Latest / Bible Study with Pr. Daniel Batarseh | Verse by Verse Series | Maranatha Bible Church - Chicago / Jesus Warned About Deception | Pastor Daniel Batarseh (Maranatha Shabiba Conference 2022)

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Jesus Warned About Deception | Pastor Daniel Batarseh (Maranatha Shabiba Conference 2022) · Bible Study with Pr. Daniel Batarseh | Verse by Verse Series | Maranatha Bible Church - Chicago

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  Good morning, hope you rested well without wasting any
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  fraction of time. Let's open our Bibles to The
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  Gospel. According to Matthew in chapter
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  24, Matthew chapter 24. And if you get there, please
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  meet me in. Verse 3, Matthew 24 verse 3.
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  And our brother just prayed, but we're going to pray one more
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  time and ask the Lord to help us with the scriptures.
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  I'm reminded in Luke 24 that when Jesus met with his
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  disciples and his resurrection. It says that he opened their
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  minds to understand the scriptures.
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  And so even in understanding the scriptures we need an
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  intervention from the Lord for the sake of comprehension and
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  for application. And so that's what we're going
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  to ask the Lord to do, okay? You might be a little weary this
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  morning, I heard some footsteps running around and this in the
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  halls and stuff, so I get it. Conference but we need God's
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  help. Lord.
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  We ask you this morning, grateful for your common Grace
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  in the weather and the sun in our energy.
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  Thank you for soundness of mind. Thank you for the energy in our
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  bodies though. We pray as you have shown Us in
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  the scriptures that we are dependent upon you to open our
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  minds. But Lord, our minds are not.
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  The only thing that we ask for. We ask that our hearts would
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  burn within us as your scriptures are And as we hear
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  the word of the Living God that we would sense the warmth and
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  the Embrace of your wisdom of your affection of your grace and
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  mercy, Lord just apprehend all intrusion and dominate and every
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  faculty of our being in Jesus name we pray.
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  Amen. Matthew 24:3, I hope you're
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  there. This chapter Matthew.
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  According to these words, here, we see with Matthew chapter, 25
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  is known as something as the Olivet discourse, here's Jesus
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  speaking on the Mount of Olives, about a particular subject and
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  the theme really of this discourse is centered around the
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  second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ and the events that will
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  precede it and more specifically this Lengthy teaching from Jesus
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  is a response to the inquiry of his disciples who were
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  wondering, when will these things be?
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  What will be the sign of your coming and the End of the Age?
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  It was a question based on what Jesus said concerning the
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  destruction of Jerusalem. And what's interesting to note
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  is that when these disciples asked this question, Jesus gave
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  the lengthy ascensor to any question in the Gospels.
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  Yes. In other words, if you want to
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  leave longest answer that Jesus gives to any question in the
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  gospels here it is, which is very telling.
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  Because that informs me, at least that Christ found it
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  necessary to give us in. Great detail, the events that
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  would lead to his triumphant return and Christ found it
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  absolutely necessary to give certain exhortations around
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  that. Climactic event.
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  This is important to the Lord. But instead of dedicating this
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  entire weekend to explaining the events that will lead to his
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  return instead of explaining these signs and the sequence of
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  them, I believe it will be of great value.
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  If we simply focus on one particular warning, in this
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  prophetic Masterpiece and the one warning that we will focus
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  on is found here in verse 3 and verse 4.
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  As he said on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to
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  him, privately saying, tell us, when these things, when will
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  these things be and what will be the sign of your coming and of
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  the end of the age and Jesus answered them.
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  See that? No one leads.
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  You astray. Yes, Christians today.
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  What will be the things? That will come, that will be
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  evident the things to look for. In preparation for the return of
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  Christ. What you will usually get as
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  common answers are the things that Jesus says, after verse for
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  natural disasters, the increase of violence and moral
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  degradation. We see here Israel's political
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  and religious activity as a sign to the return of Jesus Christ.
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  But how often is it that you would hear from people?
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  How often is it? That people really understand
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  that the very first thing that Jesus mentioned the significant
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  sign that he starts off with has to deal with the growing
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  intensification of deception. Jesus here starts off his
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  teaching, with warning his people, his disciples that as we
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  lead up to that climactic event. There will be sweeping Dynamic,
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  profuse deception. Around the globe.
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  It will be powerful. It will be magnetic, it will be
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  so strong that even Jesus, if possible, even the elect can be
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  deceived And what's amazing here is that when we see this
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  warning, Jesus is not giving it as a mere observation.
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  He is giving it as an exhortation as a practical and
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  Urgent warning. My people understand there will
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  be an unleashing of seducing spirits that can even numb the
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  minds and persuade the hearts of those who profess Jesus Christ.
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  As Lord. Now it would be one thing for
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  Jesus to just say that initially.
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  But he repeats it in different ways.
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  A total of three times in the same teaching, You there in
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  Matthew 24 verse 4, but come with me to Matthew 24 verse 11.
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  Jesus says again and many false prophets will arise and Lead.
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  Many astray, Matthew 24, verse 24 for false, Christ's and false
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  prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders.
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  So, as to lead astray Eve, Eve possible.
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  Even the elect It's fascinating. How Jesus does not repeat about
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  fires about floods about riots about earthquakes.
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  The thing that our Lord puts an emphasis on Is that in the end?
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  People will be duped? Hoodwinked, persuaded into
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  falsehood about the most important thing in this life.
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  And that is the truth about who God is, and what his will is.
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  Now we see here that Jesus is obviously trying to warn.
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  His people and whether you believe that Jesus is speaking
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  to the group of Christians, who will be there during the
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  tribulation or not. There is one thing that is
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  emphatically. Clear throughout the Bible and
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  it is this that it is very possible for those who profess
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  to follow Jesus Christ to fall into deception.
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  You can't debate that or else we have, we have to pull out her
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  scissors and cut out and cut out something almost in at least
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  every epistle. And as we are racing toward the
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  culmination of the age, as we're racing towards the closing
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  chapters of History. I'm just curious to know and the
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  past two years. How many here have said out of
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  their lips? We're living in the last days,
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  just lift your hand, with only 14 people in year five people
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  how many people have been told we're living in the last days.
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  Has anybody said to, you were living the last days?
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  We are living in the last days. Not because something
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  significant necessarily happened, but because since the
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  book of Acts, we've been living in the last days.
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  And if we're living in the last days, then they were living in
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  the last days. Then surely we are coming to the
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  closing minutes of History. And Jesus said here deception in
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  the last days as we come closer and closer to that Sky splitting
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  open and a glorious resurrected. Lord will descend on the earth,
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  deception will be more severe and will be more serious than at
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  any time in history with the intensification of earthquakes
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  and natural disasters. And all these things will come
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  also false narratives false, philosophies false ideologies,
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  this A weekend is dedicated to understanding deception.
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  And by the end of this weekend, I hope you make it here till
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  Sunday morning, because we're ending this for you to leave
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  here equipped with the word of God, to know how to be deception
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  proof forever. How to be deception proof
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  forever, because the Bible is sure is, is that you can live a
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  life where you do not have to fear being, tricked, or lie to
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  God, did not leave us to ourselves, God has given us
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  everything that we need to know so that we can continually walk
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  in the fullness of his light and revelation.
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  The seat, the seat is any behavior in words or actions
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  which deliberately intend to make people believe that
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  something is not true. Anything and words are action
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  that has the agenda that has the motivation to try to make you
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  believe something. Not to be true.
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  I'm not sure if you've been a victim of deception, I'm not
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  sure. If you've been told by someone
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  about something only to find out later that they were
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  intentionally with a selfish agenda trying to lure you
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  astray, but it is one of the most humiliating and frustrating
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  or deals that you can undergo. The feeling of being lied to, to
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  the point where you invest your emotions and judgments and
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  decisions into something only to find out later that someone was
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  was not telling the truth, can be a devastating experience.
