptures. For it to be other scriptures, that means that those have to be scripture, okay? So I wanted to make that very clear. When you're looking at 1 John 4, we are of God, he that knoweth God heareth us, we're talking about those that are hearing the word of God there, okay? Now when you go out soul-winding though, are you not using the word of God? So that would apply to us as long as we're using the word of God. If we're using the word of God, you're out there soul-winding and you're using the word of God, he that heareth us is of God, you know? The idea is that if you hear us, meaning that we're preaching the word of God, you know, this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you, I mean the idea is that the word of God should be in tandem with the gospel when you're preaching it. And if they don't hear that, then they're not of God. That's what it's stating. Now go to 1 Corinthians chapter two, 1 Corinthians chapter two. 1 Corinthians chapter two, this principle you probably already knew is the fact that someone that's not saved can't understand the word of God. So this is why this is true, okay? Meaning this is that someone that's saved is going to understand the word, someone that's unsaved is not going to understand the word. So it's a very simple principle here, but I want to get this through that, you know, when we go out soul-winding or if you're just talking to, let's say you're talking to a family member, a loved one or whatever, and you're like, I'm not sure if they're saved. Well, you know, show them the Bible and see if they understand it. And you know, I'll ask people, some people will come up to me and be like, you know, I know it's by faith, I know you can't lose your salvation, but I'm just worried I'm not saved. And you can understand where they're coming from because hell's a real place and you can understand why they want to make sure, right? And the one thing that I told people when they asked me that question, I say, well, when you read the Bible, do you understand what's being said? Do you just scratch your hand and be like, I have no idea what's being said? You know, then you know what, you're saved. If you understand the word of God, if you hear God's word, you understand the gospel, and you're not like negating what the gospel says, then you're saved. Or they'll say, well, I'm worried I'm reprobate, you know? Because there are reprobates out there, but at the same time, they're like, I'm worried I'm a reprobate. And you know what, reprobates don't want to retain God in their knowledge, but the fact that you're worried about it shows me that you're not reprobate, okay? The fact that you, you know, want to read the Bible and that you understand what's being said, and I'm not saying you're gonna understand every single thing, okay? I'm just saying that, you know, you're gonna know what's being said, you're gonna know, like, the scriptures on salvation are gonna be very clear, you're gonna be like, boom, there it is. And you're gonna just know the shepherd's voice, and you know what, then you're saved. And those are some self-checks, okay? Okay, whether you're reprobate or, because, listen, reprobates hate God. They don't want to retain them in their knowledge. They're trying to push them out. They're not trying to keep them in. They're not like inquiring and thinking like, man, I hope I'm not reprobate. No, that's not how it works, okay? But notice what it says in 1 Corinthians 2 and verse nine. Just to get some context here. Verse nine, it says, but as it is written, I have not seen nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit. For the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the Spirit of man which is in him? Even so, the things of God knoweth no man but the Spirit of God. Now, we have received not the Spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is of God, that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth, comparing spiritual things with spiritual, but the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him, neither can he know them because they are spiritually discerned. And here's the key, when someone's unsaved, it's as they can't know them. That's why, you know, when you run into someone, they say, well, I read the Bible all the time. A lot of times that's not true, okay, because most Christians don't even read their Bible. But there are people that read their Bible, okay? Yeah, I'm not just out there to be like, you're all liars, you know, everybody that says they read the Bible, you're lying. No, there are people that have read through the Bible, cover to cover, that aren't saved. There are people that read passages in the Bible, read parts of the Gospel, read parts of whatever, you know, in the Bible, and they're not saved. And the thing is, is that when they read through it, it just doesn't click. This is why, you know, the Bible says the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith, and how shall they hear without a preacher? You say, well, if an unsaved person can't understand a word of God, how are they gonna get saved? Because how should a priest accept to be sent? You know, and it talks about this progression of, for whose source shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved? How shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach and accept to be sent as is written, how beautiful are the feet of them that preach the Gospel of peace and bring glad tidings of good things? And the idea is that there's this progression that if you're gonna get someone saved, you have to guide them. You know, just like the Ethiopian eunuch said, you know, Philip came up to him and said, understand us what thou readest? And he's reading Isaiah 53, which is the most clear Old Testament passage on the Lord Jesus and what he was gonna do. And he says, how can I accept some man should guide me? So when it comes to salvation or getting someone saved, listen, there needs to be a soul winner with the word of God. Because, you know, faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. And, you know, being born again, not a corrupt will see, but a vinceral by the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever. So if you're gonna get someone saved, it's not gonna be your words that get them saved. I mean, obviously you're helping with that and you're explaining with that, but it's really the word of God is where they're gonna believe and get saved. But when it comes to knowing whether someone's saved or not, do you see how this is a good gauge? And by the way, I'm showing you a lot of scriptures here. When people come out and say, well, I know someone's saved because they go to church. Show me you go to church in the Bible, let alone that you're gonna know they're saved, okay? Now, the Bible says not that forsaking the assembly of ourselves together, you know, as a man or some is, and so much the more, you know, is exhorting one another. We need to be together in church. Obviously, the Bible teaches that. But show me anywhere in the Bible where it associates going to church with salvation at all. Yeah, it'd be like, oh, you need to go to church. There's nothing even close to that, like nowhere close to going to church to be saved, let alone going to church to prove that you're saved. They always use these arguments like, well, you're gonna have fruits. Okay, well, what's the fruit of a Christian? The fruit of a Christian is the tree of life, or I'm sorry, the fruit of the righteous is the tree of life and he that win his souls is wise. You're gonna play that game, then show me who you won to the Lord last week or you're unsaved, okay? But listen, you can look, and there could be an apple tree outside. I'm not saying there's one out there right now. But I'm saying there could be an apple tree outside with no apples on it, but guess what, it's still an apple tree, okay? And listen, you know what, there's people that don't have kids, but it doesn't mean they're not human beings, okay? Because the fruit of the womb is his reward, you know, talking about having kids, but just because you don't have kids doesn't mean that you're not human, okay? So that's not always the best gauge. Now, when it comes to false prophets and good prophets, that's a good gauge, isn't it? Because you can look and say, okay, what type of people is Pastor Robinson getting saved, right? You know, what type of people are coming out of Mountain Baptist Church? You want a good gauge on a good church? Look at the congregants, and what do they believe? What are they teaching? What are they preaching? So don't let me down, I'm just kidding. But the idea, though, is that obviously you're looking at the fruits, and that is a good gauge, but what if you don't have a fruitful Christian? How do you know, okay? And the way that you can know is whether that person understands the Bible, okay? If they're just completely like, I have no idea what this is talking about. This is just completely just nonsense to them, okay? And specifically on the Gospel, meaning that if you're showing them, listen, the simplicity that's in Christ, when it talks about the Gospel, it is simple. It's so simple that it says that you have to be converted as a child, meaning that it's not complicated. We're not doing calculus here when we're going out and getting people saved. It is very simple. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved. And when I say believe, what believe means is turn from all your sins and stop sinning, and no, it says believe, which is synonymous with trusting in Him. Just as much as if my child was on the top bunk and I say jump, you know what? If they jump, you know what they did? They trusted that I would catch them. That's how simple salvation is. And so it's not hard to understand, but they need to be guided into it. But once they're there, okay, once they're guided into it, go to 1 John 2. Listen, once you get saved, you don't need me anymore. I'm just kidding. Obviously, there's reasons why you come to church. There's reasons why you have a pastor and all this stuff. But just to put it on the bottom of the shelf, to know everything in the Bible, you don't need me at all, okay? And notice what it says in 1 John 2 and verse 20. It says, but ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things. That unction's talking about the anointing of the Holy Ghost, that Holy One, the Holy Ghost. And just to prove that to you, go down to verse 27. Verse 27, it says, but the anointing which ye have received with Him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you, but