1
00:00:08,280 --> 00:00:11,140
Well, this morning I would like to...

2
00:00:14,040 --> 00:00:16,160
We have been, for those visiting, we have

3
00:00:16,160 --> 00:00:18,700
been going through the book of Acts.

4
00:00:20,060 --> 00:00:24,260
And we were looking at Peter's second sermon.

5
00:00:25,760 --> 00:00:27,940
His first sermon on the day of Pentecost

6
00:00:27,940 --> 00:00:31,500
were 3,000 people were converted.

7
00:00:32,640 --> 00:00:33,540
I don't know how many people were in

8
00:00:33,540 --> 00:00:37,460
the congregation, but 3,000 conversions took place

9
00:00:37,460 --> 00:00:39,140
and they baptized them and added them to

10
00:00:39,140 --> 00:00:39,640
the church.

11
00:00:39,860 --> 00:00:42,840
And then God did another miracle in healing

12
00:00:42,840 --> 00:00:44,720
a lame man at the gate in Jerusalem.

13
00:00:45,200 --> 00:00:47,660
And last week we talked about how that

14
00:00:47,660 --> 00:00:49,820
healing took place.

15
00:00:49,960 --> 00:00:52,580
But through that healing and the gathering of

16
00:00:52,580 --> 00:00:55,180
the people, Peter preached a second message.

17
00:00:55,900 --> 00:00:59,540
And that message brought in another 5,000,

18
00:01:00,060 --> 00:01:02,480
or roughly 5,000 people.

19
00:01:03,660 --> 00:01:06,660
And so next week, Lord willing, the Lord

20
00:01:06,660 --> 00:01:09,860
gives us next week, we'll look at this

21
00:01:09,860 --> 00:01:15,480
sermon that brought in 5,000 more words

22
00:01:15,480 --> 00:01:19,020
for the Jewish people, showing them that Jesus

23
00:01:19,020 --> 00:01:21,800
is the Christ and the Messiah.

24
00:01:21,940 --> 00:01:23,860
I'd like you to turn, though, this morning

25
00:01:23,860 --> 00:01:25,420
to Ephesians chapter 4.

26
00:01:27,740 --> 00:01:30,100
There's been something on my heart for a

27
00:01:30,100 --> 00:01:30,440
while.

28
00:01:30,440 --> 00:01:33,740
And usually I let it sit for a

29
00:01:33,740 --> 00:01:33,980
while.

30
00:01:34,120 --> 00:01:36,120
And if I get a chance, I'll put

31
00:01:36,120 --> 00:01:39,140
a message together and slip it in at

32
00:01:39,140 --> 00:01:40,000
different times.

33
00:01:41,040 --> 00:01:42,940
And this is something that's been on my

34
00:01:42,940 --> 00:01:45,540
heart for some time.

35
00:01:46,360 --> 00:01:47,540
And so I'd like to share it with

36
00:01:47,540 --> 00:01:47,640
you.

37
00:01:47,720 --> 00:01:50,540
There's a principle that I think you can

38
00:01:50,540 --> 00:01:51,220
learn from.

39
00:01:51,320 --> 00:01:54,860
And also there is some application to it

40
00:01:54,860 --> 00:01:59,680
because some of us have been affected by

41
00:01:59,680 --> 00:02:03,140
these things or are being tempted to be

42
00:02:03,140 --> 00:02:03,520
affected.

43
00:02:04,540 --> 00:02:07,160
So I thought it would be good to

44
00:02:07,160 --> 00:02:08,820
share on this subject.

45
00:02:08,979 --> 00:02:11,320
Let's look here at Ephesians chapter 4.

46
00:02:13,000 --> 00:02:17,260
We're talking here in Ephesians 4 about the

47
00:02:17,260 --> 00:02:20,740
Lord being raised up in verse number 8

48
00:02:20,740 --> 00:02:23,520
and 9 and how when He was raised

49
00:02:23,520 --> 00:02:25,640
up, He gave gifts unto men.

50
00:02:26,940 --> 00:02:30,140
And starting in verse number 11, it says

51
00:02:30,140 --> 00:02:34,180
this, And He gave some apostles and some

52
00:02:34,180 --> 00:02:38,400
prophets and some evangelists and some pastors and

53
00:02:38,400 --> 00:02:43,620
teachers for the perfecting of the saints, for

54
00:02:43,620 --> 00:02:46,820
the work of the ministry, for the edifying

55
00:02:46,820 --> 00:02:48,240
of the body of Christ.

56
00:02:48,240 --> 00:02:50,820
And this is one of the reasons why

57
00:02:50,820 --> 00:02:51,940
God gives gifts.

58
00:02:52,640 --> 00:02:54,900
When I taught through the subject of gifts,

59
00:02:55,580 --> 00:02:57,500
one of the things I learned when God

60
00:02:57,500 --> 00:02:59,140
gives gifts, and I like gifts that are

61
00:02:59,140 --> 00:02:59,660
like this.

62
00:02:59,720 --> 00:03:02,360
My family gave me a gift recently, a

63
00:03:02,360 --> 00:03:02,900
chainsaw.

64
00:03:03,140 --> 00:03:05,460
And I like gifts that I can use

65
00:03:05,460 --> 00:03:06,360
in my work.

66
00:03:07,920 --> 00:03:10,280
And men, I guess, like those kind of

67
00:03:10,280 --> 00:03:10,560
gifts.

68
00:03:11,540 --> 00:03:13,300
And so the Lord, when He gives gifts,

69
00:03:13,380 --> 00:03:15,280
He gives us gifts that we can use

70
00:03:15,280 --> 00:03:16,000
for the work.

71
00:03:16,000 --> 00:03:17,680
For His work.

72
00:03:18,320 --> 00:03:20,340
And so all these spiritual gifts are for

73
00:03:20,340 --> 00:03:23,400
the perfecting of the saints so that the

74
00:03:23,400 --> 00:03:25,620
saints can go to work in the ministry

75
00:03:25,620 --> 00:03:28,540
and the body of Christ can be built

76
00:03:28,540 --> 00:03:28,940
up.

77
00:03:30,400 --> 00:03:32,580
Verse 13, Till we all come in the

78
00:03:32,580 --> 00:03:35,140
unity of the faith and in the knowledge

79
00:03:35,140 --> 00:03:36,820
of the Son of God unto a perfect

80
00:03:36,820 --> 00:03:37,280
man.

81
00:03:37,320 --> 00:03:38,200
This is the goal.

82
00:03:38,200 --> 00:03:40,560
A mature individual.

83
00:03:41,360 --> 00:03:43,960
Unto the measure of the stature of the

84
00:03:43,960 --> 00:03:45,320
fullness of Christ.

85
00:03:45,920 --> 00:03:47,660
It's not God's intention, we'll see in the

86
00:03:47,660 --> 00:03:49,540
next verse, for you to remain a child.

87
00:03:50,260 --> 00:03:51,540
For you to remain a baby.

88
00:03:51,840 --> 00:03:53,920
And in order to grow up, you need

89
00:03:53,920 --> 00:03:56,400
to grow in grace and in the knowledge

90
00:03:56,400 --> 00:03:58,940
of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

91
00:03:59,440 --> 00:04:00,700
We do need knowledge.

92
00:04:01,060 --> 00:04:02,160
We need understanding.

93
00:04:03,020 --> 00:04:05,260
And that understanding comes from the Word.

94
00:04:05,260 --> 00:04:09,180
Understanding comes from understanding God's Word and His

95
00:04:09,180 --> 00:04:09,780
principle.

96
00:04:11,160 --> 00:04:14,500
Verse 14, That we henceforth be no more

97
00:04:14,500 --> 00:04:20,620
children tossed to and fro and carried about

98
00:04:20,620 --> 00:04:25,180
with every wind of doctrine by the slight

99
00:04:25,180 --> 00:04:30,340
of men and cunning craftiness whereby they lie

100
00:04:30,340 --> 00:04:33,860
in wait to deceive, but speaking the truth

101
00:04:33,860 --> 00:04:37,780
in love may grow up into Him in

102
00:04:37,780 --> 00:04:41,540
all things, which is the head, even Christ.

103
00:04:41,780 --> 00:04:44,160
So we're told here that it's not the

104
00:04:44,160 --> 00:04:45,980
will of God for us to be children.

105
00:04:47,160 --> 00:04:48,920
Children are easily deceived.

106
00:04:49,840 --> 00:04:51,660
As a child, I believed in the Easter

107
00:04:51,660 --> 00:04:53,520
bunny with all my heart.

108
00:04:54,020 --> 00:04:56,180
As a child, I believed that Santa Claus,

109
00:04:56,280 --> 00:04:58,580
though he were big and fat and he

110
00:04:58,580 --> 00:05:01,460
had a nice red suit, came down our

111
00:05:01,460 --> 00:05:03,520
chimney, though we didn't have a chimney.

112
00:05:04,040 --> 00:05:05,700
How he got into our house, I don't

113
00:05:05,700 --> 00:05:05,980
know.

114
00:05:07,380 --> 00:05:10,140
But the whole nine yards was pretty easy

115
00:05:10,140 --> 00:05:10,960
for me to believe.

116
00:05:11,240 --> 00:05:14,540
And spiritual children believe a lot of things.

117
00:05:15,820 --> 00:05:17,660
And they believe things wrongly.

118
00:05:17,760 --> 00:05:19,780
They are easily led astray.

119
00:05:20,500 --> 00:05:22,640
It says here they are carried about with

120
00:05:22,640 --> 00:05:23,980
every wind of doctrine.

121
00:05:24,140 --> 00:05:25,640
You know, in the fall you see a

122
00:05:25,640 --> 00:05:28,100
leaf and it's blowing this way and then

123
00:05:28,100 --> 00:05:29,840
all of a sudden it's blowing this way

124
00:05:29,840 --> 00:05:31,580
and then you see it swirling around.

125
00:05:31,840 --> 00:05:35,180
And the picture of how children are so

126
00:05:35,180 --> 00:05:39,400
easily led astray and are confused.

127
00:05:39,900 --> 00:05:42,780
And so it's God's heart for children to

128
00:05:42,780 --> 00:05:46,860
have parents and to have spiritual guidance and

129
00:05:46,860 --> 00:05:50,040
leaders and teachers and pastors to give them

130
00:05:50,040 --> 00:05:54,200
understanding and wisdom that they might grow.

131
00:05:54,200 --> 00:05:55,960
And so this morning I'm going to try

132
00:05:55,960 --> 00:05:58,720
to deposit in you some of that wisdom

133
00:05:59,920 --> 00:06:03,980
and help you to grow in your understanding

134
00:06:03,980 --> 00:06:08,880
of truth and how there are many false

135
00:06:08,880 --> 00:06:11,520
concepts that are even about us.

136
00:06:11,600 --> 00:06:13,080
Some of them are very close to us.

137
00:06:13,520 --> 00:06:15,840
I will mention some of those here this

138
00:06:15,840 --> 00:06:16,200
morning.

139
00:06:17,520 --> 00:06:19,260
Now it says here in verse 14, and

140
00:06:19,260 --> 00:06:20,680
I want to draw out this word, it

141
00:06:20,680 --> 00:06:23,780
says that we henceforth be no more children

142
00:06:23,780 --> 00:06:27,180
tossed to and fro and carried about with

143
00:06:27,180 --> 00:06:29,180
every wind of doctrine.

144
00:06:29,620 --> 00:06:31,000
By the way, there's a lot of them

145
00:06:31,000 --> 00:06:31,540
out there.

146
00:06:32,540 --> 00:06:34,320
By the slight of men.

147
00:06:34,960 --> 00:06:36,720
I want to look at this little phrase,

148
00:06:36,860 --> 00:06:39,320
the slight of men.

149
00:06:40,500 --> 00:06:42,540
And this word is only used one time

150
00:06:42,540 --> 00:06:46,540
here in Ephesians chapter 4, but slight.