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  And here's the thing about deception, At best, you can be
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  embarrassed. You can be embarrassed because
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  when the truth of a matter comes out, you realize that your
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  discernment was not was not operating at worst deception can
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  be destructive. And what you have is, people who
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  can hurt themselves. Or who can wound others with
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  irreversible consequences? Deception is scary.
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  The reason why deception is scary is because people who are
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  deceived, don't know it. Deception is not like sin.
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  What do I mean by that? When people send sometimes they
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  can look at send, they know it's wrong and they do it anyway.
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  Deception is not looking at something wrong and doing it
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  because you think it's going to advance some personal desire or
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  satisfying in a certain way, deception is looking at
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  something that is wrong and thinking it's right.
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  And then applying it to your life.
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  We have a duty because Jesus said these things will come.
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  And he will come embodied as truth to make everything Ryan to
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  expose all falsehood. But until then, he leaves the
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  responsibility up to us every single person in here has a
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  responsibility. To operate in discernment so
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  that they would not be deceived in any way in any way.
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  What I'm speaking to you about this weekend is not just
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  deception about certain doctrines in the Bible.
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  I'm talking about deception, In anyway, here's my question.
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  How does the New Testament? Clearly warned Christians.
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  Do not be deceived. I'm not speaking about how the
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  New Testament warns, how the world is deceived, or how the
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  world can be deceived. How does the Bible look in the
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  face of Believers and say do not be deceived, the warnings are
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  numerous overwhelming and we're not going to cover every single
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  warning but I hope that this weekend would stir you on a
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  personal journey. And that Journey would be for
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  you to go home and to look at every single warning in the New
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  Testament is What the holy spirit says, be careful about so
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  that you'd be fully equipped and assured that you are indeed
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  walking in the light. And so this is not going to be a
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  complete thing, it's not going to be an exhaustive thing but
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  they'll be enough for you to understand that the scriptures
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  are loud and clear with a very familiar phrase to believers, do
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  not be deceived. Let me say something before we
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  begin and dive in. The motive behind this is that
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  you would know great joy and great Assurance in the Lord.
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  But for some, this can be a very disturbing weekend.
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  At least initially. And I want to tell you why meet
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  with me and First Corinthians 15:34 I want you to see what
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  Paul says to the Corinthians in this one.
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  Simple verse and 1st Corinthians 15:34.
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  We read wake up. Paul says in the ESV, wake up
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  from your drunken stupor as is right and do not go on sinning
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  for some have no knowledge of God I say this to your shame.
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  The two words that start. This verse off, wake the initial
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  context, the initial meeting means be sober-minded be free
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  from the intoxicating influence of a certain substance and the
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  substance that Paul is speaking about is actually in verse 33
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  with the first four words of that verse.
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  What does he say in verse 33? Do not be deceived.
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  Do not be deceived. In other words, deception was
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  the very thing that was inebriating the Corinthian
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  Church. And what's amazing here is that
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  he says, I need you to wake up because you are not aware of
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  what is overtaking, your judgment.
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  You are not aware of your own Consciousness that the looming
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  dangers around, you are presenting themselves as.
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  And I'm sure most of us in here, have known the unpleasant
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  experience of being suddenly awakened from sambar.
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  Some of you experienced that this morning, You can be an
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  alarm clock. It can be a creative roommate.
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  It's rarely a joyful thing to have our sleep interrupted at
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  least in the beginning. And the reason for that is
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  because we become comfortable. Or in the case of this context
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  we become numb when we are under the influence of an external
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  substance that tries to help us escape a reality.
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  That is painful and our relationship with deception is
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  like that. Again, let me say deception, is
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  that looking at something wrong and say I'm going to do it
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  anyway. Deception is looking at
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  something that is wrong and believing that it's right in
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  saying I believe this to be true.
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  And what you have is when people who are deceived is that they
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  are desensitized, they become comfortable when they adhere to
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  a certain belief and here's what happens.
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  You build your life around that, you build your life around
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  something that is untrue, but you believe it is true.
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  You believe it offers something you believe.
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  It's the right thing. You believe it's true
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  conviction. And what happens is you build
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  friends, you Now, invite people into your life will also believe
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  the same as you do. And some people even go beyond
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  that and they make a career out of that philosophy or that
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  ideology because it become so passionate about the very thing
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  that they've adopted into their lives.
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  And so here years. Go on believing something to be
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  truce, believing something to be right?
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  Believing something to be God. And as you're on that Journey
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  holding hands with others who are on the same path.
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  Here's somebody on the side of the road.
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  Who boldly looks at you and waves at you and says, hey wake
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  up your head of the wrong way. You're headed the wrong way. and
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  that's That's disturbing to some it's uncomfortable to son.
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  And I want to tell you today, that these messages May
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  initially feel like that You may feel what it's like to be
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  suddenly awoken. This merciless jolt.
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  That quickly calls for you to make an action.
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  Like my dad did so many times in Middle School.
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  When he would crash into my room unannounced and he was very
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  creative in the way you would wake me up.
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  He knew how to play certain songs.
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  He knew he didn't know how to sing but he would try anything
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  that he can do to make sure that I don't sleep in.
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  What was his motive? Because as a father, he knew
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  that I needed to be somewhere. And I needed to do something.
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  And if I kept sleeping, I would have missed out on it.
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  Out of love. He woke me up.
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  I want you to hear every message from your heavenly father.
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  As jolting as it may be as sudden as it may be as strong as
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  it may be with a heart of love because God wants you to be
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  somewhere. In his will, God wants you to do
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  something. He has a purpose for you.
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  And just like sleep and just like in sobriety those things
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  like deception can rob us from so much.
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  Much and God loves you too much. To keep you the way you are
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  clouded by the fog of your own wisdom, clouded by the fog of
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  somebody else who walked into your life and told you something
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  that God did not say so. With all that being said, let's
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  start with something and admonition.
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  That is very known to Christians but is very much relevant and
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  needed today. First Corinthians, you're there
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  already interest rates go to chapter 6 beginning in verse 9,
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  here's a phrase that you're going to hear.
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  Most of this weekend do not be deceived, you're going to hear
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  that a lot or do not deceive yourselves or let, not your
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  heart be deceived. This is what you're going to
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  hear over and over again. And here, we see it for the
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  first time in our weekend together.
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  First Corinthians 6:9-10 Paul says to this church or do you
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  not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of
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  God? Do not be deceived, neither the
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  sexually immoral, nor idolaters nor adulterers, nor men who
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  practice, homosexuality, nor thieves nor the greedy, nor
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  drunkards, nor revilers nor swindlers will inherit the
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  kingdom of God. It's obvious when Paul wrote
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  this that he was disturbed by the news of this church.
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  This church was extremely gifted this church had so much
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  activity, but this church had a lot of problems.
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  And one of the problems that were dominant in this church was
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  that there was sinful Behavior practice, and sinful behavior,
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  that was condoned with little to any sign of conviction or desire
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  for repentance. This news came to the Apostle
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  Paul and Paul as a faithful leader reached out to this
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  church. Search and would have this
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  letter read publicly to say, I'm hearing about things in this
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  church and I'm concerned about your spiritual State.
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  And so, I need a call out and say do not be deceived.
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  So before he lists, this catalog of sins, that must have been,
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  that must have been going on. In this church, he first boldly
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  and lovingly says, oh, do not be deceived.
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  Now, why would he say that the reason why he would say that
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  because then and even today there are some who are under the
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  persuasion within the four walls of the church were consistently
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  attending meetings, who believe that it is possible to live in a
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  way that the Bible condemns and yet still have eternal life.
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  Now, I'm not speaking about those who loved righteousness
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  and hated wickedness but stumble along the way.