as the same anointing teaches you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in Him. You know, how are we gonna know the Spirit of truth and the Spirit of error? By the word of God. That's how we're gonna know it. That's how you're gonna know the Spirit of truth and the Spirit of error. And listen, you know, when you're saved, you have the Holy Ghost abiding in you to teach you all things. You don't need me to teach you all things. And so if you're listening to a sermon, you should be looking at the verses yourself and saying, hey, is that right? And if you're in a church where it's just like constantly, like everything the pastor's saying is just, you're just like, that's not right with what I'm seeing, there's a problem somewhere. Either the pastor or you, okay? Meaning that either, you know, the pastor is not teaching right on what the Bible says, or you're not saved because you're not understanding what the Bible's saying, okay? And go to John chapter 14, and I don't wanna preach a whole sermon on the Holy Ghost here, but the Bible does say when we get saved, when we trust in Him, who first trusted in Christ, and talks about whom you also trust that you believe, and it goes on to saying that you're sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, that notice what it says in John 14 and verse 25, it says, these things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you, but the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, He shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. Notice that the Holy Ghost isn't just like telling you some new revelations. You know, the Holy Ghost told me last night to buy this car. No, He didn't, okay? No, the Holy Ghost is gonna bring to remembrance that which Jesus said unto you, okay? And that means the Word of God. So, you know what? The Holy Ghost will teach you all things, and you can know all things just with you, the Holy Ghost, and the Bible. That's all you need. Now obviously, it's smart to come to church and to hear preaching. It says the Word of God is manifested through preaching, both with the gospel, but also just with preaching, and my job is to feed the flock. I was actually talking to my daughter, Clara, as far as, you know, I'm always like, I need to write some sermons, you know, which is like all the time, and I'm just basically telling her, you know, that it's my job to teach the church, you know, and so I need to know a lot about the Bible, and it was just kind of like foreign to her that I need to know more than everybody in the church or that I should know more than everybody in the church, and listen, there's people that know more than me on things. Don't get me wrong. I'm not here to say that I know more, okay, but that's my goal, okay? My goal is to know more than everybody in here, okay? That doesn't mean it's gonna happen, but the idea is that I need to be always constantly learning and reading and studying and, you know, to the point where, hey, I can teach you something, because if you don't, if you're coming to this church and you're not learning anything, you know, that's just sad. I mean, and the sad truth is that there's a lot of churches where you go to and you're just hearing the same thing over and over and over and over, and when I say the same thing, obviously, I'm not preaching new doctrines, but in every doctrine, there's new things to learn about that doctrine, right? There's constantly things that I'm like, man, that passage is talking about this. This fits over here, or this verse, I have no idea what this verse is saying, you know, and you're just like, I'm not sure what that's talking about, and then you learn what it's talking about, and it may help in certain areas, whatever the case may be, but here's the thing, it's smart to come to church because you're supposed to have a pastor that has read the Bible more than you, that has studied more than you, that maybe knows more than you, to where you can hear preaching, and instead of just having to, you know, basically go through every study yourself, you can have something fed to you, because that's what a pastor's supposed to do, is feed the flock, fed to you, and you know what you do with that? You chew on it, and if it's right, you swallow it, okay? Now if there's something that I throw at you, and you're just like, it's not jiving, it's not jiving with the Bible, then you spit it out, okay? I'm not here to just force it down your throat. You eat that and swallow it, you know, like I'm gonna hold your nose and make you eat it, okay? No, I'm feeding you, and here's the food, okay? You wanna eat it, you can eat it, you don't like it, then don't swallow it, okay? But here's the thing though, hopefully you're in a church, and you know, obviously my job is so that you can swallow most everything I'm giving you, because it's true, okay? That's my job, that's what I'm supposed to do, and you know, as safe people, you're gonna understand the word of God, and there's a lot of complex things in the Bible, okay? My job as a pastor is to take complex things in the Bible, complex doctrines, and unpack it, and give it to you in a simple manner. That's my job in a nutshell, okay? Very complex, all right, step by step, this is how it