151
00:06:46,540 --> 00:06:49,500
I looked up the word slight and it

152
00:06:49,500 --> 00:06:51,020
has to do with magicians.

153
00:06:51,160 --> 00:06:53,440
It has to do with the slight of

154
00:06:53,440 --> 00:06:53,760
hand.

155
00:06:53,880 --> 00:06:56,600
You've heard that statement made, the slight of

156
00:06:56,600 --> 00:06:58,240
hand, the trickery.

157
00:06:58,380 --> 00:06:59,560
And I was just looking a little bit

158
00:06:59,560 --> 00:07:02,580
into magic tricks and tricks that use the

159
00:07:02,580 --> 00:07:06,180
slight of hand and card tricks and coin

160
00:07:06,180 --> 00:07:06,680
tricks.

161
00:07:07,180 --> 00:07:10,080
It's talking about men who are able to

162
00:07:10,080 --> 00:07:14,060
use their hands, magicians to use their hands.

163
00:07:14,060 --> 00:07:16,100
Have you ever watched a magician taking a

164
00:07:16,100 --> 00:07:18,920
deck of cards or taking a coin and

165
00:07:18,920 --> 00:07:20,960
making it disappear and reappear and pulling it

166
00:07:20,960 --> 00:07:23,160
out of the air and all kinds of

167
00:07:23,160 --> 00:07:24,540
things and you look at that and say,

168
00:07:24,620 --> 00:07:25,420
how is this happening?

169
00:07:25,820 --> 00:07:28,360
You try to observe it and he's so

170
00:07:28,360 --> 00:07:29,020
good at it.

171
00:07:29,620 --> 00:07:33,320
His slight of hand and you cannot figure

172
00:07:33,320 --> 00:07:33,740
it out.

173
00:07:33,980 --> 00:07:35,360
It's like, what is happening?

174
00:07:36,640 --> 00:07:39,540
And so this analogy is used with regards

175
00:07:39,540 --> 00:07:43,360
to teaching and how people come with a

176
00:07:43,360 --> 00:07:44,320
slight of hand.

177
00:07:45,160 --> 00:07:46,820
And you look at that and you say,

178
00:07:47,020 --> 00:07:51,020
wow, it's pretty hard to see the truth

179
00:07:51,020 --> 00:07:51,240
there.

180
00:07:51,760 --> 00:07:55,740
And so this idea of slight of men,

181
00:07:56,520 --> 00:07:58,500
slight of hand.

182
00:07:58,940 --> 00:08:01,120
You know that magician, he doesn't actually make

183
00:08:01,120 --> 00:08:02,540
a coin disappear.

184
00:08:03,480 --> 00:08:04,340
That's impossible.

185
00:08:05,140 --> 00:08:07,040
It's impossible to make a piece of metal

186
00:08:07,040 --> 00:08:09,040
just disappear, but he does it by the

187
00:08:09,040 --> 00:08:09,820
slight of hand.

188
00:08:09,820 --> 00:08:11,500
It's simply trickery.

189
00:08:12,220 --> 00:08:17,080
It's him mastering hiding coins and cards.

190
00:08:17,640 --> 00:08:19,440
Sometimes, as you've heard this phrase, he's got

191
00:08:19,440 --> 00:08:20,820
a card up his sleeve.

192
00:08:21,680 --> 00:08:23,260
Sometimes the card is here.

193
00:08:24,380 --> 00:08:26,640
Sometimes the card is palmed in the hand.

194
00:08:27,320 --> 00:08:29,460
And as he moves his hands, you don't

195
00:08:29,460 --> 00:08:31,400
see it, but he's got a card palmed

196
00:08:31,400 --> 00:08:34,360
underneath the hand and that card is used

197
00:08:34,360 --> 00:08:37,000
then to mix into the deck of cards

198
00:08:37,000 --> 00:08:39,740
he's using and he's able to do and

199
00:08:39,740 --> 00:08:43,420
to deceive people and cause people to wonder.

200
00:08:44,660 --> 00:08:46,900
One of the methods that is used with

201
00:08:46,900 --> 00:08:50,280
regards to the slight of hand is bringing

202
00:08:50,280 --> 00:08:55,120
some outside card or outside coin into the

203
00:08:55,120 --> 00:08:55,380
trick.

204
00:08:55,520 --> 00:08:57,600
Now, I thought about it, but I figured

205
00:08:57,600 --> 00:08:58,860
you probably wouldn't appreciate it.

206
00:08:58,900 --> 00:09:00,660
I'd spend the week learning how to master

207
00:09:00,660 --> 00:09:03,220
a trick and come here and use it

208
00:09:03,220 --> 00:09:04,980
maybe in the children's lesson or do it

209
00:09:04,980 --> 00:09:06,520
in front of you and learn a little

210
00:09:06,520 --> 00:09:09,060
slight of hand, but I figured I wouldn't

211
00:09:09,060 --> 00:09:09,520
do that.

212
00:09:09,600 --> 00:09:13,460
You'd trust me that you've seen magicians and

213
00:09:13,460 --> 00:09:14,280
you know what it's like.

214
00:09:15,080 --> 00:09:21,020
But most often, magicians will use some exterior

215
00:09:21,020 --> 00:09:21,660
source.

216
00:09:21,780 --> 00:09:23,740
For example, they'll bring a deck of cards,

217
00:09:24,200 --> 00:09:25,700
open up the cards, show you every card

218
00:09:25,700 --> 00:09:27,600
is in there, but what you don't know

219
00:09:27,600 --> 00:09:29,040
is there's a card up the sleeve.

220
00:09:29,860 --> 00:09:31,040
What you don't know is there's a card

221
00:09:31,040 --> 00:09:33,220
in the palm of his hand or some

222
00:09:33,220 --> 00:09:35,360
other place on his body, and that extra

223
00:09:35,360 --> 00:09:38,640
card is what he brings in by slight

224
00:09:38,640 --> 00:09:42,280
of hand to work his trick or his

225
00:09:42,280 --> 00:09:43,420
magic and to deceive.

226
00:09:44,240 --> 00:09:47,900
Sometimes it's a coin trick, and magicians have

227
00:09:47,900 --> 00:09:51,820
mastered putting coins between their fingers and holding

228
00:09:51,820 --> 00:09:55,180
them there and running their hand over another

229
00:09:55,180 --> 00:09:57,580
hand and that coin all of a sudden

230
00:09:57,580 --> 00:10:00,380
being dropped out and appearing and different ways

231
00:10:00,380 --> 00:10:04,640
in which by the slight of hand, people

232
00:10:04,640 --> 00:10:07,900
deceive and bring in tricks.

233
00:10:08,260 --> 00:10:12,340
And so Paul uses this phrase, the slight

234
00:10:12,340 --> 00:10:15,580
of hand, as he talks about deception.

235
00:10:16,560 --> 00:10:18,520
And sometimes when I watch magicians, I can't

236
00:10:18,520 --> 00:10:19,640
even see what's happening.

237
00:10:19,760 --> 00:10:21,740
It's hard to understand it.

238
00:10:21,780 --> 00:10:23,200
And so we need some wisdom.

239
00:10:23,880 --> 00:10:26,980
We need some understanding because this kind of

240
00:10:26,980 --> 00:10:28,800
stuff happens in church life.

241
00:10:29,460 --> 00:10:31,400
And it has happened throughout history.

242
00:10:32,140 --> 00:10:34,140
And I want to give you some examples.

243
00:10:35,020 --> 00:10:36,540
And this book I'm going to use kind

244
00:10:36,540 --> 00:10:37,260
of as an example.

245
00:10:37,400 --> 00:10:38,720
This is the deck of cards.

246
00:10:39,480 --> 00:10:42,180
And this is what the magician will bring

247
00:10:42,180 --> 00:10:42,580
forth.

248
00:10:43,220 --> 00:10:47,220
But, spiritually speaking, there is something hidden.

249
00:10:47,860 --> 00:10:49,900
There's something outside this book.

250
00:10:50,000 --> 00:10:52,380
There's something outside the deck, and it's hidden.

251
00:10:52,380 --> 00:10:54,140
And this hidden thing is going to be

252
00:10:54,140 --> 00:10:56,580
brought into the equation.

253
00:10:57,020 --> 00:10:58,020
And it's going to be deception.

254
00:10:58,820 --> 00:11:01,720
So that's one of the principles here for

255
00:11:01,720 --> 00:11:03,480
spiritual deception.

256
00:11:03,960 --> 00:11:05,660
It's happened throughout church history.

257
00:11:06,120 --> 00:11:07,060
And I'm going to go and give you

258
00:11:07,060 --> 00:11:08,820
some examples of how it happens.

259
00:11:09,240 --> 00:11:13,000
But it continues to happen all around us.

260
00:11:13,500 --> 00:11:15,660
And I want you to be aware of

261
00:11:15,660 --> 00:11:19,420
how it happens and giving you some understanding.

262
00:11:19,420 --> 00:11:20,940
I'm going to give you some examples in

263
00:11:20,940 --> 00:11:24,380
church history and how things have been brought

264
00:11:24,380 --> 00:11:29,420
in from outside and mixed in with the

265
00:11:29,420 --> 00:11:32,420
real deck, the Word of God, and how

266
00:11:32,420 --> 00:11:33,280
people have been deceived.

267
00:11:33,420 --> 00:11:34,920
I've gone through some of these.

268
00:11:35,620 --> 00:11:37,180
That's why I know a little bit about

269
00:11:37,180 --> 00:11:39,080
them because I've experienced them myself.

270
00:11:39,260 --> 00:11:40,460
And they are deceptive.

271
00:11:41,180 --> 00:11:42,980
And so let me just give you a

272
00:11:42,980 --> 00:11:43,540
couple of them.

273
00:11:43,620 --> 00:11:46,240
There's many that I could give you.

274
00:11:46,240 --> 00:11:48,820
But all of these have to do with

275
00:11:48,820 --> 00:11:51,860
words or phrases that are not in the

276
00:11:51,860 --> 00:11:52,200
deck.

277
00:11:52,960 --> 00:11:55,580
Words or phrases that are outside of the

278
00:11:55,580 --> 00:11:58,820
Bible lingo, outside of Bible terminology.

279
00:12:00,000 --> 00:12:02,480
For example, here's a word that if I

280
00:12:02,480 --> 00:12:04,380
asked the average Christian, is this word in

281
00:12:04,380 --> 00:12:06,560
the Bible, probably 90% and maybe some

282
00:12:06,560 --> 00:12:08,780
of you would say, yes, it's in the

283
00:12:08,780 --> 00:12:09,100
Bible.

284
00:12:09,180 --> 00:12:10,300
But it's not in the Bible.

285
00:12:10,920 --> 00:12:13,480
And yet an entire theology has been built

286
00:12:13,480 --> 00:12:16,160
on a word that's outside the deck.

287
00:12:16,860 --> 00:12:19,060
It's a word that was brought from the

288
00:12:19,060 --> 00:12:24,760
sleeve or from the palm of the hand.

289
00:12:25,220 --> 00:12:27,420
And that is this word, rapture.

290
00:12:28,500 --> 00:12:29,020
Rapture.

291
00:12:29,540 --> 00:12:31,360
Now many people believe that this word is

292
00:12:31,360 --> 00:12:32,280
actually in the Bible.

293
00:12:32,420 --> 00:12:35,220
And I've gone through this whole study with

294
00:12:35,220 --> 00:12:36,140
regards to the rapture.

295
00:12:36,220 --> 00:12:38,860
But the word rapture is not in the

296
00:12:38,860 --> 00:12:39,140
Bible.

297
00:12:39,260 --> 00:12:41,340
It's actually a Latin word, rapturo.

298
00:12:41,340 --> 00:12:44,500
It comes from the phrase in 1 Thessalonians

299
00:12:44,500 --> 00:12:48,040
4, being caught up to meet the Lord

300
00:12:48,040 --> 00:12:49,360
in the air.