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  I'm speaking about those Who Loved unrighteousness?
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  And have no heartfelt desire. To be conformed to the image of
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  Jesus Christ. And to be like him as he is and
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  his moral Majesty, this is a form of idolatry.
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  And before we go on to this, because you're going to see,
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  you're going to see, we're going to go in a different direction,
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  a moment. I want you to see a, the best
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  illustrations for sermons is in the Bible.
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  If you want an illustration book for your sermons preacher, just
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  go to the Old Testament. I want you to see a very clear
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  picture that would be branded in your mind, so that you would
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  understand what this looks like spiritually in our day.
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  One of the most infamous scenes of idolatry and Redemptive
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  history has to do with a golden calf.
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  Moses is up there on the mountain with the Lord receiving
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  Revelation for the sequential movements of the nation of
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  Israel, and the people get impatient and they get so
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  impatient that they asked Aaron their spiritual leader to make
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  them an idol. And he does with very little
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  resistance and what I want you to see is what Aaron says when
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  this Idol is created and Builds an altar before it.
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  I want you to see it in your own Bibles.
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  It's an exodus 32 verse 5. Notice what Aaron says and
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  notice how it translates to the mindset of many today.
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  When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it.
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  And Aaron made Proclamation and said tomorrow shall be a feast
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  to the Lord. I'm like speechless when I read
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  that every time tomorrow. So he looks at this nation,
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  they're salivating at the mouth of the fact that they have this
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  Idol not that they can see that they've created that's before
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  them and Aaron looks to them and he says tomorrow shall be a
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  feast to the Lord capital L ORD the personal name of God, Yahweh
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  And here's what I take out of that that in their minds and
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  even verbally, they're declaring that they are worshiping the
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  true God, they are proclaiming even in verse 4 that God had
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  delivered them from Egypt, but in reality, they are worshipping
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  an idol. So hold on here.
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  There's Proclamation there's declaration that they are for
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  the truth that they're worshipping.
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  The truth that they are serving the true God all while in
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  actuality they are standing before a beast made out of gold.
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  It's just like mind-numbing stop.
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  This is like when you step outside of your like, is this
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  even real? And it is real and it's real
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  even today. Because what we see here is that
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  these people including Aaron In their idolatry did not try to
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  reject God. They had no intention of
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  removing the true God from their worship from their vocabulary
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  from their Doctrine. They knew his name, Lord, they
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  knew what he's done, he delivered us from Egypt and so
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  why the golden calf. It's not that the golden calf
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  replaced. The true God at least in their
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  understanding. They thought that they can
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  worship the true God through the golden calf.
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  And so, how do we understand this?
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  Well, let's translate it today. You have people today, who claim
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  the name of Jesus? You have people today who know
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  what he is done. You have people today who even
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  say that they worship him, all the while they're actually
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  worshipping an idol. I think about that.
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  You can live your entire apparent, Christian Life.
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  Believing proclaiming declaring even surrounding yourself with
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  others that you are for the truth.
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  All the while You've been bowing before an idol.
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  Sobering. And this is what Paul is
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  concerned about with this church, the conviction and the
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  conduct was contradictory. So he writes out not to a
• 25:04
  secular school system, not to the White House.
• 25:06
  He writes to God's house Do not be deceived and he begins to
• 25:13
  list a catalog of sins, the tolerance of unrepentant sin
• 25:17
  while claiming relationship to Jesus is truer now than it ever
• 25:20
  has been. It's more prevalent today,
• 25:23
  especially with a certain sense in which I'm sure you can guess
• 25:26
  the unnatural practice of homosexual, Passions.
• 25:31
  Pastor Daniel Bennett preached on this, briefly at our church
• 25:35
  last week. So I'm not going to spend too
• 25:36
  much time on this, but we're not at our local church.
• 25:39
  I'm not sure what you believe. I'm not sure what your church
• 25:41
  believes, but I have a duty to tell you this.
• 25:44
  I'm highlighting homosexuality, not because it's the only sin
• 25:47
  but it's the only sin that I know of that has an entire month
• 25:49
  dedicated to its celebration if you know of an adultery month if
• 25:53
  you know of an anger month, let me know.
• 25:55
  I will gladly speak on it. I don't know of anything.
• 25:58
  I don't know if anything except for a month that is dedicated to
• 26:01
  celebrating propagating praising, what the Bible calls
• 26:06
  an abomination. Remember the jolt thing from the
• 26:10
  the Sleep? Remember that?
• 26:11
  Hold on to that. Because of the aggressive
• 26:15
  Applause behind homosexuality. It is the church's Duty and
• 26:20
  responsibility to address it with absolute Clarity for that
• 26:24
  is the only solution to the desensitization that is coming
• 26:27
  Upon Our Generation, including the generation of those who
• 26:30
  claim to follow, Jesus Christ. Again, I don't know what you
• 26:35
  believe, I don't know what your church believes, but the word of
• 26:37
  God is clear that this practice of homosexual Behavior, whether
• 26:41
  it's monogamous, which is really the case.
• 26:45
  Or whether it is a lifestyle that is free.
• 26:47
  This idea of sexual Liberation, it's sin.
• 26:53
  It's in the Bible, condemns it, and those who live in it, with
• 26:58
  no desire to be saved from it with no desire to be redeemed
• 27:02
  from it. Listen will not inherit eternal
• 27:05
  life, not that Jesus cannot save them, he can saving this gospel.
• 27:09
  So powerful, it can save anyone. But those who believe they can
• 27:13
  Embrace this lifestyle and still claim the Savior at the same
• 27:17
  time. Don't just have a different
• 27:19
  opinion. They are strongly deceived. now
• 27:24
  if you're a professing Christian who believes otherwise if you're
• 27:27
  someone in this place who has friends or family that do live
• 27:31
  in are part of that community, or maybe you're somebody in here
• 27:35
  who struggles with those Passions, May be publicly may be
• 27:40
  privately. But you're justifying it because
• 27:46
  your conception of Jesus affirms unit.
• 27:51
  Again, I need to let you know that your emotions have duped,
• 27:54
  you Your emotions have tricked. You your conscience is in
• 28:00
  darkness and any tolerance in the name of compassion that we
• 28:04
  might think we are showing to others by accepting them the way
• 28:06
  they are. And that's in is only a
• 28:08
  contribution to cementing them in their deception.
• 28:12
  Be very careful believers. Homosexuality is one of the
• 28:16
  strongest expressions of self worship.
• 28:22
  It is a detrimental assault on the flourishing of any
• 28:25
  civilization. You want to study world history
• 28:28
  and know why some Empires rise and fall.
• 28:29
  Do you want to know one of the major contributions to that
• 28:32
  homosexuality? Homosexuality is one of the
• 28:36
  major contributions to civilizations cracking and
• 28:40
  crumbling to fine powder. It dismantles, the family
• 28:45
  function. While sabotaging the natural
• 28:49
  order of reproduction. And if you think about on a
• 28:53
  deeper level it distorts the message of the Gospel that God
• 28:56
  seeks to powerfully display and something that he is created
• 29:00
  called marriage but only in a marriage between a man and a
• 29:03
  woman. This message is not about
• 29:06
  homosexuality. I just need to address this in
• 29:08
  passing, but let me also say this, that the Christian
• 29:11
  solution to homosexuality is not calling people to be straight.
• 29:17
  The Christian solution is to call people to surrender to
• 29:20
  their maker. And to come to Christ, who has
• 29:24
  the supernatural ability to reshape their identity to such a
• 29:29
  degree that it can even influence their sexuality and he
• 29:34
  can mold them and shape them to such a point where their desires
• 29:39
  triumph over their flesh and their and their lust, and their
• 29:43
  longings and their fantasies and check this out.