works, okay? Think of end times, for example. End times, very complex when you think of all the details that go into it, but here's how simple it is. There's gonna be tribulation, which we're gonna go through, Jesus is gonna come in the clouds, we're gonna be raptured and be caught up together in the clouds, he's gonna pour out his wrath, boom. That's simple, right? Tribulation, rapture, wrath. Now, as you can see on the chart over there, there's a lot of details you can get into, okay, about what's going on, when it's going on, what to look for, you know, what type of wrath's being poured out, what type of tribulation are we going through, who's going to die, who isn't gonna die, you know, all these different things. Who's the 144,000, why is the tribe of Dan not there? No, I'm just kidding. But there's a lot of details that you can get into, but do you see how that's simple? And when you're reading through the Bible, it can be very daunting, especially as a new Christian, to go into the book of Revelation and be like, where am I at? And that's where preaching comes in, and you can understand it, but here's the thing, though. If you're saved, you can figure it out, okay? And a saved person's going to know the word of God. Go to 1 Corinthians, chapter 15, 1 Corinthians, chapter 15. And just to bring it back, because, listen, there's a lot of people that are saved that I don't agree with on certain doctrines. Okay, I'm not here to say that if you disagree with my statement of faith, then you're not saved, because you don't hear the word of God. No, like I said, there's heresies, but then there's damnable heresies, and when we're talking about damnable heresies, we're talking about things that affect salvation, okay? So the gospel is what we're talking about here, as far as, if I'm gonna deem someone unsaved, it's because they believe wrong on the gospel, ultimately. Does that make sense? That's why they don't believe right, they believe it's by works, essentially, and when you go up to somebody and they don't know how someone gets saved, then that's a good mark that they're not saved, okay? Or if they don't know that Jesus rose from the dead. And listen, there's plenty of people that we go up to out soloing, and nowadays, you'll ask them, okay, what happened on the third day, and they're like, I have no idea. I'm like, I thought you told me you were saved, you know, and you don't know, like, the quintessential point of the gospel. And notice what it says in 1 Corinthians 15, verse one. It says, moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand, by which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you, first of all, that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, and was buried, and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures. So the gospel is what? The death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. That he died for our sins, was buried, and rose again the third day. You say, well, you always go through that in Toronto Security, yeah, because they don't believe that he died for your sins. Because if you believe that you can lose your salvation because you committed murder, committed suicide, then that's a sin that you don't think he died for. That's how that works. Now, this passage here, a lot of people get confused on this and think, well, what's this saying like if you keep in memory? Well, here's the thing. There are certain things that a saved person just can't do. We run into this, you know, out-soul winning a lot of times, people will say, well, I don't believe pedophiles can go to heaven, or like, I just can't believe a pedophile would go to heaven. I don't either, okay? And the reason for that is because someone that's a pedophile has already crossed a line with God to where they've been rejected, and they don't believe the gospel, and they never believe the gospel, and guess what, they never will believe the gospel. It's always because they don't believe, though. They're ever learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth, that's why. But there's certain things that are impossible for Christians to do. They can't blaspheme the Holy Ghost. By the way, since we're talking about end times, they're not gonna be able to take the mark of the beast. There, I said it. It's not something that you're gonna have to take the mark of the beast and cut your head off because you took it just so you didn't go to hell, okay? It's just the fact that to take the mark of the beast, you have to worship the beast, and there's certain things that you just cannot do as a Christian. You can't blaspheme the Holy Ghost. And I don't believe that a Christian can become an unbeliever, okay? And this is something where we'll go out someoneing, and sometimes I'll pose the question, be like, well, what if you have doubts, you know? What if you were to stop believing, you know? Meaning like you were just like have doubts on how salvation works or whatever. Listen, that stuff can happen. Like I said, people can be bewitched, but you're not gonna become a God-hating atheist where you just hate God and you're like against God. You know what that means? You weren't saved because, you know, you had the Holy Ghost living inside. You can grieve the Holy Ghost, the Bible says. It says