301
00:12:49,460 --> 00:12:52,240
But this word, and you can go to

302
00:12:52,240 --> 00:12:53,820
your concordance, you'll never find the word.

303
00:12:54,140 --> 00:12:54,940
It's not in the Bible.

304
00:12:55,680 --> 00:12:59,700
This word brought into the deck, into the

305
00:12:59,700 --> 00:13:02,100
Scriptures, has caused a lot of confusion.

306
00:13:02,800 --> 00:13:06,840
Actually, it has allowed for men to weave

307
00:13:06,840 --> 00:13:10,700
in a concept that there's actually two different

308
00:13:10,700 --> 00:13:13,580
comings of the Lord Jesus Christ.

309
00:13:14,000 --> 00:13:17,900
One called the rapture, seven years before the

310
00:13:17,900 --> 00:13:18,260
end.

311
00:13:18,460 --> 00:13:21,540
And the second one called the revelation or

312
00:13:21,540 --> 00:13:23,660
the second coming of Christ, which is at

313
00:13:23,660 --> 00:13:25,260
the end of this world.

314
00:13:25,380 --> 00:13:27,520
But the Bible does not teach that at

315
00:13:27,520 --> 00:13:27,800
all.

316
00:13:28,380 --> 00:13:30,880
The Bible only teaches the Lord is coming

317
00:13:30,880 --> 00:13:31,900
one more time.

318
00:13:33,000 --> 00:13:35,400
He left and He says, I'm coming back.

319
00:13:35,420 --> 00:13:36,960
He's not coming two more times.

320
00:13:37,770 --> 00:13:40,640
And so by bringing in this word, rapture,

321
00:13:40,740 --> 00:13:45,840
we now have the ability to represent another

322
00:13:45,840 --> 00:13:46,780
second coming.

323
00:13:46,960 --> 00:13:49,400
So now we have, in much of Christendom,

324
00:13:49,500 --> 00:13:52,560
two second comings of the Lord.

325
00:13:52,640 --> 00:13:56,660
Hebrews 10, verse 28 says, So Christ was

326
00:13:56,660 --> 00:13:58,900
once offered to bear the sins of many,

327
00:13:59,420 --> 00:14:01,360
and unto them that look for Him shall

328
00:14:01,360 --> 00:14:07,040
He appear the second time without sin unto

329
00:14:07,040 --> 00:14:07,960
salvation.

330
00:14:08,180 --> 00:14:09,820
The Lord is coming a second time.

331
00:14:10,500 --> 00:14:13,460
He is not coming a second time and

332
00:14:13,460 --> 00:14:14,120
a third time.

333
00:14:14,160 --> 00:14:15,480
Could someone get me a glass of water?

334
00:14:16,240 --> 00:14:18,600
He's not coming a second time or a

335
00:14:18,600 --> 00:14:19,140
third time.

336
00:14:19,240 --> 00:14:21,860
The coming of Christ in the Bible, and

337
00:14:21,860 --> 00:14:22,940
I know this is not the message here

338
00:14:22,940 --> 00:14:25,300
this morning, but the coming of Christ in

339
00:14:25,300 --> 00:14:28,180
the Bible is always a singular event.

340
00:14:28,920 --> 00:14:30,820
And so this word rapture, which is not

341
00:14:30,820 --> 00:14:36,200
in your English Bible, has been infused into

342
00:14:36,200 --> 00:14:39,080
the Christian lingo by the sleight of hand

343
00:14:39,080 --> 00:14:42,740
of men in order to work things that

344
00:14:42,740 --> 00:14:43,340
are deceptive.

345
00:14:43,380 --> 00:14:45,280
Now I believe someday you and I are

346
00:14:45,280 --> 00:14:46,380
going to be caught up to meet the

347
00:14:46,380 --> 00:14:48,320
Lord when He returns in the end of

348
00:14:48,320 --> 00:14:48,720
the world.

349
00:14:49,280 --> 00:14:52,440
I'm all for the idea of being raptured.

350
00:14:53,020 --> 00:14:55,140
But this word that is outside the Bible

351
00:14:55,140 --> 00:14:59,640
deck has been used to promote false concepts.

352
00:14:59,640 --> 00:15:02,100
There's a lot of confusion in the church.

353
00:15:02,940 --> 00:15:04,480
There's another one that I've dealt with over

354
00:15:04,480 --> 00:15:04,860
the years.

355
00:15:04,980 --> 00:15:05,780
I'm just going to give you a few

356
00:15:05,780 --> 00:15:08,160
examples before we get into some that I

357
00:15:08,160 --> 00:15:09,580
think are close by us.

358
00:15:10,360 --> 00:15:12,140
And that is this idea of the second

359
00:15:12,140 --> 00:15:13,040
work of grace.

360
00:15:13,620 --> 00:15:15,300
The second work of grace.

361
00:15:15,380 --> 00:15:17,880
Now you won't find that phrase in the

362
00:15:17,880 --> 00:15:18,120
Bible.

363
00:15:19,260 --> 00:15:20,740
Second work of grace.

364
00:15:20,940 --> 00:15:25,480
And that's gone around different churches throughout church

365
00:15:25,480 --> 00:15:25,980
history.

366
00:15:25,980 --> 00:15:29,260
But it promotes some sort of a crisis

367
00:15:29,260 --> 00:15:31,000
event after your salvation.

368
00:15:31,160 --> 00:15:33,280
Everybody gets saved, and then they have to

369
00:15:33,280 --> 00:15:36,160
have a second work of grace.

370
00:15:37,240 --> 00:15:39,060
And so those who had the second work

371
00:15:39,060 --> 00:15:40,360
of grace are kind of special.

372
00:15:41,160 --> 00:15:43,200
They've been sanctified.

373
00:15:44,160 --> 00:15:45,840
And so you look through the Bible, and

374
00:15:45,840 --> 00:15:46,820
I used to look through the Bible, and

375
00:15:46,820 --> 00:15:48,180
you can't find this concept.

376
00:15:48,800 --> 00:15:52,100
You can't find the concept because the phrase

377
00:15:52,100 --> 00:15:54,740
second work of grace is not in the

378
00:15:54,740 --> 00:15:54,980
Bible.

379
00:15:54,980 --> 00:15:56,600
Now just think about this for a minute.

380
00:15:57,280 --> 00:15:58,600
Just use our common sense.

381
00:15:58,760 --> 00:16:02,760
If someone was promoting something that was solidly

382
00:16:02,760 --> 00:16:05,800
biblical theology, could they not use the words

383
00:16:05,800 --> 00:16:08,060
and the terms or the phrases that are

384
00:16:08,060 --> 00:16:08,580
in the Bible?

385
00:16:09,340 --> 00:16:12,240
I mean, if we talk about salvation, we

386
00:16:12,240 --> 00:16:13,960
use a Bible word.

387
00:16:14,840 --> 00:16:15,420
Salvation.

388
00:16:16,080 --> 00:16:16,580
Saved.

389
00:16:16,580 --> 00:16:18,140
You talk about being born again.

390
00:16:18,720 --> 00:16:20,440
We use biblical words.

391
00:16:20,520 --> 00:16:21,900
You talk about modesty.

392
00:16:22,300 --> 00:16:24,000
We use biblical words.

393
00:16:24,000 --> 00:16:28,760
But you'll find that many false concepts have

394
00:16:28,760 --> 00:16:31,620
been brought into the church by using words

395
00:16:31,620 --> 00:16:35,640
that are outside of the Bible, up the

396
00:16:35,640 --> 00:16:37,920
sleeve, in the palm of the hand.

397
00:16:39,020 --> 00:16:43,380
And they're brought in, and then doctrines are

398
00:16:43,380 --> 00:16:45,660
built on those words.

399
00:16:47,280 --> 00:16:48,000
Transubstantiationism.

400
00:16:48,140 --> 00:16:50,220
You know, the Catholics use this a lot.

401
00:16:50,480 --> 00:16:52,200
Big word, beautiful word.

402
00:16:53,240 --> 00:16:57,460
And yet, that word is promoting a concept

403
00:16:57,460 --> 00:16:58,920
that is heretical.

404
00:16:59,540 --> 00:17:00,500
It is unbiblical.

405
00:17:00,940 --> 00:17:02,820
You'll never find that word in the Bible.

406
00:17:03,520 --> 00:17:05,040
You can hunt for a long time.

407
00:17:05,599 --> 00:17:06,599
Go to your concordance.

408
00:17:07,300 --> 00:17:08,859
But a word has been brought in.

409
00:17:09,400 --> 00:17:11,800
And by the way, those words are brought

410
00:17:11,800 --> 00:17:13,660
in by people who are leaders.

411
00:17:14,260 --> 00:17:15,940
They're the ones who define the word.

412
00:17:16,780 --> 00:17:19,900
They're the ones who control people with those

413
00:17:19,900 --> 00:17:20,240
words.

414
00:17:20,240 --> 00:17:22,200
Another word that the Catholics have brought in

415
00:17:22,200 --> 00:17:23,000
is the word Pope.

416
00:17:23,300 --> 00:17:26,720
It's amazing that this word is so big

417
00:17:26,720 --> 00:17:28,640
in the Catholic church, yet the word Pope

418
00:17:28,640 --> 00:17:29,920
is never mentioned in the Bible.

419
00:17:30,560 --> 00:17:31,760
There's no such word.

420
00:17:32,740 --> 00:17:34,520
And yet, this word has been brought in.

421
00:17:35,920 --> 00:17:41,020
And many people are following a concept that

422
00:17:41,020 --> 00:17:43,140
is certainly unbiblical.

423
00:17:44,660 --> 00:17:47,540
So we have words that are outside of

424
00:17:47,540 --> 00:17:51,000
the Bible lingo that are brought in to

425
00:17:51,000 --> 00:17:54,240
the Scriptures to support concepts.

426
00:17:54,560 --> 00:17:55,720
And here's the important thing.

427
00:17:56,400 --> 00:17:58,260
Concepts that people want.

428
00:17:59,260 --> 00:18:00,840
Concepts that leaders want.

429
00:18:01,260 --> 00:18:04,020
And maybe the Bible doesn't communicate these concepts,

430
00:18:04,620 --> 00:18:07,060
and so they bring in words to try

431
00:18:07,060 --> 00:18:09,020
to bring those concepts to the people.

432
00:18:09,900 --> 00:18:11,460
And then as I've seen over the years,

433
00:18:11,780 --> 00:18:13,060
they go to the Bible then and try

434
00:18:13,060 --> 00:18:16,760
to arrest the Scriptures to prove those concepts

435
00:18:16,760 --> 00:18:17,320
are true.

436
00:18:19,720 --> 00:18:23,520
By the sleight of hand of men.

437
00:18:24,420 --> 00:18:27,840
So words outside of the Bible are brought

438
00:18:27,840 --> 00:18:31,940
in by the sleight of hand to promote

439
00:18:31,940 --> 00:18:34,740
false or heretical concepts.

440
00:18:35,660 --> 00:18:36,920
And by the way, this is human nature.

441
00:18:37,040 --> 00:18:38,400
It's done in the political world too.

442
00:18:38,960 --> 00:18:42,240
The word progressivism in the political world is

443
00:18:42,240 --> 00:18:43,440
a cover word.

444
00:18:44,100 --> 00:18:46,260
It's covering for something more cynical.

445
00:18:46,420 --> 00:18:47,620
I mean, what's a wonderful word?

446
00:18:47,860 --> 00:18:48,420
Progressive.

447
00:18:48,420 --> 00:18:50,440
We want to be progressive.

448
00:18:51,560 --> 00:18:54,280
Democrats are talking about being in the progressive

449
00:18:54,280 --> 00:18:55,920
party, but it's a cover word.

450
00:18:56,440 --> 00:18:58,180
It's a cover word for socialism.