• 29:47
  He doesn't not in a way where you're forced to be molded into
• 29:49
  something, your molded into the way you were.
• 29:52
  So you are now in the fullness of joy, this comes with a joy,
• 29:57
  this comes with delight, this comes with your intended,
• 30:00
  purpose by God, that can only come through the blood of Jesus
• 30:03
  Christ. And so I want to let you know,
• 30:05
  if you know somebody, or if you are somebody that is in this and
• 30:10
  you have been comforted because there are parades about this and
• 30:13
  then and your celebrities love this and they praised its your
• 30:16
  politicians. Our ones who are applauding
• 30:20
  this. Listen shake out of it, shake
• 30:24
  out of and realize God's intended design for your life
• 30:27
  and realize that the way to it is not behavioral modification.
• 30:31
  It's to come to the foot of the cross.
• 30:34
  Because Christ sees you in that and he does not Reserve his
• 30:37
  grace. And mercy.
• 30:38
  He longs to extend it and to make you into a testimony.
• 30:41
  Listen, I know people who have been saved from this and I
• 30:44
  cannot hold back. I'm not ashamed of the gospel,
• 30:47
  because I've seen its power. I've seen its power And so, take
• 30:53
  that into heart, take that into consideration but notice
• 30:57
  something because this message isn't about homosexual.
• 30:59
  I look back at this list and First Corinthians 6, 9 and 10,
• 31:02
  Notice that as we come to these verses, there are interesting
• 31:05
  things that are brought up and I want to bring something to your
• 31:07
  attention. Don't mind the buzzing we're
• 31:09
  trying, something new, I guess. In First Corinthians, 6:9 and
• 31:13
  10. As you read this list, what
• 31:15
  you'll notice is that there are different things that Paul
• 31:17
  brings up. And one thing in the ESV that I
• 31:19
  find quite interesting in verse 10 nor thieves nor what's the
• 31:24
  other one. The greedy, the greedy greed
• 31:29
  greed is mentioned on this list. Now, think about that for a
• 31:33
  moment because Paul is saying something quite insightful,
• 31:36
  greed, those who are greedy will not inherit the Kingdom of
• 31:39
  Heaven. How would I read that?
• 31:41
  I thought to myself, I understand adultery.
• 31:43
  I Anderson idolatry I understand thievery.
• 31:45
  Agreed. Another translation is the word
• 31:49
  Covetous. What does it mean?
• 31:51
  No matter what English word you use?
• 31:53
  If you're faithful to the original, this is the simple
• 31:55
  understanding of it. Those who have a desire for
• 31:59
  something or someone that does not belong to them, will not
• 32:04
  inherit heaven. Those who have a desire for
• 32:09
  something, or someone that does not belong to them, will not
• 32:13
  inherit Heaven. That's exactly what this word
• 32:16
  means. It's extremely sobering, but
• 32:18
  that's the point. You wondering, is that really a
• 32:21
  sin? And I say yes, it's a sin
• 32:25
  according to the Bible. So serious that it will bar
• 32:27
  people from even having eternal life and if you want to know the
• 32:32
  essence of that send really behind it, it's telling God I I
• 32:37
  am frustrated with your providential leading in my life.
• 32:42
  I hate how you have led my life, I despise where I am today, and
• 32:48
  since you're the one who claims to have control over what I
• 32:51
  have, and what I experienced, I hate you.
• 32:57
  If it was up to me, this is what I would have.
• 33:01
  And so it's really an assault on the sovereignty of God, that's
• 33:04
  the essence behind it. And Paul says, shockingly those
• 33:08
  who are greedy. Now, listen, This is this is
• 33:14
  something that might jolt us because as somebody cleverly
• 33:18
  said, greed is in that category of respectable sins.
• 33:23
  Respectable sins. So it's not so flagrant, it's
• 33:26
  not so obvious, it's not so gross.
• 33:30
  It's like, it's like a classy sin, right?
• 33:33
  It's a sin that doesn't really disturb others.
• 33:35
  It's a sin that's just internal. It's a sin, that doesn't cause
• 33:38
  much destruction. And yet the holy spirit says,
• 33:43
  the greedy will not inherit the Kingdom of Heaven.
• 33:49
  How many of us would ever think that somebody who's not a
• 33:53
  homosexual, somebody who's not an adulterous, somebody's not an
• 33:55
  idolatry. But at the same time is consumed
• 33:59
  with greed is just as much in need to be radically born again
• 34:03
  than any of the other ones. The reason why I'm bringing this
• 34:10
  to your attention. Is because we don't see sin the
• 34:14
  way God sees sin. This is what I'm trying to bring
• 34:17
  to us. The reason why is because by
• 34:21
  default we do not perceive sin, the way God does.
• 34:24
  And my friends, that is one of the strongest way to invite
• 34:27
  deception into our lives. let me say this way, when we don't have
• 34:32
  a trusting view of the world, by having the lens of God's
• 34:38
  holiness ever before us, then our perception of life becomes
• 34:42
  blurred to the point where Meek we make dangerous judgments
• 34:48
  about everything including sin sin in our own lives sin, in the
• 34:52
  lives of other people. And so we see here that this is
• 34:56
  an example of how God has a very different standard of Holiness
• 35:01
  than you. And I can, I give you an example
• 35:03
  in the Bible that will challenge Us in that when you make the
• 35:07
  word association between David, the king of Israel and sin.
• 35:12
  What comes to mind Bathsheba? Bathsheba adultery.
• 35:17
  And further than that murder, he killed her husband to have her
• 35:21
  to try to cover his sin. And that was a sin.
• 35:24
  That was a severe sin. That was a sin that God sent the
• 35:27
  Prophet by the name of Nathan to confront David about.
• 35:31
  And I want you to see how the Bible words.
• 35:33
  David's, confession. David and second Samuel, 12, 13,
• 35:38
  and second, Samuel 12, 13 David said to Nathan.
• 35:43
  I have sinned against the I have sinned against the Lord, and
• 35:48
  Nathan said to David, the Lord also has put away your sin, you
• 35:52
  shall not die. He confessed.
• 35:54
  It wonderful. Beautiful much different than
• 35:57
  Saul but here's what's amazing. When David confessed, there were
• 36:02
  still consequences, right? And the major consequence to his
• 36:04
  sin is that four of his sons would die for of his sons would
• 36:08
  die in the reason why, for of his sons would die is because
• 36:11
  when Nathan came with a parable, a very clever Parable to bring
• 36:15
  David to make a judgment in that, Parable, he actually
• 36:18
  pronounced judgment on himself and that's another study for
• 36:22
  another time. So, God took him at his word and
• 36:24
  the standard by, which he judge, which Jesus told us will be
• 36:26
  brought upon us. And so for of his sons died, Now
• 36:31
  here's the thing there is another episode in David's life
• 36:34
  where you can say, he had a major downfall.
• 36:38
  It was much later than this moment and for some reason it's
• 36:41
  not usually in the association when we make sin and David
• 36:47
  brought together in the same thought.
• 36:51
  And what we see in that confession, because David
• 36:53
  confesses, which is a wonderful example by David he sinned yet.
• 36:57
  He was a man after God's heart and one of the reasons because
• 36:59
  he confessed his sin continually, sincerely, he
• 37:02
  repented of it when he was caught in it.
• 37:06
  And even before he was caught in it.
• 37:09
  In some cases, listen to this. You go down a few years later
• 37:13
  from David's Infamous sin with Bathsheba, you go to chapter 24
• 37:17
  in the same book and look at verse 10 and I want you to see
• 37:20
  how David words, his confession there.
• 37:27
  And second Samuel, 24 10 but David's heart struck him a firt
• 37:31
  after he numbered the people. So what does David do?
