Psalm 83 Pt 8

0:01 All right, this morning we continue SAW eighty three. It's been multiple weeks now, multiple weeks since SAW eighty three. It's one of those things. I've made it this far in we have to see it all the way to the conclusion. Of course, I'm trying to do something, trying in some ways to make a point, but it's really just based off my frustration with all the you know, the sermons. Remember this all started because of our sermons two point oh app challenge that we're doing this year for people supposed to find random sermons on the sermons two point oh app right down the name of the sermon, right down, a summary of what you listen to, so by the end of the year, you have one sermon per day for the entire year. And so I, since that's the challenge, I'm participating in the challenge. I downloaded some random sermons and found one called the Coming Middle East War. Okay, that should be interesting because that fits our study on eschatology. Go, well, next thing, you know, the Coming Middle East War was about SAW eighty three, and now that's series has gone on to be twenty six parts and they're yet to really talk about the Coming Middle East War and really, they haven't even really talked about SAW eighty three.

1:07 The whole thing is utterly maddening. But based off that and then other sermons taking SAW eighty three, connecting it to Second Chronicles twenty, I just became more and more frustrated. So I think we've done in all of the hours we've spent, we've done a really good job at breaking SSAAL eighty three down. We've outlined it, we've looked at it, we know what it is, we've identified we've identified major lessons. I think we've done a really good job with SAW eighty three. Am I estimation. You may disagree, but I think we've done a really good job. But then I decided to add a little extra to what we're doing. So here, let's try to just put everything back to some level of some kind of context so that you can at least take some basic things away. I'm not gonna review everything with some basic things. Simply put, Saw eighty three is a lament where the Summus laments their situation that was present at their time. Please make sure you have that down. They're lamenting a situation that they're facing at that time. It's a psalm of Asaf, So we have somewhat an idea of the time because he's the worship leader between the reigns of David and possibly into the reign of Solomon. So somewhere during that time, the people of Israel facing a very difficult situation. And that difficult situation is they have a confederacy of nations that are coming against them to wipe them off the face of the earth. But their real issue in the lament is they yes, they talk about the enemy, but they're lamenting the fact that who seems to have abandoned them God.

2:40 They don't know where God is. That is their lamit, that's the lament, and that the main part of the lament is found in Psalm eighty three, one verse, verse one. It's right there. Everybody read that. That's the key element of the lament. God, where are you? They begin? The rest of the Psalm is describing how serious the situation is, okay, and there's a confederacy of nations that seeks to destroy them. I have given you some basic lessons from Psalm eighty three. I'm gonna scroll all the way back up here in my notes and go through these again. I repeated them in the first hour. I repeated them last week multiple times, so let me go through these again. SSAW eighty three describes the life of people who believe in a God whom they cannot see while living in the midst of circumstances that they can see, and those very circumstances call into question the existence of God whom they cannot see. All right, that is true of p SSAW eighty three, But it's also true of what of anyone who believes in God. We believe in a God in whom we cannot see while living in the midst of circumstances that we can see, and those circumstances call into question the existence of the God whom we cannot see. Everyone should everyone should be able to relate to that right, everyone should be able to relate to

4:11 Saw maybe three saying God, where are you? Right every day? God? Where are you? God? Where are you? God? Where are you? That is very because those circumstances screamin I know. What's so weird in Christianity? Is nobody in Christianity wants to ever admit that because Christians constantly talk about God did this, and God did this, and God intervenes here, and God did, and God told me this, and God led me here, and God took care of me hearing. And we constantly talk about all the things God is supposedly doing. But anyone who looks at that would go, well, wait a minute. If God is constantly involved in doing this and this and this and this and this and this and this, what's the obvious question? Well? Then where was he yesterday when a child died of cancer? Where was he yesterday when a woman was being raped? Where was he yesterday when a child was being molested? Where was he yesterday when someone was shot and killed? Where we see yesterday when someone was this or happened or this? Does that not raise that question? Any reasonable person should be able to have that question. It's okay to ask that question and struggle with it, because if you're not asking that question and struggle with it, then you've just turned Christianity into a fairy tale and you're just living a fantasy world. We have to face reality. The reality is circumstances make us ask why where is God? And if if you never ask where is God?