451
00:18:58,380 --> 00:18:59,560
It's a cover word for communism.

452
00:18:59,720 --> 00:19:01,480
It's a cover word for we're heading in

453
00:19:01,480 --> 00:19:02,040
this direction.

454
00:19:02,320 --> 00:19:04,880
But we know the American people won't accept

455
00:19:04,880 --> 00:19:06,740
these other words, so we're going to give

456
00:19:06,740 --> 00:19:10,800
another word, and we'll define it, and we'll

457
00:19:10,800 --> 00:19:15,240
bring people in under another phrase or another

458
00:19:15,240 --> 00:19:15,560
word.

459
00:19:15,640 --> 00:19:16,540
So it's human nature.

460
00:19:16,540 --> 00:19:19,620
Here's a word that's often used, and I'm

461
00:19:19,620 --> 00:19:22,580
not being critical of this word, but I

462
00:19:22,580 --> 00:19:23,760
try to stay away from it.

463
00:19:24,160 --> 00:19:25,660
There has been a lot of confusion in

464
00:19:25,660 --> 00:19:27,780
the church throughout history over the word trinity.

465
00:19:28,760 --> 00:19:30,760
Trinity is nowhere found in the Bible.

466
00:19:31,580 --> 00:19:33,660
And so when I talk about the Godhead,

467
00:19:33,780 --> 00:19:36,140
I use the Bible word, the Godhead.

468
00:19:37,180 --> 00:19:41,400
And so many people have found themselves confused

469
00:19:41,940 --> 00:19:45,120
by a word that is brought in from

470
00:19:45,120 --> 00:19:45,800
outside.

471
00:19:45,800 --> 00:19:46,840
Another word.

472
00:19:46,960 --> 00:19:47,980
This is the last one I'm going to

473
00:19:47,980 --> 00:19:49,140
give you here, but we're going to launch

474
00:19:49,140 --> 00:19:52,260
out, talk about some things that are a

475
00:19:52,260 --> 00:19:54,100
little closer to us that I've been hearing

476
00:19:54,100 --> 00:19:57,100
lately, and I want to share with you

477
00:19:57,100 --> 00:19:58,620
some of the concerns I have.

478
00:19:59,640 --> 00:20:02,180
Here's a word that's common and probably another

479
00:20:02,180 --> 00:20:04,720
word that if you ask the average person,

480
00:20:04,840 --> 00:20:06,460
the average Christian, is this word in the

481
00:20:06,460 --> 00:20:06,600
Bible?

482
00:20:06,740 --> 00:20:07,440
Oh, sure it is.

483
00:20:07,840 --> 00:20:09,720
Probably many times in the Bible, but it's

484
00:20:09,720 --> 00:20:11,400
nowhere in the Bible, and that's the word

485
00:20:11,400 --> 00:20:12,000
denomination.

486
00:20:13,120 --> 00:20:13,520
Denomination.

487
00:20:13,520 --> 00:20:13,660
Denomination.

488
00:20:14,800 --> 00:20:16,640
Where did this word come from?

489
00:20:17,620 --> 00:20:18,340
Denomination.

490
00:20:19,380 --> 00:20:22,220
You hear people say this, what Christian denomination

491
00:20:22,220 --> 00:20:23,340
are you a part of?

492
00:20:25,140 --> 00:20:26,580
Christian denomination.

493
00:20:28,140 --> 00:20:31,900
So another word from outside the Bible is

494
00:20:31,900 --> 00:20:35,660
brought in to promote a concept.

495
00:20:36,800 --> 00:20:40,180
Denomination is not a Bible word, yet it's

496
00:20:40,180 --> 00:20:44,100
a common word, a common lingo amongst many

497
00:20:44,100 --> 00:20:44,840
Christians.

498
00:20:45,560 --> 00:20:46,520
But here's the secret.

499
00:20:47,060 --> 00:20:49,460
If I would not use the word denomination,

500
00:20:49,860 --> 00:20:53,180
but would use the actual biblical word that

501
00:20:53,180 --> 00:20:55,320
it's promoting, then no one would listen to

502
00:20:55,320 --> 00:20:55,480
me.

503
00:20:55,700 --> 00:20:59,180
For example, what Christian schism are you a

504
00:20:59,180 --> 00:20:59,620
part of?

505
00:21:02,040 --> 00:21:04,320
Oh, I'm not part of any Christian schism.

506
00:21:05,220 --> 00:21:08,120
What Christian division are you a part of?

507
00:21:08,120 --> 00:21:10,860
Well, the Lord's not for division.

508
00:21:11,400 --> 00:21:13,600
I'm not a part of any Christian division.

509
00:21:14,100 --> 00:21:16,700
Well, what Christian denomination are you a part

510
00:21:16,700 --> 00:21:16,940
of?

511
00:21:17,160 --> 00:21:17,960
Well, I'm a Baptist.

512
00:21:19,040 --> 00:21:20,280
I'm a Methodist.

513
00:21:21,140 --> 00:21:24,440
See, all of a sudden, taking that word

514
00:21:24,440 --> 00:21:28,520
denomination and substituting it for biblical words opens

515
00:21:28,520 --> 00:21:33,960
the door for acceptance and actually even boasting.

516
00:21:35,260 --> 00:21:38,440
And so, this is by the sleight of

517
00:21:38,440 --> 00:21:42,760
hand of men who use words that are

518
00:21:42,760 --> 00:21:46,180
hidden and brought in to the Christian lingo

519
00:21:46,180 --> 00:21:49,320
that are not biblical words.

520
00:21:50,600 --> 00:21:51,640
And why is that?

521
00:21:51,680 --> 00:21:54,720
Because if I stood up here and preached

522
00:21:54,720 --> 00:21:57,740
to you about schism, you would recognize it.

523
00:21:57,940 --> 00:21:59,760
If I tried to promote schisms, you'd say,

524
00:21:59,880 --> 00:22:00,740
Whoa, whoa, whoa, brother.

525
00:22:01,260 --> 00:22:02,720
I'm sorry, we're not going to listen to

526
00:22:02,720 --> 00:22:04,360
you because I just read last week in

527
00:22:04,360 --> 00:22:06,680
the Bible that a schism is a bad

528
00:22:06,680 --> 00:22:07,040
thing.

529
00:22:07,260 --> 00:22:09,320
If I talked about, Hey, we all need

530
00:22:09,320 --> 00:22:11,520
to be divided and we need division, you'd

531
00:22:11,520 --> 00:22:12,640
say, Whoa, whoa, whoa, brother.

532
00:22:12,880 --> 00:22:14,880
We know, we've read in the Bible that

533
00:22:14,880 --> 00:22:16,600
division is not a good thing.

534
00:22:16,680 --> 00:22:18,520
But if I came here and said, We

535
00:22:18,520 --> 00:22:20,140
need to have some denominations.

536
00:22:22,400 --> 00:22:24,080
Oh, that's an interesting word.

537
00:22:24,520 --> 00:22:25,600
What does that mean?

538
00:22:25,900 --> 00:22:27,500
Maybe we can be behind that.

539
00:22:29,980 --> 00:22:34,020
So many of you, your ears, you don't

540
00:22:34,020 --> 00:22:36,060
pick up on that word denomination like you

541
00:22:36,060 --> 00:22:39,100
would on schism or you would on division.

542
00:22:40,720 --> 00:22:43,840
So I'm able to pass off a scheme

543
00:22:43,840 --> 00:22:47,900
that violates the Scriptures by using a word

544
00:22:47,900 --> 00:22:49,620
that you don't recognize.

545
00:22:52,270 --> 00:22:54,790
And this has been happening in Christian churches

546
00:22:55,490 --> 00:22:57,910
all through history.

547
00:22:59,330 --> 00:23:01,310
So you're reading your Bible and you see

548
00:23:01,310 --> 00:23:04,350
these words schisms, you see these words divisions,

549
00:23:04,490 --> 00:23:05,810
and you know that they're wrong.

550
00:23:06,950 --> 00:23:08,730
So I can't come to you with these

551
00:23:08,730 --> 00:23:09,110
words.

552
00:23:09,310 --> 00:23:11,470
If I want to promote this type of

553
00:23:11,470 --> 00:23:13,750
a thing, I need to have different words

554
00:23:14,410 --> 00:23:17,790
outside of the Bible in order to promote

555
00:23:17,790 --> 00:23:18,070
that.

556
00:23:18,190 --> 00:23:21,130
So by the sleight of hand, words are

557
00:23:21,130 --> 00:23:22,090
slipped in.

558
00:23:23,130 --> 00:23:27,230
Lingo is slipped in unawares and false concepts

559
00:23:27,230 --> 00:23:28,830
are built around those words.

560
00:23:29,550 --> 00:23:34,950
Often those concepts are in direct opposition to

561
00:23:34,950 --> 00:23:36,010
what the Bible teaches.

562
00:23:41,860 --> 00:23:43,740
So no preacher could stand, and I couldn't

563
00:23:43,740 --> 00:23:47,560
stand up here and speak positive about Christian

564
00:23:47,560 --> 00:23:52,260
division or Christian schisms because you know those

565
00:23:52,260 --> 00:23:53,120
are not good words.

566
00:23:54,220 --> 00:23:55,620
You're reading them in the Bible.

567
00:23:56,300 --> 00:23:58,440
But if you're a child in the faith,

568
00:23:58,440 --> 00:24:04,080
and I talk about Christian denomination, well, that's

569
00:24:04,080 --> 00:24:04,440
different.

570
00:24:05,360 --> 00:24:07,720
I don't know what denominations really mean.

571
00:24:08,160 --> 00:24:10,020
And it's a word that's outside of the

572
00:24:10,020 --> 00:24:16,120
biblical parameter so we can be deceiving or

573
00:24:16,120 --> 00:24:18,740
we can cause people to be deceived.

574
00:24:21,280 --> 00:24:23,520
So if we use Bible words and phrases,

575
00:24:23,720 --> 00:24:27,340
we can see those things are condemned in

576
00:24:27,340 --> 00:24:27,880
the Scriptures.

577
00:24:27,880 --> 00:24:31,480
But if we use a word outside the

578
00:24:31,480 --> 00:24:35,560
Bible and use other lingo outside the Bible,

579
00:24:35,780 --> 00:24:40,220
we don't easily recognize it as being wrong.

580
00:24:41,220 --> 00:24:43,980
And so here's one way in which people

581
00:24:43,980 --> 00:24:45,580
have used the sleight of hand.

582
00:24:46,760 --> 00:24:48,780
You know, here's the deck.

583
00:24:49,920 --> 00:24:52,520
Words like division and schism, here's the deck.

584
00:24:53,580 --> 00:24:55,280
And I'm going to move the deck around

585
00:24:55,280 --> 00:24:56,600
and then I'm going to slip my hand

586
00:24:56,600 --> 00:24:59,660
underneath my shirt and bring out another word.

587
00:25:00,300 --> 00:25:01,620
We're going to mix it in.

588
00:25:03,040 --> 00:25:04,500
It's called denominations.

589
00:25:05,900 --> 00:25:08,240
And by doing so, we deceive.

590
00:25:09,340 --> 00:25:10,700
So let me ask you this question.

591
00:25:10,840 --> 00:25:13,680
Why don't we use Bible words for teaching?

592
00:25:14,580 --> 00:25:16,660
Why don't we use the words, and we

593
00:25:16,660 --> 00:25:17,900
do, I know, salvation.

594
00:25:18,380 --> 00:25:19,700
We're talking about salvation.

595
00:25:19,880 --> 00:25:20,920
Why don't we use born again?

596
00:25:21,520 --> 00:25:22,920
We're talking about being born again.

597
00:25:22,920 --> 00:25:26,400
But sometimes, if you notice this, sometimes people

598
00:25:26,400 --> 00:25:29,780
then leave the Bible words to go off

599
00:25:29,780 --> 00:25:31,160
and try to make a new word.