• 37:34
  As a king he calls out for a census and the nation of Israel
• 37:38
  and he asked his men to number the the Army, the strength of
• 37:42
  his army. And after he does this, even
• 37:46
  though joab pleaded with him. Listen, King David, you don't
• 37:50
  want to do this. Now that's strange to us like
• 37:52
  what's the big deal of counting numbers?
• 37:55
  God has a whole book called numbers.
• 37:57
  God is not against numbers. If we have this idea that God
• 38:00
  cares doesn't care about numbers.
• 38:02
  Go to the book of Acts, he numbers, the amount of people
• 38:04
  who are saved, God, is is for numbers calculating.
• 38:09
  But the way David deida did it his motives were in pure, they
• 38:13
  were Unholy, he was trying to publicly Flex his strength.
• 38:17
  His military might in defiance of the dependency that he was
• 38:21
  called to have in God and more than that, you read, Exodus 30,
• 38:25
  David didn't do the senses, the way the Old Testament told the
• 38:30
  nation to do a census. So he he does this and then he's
• 38:35
  pricked in the heart he's convicted and then it says here
• 38:38
  in the second part, in David said to the Lord I have sinned
• 38:41
  greatly and what I have done but now O Lord please take away the
• 38:45
  iniquity of your servant for I have done.
• 38:46
  Very foolishly Did you notice it?
• 38:53
  when David was confronted about his sin with Bathsheba, he said
• 38:56
  I have what sin When he was confronted for numbering the
• 39:03
  nation. I have sinned greatly.
• 39:12
  And what I have done. Greatly and then he adds to it
• 39:18
  at the end, I have done very foolishly.
• 39:25
  David was a New Covenant believer in Old Testament time.
• 39:31
  You see that in so many of the things that he says, and does.
• 39:33
  And he was one of those examples, David saw his sin of
• 39:37
  pride and arrogance. As a greater offense.
• 39:43
  Than the sin of adultery and murder. how many of us have were
• 39:47
  honest with say that we can contrast those two things and
• 39:51
  say that they are in the same category or ones more intense
• 39:54
  than than the other we would say the adultery in the murderer is
• 39:58
  David. I have sinned greatly against
• 40:03
  the Lord. And here's what shocking maybe
• 40:08
  God actually agreed with that. Because the consequence of this
• 40:12
  sin was not for of his sons dying.
• 40:14
  You read in the same chapter you know how many people died
• 40:16
  because of the sin 70,000? 70,000 people died as a result
• 40:23
  of David's sin as a leader over God's people.
• 40:29
  Apparently, the Lord agreed with David.
• 40:32
  But what our judgement be the same as gods. when we actually
• 40:36
  say that was a great sin David for what you did, I don't think
• 40:41
  we would and maybe we need another example to widen our
• 40:45
  understanding from the New Testament cuz when you bring up
• 40:46
  Old Testament you have some people that's the Old Testament
• 40:49
  brother. Okay.
• 40:49
  Let's go to the New Testament. Let me show you a man who sinned
• 40:53
  three different times on three different days and how God
• 40:57
  answered those sins differently. So you go to the book of Acts in
• 41:01
  chapter 12 and there's a king. Another king.
• 41:03
  His name was Herod, another leader and Herod make some
• 41:07
  decisions. Himself Herod has no
• 41:09
  relationship to the true and living God.
• 41:11
  If any relationship she had with God, it was killing his people.
• 41:15
  And in verse 1 of chapter 12, what do you read about Herod?
• 41:19
  About that time Herod, the king laid, violent hands, on some
• 41:22
  people who belong to the church and verse 2 of Acts 12.
• 41:26
  He killed James, the brother of John with the sword, he killed
• 41:30
  one of the Apostles. He killed one of the leaders.
• 41:34
  Of this new movement. And look what happens in verse
• 41:38
  3. And when he saw that, it
• 41:39
  pleased, the Jews. He proceeded to arrest Peter.
• 41:42
  Also, he was bloodthirsty because he was thirsty, for the
• 41:44
  praise of men, the Jews. Love the fact that he killed one
• 41:48
  of the leaders of the church. And so, he sets up a new
• 41:50
  campaign to have Peter executed as well.
• 41:53
  So, he arrests Peter and this was during the days of
• 41:55
  unleavened bread. So he want to wait till the
• 41:57
  feast was done. He already killed a man, and now
• 42:00
  he is meditating to kill and murder.
• 42:01
  Another man, that's one day. You fast-forward to acts 12
• 42:06
  verse 19, Peter miraculously, escapes, an angel comes and
• 42:10
  rescues him. He goes to the church to testify
• 42:13
  about it and Herod finds out. And in verse 19 of chapter 12,
• 42:17
  we see, and after Herod search for him, and did not find him,
• 42:22
  he examined the centuries in order that they should be put to
• 42:25
  death, then went down from Judea to sister and spent time there.
• 42:31
  So he comes into the room and goes, where is he?
• 42:34
  And the soldiers were surrounding him all day and all
• 42:36
  night says. No, you don't know.
• 42:44
  You're all dead. Maybe give you time to see your
• 42:48
  family. May even give you time to see
• 42:49
  your wife's you're dead now calls for the execution.
• 42:54
  So this man was ruthless. He killed those who are clergy
• 42:59
  men, he killed leaders in the church and he even goes beyond
• 43:03
  that and he kills people who served them and who were
• 43:05
  innocent in a matter. He had no regard for justice, no
• 43:07
  regard for investigation. He was frustrated, he lost out
• 43:11
  of this. You're the reason why I'm going
• 43:13
  to kill you and he does Another day in verse 21 in the same
• 43:21
  chapter. On an appointed day Herod, put
• 43:27
  on his Royal robes, took his seat upon the throne and
• 43:29
  delivered, an oration to them. And the people were shouting,
• 43:33
  the voice of a God, and not of a man.
• 43:40
  Immediately an angel of the Lord struck him down because he did
• 43:44
  not give God the glory. He was eaten by worms and
• 43:48
  breathed his last. This is why we need to read your
• 43:52
  Bible. Slowly likes, take a step back
• 43:54
  and consider the sequence of events.
• 43:57
  This man murdered one of the Apostles of Jesus Christ.
• 44:00
  He was planning to murder. Another one, this man killed
• 44:04
  innocent people who served him. No intervention from heaven.
• 44:12
  But the moment people begin to praise him to flatter him.
• 44:16
  Really? That was a reason and he basked
• 44:19
  in that Glory. Immediately, he sends an angel
• 44:25
  and God has him killed. When he received worship, he
• 44:33
  crossed a line when it came to murder, God was willing to delay
• 44:37
  his judgement, he was going to judge him when he came to Pride.
• 44:43
  It brought a stench to Heaven, that God could no longer
• 44:45
  tolerate and brought immediate Swift discipline.
• 44:49
  Fascinating isn't it? Is our judgment like God's do we
• 44:54
  see sin the way? He said I'm afraid not I'm
• 44:58
  afraid not if we had a choice to stop Herod after he was
• 45:03
  murdering Or after he enjoyed the praise of men.
• 45:06
  Which one would we choose? Which one would be more patient
• 45:10
  with In God's mind. He could not tolerate Pride.
• 45:16
  Here's the Temptation Of You Ready, the thoughts that are
• 45:19
  dude. It may be creeping in.
• 45:21
  Well look, If that's the case, and I might have a better sense
• 45:25
  of Judge God's justice, then then he does, I might have a
• 45:29
  better standard of righteousness, then he does.
• 45:33
  How can drinking in adoration from others, be anywhere near
• 45:36
  murder. But here's the thing, I don't
• 45:38
  think God is giving us these examples to tell us that he
• 45:41
  thinks less of adultery less of murder less of thievery and more
• 45:46
  of Pride and more of envy and more of these things that's not
• 45:49
  the point. The point that he's trying to
• 45:50
  make is of how seriously he takes the sins that we don't
• 45:54
  even think about. That we have, we have no grid
• 45:59
  for, that's not even in our top 10.