grieve not the Holy Spirit of God whereby you're sealed into the day of redemption, but blaspheming the Holy Ghost, saying that the Holy Ghost is a devil. That's what they were saying about the Holy Ghost when he says you've, you know, talking about this unforgivable sin. Meaning this is that if you forget what the gospel is, then you weren't saved. You're not going to forget what the gospel is. You're not going to forget what it means to be saved, unless you have dementia, which obviously those cases can happen where someone can literally lose their mind, but we're talking about, you know, take out like all these like fringe things as far as being like losing your mind or whatever as far as like dementia or whatever, and just a normal person, you're not gonna forget what salvation means, okay? Because it's like the same people like, well, you know, what if you, you can't lose your salvation, but you can give it back. Then you don't know what salvation is, okay? Because no one that's sane would say, no, I don't want eternal life. I want to burn in hell for the rest of my life. That's not sanity, right? That's just, you're an insane person if you were to say that. So that means is that you don't know what it is. You don't understand what it is. And go to Galatians chapter four, Galatians chapter four. And we're going through the book of Galatians. So we'll obviously get on to this passage eventually, but what I believe is that a saved person will understand the word of God. A saved person specifically, let's say someone never goes to church, never reads their Bible, will understand gospel passages. Will understand the gospel. And when you show it to them, they'll remember it. Just like Nathaniel or just like anybody that you've run into where you've shown them a gospel verse and then they're just like, yep, that's right. I remember going to a person, I got them saved and then a year later I was knocking that same complex, ran into the same guy and I said, hey, do you know 100% sure you're going to heaven because I don't remember everybody I've run into? But, and he said, yes, because you showed me. And I said, well, okay, well let me just make sure, you know, and I was just like, do you believe you can ever lose your salvation? No, it's eternal life. I said, well, what if you were to have doubts or lapses in your faith, you know? And he's like, you know what, I never really thought about it. That's pretty much what he said. And I showed him like 2 Timothy where it says, if we believe not, yet abide by the faith that he cannot deny himself. Basically, we're all faithless. And he's like, yeah, of course. Do you think he just got saved there or do you think he was already saved? You know what I mean? And that's a case where, you know what, they're not going to forget it. You're not going to go to them later. And listen, if you run into someone that you want to the Lord or you prayed with and they're just completely in left field on salvation, they didn't get it, okay? I don't care if you're the best sower in the world. Listen, that's going to happen. There's going to be people that are going to give you lip service. There's going to be people that you think you got saved or that you think that they believed it and that they just didn't get it, okay? And they're just not going to forget that. I'm not going to go up to be like, well, I know you're saved though because I prayed with you two years ago, okay? No, I'm going to look at, do you remember what it means to be saved? Do you know what it takes to be saved? And if they're fuzzy on it, give them a verse. And if it comes up and they're just like, yeah, exactly, they're saved, you know, because he is of God, he is of God's word. In Galatians chapter four and verse 11 here, Paul's writing to the Galatians in chapter three, he says, oh fools, Galatians, who hath bewitched you, they should not obey the truth before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you. I mean, he's basically saying, you know, if you've begun to the spirit, how are you made perfect by the flesh? And he's a, you know, you fools, you know, and he keeps going on basically saying, how are you fooled by this? So he's given them the benefit of the doubt. He's like, you're being bewitched, you're being foolish. Like how in the world could this be that you're so soon removed from the grace of Christ, you know, and going after this other gospel, which is not another, right? That's kind of the theme of the book. And chapter four here, notice how he's starting to have some doubts when he's writing. And he's almost doubting whether these people are saved. Okay, or the people that he's talking to that are bringing this stuff up to him or how he's hearing of this. Verse 11, it says, I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed labor, I'm sorry, bestowed upon you labor in vain. So he's not afraid like he's terrified of them or what they're gonna do to him. He's afraid that he bestowed upon them labor in vain, meaning like they didn't get saved. Notice in verse 20 there, Galatians four and verse 20. Galatians four and verse 20 says, I desire to be present with you now and to change my voice, for I stand in doubt of you. Tell me, ye that desire to be under the law, do you not hear the law? And then he goes through this whole allegory of Hagar and Sarah and all that. Notice that he says, I stand in doubt of you, I'm afraid of you, lest I have bestowed labor upon you in vain. And in chapter five, he's giving you the real reason why he's standing in doubt, why he's afraid that he's bestowed labor upon them in vain, because notice what it says in Galatians five, verse two, it says, behold I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing. For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law. Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever you are justified by the law, ye are fallen from grace. Meaning he's basically saying, did he say I'm afraid that you've lost your salvation? No, he says I'm afraid I bestowed labor upon you in vain, you believed in vain. He said, what does it mean to believe in vain? Believing that it's by Jesus and good works. You know what, that's faith in something, isn't it? But that faith is vain if it's in your works. And so he's afraid that they've believed in vain, meaning they're not believing the right thing. And he's in doubt of them because this is being brought up to them. And in Galatians five, he basically says, he's confident, he's kinda like, I'm in doubt, but I'm confident that you're gonna deal with this person. Whoever these people are, whoever this person is, he doesn't know who it is that's bringing in this heresy. He's like, that you're gonna get rid of them. He said, I wouldn't have even cut off which trouble you. So that being said is that that's how he's judging it as far as like, what do they believe about the gospel? Go to 2 John, 2 John and verse seven. This is the last thing I'm gonna show you here, is that a saved person's going to abide in the doctrine of Christ. Now all I'm talking about is salvation here. I'm not talking about abiding in Christ in general, because obviously abiding in the vine, that's work, not everybody does it. Walking in the new man, that's something you have to make a choice every single day. I'm talking about abiding in the doctrine of Christ. And it's gonna explain what that doctrine is, but meaning this is that if someone doesn't abide in the doctrine of Christ, you know what that means? They weren't saved. And in 1 John chapter one, verse seven, I'm sorry, 2 John 1.7, it says, For many deceivers are entered into the world who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist. So what are we talking about? We're talking about people that are saying that Jesus Christ is not come in the flesh. The Christ is not come in the flesh. So Christ has not come. That's essentially what they're stating, or basically saying it's not Jesus. Notice in verse eight, it says, Look to yourselves that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward. Whosoever transgresseth and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed. For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds. This is why you don't invite a Mormon or a Jehovah Witness into your house, okay? We'll give Mormons and Jehovah Witnesses the gospel, but you don't bring them in and you don't say, God bless you, have a good day, if they're preaching a false gospel. They're bringing, you know, something that's not the doctrine of Christ, okay? And this doctrine is talking about the fact that Jesus is the Christ. And when it's talking about Jesus being the Christ, we're talking about the fact that he's the savior of the world. He's the anointed, which is to come. You know, his name shall be called Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins. And that's the doctrine that is stating here that if you're not, if you, meaning, whosoever transgresses, that's everybody, by the way. Does that make sense? For all of sin it comes to the glory of God. So, if you've sinned and you don't abide in the doctrine of Christ, then you don't have God. If you abide in the doctrine of Christ, you have both the Father and the Son. Go to 1 John chapter two, and what I believe this is stating here is that those that are saved, there's certain things that are gonna be there. And remembering the gospel and remembering how you got saved is gonna be one of them. If you don't remember that, then you need to get saved. And if you're saying, well, I think, so, yeah, I mean, the difference between I think and I know is a big difference, okay? And the idea here is that any time someone says to me, well, I think that's what I believed back then. Well, here's the thing. I can think a lot of things about what I thought I believed back then, but I only know what I believe right now. I can't know for sure this is what I believed back then. I know for sure what I believe right now, though. And notice what it says in 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. Now, to give you an idea, it's gonna explain what it means to be antichrist, but in 1 John chapter four, right before it gets into he that is of God, he that knows God, hears God's words, it talks about the spirit of antichrist, and the spirit of antichrist says that Jesus Christ is not come in the flesh. So we're talking about, when we're talking about someone being antichrist, which 2 John, there's only three places, there are three chapters that antichrist has mentioned. This chapter in chapter