600
00:25:32,420 --> 00:25:35,500
Because oftentimes the Bible word does not promote

601
00:25:36,460 --> 00:25:38,880
what they desire to be promoted.

602
00:25:40,680 --> 00:25:42,900
And there's many examples, and I'm not going

603
00:25:42,900 --> 00:25:43,720
to go through all of them.

604
00:25:43,780 --> 00:25:46,100
I just gave you about six examples here

605
00:25:46,100 --> 00:25:50,080
of how through church history, words have been

606
00:25:50,080 --> 00:25:50,520
used.

607
00:25:50,600 --> 00:25:51,820
But I want to bring out a couple

608
00:25:51,820 --> 00:25:53,500
of words and some of these things we've

609
00:25:53,500 --> 00:25:54,340
talked about before.

610
00:25:55,340 --> 00:25:57,000
Some of these words that are very close

611
00:25:57,000 --> 00:25:57,520
to us.

612
00:25:59,830 --> 00:26:02,090
I was sitting in a meeting probably a

613
00:26:02,090 --> 00:26:03,470
year ago, a little over a year ago

614
00:26:03,470 --> 00:26:04,350
with some elders.

615
00:26:04,590 --> 00:26:05,910
Many of you would know who they are.

616
00:26:06,850 --> 00:26:09,270
We were talking about different things.

617
00:26:09,350 --> 00:26:10,690
There was a church that I was trying

618
00:26:10,690 --> 00:26:11,130
to help.

619
00:26:12,470 --> 00:26:14,390
And this church wanted to fellowship with another

620
00:26:14,390 --> 00:26:14,770
church.

621
00:26:14,890 --> 00:26:16,590
And this other church wouldn't allow them to

622
00:26:16,590 --> 00:26:20,930
fellowship based upon a phrase that continued to

623
00:26:20,930 --> 00:26:21,610
be used.

624
00:26:22,470 --> 00:26:26,730
And this phrase is a phrase that's got

625
00:26:26,730 --> 00:26:28,770
some nice words in it, but it's not

626
00:26:28,770 --> 00:26:29,810
a biblical phrase.

627
00:26:30,770 --> 00:26:34,770
And I kept hearing this phrase, Sister Churches.

628
00:26:37,190 --> 00:26:38,390
Sister Churches.

629
00:26:39,350 --> 00:26:40,990
What are Sister Churches?

630
00:26:41,070 --> 00:26:42,430
Well, I come to find out that Sister

631
00:26:42,430 --> 00:26:45,590
Churches are a group of churches who banded

632
00:26:45,590 --> 00:26:49,790
together, who are like-minded in many different

633
00:26:49,790 --> 00:26:53,490
ways, and who do not allow other churches,

634
00:26:53,850 --> 00:26:56,790
other brethren, who they consider to be Christian,

635
00:26:57,350 --> 00:27:00,130
but do not allow them to have fellowship

636
00:27:00,130 --> 00:27:02,830
or become a part of their group.

637
00:27:02,910 --> 00:27:06,730
They form a group of Sister Churches.

638
00:27:06,770 --> 00:27:09,890
Now those words, Sister, it's a good word.

639
00:27:10,030 --> 00:27:11,270
I hope most of you have good thoughts

640
00:27:11,270 --> 00:27:14,650
when you think of Sister Churches.

641
00:27:14,910 --> 00:27:16,490
That's also a good word.

642
00:27:16,490 --> 00:27:19,870
Two words, Sister Churches.

643
00:27:20,090 --> 00:27:22,570
Yet, if you go to your concordance, you'll

644
00:27:22,570 --> 00:27:24,570
never find that phrase in the Bible.

645
00:27:25,630 --> 00:27:29,850
The Bible does not talk about Sister Churches.

646
00:27:30,310 --> 00:27:34,830
This phrase, again, should be schism.

647
00:27:35,470 --> 00:27:37,750
It should be division.

648
00:27:38,010 --> 00:27:41,270
That's the true word that should be used.

649
00:27:41,270 --> 00:27:45,690
But Sister Churches is being used as a

650
00:27:45,690 --> 00:27:52,390
cover word to support and approve something the

651
00:27:52,390 --> 00:27:53,550
Bible does not approve of.

652
00:27:54,110 --> 00:27:55,870
And that is schism.

653
00:27:56,630 --> 00:27:58,870
And that is division.

654
00:28:00,330 --> 00:28:03,210
The reason why biblical words are not used

655
00:28:03,210 --> 00:28:06,250
is because the concept is not in the

656
00:28:06,250 --> 00:28:06,490
Bible.

657
00:28:07,570 --> 00:28:09,550
I remember sitting at a meeting, I'll tell

658
00:28:09,550 --> 00:28:10,750
you a little bit about it here later

659
00:28:10,750 --> 00:28:14,630
on, but a meeting out in Indiana, and

660
00:28:14,630 --> 00:28:16,190
individuals using words.

661
00:28:16,290 --> 00:28:17,790
And I thought, boy, that's an interesting word.

662
00:28:17,830 --> 00:28:18,750
I've never heard that word.

663
00:28:18,770 --> 00:28:19,870
It's outside the Bible.

664
00:28:20,130 --> 00:28:21,910
It's outside of Christian lingo.

665
00:28:22,150 --> 00:28:24,750
But it kept being used over and over

666
00:28:24,750 --> 00:28:25,530
again.

667
00:28:27,850 --> 00:28:30,430
Words outside of the Bible.

668
00:28:30,550 --> 00:28:32,970
And I couldn't really understand what was trying

669
00:28:32,970 --> 00:28:33,770
to be promoted.

670
00:28:37,070 --> 00:28:38,950
And they were trying to promote something that

671
00:28:38,950 --> 00:28:40,590
was not actually in the Word of God.

672
00:28:42,030 --> 00:28:44,910
Something that was actually contrary to the Word

673
00:28:44,910 --> 00:28:45,310
of God.

674
00:28:47,110 --> 00:28:49,270
And so they were using words that were

675
00:28:49,270 --> 00:28:54,030
outside of the context of the Scripture.

676
00:28:54,250 --> 00:28:59,550
And so this idea of Sister Churches, why

677
00:28:59,550 --> 00:29:00,790
do people use that phrase?

678
00:29:01,310 --> 00:29:04,190
Isn't there any biblical terminology that we can

679
00:29:04,190 --> 00:29:06,790
go to and say, here is what God

680
00:29:06,790 --> 00:29:10,170
says, why we should group up into small

681
00:29:10,170 --> 00:29:14,450
groups and separate ourselves from other groups.

682
00:29:15,070 --> 00:29:16,890
And the Bible says it and teaches it

683
00:29:16,890 --> 00:29:18,750
right here, and here's the words and phrase

684
00:29:18,750 --> 00:29:20,610
that God uses, and we're going to use

685
00:29:20,610 --> 00:29:20,790
them.

686
00:29:22,470 --> 00:29:24,210
You know why they don't use those words?

687
00:29:24,310 --> 00:29:25,310
Because they're not there.

688
00:29:26,850 --> 00:29:28,130
They're not in the Bible.

689
00:29:30,670 --> 00:29:32,790
So since there is no Bible words or

690
00:29:32,790 --> 00:29:37,970
terminology for something that is unbiblical, then other

691
00:29:37,970 --> 00:29:42,730
phrases and words need to be made up.

692
00:29:46,520 --> 00:29:48,340
So when a preacher gets up like myself

693
00:29:48,340 --> 00:29:54,540
and promotes schism or promotes division, you know

694
00:29:54,540 --> 00:29:56,360
the common Christian, those of you out there

695
00:29:56,360 --> 00:30:00,700
would say, whoa brother, you're not speaking truthfully.

696
00:30:01,460 --> 00:30:03,460
You're leading us astray.

697
00:30:04,020 --> 00:30:05,800
I just read last week in the Bible

698
00:30:05,800 --> 00:30:08,480
that schisms or divisions, they're not good.

699
00:30:09,340 --> 00:30:11,280
But if a preacher stands up and he

700
00:30:11,280 --> 00:30:16,280
begins to promote sister churches, the concept of

701
00:30:16,280 --> 00:30:19,480
a group of churches coming apart and separating

702
00:30:19,480 --> 00:30:24,340
from the church at large, people sit and

703
00:30:24,340 --> 00:30:29,100
think, that's an interesting phrase, sister churches.

704
00:30:30,220 --> 00:30:33,020
And in a sense it's a cover, it's

705
00:30:33,020 --> 00:30:37,320
a cover for something that is not biblical.

706
00:30:38,320 --> 00:30:43,760
Just like pulling a card out of the

707
00:30:43,760 --> 00:30:49,000
sleeve or a word to bring into the

708
00:30:49,000 --> 00:30:49,340
lingo.

709
00:30:50,100 --> 00:30:51,340
I'd like you to turn over to 1

710
00:30:51,340 --> 00:30:52,340
Corinthians 3.

711
00:30:52,580 --> 00:30:54,520
We've looked at these verses before.

712
00:30:55,440 --> 00:30:56,660
I'd like to read them here again.

713
00:30:56,780 --> 00:31:00,200
1 Corinthians 3 starting in verse number 1.

714
00:31:03,590 --> 00:31:05,690
Paul speaks about this and he does on

715
00:31:05,690 --> 00:31:06,710
many occasions.

716
00:31:08,690 --> 00:31:11,430
1 Corinthians 3, verse 1, And I, brethren,

717
00:31:11,570 --> 00:31:14,210
could not speak unto you as unto spiritual,

718
00:31:14,830 --> 00:31:18,030
but as unto carnal, even as unto babes

719
00:31:18,030 --> 00:31:18,870
in Christ.

720
00:31:19,530 --> 00:31:20,570
You're being babies.

721
00:31:20,890 --> 00:31:23,170
I have fed you with milk and not

722
00:31:23,170 --> 00:31:25,490
with meat, for hitherto you were not able

723
00:31:25,490 --> 00:31:28,010
to bear it, neither yet now are you

724
00:31:28,010 --> 00:31:28,410
able.

725
00:31:29,110 --> 00:31:32,270
For you are yet carnal, fleshly.

726
00:31:32,270 --> 00:31:34,850
For where is there among you envy and

727
00:31:34,850 --> 00:31:36,370
strife and divisions?

728
00:31:36,550 --> 00:31:37,910
Notice that word divisions.

729
00:31:38,490 --> 00:31:42,090
Are you not carnal and walk as men?

730
00:31:42,350 --> 00:31:44,610
Aren't you living fleshly?

731
00:31:45,210 --> 00:31:47,350
Aren't you walking like the world?

732
00:31:47,510 --> 00:31:49,230
Aren't you walking as men?

733
00:31:49,330 --> 00:31:50,190
By the way, if you go out in

734
00:31:50,190 --> 00:31:51,690
the world, you'll find division everywhere.

735
00:31:52,830 --> 00:31:54,150
You'll find it in the political world.

736
00:31:54,250 --> 00:31:55,350
You'll find it in the sports world.

737
00:31:55,430 --> 00:31:56,710
You'll find it in the economic world.

738
00:31:57,050 --> 00:31:59,970
You'll find people dividing and competing with each

739
00:31:59,970 --> 00:32:00,270
other.

740
00:32:01,070 --> 00:32:02,910
It's the spirit of the world.

741
00:32:03,810 --> 00:32:06,190
God help us when we divide and compete

742
00:32:06,190 --> 00:32:07,050
against each other.

743
00:32:07,550 --> 00:32:10,510
It's simply the world showing up in the

744
00:32:10,510 --> 00:32:10,790
church.

745
00:32:12,130 --> 00:32:14,590
And Paul here recognizes this and he tells

746
00:32:14,590 --> 00:32:17,730
the church there shouldn't be envy and strife

747
00:32:17,730 --> 00:32:18,310
and divisions.

748
00:32:18,510 --> 00:32:20,710
You're carnal and you walk as men.