• 46:02
  So to speak, the reason why God brings these examples to show
• 46:06
  that his standard of Holiness is much much higher than ours.
• 46:14
  How many today justify sin? Listen based on this.
• 46:18
  Well doesn't hurt anybody, right?
• 46:20
  I've talked to too many unbelievers on the streets in
• 46:22
  meetings like this and afterwards when you present the
• 46:25
  gospel and you might have a conversation with somebody and
• 46:28
  you ask them about their life, you ask them about their their
• 46:31
  faith and when you bring up the concept of sin, here's the main
• 46:35
  objection about their goodness. Well, I'm not hurting anybody.
• 46:40
  Well they're not hurting anybody.
• 46:46
  And what you just heard here through these examples is that
• 46:50
  God is reminding us that in your understanding of how sin works.
• 46:55
  There is a vertical Dynamic to this.
• 46:59
  It's not just that you're not hurting anybody even in your
• 47:03
  most private hidden sin. There is a person who is
• 47:08
  affected. That's God himself.
• 47:11
  That's the point. There is a heart that is being
• 47:14
  affected. There is a law that is being
• 47:16
  violated. There is someone who's being
• 47:21
  Assaulted in it. We don't see that.
• 47:25
  And that's why these examples are given to us.
• 47:27
  And when you and I listened understand, the vertical
• 47:30
  relationship between our sin and God, we now only will have a
• 47:34
  greater motivation to be intolerant about it in our own
• 47:36
  lives. But we will actually be more
• 47:38
  urgent about the gospel in a culture where we believe that we
• 47:42
  are good. And that even that is becoming
• 47:45
  skewed. But, listen, I'm going to end it
• 47:48
  here. This includes this includes a
• 47:52
  greater comprehension not just of how we affect God, how it
• 47:56
  affects him as a person, but of the eternality of his Justice.
• 48:02
  As a judge. Ephesians 5.
• 48:09
  Verse 5. Paul says to the Ephesians, For
• 48:22
  you, may be sure of this that everyone who is sexually immoral
• 48:26
  or impure. Who is Covetous that is in
• 48:29
  adultery idolatry. Rather has no inheritance in the
• 48:33
  Kingdom of Christ. And God, pause same thing.
• 48:36
  That really said in First Corinthians 6, right?
• 48:39
  The Covetous, the person who has a desire for those things that
• 48:43
  do not belong to them. Is an idolater.
• 48:48
  Has no inheritance in the Kingdom of Christ in God.
• 48:51
  Now look what he says when he adds this in verse six, he had
• 48:53
  something that isn't added First Corinthians.
• 48:55
  He says in verse 6, let no one deceive you.
• 49:00
  Let no one deceive you with empty words.
• 49:04
  For because of these things, the wrath of God.
• 49:08
  Comes upon the sons of Disobedience.
• 49:11
  So, Paul here says this deception, Goes further than not
• 49:16
  inheriting the kingdom of God. This deception includes thinking
• 49:21
  that God's Wrath won't be poured out, that God doesn't have
• 49:25
  wrath. That God doesn't have judgment.
• 49:27
  That God doesn't have a sense of Holiness that needs to be
• 49:30
  satisfied through Justice righteous Justice.
• 49:33
  Let no one deceive you with empty words, empty words, words
• 49:37
  with no meaning words with no backing words, with no Authority
• 49:41
  words that say, Hell, doesn't exist.
• 49:46
  Judgment isn't coming. We're all headed towards the
• 49:49
  same path. Those are empty words and people
• 49:53
  are deceived. Listen, let no one deceive you.
• 49:55
  The Christians the church. Let no one deceive you with
• 49:58
  empty words. Because the wrath of God will
• 50:03
  come upon these things. If you think about our human
• 50:05
  justice system, the severity of many of the punishments is often
• 50:10
  determined by the value of the victim and the nature of the
• 50:13
  victim, right? So if you catch me one of these
• 50:16
  nights killing a mosquito, I doubt that you're going to call
• 50:20
  the police to charge me. you see me swatting a fly and Your heart
• 50:28
  is disturbed by that. I don't think that you would
• 50:33
  file a lawsuit against me. But then you consider our
• 50:38
  federal law, and if you look at it carefully, you realize that
• 50:40
  there are some animals who are protected by federal law.
• 50:45
  I remember being in Hawaii long time ago for a basketball
• 50:48
  tournament in my unsaved days. And when we were there, we had
• 50:52
  time on the beach and a sea turtle approach, the shore, and
• 50:55
  the moment it did the people in charge put a red rope around it.
• 51:00
  And we were told even when we were swimming, you can you might
• 51:02
  see sea turtle, if you harass the turtle, if you harm the
• 51:06
  turtle thousands of dollars in fines thousands of dollars in
• 51:10
  fines and in some cases even jail time.
• 51:14
  Why? Because because of the nature of
• 51:17
  that animal, the value of that animal in the Judgment of our
• 51:21
  government. If I harm your household pet,
• 51:26
  it's not going to have the same consequences as if I kill the
• 51:30
  Bumblebee. Because there's a value.
• 51:33
  There is a nature. What if I harm a child?
• 51:41
  What if I kill another human being?
• 51:45
  Not just a human being, not just my neighbor.
• 51:48
  What about a top official in our government?
• 51:54
  What about somebody? Who has an important role in
• 51:56
  society? What will come about that?
• 51:59
  Greater consequence. That is in direct correlation to
• 52:03
  the value. Of that individual the value of
• 52:08
  human life. Universally now, what happens if
• 52:16
  I salt, somebody who is infinitely.
• 52:21
  Holy. Infinitely.
• 52:24
  Good infinitely. More valuable than anything else
• 52:30
  in this universe, including human life.
• 52:33
  If you hold on to that logic, you can't abort.
• 52:35
  Now you hold on, tighter strap-on.
• 52:39
  You agreed with me with the Bumblebee and you agree with me
• 52:40
  with the dog, you agree with me that another human life.
• 52:43
  So hold on to that logic. And let's take it to a person
• 52:46
  who created all of us. What happens if I offend
• 52:50
  somebody who is infinitely more valuable than all of us put
• 52:55
  together? the natural conclusion, is that
• 53:01
  I Heap up a mountain of violations against not just a
• 53:05
  life, but the author of life The author of Life himself.
• 53:12
  And because he is infinite in his nature, Ian cure, an
• 53:16
  infinite debt. And because our punishment is
• 53:22
  against a spiritual being, who is eternal, then naturally, I
• 53:29
  will inherit spiritual and eternal punishment.
• 53:38
  Even think about somebody who takes another life, somebody who
• 53:42
  even commits multiple or somebody who is assumed, or have
• 53:44
  you ever seen this where they get like an amount of years that
• 53:47
  doesn't even make sense? Like there's sentence to like
• 53:50
  three, four hundred years. It's like they're not going to
• 53:53
  live that long. What are you trying to
• 53:54
  communicate their again there's the communication there of the
• 53:58
  seriousness of the violation. You took a life.
• 54:04
  And so you will pay for it with your life and your existence.
• 54:11
  Will be the very thing that will be accountable for robbing
• 54:16
  somebody else of their existence, God's existence is
• 54:19
  forever. There is no beginning.
• 54:21
  There is no end and because of our sin against who he is just
• 54:26
  by his nature naturally demands, A punishment that is in direct
• 54:31
  correlation to that. Our sin is great because God is
• 54:37
  great. And his wrath is great because
• 54:42
  he is great. But that is not the only thing
• 54:45
  in this whole equation that is great.
• 54:48
  Let me take you back to David's words in closing.