5:29 I don't know, You've got you got something wrong with you? All right? You're living okay? Yeah? Or maybe well, I even if you've never gone to anything bad, just look at the world around you. Just look at the world around you. You should be like, uh, hey got a I don't know if you're busy today, but I can point some I can I can pull out a map and tell you where you may need to go visit really really quick. Right, there's some people dying in Gaza. There are some people dying in Ukraine. Okay, those are just two at the top of my head. Right, So there's that's a reality. But there's another reality. Saw mayby three brings to our attention. As Christians.

6:11 We live a life surrounded by enemies. We can see so many times though we forget the enemies which we cannot see. But this is the important truth that we talked about last week. Whether it's circumstances or whether it's enemies, our only hope as Christians is in an imputed righteousness which we cannot see. I need everyone to write that down. We cannot see imputed righteousness. I know every church and Abilene would disagree with me, but that's because they've abandoned historical Reformation Christianity. You cannot see imputed righteousness. Why can you not see imputed righteousness. It does not change you. Imputed righteousness declares you to be what you're not. Imputed righteousness declares you to be what you're not.

7:15 I am declared to be righteous, not because I am, but because God has declared to me to be righteous by faith in Christ. And then his righteousness is imputed. That's the actual philological term that churches use the term. But then they immediately disregard it, right, they immediately disregard it because I will say, imputed righteousness, it will change you, No, it will not. Now if it changes you, that's infused righteousness, which goes right back to Roman Catholicism. Which if we're going to go back to Roman Catholicism, let's shut this place down and let's go to you know, Sacred Heart or Our Family or any of the or is it Saint Francis in the north side of the town, the three Catholic churches in Albelein, All right, let's just go there and be done with it, right, Or let's contact the diocese in San Angelo and say, hey, we've got a church building here in Ovallo. We would like to turn it into a Catholic church, all right, and then maybe they'll allow me to be a priest because they will allow some people who are who are pastors who become Catholic to become priest married, and then I'll get paid, and then we'll all be good.

8:18 We'll have a Catholic church and we'll be good. Right, Okay, okay, everybody will be like HAB's only I'm not going to be a Catholic while they go around talking like they are actually Catholics, which just drives me crazy. Right, So, so I want to but I want to stress that we have enemies which we can see, which makes us forget the enemies which we cannot see. Whether it's the enemies you can whether it's the enemies you can't see, your only hope. And I know this sounds like a defeated form of christian I get that accusation all the time. Your only hope is imputed righteous I know what you're thinking. No, my hope is in God getting rid of my enemies. But let me tell you God's not getting rid of your enemies. Okay, all right, Because if that's the case, so your only hope is imputed righteousness, which you cannot see, all right?

9:09 Do I wish I could see that imputed righteousness. Yeah, because then I can basically be basically perfect, but I would have to be perfect because His righteousness is perfect righteousness, so then mine would have to be perfect righteousness. So and that's weird. Like, well, and just make sure we stressed this in the first hour, and I stressed it yesterday on the podcast. So this goes a little beyond Psal ninety three, but it fits here. I want to make sure everyone gets this down. Everybody understand this. We want to make sure everybody has this down. You do not become righteous by doing right. Now, don't tell any Christian friends you have that you learned that in church, because they're gonna say your church is messed up.

9:54 But the problem is, I just literally quoted Galatians to twenty one, which says righteousness does not come from the law. You do not become righteous by lawkeeping right. If you kept the ten Commandments perfectly, you know what, you would still be unrighteous. You may be a moral sinner, but you're still a sinner because even if you kept them externally, you don't keep them internally. That was the most shocking truth I learned from my Lutheran pastor when I first became a Lutheran because he basically asked me that question, if you were to keep the Ten Commandments, what would you be? And I was like, well, I'd be righteous, I would be good, I would be And he's like, you Baptist are so dumb, and I'm like, how dare you? And he's like, you, Baptist are more Catholic than Catholics. And I'm like, no, I'm not a Catholic. Yes you are, because if you understood this now, at the time, I didn't understand it, and it took me a long time to ever come to because my lordship salvation would kick in. You gotta do something, You got to prove something. Wait, you can't prove imputed righteousness. And righteousness does not come from the law. Where does righteousness come from faith? That's why.