749
00:32:20,830 --> 00:32:22,570
Verse 4, For while one saith, I am

750
00:32:22,570 --> 00:32:25,430
of Paul, another, I am of Apollos, are

751
00:32:25,430 --> 00:32:27,430
you not carnal?

752
00:32:29,950 --> 00:32:31,690
So who wants to be carnal?

753
00:32:33,390 --> 00:32:35,710
Who wants to walk like the world walks?

754
00:32:35,750 --> 00:32:37,230
Well, nobody does, at least if you're in

755
00:32:37,230 --> 00:32:38,250
the church and you want to do the

756
00:32:38,250 --> 00:32:38,750
right thing.

757
00:32:41,700 --> 00:32:43,380
So you don't use words like division.

758
00:32:43,540 --> 00:32:45,160
You don't use words like schism.

759
00:32:48,460 --> 00:32:51,160
And throughout church history, people have brought in

760
00:32:51,160 --> 00:32:51,740
these words.

761
00:32:53,040 --> 00:32:54,080
And one of the things I'd like to

762
00:32:54,080 --> 00:32:56,280
say to all of you is to be

763
00:32:56,280 --> 00:32:57,800
mindful of this.

764
00:32:58,140 --> 00:33:01,480
Error is often brought in by the slight

765
00:33:01,480 --> 00:33:07,220
of men using words outside the biblical context

766
00:33:08,000 --> 00:33:11,860
and bringing them into the Christian church and

767
00:33:11,860 --> 00:33:16,220
getting the church to accept new lingo and

768
00:33:16,220 --> 00:33:19,140
then building upon that lingo.

769
00:33:23,810 --> 00:33:25,450
And I would say that if you and

770
00:33:25,450 --> 00:33:30,070
I are promoting biblical concepts, we ought to

771
00:33:30,070 --> 00:33:31,710
have biblical words to promote them.

772
00:33:31,710 --> 00:33:36,510
If the Bible is teaching a concept, then

773
00:33:36,510 --> 00:33:40,090
there ought to be words that promote them.

774
00:33:43,180 --> 00:33:45,340
Here's something else, and we've talked about this

775
00:33:45,340 --> 00:33:46,940
some before, but I wanted to bring it

776
00:33:46,940 --> 00:33:52,680
out in this message because I sense or

777
00:33:52,680 --> 00:33:56,880
see this thing happening in some lives of

778
00:33:56,880 --> 00:33:57,980
people near to us.

779
00:33:58,700 --> 00:34:00,080
And I think we ought to warn them.

780
00:34:00,240 --> 00:34:03,060
We ought to instruct and give them some

781
00:34:03,060 --> 00:34:05,520
direction here because this is not a good

782
00:34:05,520 --> 00:34:06,060
direction.

783
00:34:08,100 --> 00:34:09,520
A few years ago, I was sitting in

784
00:34:09,520 --> 00:34:09,860
a meeting.

785
00:34:10,000 --> 00:34:11,239
There's a number of ministers there.

786
00:34:11,760 --> 00:34:13,480
It was a minister's meeting actually in Indiana,

787
00:34:13,679 --> 00:34:15,239
and I sat there, and they began to

788
00:34:15,239 --> 00:34:16,040
use words.

789
00:34:16,980 --> 00:34:18,500
And I was really confounded.

790
00:34:18,580 --> 00:34:19,800
I didn't stay very long.

791
00:34:20,780 --> 00:34:21,320
But I watched.

792
00:34:21,400 --> 00:34:23,340
It almost looked like they were all using

793
00:34:23,340 --> 00:34:24,080
the same words.

794
00:34:24,179 --> 00:34:25,860
You heard the idea of a talking point.

795
00:34:26,800 --> 00:34:28,960
Everybody's using the same word, and I noticed

796
00:34:28,960 --> 00:34:32,380
this word structure kept coming up.

797
00:34:32,940 --> 00:34:34,719
One minister after the other would stand up

798
00:34:34,719 --> 00:34:36,820
and talk about how we need structure in

799
00:34:36,820 --> 00:34:39,139
our churches and structure in our church.

800
00:34:39,300 --> 00:34:40,360
And I thought, yeah, that's a good word,

801
00:34:40,460 --> 00:34:40,820
structure.

802
00:34:41,719 --> 00:34:43,020
But it's not a biblical word.

803
00:34:43,080 --> 00:34:43,960
As a matter of fact, if you go

804
00:34:43,960 --> 00:34:45,699
and you won't find in the New Testament

805
00:34:45,699 --> 00:34:46,840
the word structure anywhere.

806
00:34:49,969 --> 00:34:52,110
So I kept listening, and then the word

807
00:34:52,110 --> 00:34:53,989
brotherhood commitment came up.

808
00:34:56,070 --> 00:34:57,610
I said, well, there's another interesting word.

809
00:34:58,590 --> 00:35:00,070
And I go to my Bible, and I

810
00:35:00,070 --> 00:35:02,550
can't find the word brotherhood commitment in the

811
00:35:02,550 --> 00:35:03,130
Bible even.

812
00:35:04,250 --> 00:35:05,770
Then the word standard.

813
00:35:08,300 --> 00:35:13,560
These three words, standard, brotherhood, commitment, and structure

814
00:35:13,560 --> 00:35:17,100
were being promoted.

815
00:35:17,900 --> 00:35:20,400
But you know, interesting enough, none of those

816
00:35:20,400 --> 00:35:23,040
words or phrases are found in the New

817
00:35:23,040 --> 00:35:23,480
Testament.

818
00:35:25,400 --> 00:35:30,990
They're all wonderful words, but why would we

819
00:35:30,990 --> 00:35:33,990
not use biblical words?

820
00:35:34,850 --> 00:35:40,850
Why wouldn't you use biblical phrases to promote

821
00:35:40,850 --> 00:35:45,410
the truth if you're teaching the truth?

822
00:35:45,670 --> 00:35:46,450
Here's why.

823
00:35:46,550 --> 00:35:49,870
Because the Bible does talk about structure.

824
00:35:50,430 --> 00:35:53,530
It does talk about brotherhood commitments.

825
00:35:53,750 --> 00:35:55,810
It does talk about standards.

826
00:35:56,390 --> 00:35:59,830
But the words it uses are commandments and

827
00:35:59,830 --> 00:36:01,250
doctrines of men.

828
00:36:02,620 --> 00:36:04,380
Now if I get up here in front

829
00:36:04,380 --> 00:36:06,120
of you and tried to teach you about

830
00:36:06,120 --> 00:36:07,940
commandments and doctrines of men, some of you

831
00:36:07,940 --> 00:36:09,040
would say, whoa, brother.

832
00:36:09,760 --> 00:36:11,880
I just read in my Bible last week

833
00:36:11,880 --> 00:36:13,740
Jesus said that's not a good thing.

834
00:36:14,380 --> 00:36:15,680
Let's stay away from that.

835
00:36:16,600 --> 00:36:18,380
And so if I'm going to promote those

836
00:36:18,380 --> 00:36:20,960
things and try to get people to receive

837
00:36:20,960 --> 00:36:23,240
them, I cannot use Bible lingo.

838
00:36:23,360 --> 00:36:25,820
I cannot use commandments and doctrines of men

839
00:36:25,820 --> 00:36:29,340
because your antennas will go up and you'll

840
00:36:29,340 --> 00:36:30,300
not listen to me.

841
00:36:31,680 --> 00:36:33,220
But if I have a real desire to

842
00:36:33,220 --> 00:36:36,040
do that, I'm going to have to do

843
00:36:36,040 --> 00:36:37,100
it in another way.

844
00:36:38,220 --> 00:36:39,500
The way to do it is to change

845
00:36:39,500 --> 00:36:42,920
the wording and use words like our church

846
00:36:42,920 --> 00:36:44,640
needs structure.

847
00:36:45,200 --> 00:36:46,540
What do you mean by that, Brother Jerry?

848
00:36:46,660 --> 00:36:48,760
Well, I'll tell you what I mean by

849
00:36:48,760 --> 00:36:49,520
structure.

850
00:36:49,660 --> 00:36:53,180
Our church needs a brotherhood commitment.

851
00:36:53,460 --> 00:36:55,120
We need standards.

852
00:36:56,200 --> 00:36:57,720
All of those are not in the Bible.

853
00:36:58,060 --> 00:36:59,560
They're not words that are found in the

854
00:36:59,560 --> 00:36:59,780
Bible.

855
00:36:59,780 --> 00:37:02,340
So none of your antennas go up because

856
00:37:02,340 --> 00:37:04,320
when I read my Bible and if someone

857
00:37:04,320 --> 00:37:06,260
uses the word commandments and doctrines of men,

858
00:37:06,340 --> 00:37:08,460
I saw that in the Bible and the

859
00:37:08,460 --> 00:37:10,440
Spirit of God quickens me and it's like,

860
00:37:10,720 --> 00:37:11,980
no, that's not good.

861
00:37:12,620 --> 00:37:13,800
But standards.

862
00:37:15,120 --> 00:37:15,280
Huh.

863
00:37:17,480 --> 00:37:19,980
A brotherhood commitment, that's a good word, isn't

864
00:37:19,980 --> 00:37:20,160
it?

865
00:37:20,400 --> 00:37:21,640
Brotherhood commitment.

866
00:37:24,800 --> 00:37:25,280
Structure.

867
00:37:25,460 --> 00:37:26,540
Everybody needs structure.

868
00:37:27,420 --> 00:37:29,420
All those words are used.

869
00:37:30,940 --> 00:37:35,580
And it's an attempt to get around what

870
00:37:35,580 --> 00:37:39,120
the Bible is warning against and teaching things

871
00:37:39,120 --> 00:37:40,020
that are contrary.

872
00:37:40,260 --> 00:37:42,780
I want to read to you here a

873
00:37:42,780 --> 00:37:43,700
couple of passages.

874
00:37:44,020 --> 00:37:48,460
Colossians 2 talks about these very things.

875
00:37:50,560 --> 00:37:53,220
We've talked about commandments and doctrines of men

876
00:37:53,220 --> 00:37:53,400
here.

877
00:37:53,480 --> 00:37:56,760
Colossians 2, verse 20, Wherefore, if ye be

878
00:37:56,760 --> 00:37:58,800
dead with Christ from the rudiments of the

879
00:37:58,800 --> 00:38:01,320
world, why, as though living in the world,

880
00:38:01,400 --> 00:38:04,820
are you subject to ordinances, touch not, taste

881
00:38:04,820 --> 00:38:08,120
not, handle not, which are all to perish

882
00:38:08,120 --> 00:38:12,120
with the using after the commandments and doctrines

883
00:38:12,120 --> 00:38:12,740
of men?

884
00:38:14,200 --> 00:38:17,780
Which things have indeed a show of wisdom

885
00:38:17,780 --> 00:38:19,360
in will, worship, and humility?

886
00:38:19,540 --> 00:38:20,780
Some of you have come from a background

887
00:38:20,780 --> 00:38:22,740
where you know exactly what that means.

888
00:38:23,320 --> 00:38:24,800
It does have a little bit of wisdom

889
00:38:24,800 --> 00:38:26,740
in will, worship, and humility.

890
00:38:26,740 --> 00:38:29,220
You know, just do what we say.

891
00:38:29,360 --> 00:38:31,340
If we want you to wear blue socks,

892
00:38:31,460 --> 00:38:32,860
if we want you to wear a red

893
00:38:32,860 --> 00:38:34,440
head covering, if we want you to paint

894
00:38:34,440 --> 00:38:37,080
your bumper black, just do what we say

895
00:38:37,080 --> 00:38:38,440
and be humble.

896
00:38:39,760 --> 00:38:40,860
Show of humility.

897
00:38:46,590 --> 00:38:50,250
But the commandments and doctrines of men, those

898
00:38:50,250 --> 00:38:54,770
brought forth through brotherhood commitment and things of

899
00:38:54,770 --> 00:38:57,950
that nature, are something the Bible teaches again.