• 54:53
  When David had sinned in the numbering of his people, he
• 54:56
  said, I have sinned greatly. I have sinned greatly against
• 55:00
  the Lord, then the prophet. God says, well look, I'm going
• 55:03
  to give you a choice. God is letting you have a choice
• 55:05
  of the kind of punishment that you want to experience. and he
• 55:09
  didn't have much to work with, but the one thing that stood out
• 55:11
  to David, Was that there was one punishment that came directly
• 55:16
  from God. The other ones had to do with
• 55:18
  other means, including human means.
• 55:20
  And so David was prompted to go with the one that came directly
• 55:24
  from the hand of God. And here is his reasoning and
• 55:28
  choosing a punishment that comes from somebody that you just
• 55:32
  heard for the past 40 something minutes.
• 55:35
  Who is infinitely? Holy who sees something as
• 55:38
  hidden as pride and envy and will say you cannot inherit
• 55:42
  eternal life because of the lust of your heart and the desires
• 55:45
  that that tell me I am not sufficient in my sovereignty,
• 55:48
  over your life is not good, that same God David says something so
• 55:52
  insightful. In verse 14 of second, Samuel
• 55:56
  24, don't turn, their just listen to these words.
• 55:59
  It may exalt the greatness of God and second, Samuel 24 14.
• 56:04
  Then David said to God, I am in. There's that word again, great
• 56:07
  distress let us fall into the hand of the Lord for his Mercy
• 56:12
  is great. His Mercy is great.
• 56:19
  But let me not fall into the hand of man.
• 56:24
  Here's another deception man, believes that they are more
• 56:27
  merciful than God. The Bible says the contrary God
• 56:32
  is much more merciful than we are.
• 56:35
  And David knew that. And though his sin was great and
• 56:39
  he knew that God's holiness was great and I God's judgment was
• 56:42
  great with all of that. His Mercy is great.
• 56:47
  And so great is his Mercy that regardless of the greatness of
• 56:50
  our sin, God can greatly forgive that sin?
• 56:56
  And let you know something of a goodness and assurance and joy.
• 57:03
  Of his love that will never make you doubted for a moment.
• 57:10
  So, regardless of this sin in an in mind, regardless of it, Left
• 57:18
  to the justice and Holiness of God, we have no hope.
• 57:23
  We're sunk, we're done. Let's eat and drink, and be
• 57:27
  merry for tomorrow. We die and he'll is our portion.
• 57:33
  But that is not the only quality of God, that is exalted in the
• 57:36
  scriptures though. I think it is under emphasized
• 57:38
  in our day and it is a great crime because when we under
• 57:41
  emphasize the Holiness of God, we minimize the greatness of his
• 57:44
  Mercy. Always, always good news is not
• 57:49
  good news. Until there's bad news that
• 57:51
  contrasted And the more serious and sober, we are about the
• 57:56
  severity of this bad news that deals with us because we're the
• 57:59
  bad ones. In this whole narrative, the
• 58:01
  more awesome is the revelation of his goodness because you
• 58:05
  realize that we are undeserving of, the great mercy of a great
• 58:08
  and holy God and so may I present to you the gospel
• 58:12
  knowing that some people will not be here tonight.
• 58:14
  Some people will not be here this weekend.
• 58:15
  Some people might be so angry with a message like this, that
• 58:18
  they will not return to another meeting.
• 58:21
  So be it, at least you leave here with the The Holiness of
• 58:28
  God. Do you want to see it?
• 58:31
  Do you want to see how bright and shining it is?
• 58:35
  Do not look to any plague in the Old Testament. do not look to
• 58:39
  any infliction of disease upon a man who dared to lift his nose
• 58:43
  and Defiance to God, if you want to see The overwhelming Holiness
• 58:51
  of God. Look no further than the cross
• 58:54
  on Calvary. Because hanging on that cross
• 58:59
  was not a criminal was not a man.
• 59:00
  Who sinned a few times was a man who never in thought word or
• 59:04
  deed. Ever done anything to defy,
• 59:07
  God's word. Who hung on that cross God
• 59:12
  himself who hung on that? Cross the same God that you see
• 59:17
  in David's life. The same God that you see
• 59:19
  intervening in herod's life the same God that you see. who
• 59:23
  declares his Holiness who has profits melting like a popsicle
• 59:29
  stick before burning furnace Who had men who thought that the
• 59:33
  most righteous thing about them was their lips.
• 59:35
  Proclaiming the truth of God and those very same men, when they
• 59:38
  stood before the presence, of God said, that the very thing
• 59:41
  they could have boasted in the righteousness was defiled.
• 59:46
  That same God who has seraphim hiding their faces in his
• 59:51
  presence. You have these people say, when
• 59:54
  I see God, I'm going to tell him and ask him.
• 59:55
  All these questions you're not even going to be able to stand
• 59:58
  in his presence, unless you have a redeemed, mind, and heart.
• 1:00:02
  The seraphim, who if they, if they chose to even just peek
• 1:00:06
  into this place, what have this whole place screeching in horror
• 1:00:09
  because of their beauty and their Majesty?
• 1:00:11
  Those same creatures would not even.
• 1:00:14
  Dare, look upon the Holy One of Israel.
• 1:00:17
  And yeah, that same God who has, who has these creatures
• 1:00:22
  unbothered with the task of continually giving praises to
• 1:00:26
  Him uninterrupted for all of eternity steps.
• 1:00:30
  Off of his throne wraps himself in flesh and comes into this
• 1:00:35
  dump of a world to redeem it. And as he steps into this world,
• 1:00:41
  he does not receive the Praises of creatures that are on fire,
• 1:00:45
  but not consume that sing with perfect pitch in a way that
• 1:00:48
  would even blow your mind physically.
• 1:00:51
  If you heard it, he comes into a world that questions him, that
• 1:00:55
  accuses him, that Slanders him, that there's to blindfold him
• 1:00:58
  and slap him across the face as a prophet who prophesied to you
• 1:01:03
  and spit on that same face. And that, that God silently.
• 1:01:09
  As we sang suffered, like a lamb led to slaughter who could have
• 1:01:13
  at one moment declared for twelve, Legions to break open
• 1:01:16
  the sky and sweep over those Roman soldiers and those proud
• 1:01:20
  Pharisees and consume them within a second that same God
• 1:01:23
  chose to suffer. Because what was beating in his
• 1:01:27
  heart. Was love.
• 1:01:33
  A love that. Doesn't cancel his Holiness.
• 1:01:35
  A love that kisses the Holiness of God at the cross.
• 1:01:42
  And so this idea of cancelling are dead in sin.
• 1:01:46
  Don't get it twisted, it's not that God took our sins and swept
• 1:01:49
  it under the rug. He just transfer the payment to
• 1:01:53
  himself. It has to be paid.
• 1:01:56
  Something has to happen with our sin or as God is Not holy, he is
• 1:02:00
  not just But he translates it upon himself, he puts it upon
• 1:02:05
  his own shoulders and there he is hanging.
• 1:02:10
  With a joy that is set before him in the joy yeses and
• 1:02:12
  pleasing the father in his glory and magnifying him.
• 1:02:16
  But also in knowing that those who would respond to him would
• 1:02:19
  receive eternal life and that his house has Pastor.
• 1:02:21
  Daniel said earlier would be filled would be filled He had
• 1:02:28
  every sin in mind that you've committed from the moment, you
• 1:02:33
  were able to sin. When he died on that cross.
• 1:02:39
  Every sin. And he is so quick to forgive.
• 1:02:47
  And this weekend understand that he is very likely looking at
• 1:02:52
  some in here who need to be forgiven of their sin and he's
• 1:02:56
  waiting upon your confession of that sin for you to make a
• 1:03:01
  conscious decision. I will not live in deception, I
• 1:03:04
  will not worship God through an idol, I will not worship at
• 1:03:07
  Jesus that I've created in fashion with my own hands.