11:26 What was Luther's big deal that just will live by faith? What did he mean by live by faith? That our life is lived by faith? Because the righteousness of God comes by faith, not in doing. Oh man, you tell Christians that they'll lose their mind now, but all of this fits saw maybe three right, because guess what we believe it We believe in a God in the midst of that we cannot see in the midst of circumstances that we can see. Those circumstances call into question the existence of the God whom we cannot see. We walk around facing enemies whom we can see. Well, we have a tendency to forget the enemies which we cannot see, and we spend our time then being distracted fighting the enemies which we can see, missing the point. Yet, as Christians, we have an imputed righteousness which we cannot see, and we get so preoccupied with trying to do things which we can see. Psaw eighty three has all of that right there. The whole psalm is about this. Right, they're asking where is God? And then what does the rest of the palm describe? All the things they can see? And so all the things they can see has called into question the God whom they cannot see. Does everyone see that? Okay? That to me everything at all those points I think are worthy of this. You may not think so, but I think they're very important points. Now we started,

12:56 so this is what I decided. Well, since Some three is one of those psalms that I think the most part of it doesn't apply to us. Can can I do anything in the sum to make it applicable to us. So this is what we did. We looked at the characteristics of all the enemies in which they can see, and those characteristics are chaos or tumult. They God. They're arrogant and prideful, crafty, cunning, deceitful, that consult together, conspire together, work together. They hate everything God loves or God would choose, and they want to wipe off, basically wipe off the face of the earth anything connected to God. That's a paraphram. And what was my argument is those attributes of those enemies are the exact attributes of the enemies whom we face. So we've been looking at the enemies whom we face. We've looked at enemy number one one, which was Satan. I'm not gonna go back through it. Satan clearly meets all of those attributes to the letter, right, Demons, Demons meet all of those attributes to the letter. Not only that, Satan demons conspire and work together, so they fit the even that concept all right. Third was Sin. Now Sin, we talked about this in the first hour. Sin has really two elements, the external which we can see. But let's make it very clear. Right,

14:30 I cannot stress this enough. You sinning does not make you a sinner. We get so preoccupied on the external aspects of sin, right, But we only sin because of what we are. So as Christians, we spend a lot of our time focusing on the external parts of sin. We have to realize the issue is internal. It's what we cannot see. Can you see your sinful nature? No, you see the manifestation of it. So we get preoccupied on the manifestation, which then turns Christianity into a system of morality, and it becomes moralism. Moralism, no, we have In fact, if you think about it, what's the only way to fight our sin?

15:11 What's the only way to fight sin? If you really think about this, you have to fight sin, which ultimately you cannot see, which is your sinful nature, not by focusing on what you can see. But you can only fight sin by grabbing onto that which you cannot see, which is imputed righteousness. That's really the only you're gonna say, But wait, we've got to fight against sin. Well, you can fight and fight and fight and fight and fight. What's a guaranteed fact you're still gonna sin? I know that goes against everything Christianity teaches. But I'm telling you all you can do is run to the imputed righteousness of Christ. People gonna say that sounds like a weak, powerless Christianity, while all the people who talk about power in Christianity, you know what they still do sin. So those are our three enemies. Well, at the beginning of the last hour or the end of the last hour, we reached enemy number four, and this one becomes really complicated. And I don't have any answers for enemy number four. All right, everybody ready, I got pages of notes on all of these enemies.