900
00:38:59,370 --> 00:39:00,770
By the way, this book right here is

901
00:39:00,770 --> 00:39:01,610
sufficient for you.

902
00:39:02,690 --> 00:39:04,570
The Bible says, as you behold the glory

903
00:39:04,570 --> 00:39:06,550
of the Lord in the Scriptures, you are

904
00:39:06,550 --> 00:39:07,230
changed.

905
00:39:07,970 --> 00:39:08,370
Amen.

906
00:39:09,810 --> 00:39:11,390
And our problem is this.

907
00:39:11,450 --> 00:39:13,930
We have turned our hearts away from the

908
00:39:13,930 --> 00:39:16,110
glory of the Lord, from loving His Word,

909
00:39:16,650 --> 00:39:18,890
from walking in the Spirit, and that's basically

910
00:39:18,890 --> 00:39:19,670
all we need.

911
00:39:19,750 --> 00:39:22,910
Really, we have the Word of God that

912
00:39:22,910 --> 00:39:23,910
sanctifies us.

913
00:39:23,970 --> 00:39:26,410
The Bible says, sanctify them through the truth.

914
00:39:26,850 --> 00:39:28,510
We have the Holy Spirit of God who

915
00:39:28,510 --> 00:39:30,030
sanctifies us.

916
00:39:31,510 --> 00:39:34,930
This is what God desires for our sanctification.

917
00:39:38,080 --> 00:39:39,640
And as you behold the glory of the

918
00:39:39,640 --> 00:39:44,500
Lord in His Word, you are changed into

919
00:39:44,500 --> 00:39:45,080
His image.

920
00:39:45,180 --> 00:39:46,520
I tell you what, you put this Bible

921
00:39:46,520 --> 00:39:50,300
down, you start walking in the flesh, you're

922
00:39:50,300 --> 00:39:51,680
not going to be changed into His image.

923
00:39:52,820 --> 00:39:54,520
And you're going to need another way to

924
00:39:54,520 --> 00:39:54,860
do it.

925
00:39:57,260 --> 00:39:59,700
And there are many men and people who

926
00:39:59,700 --> 00:40:01,320
are willing to find a way for you

927
00:40:01,320 --> 00:40:01,800
to do it.

928
00:40:03,800 --> 00:40:04,720
And it's their way.

929
00:40:05,360 --> 00:40:06,640
It's not a biblical way.

930
00:40:08,160 --> 00:40:10,320
So if I stand up before you and

931
00:40:10,320 --> 00:40:13,520
I say I want to promote the commandments

932
00:40:13,520 --> 00:40:16,580
and doctrines of men, each one of you

933
00:40:16,580 --> 00:40:19,460
would reject me, you'd reject my message because

934
00:40:19,460 --> 00:40:22,320
you have light and you know the Scriptures,

935
00:40:22,500 --> 00:40:23,540
you know what they say.

936
00:40:26,960 --> 00:40:28,280
But if I stand up here and talk

937
00:40:28,280 --> 00:40:34,180
to you about structure, brotherhood commitment, standard, all

938
00:40:34,180 --> 00:40:38,980
of a sudden, I don't know any place

939
00:40:38,980 --> 00:40:40,780
in the Bible that talks about that.

940
00:40:42,260 --> 00:40:46,940
And we are opened up to things that

941
00:40:46,940 --> 00:40:49,800
are leading us in a different direction.

942
00:40:52,280 --> 00:40:53,780
And so the idea of the sleight of

943
00:40:53,780 --> 00:40:55,860
man is the same as a magician who

944
00:40:55,860 --> 00:40:58,920
presents a deck of cards but has something

945
00:40:58,920 --> 00:41:00,000
hidden in his sleeve.

946
00:41:00,740 --> 00:41:02,800
And he uses the sleight of hand to

947
00:41:02,800 --> 00:41:05,620
bring that out and present that as a

948
00:41:05,620 --> 00:41:09,100
part of the deck and by it to

949
00:41:09,100 --> 00:41:11,340
deceive people.

950
00:41:15,190 --> 00:41:19,950
So here in Ephesians 4, verse 14, that

951
00:41:19,950 --> 00:41:23,730
we henceforth be no more children tossed to

952
00:41:23,730 --> 00:41:25,870
and fro and carried about with every wind

953
00:41:25,870 --> 00:41:28,690
of doctrine by the sleight of men and

954
00:41:28,690 --> 00:41:31,810
cunning craftiness whereby they lie in wait to

955
00:41:31,810 --> 00:41:32,270
deceive.

956
00:41:32,710 --> 00:41:34,470
The Bible says there are people who are

957
00:41:34,470 --> 00:41:36,130
lying in wait to deceive you.

958
00:41:37,150 --> 00:41:40,250
And they're using cunning craftiness and the sleight

959
00:41:40,250 --> 00:41:42,130
of men to do it.

960
00:41:43,490 --> 00:41:46,850
And one of the prominent ways that it's

961
00:41:46,850 --> 00:41:54,380
done is by bringing in a word or

962
00:41:54,380 --> 00:41:59,760
a phrase outside of the Scripture to promote

963
00:41:59,760 --> 00:42:03,980
an idea that is unbiblical.

964
00:42:07,110 --> 00:42:08,850
So I wanted to share that with you

965
00:42:08,850 --> 00:42:11,090
because we have brothers and sisters that I

966
00:42:11,090 --> 00:42:12,250
have concern for.

967
00:42:14,370 --> 00:42:16,370
And I know where this is heading.

968
00:42:17,910 --> 00:42:21,690
It's heading back to the former way.

969
00:42:21,970 --> 00:42:23,390
It's heading back to the Amish church.

970
00:42:23,510 --> 00:42:25,990
It's heading back the way it was.

971
00:42:26,070 --> 00:42:28,270
And oftentimes what happens in human nature is

972
00:42:28,270 --> 00:42:34,690
I remember 30 years ago when I became

973
00:42:34,690 --> 00:42:38,050
associated with Denny Kennison and Mo Stoltzis.

974
00:42:38,730 --> 00:42:40,150
I remember back then.

975
00:42:40,230 --> 00:42:42,690
They had come out of their settings and

976
00:42:42,690 --> 00:42:47,050
amongst the plain people there was this idea

977
00:42:47,650 --> 00:42:50,550
that the plain people were accusing Denny and

978
00:42:50,550 --> 00:42:53,050
Mo and all of those who were coming

979
00:42:53,050 --> 00:42:55,190
out of that that you'll never make it.

980
00:42:56,390 --> 00:42:58,310
You'll never make it without standards.

981
00:42:58,310 --> 00:43:02,930
You'll never make it without a brotherhood commitment.

982
00:43:03,230 --> 00:43:04,250
And these type of things.

983
00:43:04,350 --> 00:43:05,650
You'll never make it.

984
00:43:06,550 --> 00:43:08,770
And I remember Denny and those men used

985
00:43:08,770 --> 00:43:09,770
to say, yeah we will.

986
00:43:10,950 --> 00:43:12,910
We'll make it with the Word of God

987
00:43:12,910 --> 00:43:13,730
and the Holy Spirit.

988
00:43:13,830 --> 00:43:16,410
We'll have revival and we'll make it.

989
00:43:18,270 --> 00:43:19,750
You know it was going good for a

990
00:43:19,750 --> 00:43:19,970
while.

991
00:43:20,230 --> 00:43:22,910
But then the next generation, the following generation

992
00:43:22,910 --> 00:43:26,850
came and the hearts of people were not

993
00:43:26,850 --> 00:43:30,210
as that first generation and people began to

994
00:43:30,210 --> 00:43:33,350
move away their hearts from the Lord.

995
00:43:35,660 --> 00:43:38,160
And there was a lack in spirituality.

996
00:43:38,640 --> 00:43:39,880
There was a lack in a love for

997
00:43:39,880 --> 00:43:40,700
the Word of the Lord.

998
00:43:40,840 --> 00:43:41,720
There was a lack.

999
00:43:42,760 --> 00:43:45,300
Fathers, mothers, the next generation.

1000
00:43:47,180 --> 00:43:48,060
So now what do you do?

1001
00:43:49,160 --> 00:43:50,900
You've got people who are wanting to go

1002
00:43:50,900 --> 00:43:53,260
to the world because they don't have a

1003
00:43:53,260 --> 00:43:55,600
heart for the Lord.

1004
00:43:58,320 --> 00:44:01,280
So in order to keep people in check,

1005
00:44:02,580 --> 00:44:04,900
these kind of things are brought into the

1006
00:44:04,900 --> 00:44:05,240
church.

1007
00:44:06,220 --> 00:44:06,600
You know what?

1008
00:44:06,620 --> 00:44:07,700
We really need the revival.

1009
00:44:08,900 --> 00:44:10,920
The Bible talks about when you leave your

1010
00:44:10,920 --> 00:44:12,240
first love in Revelation.

1011
00:44:12,440 --> 00:44:14,000
It talks about to the church at Ephesus,

1012
00:44:14,140 --> 00:44:15,300
by the way, the same one we're reading

1013
00:44:15,300 --> 00:44:19,020
from, that the Lord didn't tell them that

1014
00:44:19,020 --> 00:44:22,680
they needed more brotherhood commitments or standards.

1015
00:44:22,880 --> 00:44:25,660
They needed to return to their first love.

1016
00:44:26,400 --> 00:44:27,340
That's what you need.

1017
00:44:27,340 --> 00:44:30,220
You need to have a revival and get

1018
00:44:30,220 --> 00:44:31,740
back to your first love.

1019
00:44:34,600 --> 00:44:35,680
And I still believe that.

1020
00:44:39,470 --> 00:44:43,870
No manner of force or rules are going

1021
00:44:43,870 --> 00:44:45,190
to bring people into line.

1022
00:44:45,370 --> 00:44:46,590
Only the Lord can do it.

1023
00:44:49,090 --> 00:44:51,210
And I've given you this illustration before, but

1024
00:44:51,210 --> 00:44:52,530
I'd like to give it to you again.

1025
00:44:52,790 --> 00:45:00,220
You know, Abraham and Sarah, they were a

1026
00:45:00,220 --> 00:45:03,120
godly couple, but they made some mistakes in

1027
00:45:03,120 --> 00:45:03,600
their life.

1028
00:45:03,600 --> 00:45:07,080
And one of their biggest mistakes was God

1029
00:45:07,080 --> 00:45:08,220
had promised them a child.

1030
00:45:09,560 --> 00:45:12,200
And instead of waiting patiently for the child,

1031
00:45:13,120 --> 00:45:15,300
you know, they got past childbearing age and

1032
00:45:15,300 --> 00:45:17,380
they were getting a little concerned and years

1033
00:45:17,380 --> 00:45:19,200
went by and finally, I'm sure one day

1034
00:45:19,200 --> 00:45:21,140
they sat down and said, maybe God wants

1035
00:45:21,140 --> 00:45:22,280
us to use our own head.

1036
00:45:24,140 --> 00:45:26,520
And so they sat down and probably Sarah

1037
00:45:26,520 --> 00:45:27,300
came up with the idea.

1038
00:45:27,420 --> 00:45:30,640
Abraham, there's Hagar, our handmaiden.

1039
00:45:30,740 --> 00:45:32,060
Why don't you go in under her?

1040
00:45:32,060 --> 00:45:33,540
Maybe God wants you to go in under

1041
00:45:33,540 --> 00:45:36,060
her and you can maybe have a child

1042
00:45:36,060 --> 00:45:37,860
through her and that'll be the child God

1043
00:45:37,860 --> 00:45:38,320
promised.

1044
00:45:39,260 --> 00:45:41,280
So Abraham agrees.

1045
00:45:41,700 --> 00:45:43,220
I'm just reading into the story.

1046
00:45:43,840 --> 00:45:46,620
He goes and they have a child.