• 1:03:09
  I will see him in his holiness. I will see him in the entirety
• 1:03:13
  of his being. I was seeing the greatness of
• 1:03:14
  his Justice and also the greatness of his love and I will
• 1:03:19
  Embrace him. Because to embrace him is to
• 1:03:22
  embrace the truth and to embrace the truth is to bring about true
• 1:03:26
  freedom in your life. So as you've heard the greatness
• 1:03:30
  of his Holiness, do you at the same time?
• 1:03:32
  See the greatness of his Mercy. Do you perceive it?
• 1:03:38
  Do you see it? What more can he do than what he
• 1:03:41
  is done? And what I just presented to you
• 1:03:45
  leaves us with this point. No men has an excuse No man has
• 1:03:51
  an excuse. I love to use this point because
• 1:03:54
  I've talked to very few who believe this.
• 1:03:58
  But just in case there's even one person who believes is.
• 1:04:00
  I haven't sinned. You know what, first John tells
• 1:04:03
  us he who says he does not sin is a liar.
• 1:04:06
  There you go. You're a liar.
• 1:04:08
  You send. And you need forgiveness.
• 1:04:14
  Let me say this too. Is, there's a giant clock behind
• 1:04:17
  you, right? Is it still there or am I
• 1:04:21
  deceived? Give me a couple minutes to be
• 1:04:27
  very bold. Is that, okay, well, smile at
• 1:04:30
  lunch together. Listen, if you're a Christian in
• 1:04:34
  here, you profess to be a Christian and you're living and
• 1:04:37
  willful sin. You're not bothered by it.
• 1:04:41
  You're in a very dangerous place.
• 1:04:43
  Okay, understand something. I know what it means to be
• 1:04:47
  deceived in the way. Paul warned to be deceived
• 1:04:49
  about. I grew up in a Christian home.
• 1:04:52
  I heard the sermons. But I loved unrighteousness.
• 1:04:57
  Loved it. I love to drink it.
• 1:04:59
  And the only time that I'll be convicted about is when an
• 1:05:01
  embarrassed me, or if I disappointed my mom and dad But
• 1:05:05
  there was no sense of a god. Conscious grief in my sin, I
• 1:05:10
  have a special burden for people who grew up in the church
• 1:05:12
  because I know what it's like to sit in meetings like this.
• 1:05:16
  And to almost be so numb that no matter who goes up there and
• 1:05:19
  says, what, if barely moves, you barely moves, you can, I present
• 1:05:24
  a possibility, could it be, could it be that despite the
• 1:05:30
  name of God on your lips? And despite the understanding of
• 1:05:33
  his ways that could it be, that you're deceived I don't want to
• 1:05:37
  project a doubt upon those who are truly saved.
• 1:05:41
  That is not my intention. I don't I don't like that kind
• 1:05:43
  of preaching. And my intention here is not to
• 1:05:46
  get emotional reactions, this weekend, I am in favor more of
• 1:05:50
  like calculated logical planning with your soul more than it was
• 1:05:56
  so powerful and then you go back to do the same thing.
• 1:05:58
  Could care less about the tears really.
• 1:06:01
  So I want I want to ask you. Could it be young guy?
• 1:06:04
  Could it be sister? that the, the fact that you're
• 1:06:09
  undisturbed about your worldliness, It's not because
• 1:06:13
  Jesus is so merciful and he'll let you do what you want is
• 1:06:16
  because you have a false Jesus that you are bowing down to
• 1:06:19
  everyday. Consider that deception and the
• 1:06:23
  way that I was able to escape that deception.
• 1:06:25
  God was very merciful to me. Is when I realize that this sin
• 1:06:29
  was not satisfy me, which is an awesome Evangelistic tool and
• 1:06:34
  bringing it to Jesus, this lack of satisfaction was so obvious
• 1:06:40
  that I came to the word. And when I discovered in my own
• 1:06:43
  Bible that I didn't own in college that have to go fetch
• 1:06:45
  from my dad's library and bring it back to my apartment, what I
• 1:06:49
  realized was not Just who Jesus was that?
• 1:06:52
  Who I was. I was not the real thing to
• 1:06:54
  begin with. I wasn't even the real thing.
• 1:06:58
  And one of the verses it's still in my journal 2012, one of the
• 1:07:01
  journal entries that still are just embedded.
• 1:07:04
  In my conscious was, when I Came Upon that part in Mark where it
• 1:07:07
  says, they honor me with their lips but their hearts are far
• 1:07:11
  from me. I said that's me, that's exactly
• 1:07:14
  who I am. And so, I ask you, I really do.
• 1:07:20
  I'm not going to, I'm not going to yell at you.
• 1:07:23
  I'm not going to beat you over with anything.
• 1:07:25
  I'm just going to ask you to do something.
• 1:07:28
  Have you ever come to the word of God?
• 1:07:31
  Honestly and said, am I the real thing?
• 1:07:35
  Like am I the real thing? Or am I deceived?
• 1:07:44
  If that is your heart, desire to know, God will speak to you.
• 1:07:48
  He will reveal himself to you and he will make its own own.
• 1:07:52
  He'll deliver you. And I hope that you will
• 1:07:57
  endeavor to do that in this place if you're not sure.
• 1:08:01
  You're not sure. My prayer.
• 1:08:03
  My goal is I close here. I said that a couple of times at
• 1:08:05
  night is that every person would leave here deceived free with
• 1:08:12
  the most important Clarity that you can have in this life and
• 1:08:14
  that is a matter of your salvation.
• 1:08:16
  I know that I'm saved the spirit bears with me within me and
• 1:08:21
  witnesses to me. That I am a child of God.
• 1:08:23
  That is my desire for you. Lord, we ask you this morning.
• 1:08:28
  Thanking you for the words that have highlighted how you see sin
• 1:08:32
  differently than us. and Lord, we just pray that this weekend,
• 1:08:37
  as we explore, how the New Testament, your word tells us
• 1:08:41
  not To be deceived about tells us how we can be assured of
• 1:08:46
  certain aspects of Our Lives that there would be an eagerness
• 1:08:49
  in a hunger to know the truth. Lord, we all confess in this
• 1:08:54
  place that our sin and deed is great.
• 1:08:58
  Even the things that run in our minds, even the things that live
• 1:09:00
  in our hearts that no man sees, you see it Lord.
• 1:09:03
  And we thank you that though the magnitude of our sin is
• 1:09:07
  deserving of great judgment. So great is your mercy.
• 1:09:11
  That not only matches it, but deals with it.
• 1:09:16
  Lord, we ask that every person in this place would have
• 1:09:18
  confidence. Not in their ancestry line, not
• 1:09:22
  in their parental upbringing, but Lord in their own personal
• 1:09:27
  knowledge of the Gospel. That through repentance and
• 1:09:32
  faith in what you've done on the cross. they can be saved, we can
• 1:09:37
  be saved and we can know that Mercy that satisfies us deeply
• 1:09:42
  Lord Hold Us by the hand and lead us through this word about
• 1:09:46
  how we can be secure from deception and Lord, mayor
• 1:09:50
  conversations be edifying. May they be challenging if need
• 1:09:54
  be so that we can sharpen one another and know with greater
• 1:09:59
  certainty that we indeed are fellowshipping with you in the
• 1:10:03
  light. Well, we want to magnify you
• 1:10:05
  because your mercy is great. That you've forgiven that you're
• 1:10:08
  willing to forgive and so Lord, if there's even a few, if
• 1:10:12
  there's even one who might be deceived about their own
• 1:10:15
  salvation rescue us rescue us That we may be free in the
• 1:10:21
  truth. Jesus name we pray.
• 1:10:24
  Amen.