16:17 Okay, are you ready enemy number four? For those who are here, they know enemy number four is false teachers. And this I have no clue what to tell you. This one is. I don't even know what to do with this one. Okay, but I think we can. All the Bible talks about false teachers constantly, does it not? Yes? So are we not to be aware? In fact? Go to I think is it Matthew chapter seven? Everybody? Look at Matthew seven. Look at Matthew seven. That's the famous judge not unless you be judged passage right, I think that should judge. I think that's Matthew seven and I think that's one.

17:02 Is it? Am I correct? I'm just going from pure memory here, So tell me if I'm wrong. Okay, Okay, yes, I'm right. Matthew seven to one starts with judge not unless you be judged. Okay, all right, now go down? I think is it? Verse fourteen fifteen sixteen says something along about beware of false prophets. Fifteen Look at that man, look at me, all right, y'are not in pressed? That's pretty good. Okay, right, I guess you're not in pressed. I don't care. Okay, all right, okay. Seven fifteen says beware of false profits. Why do we have to beware of them? Oh they come into a sheep's clothing inwardly ravening wolves. Now this gets right back into our whole concept that saw eighty three, right, because now we have teachers whom we can see, well, what we say is not what they are.

17:56 Oh that makes it really complicated, But it makes we have to be very careful because nobody wants to run up to a sheep and go, oh, this cute little sheep. I'm gonna call it fluffy, and you pet it and then you pull back, no arm, that's a bad thing. Well, false teacher. False teaching in a sense, takes away your spiritual arm. It rips you apart. So we got to be on the lookout for false teachers. But this is where it gets really really complicated. First, we cannot necessarily trust what we can see, So we got to be able to see what we cannot see. Now, this is where I'm gonna tick off every Christian in the world. But that's okay. Now, Typically the church answer is how do we fight false teachers? Give me the Church answer everyone, the Bible. That's great. That sounds so good. Right?

18:51 Does that sound good? Oh, it sounds so good. What's the problem with that? The Bible too, So when I say they're the false teacher, they will say, now I'm the right teacher, you're the false believer or false whatever. And so this becomes difficult. And now this is a problem within Protestantism. This is a Protestant issue, right because within Protestantism here's the thing. You sitting in the pew supposedly have the power and the authority and the ability to say what is preached either is either true or false, and what is not required for you to have that ability to do that.

19:40 Do you have to go to Bible college? Do you have to go to Bible as too? Do you have to go to seminary? You don't even have to go to church. And you can say wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong? Well, what makes you right? And you say, well, the Bible? But they will say the teacher will say everyone who's ever accused me of being wrong? I will say, no, I'm interpreting scripture right. Who's right? They just assume they are, and then they will either leave the They'll leave the church and I'll leave the church. Then they talk and talk smack and talk trash and tell every their people about you, and talk trash and talk trash because they can't shut up talking about you. And rarely do they come to you and ever actually prove that you're wrong, because any person who's ever come at me has never sent down and showed me their study or even tried to have a reasonable conversation. They just tell me I'm wrong. Leave the church, and then they can't stop talking about me. Well, it must be great to be so smart, which you know I've reached. The point is Bible call it? I was in I was, and I mean this from it, and this may sound very derogatory, but I'm just gonna be honest. At this point in my life, I feel like I was a complete idiot.

21:00 I should not have wasted my time going to Bible College because I could have pursued a military career and right now my retirement would be double or triple what it is now. I wouldn't have to even worry about my house payment and I would have to wear it. But I spent all that time going to Bible College and seminary for what. So everyone can tell me that I'm wrong. It was so useless education. I've bought all of my degrees there are wasted time. Literally, I mean that they're a waste of time. They don't mean anything. They've never meant a thing, so it's a waste that I loved the process because I love school, but from a practical standpoint, it was meaningless. So how do we deal with the full teachers because one day I can be I mean, I remember the pierces know my joke, right, If someone walks in and go, you're the best teacher we have ever heard. You are so great. We love your teaching. What's going to happen. There'll be some of the first people to leave. Right.