1047
00:45:47,140 --> 00:45:48,720
You know, Abraham and Sarah thought this was

1048
00:45:48,720 --> 00:45:49,440
the greatest thing.

1049
00:45:49,600 --> 00:45:52,140
We got Ishmael, our son.

1050
00:45:53,480 --> 00:45:54,260
Promised son.

1051
00:45:55,260 --> 00:45:55,940
God did it.

1052
00:45:56,880 --> 00:45:57,560
And you know what?

1053
00:45:57,580 --> 00:45:58,600
It looked good for a while.

1054
00:45:59,460 --> 00:46:00,700
It looked really good.

1055
00:46:01,440 --> 00:46:01,800
Ishmael.

1056
00:46:03,320 --> 00:46:04,220
Then what happened?

1057
00:46:04,260 --> 00:46:05,100
I don't know how many years later.

1058
00:46:05,200 --> 00:46:05,580
Then what happened?

1059
00:46:05,640 --> 00:46:07,020
God came and visited their house and said,

1060
00:46:07,140 --> 00:46:08,700
hey, it's time for your baby to come

1061
00:46:08,700 --> 00:46:08,880
now.

1062
00:46:08,960 --> 00:46:09,960
It's time for me to give you a

1063
00:46:09,960 --> 00:46:10,240
child.

1064
00:46:10,980 --> 00:46:12,980
My child is child of promise.

1065
00:46:13,200 --> 00:46:14,200
Abraham, oh boy.

1066
00:46:15,340 --> 00:46:16,440
Lord, we already got one.

1067
00:46:17,560 --> 00:46:18,580
No, no, no, no, no.

1068
00:46:18,660 --> 00:46:19,560
No, he's not the one.

1069
00:46:20,160 --> 00:46:21,060
You know what Abraham said?

1070
00:46:21,140 --> 00:46:23,020
Oh, would it God, Lord, that Ishmael would

1071
00:46:23,020 --> 00:46:23,860
live before you?

1072
00:46:24,440 --> 00:46:25,780
I want Ishmael.

1073
00:46:27,220 --> 00:46:29,180
Lord said, no, Ishmael is not the one.

1074
00:46:31,240 --> 00:46:33,120
It's my son.

1075
00:46:33,340 --> 00:46:34,640
My one I'm going to give you.

1076
00:46:37,040 --> 00:46:38,420
And so Isaac was born.

1077
00:46:38,580 --> 00:46:40,720
And interestingly enough, and you'll find this in

1078
00:46:40,720 --> 00:46:44,240
church life and human nature, but interestingly enough,

1079
00:46:44,420 --> 00:46:48,880
that Ishmael then became the greatest persecutor of

1080
00:46:48,880 --> 00:46:49,180
Isaac.

1081
00:46:51,470 --> 00:46:53,650
And you know, you'll see this, and maybe

1082
00:46:53,650 --> 00:46:55,930
you'll understand this later on as you think

1083
00:46:55,930 --> 00:46:57,590
about it, but you'll see this in church

1084
00:46:57,590 --> 00:47:01,450
life that those who try to force out

1085
00:47:01,450 --> 00:47:07,710
Christianity by imposing restrictions and force, they can

1086
00:47:07,710 --> 00:47:09,430
only go so far and then all of

1087
00:47:09,430 --> 00:47:11,650
a sudden God will send a real living

1088
00:47:11,650 --> 00:47:12,450
revival.

1089
00:47:13,390 --> 00:47:15,230
And people will get their hearts right from

1090
00:47:15,230 --> 00:47:17,210
the depths of their soul and they'll begin

1091
00:47:17,210 --> 00:47:19,190
to walk in the Spirit and they'll begin

1092
00:47:19,190 --> 00:47:20,790
to do great things for the Lord and

1093
00:47:20,790 --> 00:47:24,730
the greatest persecutor against that movement will be

1094
00:47:24,730 --> 00:47:25,630
the Ishmael.

1095
00:47:26,510 --> 00:47:27,450
The Ishmael.

1096
00:47:28,010 --> 00:47:31,630
Weren't the Jews the greatest persecutors against the

1097
00:47:31,630 --> 00:47:32,790
true children of God?

1098
00:47:33,650 --> 00:47:34,510
Yes, they were.

1099
00:47:36,010 --> 00:47:37,870
It wasn't even the heathens.

1100
00:47:39,970 --> 00:47:42,570
It was those Jews who had established their

1101
00:47:42,570 --> 00:47:48,510
own religion and didn't wait for the Lord

1102
00:47:49,010 --> 00:47:50,310
to do His work.

1103
00:47:51,050 --> 00:47:54,230
I don't think we ought to impose restrictions

1104
00:47:54,230 --> 00:47:56,210
on those whose hearts are not right with

1105
00:47:56,210 --> 00:47:56,550
God.

1106
00:47:56,610 --> 00:47:58,850
What we need, and we can pray about

1107
00:47:58,850 --> 00:48:00,950
it in a week or so, we need

1108
00:48:00,950 --> 00:48:01,530
a revival.

1109
00:48:02,330 --> 00:48:03,390
We need a revival.

1110
00:48:03,550 --> 00:48:05,750
We need people's hearts changed from the inside

1111
00:48:05,750 --> 00:48:06,250
out.

1112
00:48:06,850 --> 00:48:09,010
And if that never comes, then it's never

1113
00:48:09,010 --> 00:48:09,690
going to come.

1114
00:48:10,570 --> 00:48:12,230
But I'm not going to step in and

1115
00:48:12,230 --> 00:48:13,610
try to have an Ishmael.

1116
00:48:14,230 --> 00:48:16,230
Try to do it in my own strength.

1117
00:48:16,230 --> 00:48:18,510
It's going to turn out worse.

1118
00:48:20,030 --> 00:48:21,450
Let's just wait on God.

1119
00:48:23,780 --> 00:48:26,080
He's promised us He'll sanctify us through the

1120
00:48:26,080 --> 00:48:27,440
Word of God and through His Spirit.

1121
00:48:31,920 --> 00:48:34,060
And so throughout church history, you can go

1122
00:48:34,060 --> 00:48:34,260
back.

1123
00:48:34,340 --> 00:48:35,700
There's many examples of this.

1124
00:48:35,780 --> 00:48:38,420
These words that are coming into the church,

1125
00:48:38,640 --> 00:48:39,980
where are they coming from?

1126
00:48:40,960 --> 00:48:42,900
Where does this word rapture come from?

1127
00:48:44,040 --> 00:48:44,500
Transubstantiationism.

1128
00:48:44,560 --> 00:48:46,200
Where does this idea of the pope or

1129
00:48:46,200 --> 00:48:50,400
denominations or many other words and then theologies

1130
00:48:50,400 --> 00:48:53,020
are built around those words and lead the

1131
00:48:53,020 --> 00:48:53,920
church astray.

1132
00:48:59,030 --> 00:49:02,910
Let's build our theology on the Bible terminology.

1133
00:49:03,150 --> 00:49:03,790
Bible words.

1134
00:49:05,210 --> 00:49:08,230
And if there is no Bible to promote

1135
00:49:08,230 --> 00:49:10,550
my theology, then I lay it down.

1136
00:49:19,420 --> 00:49:22,200
So, let's instruct others.

1137
00:49:22,740 --> 00:49:24,340
I think we ought to be instructed ourselves.

1138
00:49:25,920 --> 00:49:27,580
And there's other areas of life.

1139
00:49:27,680 --> 00:49:30,580
If you stop and think about it, what

1140
00:49:30,580 --> 00:49:34,180
concepts have been brought into your life, our

1141
00:49:34,180 --> 00:49:37,740
church, even us here, our families, that we've

1142
00:49:37,740 --> 00:49:45,440
embraced, words, phrases, theologies that have not a

1143
00:49:45,440 --> 00:49:46,140
biblical basis.

1144
00:49:47,120 --> 00:49:51,000
And I can bring up others, but I

1145
00:49:51,000 --> 00:49:52,660
think this is sufficient for us here this

1146
00:49:52,660 --> 00:49:52,980
morning.

1147
00:49:53,560 --> 00:50:00,900
Let's use biblical terminology and let's not hide

1148
00:50:00,900 --> 00:50:06,260
our intention with words that are outside of

1149
00:50:06,260 --> 00:50:08,400
the Bible itself.

1150
00:50:10,690 --> 00:50:12,370
So, I want you to be wise, and

1151
00:50:12,370 --> 00:50:14,170
one of the reasons why God gave us

1152
00:50:14,170 --> 00:50:17,170
pastors and teachers is to perfect you, that

1153
00:50:17,170 --> 00:50:20,030
you would not be tossed back and forth,

1154
00:50:20,410 --> 00:50:25,610
back and forth, by every wind of doctrine,

1155
00:50:25,770 --> 00:50:27,110
by the slight of men.

1156
00:50:29,260 --> 00:50:31,220
Now, I believe a lot of men, and

1157
00:50:31,220 --> 00:50:33,400
I've been in this situation, I've been deceived.

1158
00:50:34,080 --> 00:50:35,740
I think we've all had some sort of

1159
00:50:35,740 --> 00:50:38,200
deception in our life, but I think a

1160
00:50:38,200 --> 00:50:41,100
lot of individuals, they're not purposely trying to

1161
00:50:41,100 --> 00:50:41,600
deceive.

1162
00:50:41,840 --> 00:50:42,980
I think they're just deceived.

1163
00:50:44,160 --> 00:50:45,180
They have good hearts.

1164
00:50:46,220 --> 00:50:47,820
In my life, and I think we've all

1165
00:50:47,820 --> 00:50:50,100
experienced this, I go back and think, why

1166
00:50:50,100 --> 00:50:51,060
did I believe that?

1167
00:50:51,820 --> 00:50:53,320
Why did I teach that?

1168
00:50:54,340 --> 00:50:55,560
Wow, I was deceived.

1169
00:50:57,970 --> 00:50:59,550
And so, what we need to do is

1170
00:50:59,550 --> 00:51:02,430
exhort and encourage and try to help one

1171
00:51:02,430 --> 00:51:02,810
another.

1172
00:51:06,270 --> 00:51:11,230
Let's not be deceived ourselves and tossed to

1173
00:51:11,230 --> 00:51:11,710
and fro.

1174
00:51:12,150 --> 00:51:13,670
Paul goes on here, and I'll close with

1175
00:51:13,670 --> 00:51:15,550
this, but speaking the truth.

1176
00:51:15,670 --> 00:51:16,490
What is the truth?

1177
00:51:16,590 --> 00:51:17,390
It's just right here.

1178
00:51:18,830 --> 00:51:20,070
This is the deck of cards.

1179
00:51:20,630 --> 00:51:25,380
Speaking the truth, the Bible, in love.

1180
00:51:28,480 --> 00:51:30,560
Now, I realize that none of you would

1181
00:51:30,560 --> 00:51:35,540
probably be easily deceived if someone came with

1182
00:51:35,540 --> 00:51:38,120
words that were in direct contrast to the

1183
00:51:38,120 --> 00:51:41,500
Scriptures, what they say, and I think the

1184
00:51:41,500 --> 00:51:42,360
enemy knows that.

1185
00:51:43,280 --> 00:51:45,180
So, what he's trying to do is to

1186
00:51:45,180 --> 00:51:49,800
bring in words that are good words, bring

1187
00:51:49,800 --> 00:51:51,960
them into the church that are outside this,

1188
00:51:52,560 --> 00:51:57,320
and then formulate concepts around those words that

1189
00:51:57,320 --> 00:52:01,080
lead people off and astray.

1190
00:52:02,120 --> 00:52:04,560
So, let's be mindful of those things.

1191
00:52:05,180 --> 00:52:09,060
Don't be a child and be led astray.

1192
00:52:09,560 --> 00:52:11,500
Let's close, and I'll open it up here

1193
00:52:11,500 --> 00:52:11,900
this morning.