two, chapter four, and in 2 John. And all these are talking about this doctrine that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh, that he is the Christ, that he is the son of God. That's what's not going to fade away. You're not gonna forget that. You're not gonna forget that Jesus is the son of God. If you do, you didn't know it. Okay, you weren't saved if that's the case. But in verse 19 there, they went out from us, but they were not of us. For if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us, but they went out, that they might be made manifest, that they were not all of us. This verse right here is used a lot of times to say, if you get out of church, then you weren't saved. What's the context though? Who are we talking about? We're talking about antichrists, plural. We're talking about people that are antichrists, and it says that 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. No doubt they would have continued with us if they were of us. What are we talking about? Keep going there, it says, but ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things. I have not written unto you because ye know not the truth, because ye know it, and that no lies are the truth. Who is a liar? But he that denieth Jesus the Christ. He is antichrist that denieth the father and the son. Whosoever denieth the son, the same hath not the father, but he that acknowledges the son hath the father also. Sound familiar? So when we're talking about they went out from us, but they were not of us, we're talking about people that deny that Jesus is the Christ. The people that deny that he is the son of God. And that's antichrist, and that's not abiding in the doctrine, but it's saying that, you know what, if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us. I believe that to the T, meaning that someone that's saved, they will no doubt continue in the doctrine of Christ, meaning that they will no doubt continue believing that Jesus is the Christ, the son of God, that is by faith, and that ultimately, if they're bewitched or swayed this way, you show them the word of God, they're coming right back to it. Because they're gonna know the shepherd's voice, they're gonna know not to follow a stranger. But listen, if there's a stranger trying to pull away, you know what you need? You need the shepherd's voice to bring him back, okay? And sheep can go astray. Even David, at the end of Psalm 119, says that he's a sheep going astray. And fleshly speaking, you can go astray. But spiritually speaking, no way. Spiritually speaking, you are saved without sin, you have the seed, you have his seed remaining in you, you have the word of God within there, and you know what? If you just put the word of God out there, it'll bring him back. And this is just a doctrine I wanted to show you that I hope makes sense, okay? And I hope I didn't complicate it at all. But the idea here is that if you're saved, you're gonna know God's word. You're gonna know that this is the word of God, and you're not going to basically become an unsaved person. Become an unbeliever. So you should take solace in that. But also, and in fact, when we go out soul-winning, we don't wanna put out hypotheticals that don't exist, okay? Because we're like, well, even if you became a homosexual, you'd still be saved. It's like, it's a hypothetical that doesn't exist, right? Well, if you become a God-hating atheist, you're still saved. No, it's just not gonna happen. You don't bring up stuff that's not going to happen, okay? And you say, well, anything could happen. No, can't, sorry, not anything could happen because you know what? The Bible is clearly stating that, you know what? You're gonna continue in that doctrine of Christ. Meaning this is that you're going to continue to be a believer. You may not be the most mountain-moving faith believer, okay? You may be a backslidden Christian, even to the point of King Saul, who's trying to kill a man of God and having people killed and all this stuff. You could get down to that point, but guess what? Saul still abided in the doctrine of Christ. He still believed what he believed, okay? And same with anybody in the Bible or in life in that manner, is that that's always going to be there. So, obviously, what people say they believe is a good measure of whether they're saved. But it's, do they understand the Bible? Do they believe the gospel? Do they hold to that doctrine? And that is how you're gonna know as much as you can, okay? And so I hope that helps. Let's end with a prayer of the Holy Father. We thank you for today. Thank you for your word. And thank you for these passages, just to know that we'll know your voice and that we won't fall as strangers. But help us, Lord, to get into your word and to know it so that you can bring it to remembrance. And Lord, we pray that you'll be able to start the rest of the day. And Lord, we love you and pray else in Jesus Christ's name. Amen. So Brother Dave will come and sing one more song and then we'll be dismissed. All right, song 247 in your song books. All right. Song 247, if you would stand. We'll sing Save, Save, song 247. ["Save, Save, Song 247"] I've found a friend who is all to me. His love is ever true. I love to tell how he lifted me and what his grace can do for you.