22:07 So now if someone praises me, I'm like, yeah, whatever, whatever, excuse me. I'm the true teacher until they determine. I'm not dc where this leaves Christianity. That's why there's never there's no That's why there It's just it's a meaningless fight. It's an exercise in futility. I don't know what the answer is against false teachers. I don't know what the answers. But let's look at some basic things about false teachers. I know that's gonna sound all really negative, it's going to offend a lot of people, But I just think any pastor, at some point you just kind of realize your education really doesn't mean anything. All your study doesn't mean I've read the Bible page to page, I don't even know forty fifty sixty times by now doesn't mean anything. Right, we all know that. And that's okay. I mean, that's just the way it is within product, that's just the way it is. But let's look at some basic scriptures. Let's go through these quickly. Go to Second Corinthians eleven. We ended the last hour with this Second Corinthians, chapter eleven thirteen through fifteen. Because this one's only going to make this more complicated than it needs to be. But it's the way it is. I don't know what to do with this verse. I really don't.

23:22 Second Corinthias, Chapter eleven, verse thirteen. Second Corinthias, Chapter eleven, verse thirteen. For such are false apostles. Now that's the problem. Now I said this in the last hour. Again, it's going to offend everyone at this time in the Bible. Second Corinthians, eleven thirteen. This is pretty serious because I have false apostles at time would have been very difficult ry because the apostles were what at that time, they were kind of like the building blocks of the early Church. Yes, and they had what kind of authority? Apostolic authority? Right? I remember? Throughout church history the argument has been apostolic succession? Did that authority get passed on? And what I claim, and this is my claim, is that in the Protestant Reformation, apostolic succession, even though most Protestants say it doesn't exist, it exists.

24:25 Where and within Protestantism, where did Apostolic succession go to the individual? Now we claim we don't believe in apostolic succession. But every person now is an apostle because they can declare what is dogma and what is false, what is right, what is wrong? Not only that they can judge other people and whether they are possibly even a true Christian or a false Christian. Every person you know who claims to be a Christian. Listen to them talk. They sound like they have apostolic authority, do they not? Okay, that's a problem, problem, is it not? But in this particular case, the false teachers make themselves out to be white. Look at the verse apostles.

25:10 In fact, they make themselves to be apostles of whom Christ? And who are they following? Read the rest of that verse. They're deceitful workers transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself transforms himself into the Angel of light. Satan will not appear in the hideous form that everyone thinks that he will. He will appear as an angel of light because his key element is deceit. False teachers will show up. Every false teacher will claim to be what a true teacher. A false teacher doesn't show up and go I'm a false teacher, and I don't actually believe in Christ. I'm going to lead you away from Christ. They all believe that they believe in Christ, and they're leading you to Christ, which lee is does this and Mud and in fact, false teachers are one of the most difficult enemies to deal with. The first enemies, Satan, demon and sin are things that ultimately we cannot see. We may see some manifestation, but we cannot see. False teachers are are the first enemy whom we can actually see, but we can't actually see because they appear to be that which they are not. So how do you judge what you cannot ultimately see because you have to go against what is being presented to you. That is a complicated situation. Is it not? All right? Let's look at another scripture.

26:45 Go to first John chapter four, First John Chapter four. Everybody ready, First John chapter four, Verse one, Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but tests the spirits whether they are of God, because many false prophets have gone into the world. By this you know the spirit of God. Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God. And every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of anti Christ, which you have heard was coming and now already is now already in the world now. And First John, what is awesome is he's giving them something specific to look for right now. First John is a polemic against what. First John is a polemic against what? Do say it? Gnosticism? It's a polemic I know. Look, nobody, no church and appling will agree with that. But it can easily be proven. It's a polemic against gnosticism.

28:00 I know. Everyone will say it's a test to prove whether you're saved. Well, then everyone failed the test, So I don't know. It's a polemic against gnosticism. How do I know it's a polemic against gnosticism? Look right there in First John four, many false prophets have come into the world. How do you know the difference between a true prophet and a false prophet? According to First John, Chapter four, verses one through three, what is the test that you confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh. Gnostics don't believe Jesus Christ came in the flesh because they believe all flesh is evil, so he could not have flesh that this. So he is giving them a specific test to fight gnosticism. Right now, that's awesome. Everybody should be like, that's good. Now. The early Church kind of followed this concept because they created what creeds and if you violated the creed then you were a false teacher. That sounds good. Now. Within Protestantism, the cry came, no creeds, but the Bible. That sounds really good.

29:18 The only problem is everyone claims the Bible. Now, the difficulty is is in which creed determines who's a false teacher, because not everyone's going to agree on the creeds. Everyone should be able to agree on the apostles creed. But you get to the nicing creed. Does everyone agree on the nice and creed? Everyone got the Trinity hymnal. Grab the Trinity hymnal. Look at the niceing creed in the back. Second, the apostles creed is the most important creed in Christiandom. Nice and creed probably is the second most important. Nice and creed comes around three twent Council of Nicia. Right, everybody find the creed, tell me where you found it? Eight six. Now the creed starts pretty simple, pretty straightforward, does it not? Right? Yes?

30:14 Very important, all simple. Look down. I think it's close to the end. I think it's like almost the end of the Creed, and we'll have a statement about baptism. One baptism for the remission of sins? Do everybody see that, ladies and gentlemen. Not everyone agrees on that, do they? Because everyone will fight over what which word would they fight over in that statement? Four? Yeah, because there's two different ways of defining that. You get baptized in order to obtain the remission of sins, or you get baptized because you have the remission of sins. If I get a speeding ticket for speeding, I don't get it, So I can I get it because I did? All right, you get the idea. So there's that debate over that, so right there, just right there, immediately now, if the Creed is the statement we're going to determine false teachers or true teachers, we're in trouble because now nobody can agree on what it means.

31:32 So we're finished. In order to obtain many other Pentecostals, some others believe the same concept. Where Catholics obviously would believe Lutherans would believe, Greek Orthodox would believe, like a large portion of christiandom would say no, you get baptized in order to obtain the remission of sins. Well, we would say, no, you get baptized because you have received the remission of sins. An you're demonstrating you've receive them mission of sense. So then it's a debate, debate, debate, debate. So you see, even having a creedal statement becomes very difficult, does it not? Because because not? What makes the credal statement difficult? Well, first, who has the authority to write one? And on what authority? Then does the creedal statement hold? What we will say the credal statement, This is what we always say, the credal statement or catechisms or confessions of faith are only authoritative as long as they agree with the Bible. That sounds so good, But what's the problem, Because it's not whether they agree with the Bible, it's whether they agree with your interpretation of the Bible. Meaning what becomes then the authority? You what did I say about apostolic succession? It's to the individual. Now, I know if you tell people that, oh, they'll lose their minds on you.

32:52 But I'm telling you it's the it's the truth. So this makes dealing with a false nature very complicated. Right now? On first, John that I'm a specific test. Hey, a prophet comes in. Hey, I got a question. Do you believe that Christ came in the flesh? No, you got to go all right. I love that. That's simple that. The only problem is it becomes much more complicated than that. So how do you deal with false teachers? Well, let's let's look at some more. All right, go to Titus chapter one. Oh, we got to move quickly. We're gonna at least try to get through false teachers. We're not gonna like any of the answers we get here. But okay, look at Titus chapter one. I'm going right past Titus. There it is chapter one. All right, all right, Titus chapter one. I'm gonna read this from the New King James. Titus chapter one, verse ten. For there are many what unruly mine says insubordinate. Oh man, I've been a pastor for a long time. There's been a lot of insubordination as a pastor I've had to deal with. But you know what doesn't really matter. It doesn't really matter, right, Okay, both idle talkers and deceive, especially those of the circumcision whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole households teaching

34:23 things which they ought not for the sake of dishonest gain. And that sounds good, right, dishonest gain. They're in it for the money. Now, guess what is that? An easy way to judge whether someone was a false teacher? I started receiving I don't know what day it was. Someone went to our pod page. Now in every podcast, I give out my email address, right. I used to give out my home address. I used to give out my phone number. I used to give out everything because I was like, bring it on, right, I remember I got death threats and all crazy f calls, right, because you know, Christians, there's nothing like says you're a Christian then calling telling calling someone at two in the morning threatening to kill them. There's nothing that says Christianity better than that.

35:07 Okay, right, but all right, so uh, instead of emailing me, they went to our pod page and started submitting reviews. Right, but the reviews are obviously not very nice. So the pod page contacted me like, hey, we don't post the you know, negative reviews because that could hurt, you know, someone's podcasts and hurt their things. So you know, do you want to see these things? And I was like, what in the world is going on right, because some of the things it was just negative, negative, negative. But guess what. I was told that I just do my podcast the way I do my podcast so that the money will keep rolling in anywhere. And for someone to say that, like if anyone knows me, obviously, I have never preached or taught in a way that's going to guarantee my financial success. I got kicked off Christian Radio because I wouldn't play along the game, right. I have never We've had people leave this church in large numbers because I won't go along and play the game. I have never to say that I'm in it for But that's just the way it works, right. Someone can just declare me to be a false teacher, accuse me of being in it for dishonest gain, where every piece of evidence would say other. You can accuse me of a lot of things, don't accuse me of being in this for the money. In fact,

36:40 the very first time, the very first meeting I ever had was what six months after being a pastor. I think we had a meeting right back there, tables and as soon as all the accusations started coming at me, first I had a folder to demonstrate that they were lying because they say, you never called me. I called you in this day, I called you, and this day I called because all the accusations that I didn't care and I didn't look, even though I'd just gone to their house and had a dip meal with them. Even doing all of that, That's why my attitude changed dramatically about all of that, because you can do all this stuff for people and they still accuse you. I'll never forget. I said, from this point on, I'm not taking a dime from you people, because there was a little hint that we pay you, and I'm like, nope, you're not going to do that garbage. This is not going to be like you pay me, so now you own me. No no, no, no, no no no no. You don't know me very well. And especially at that time, because you know I lived on base housing. I didn't need any money, so I could even be even more bold. I'm like, I'm not taking a dime. And from that point, I'm like, come on, did what you want, and I would not back down, right because I wasn't in it for dishonest game. But what I want you to see is you know how quickly someone can make an accusation of that for someone. I received an email two days ago from a Pathway to Victory, Dallas, Texas pastor Robert Jeffers, the pastor of First Baptist Church in Dallast, Texas. And everyone knows that they're what they call their campus cost

38:12 in the billions to build. Well, I got an email from that ministry. Guess what they're looking for. They need seven hundred and fifty thousand dollars. Now, I wanted to email back, like, I need one hundred thousand to pay off my house? Do you think they would care? No, they need seven hundred and fifty thousand dollars to do what to Their radio program is a thirty minute Monday through Friday program that's nothing more than has edited sermons. I do more. I produce more content in a week than they do in a year. So like, I mean, that's a little bit of hyperbole, but you get the point, right, Okay that I mean because that would be thirty minutes a day, five days a week, okay, but I usually do multiple hours per day, so yeah, I definitely knock out more than they do. So the point is is I want seven hundred and fifty thousand dollars? Now? Could I use that email and go he's a false teacher? So I don't. I don't think I can.

39:17 I think it's ridiculous they need seven hundred and fifty thousand dollars, right, I think that's ridiculous. Like, Hey, if you need help buying a lot laptop and you're getting a microphone, I can help you out for you to take you about six hundred dollars for a laptop, one hundred dollars for the microphone, and then you can broadcast on the internet for about I don't know, depending on which platform you use, between fifty to sixty dollars. And if you want to create an online radio station, I can probably help you do that for about one hundred dollars a month. So yeah, I don't think you need seven hundred and fifty thousand dollars for your mail. You need seven hundred fifty thousand dollars probably to make the building payment for your huge campus that you built in downtown Dallas. That's probably what you need money for, you don't need it for your sneaking radio program. Okay, effect, if it's costing you that much to be on the radio, just go to a full blown podcast and you'll be good to go. Okay, So, I mean, the whole thing's ridiculous. I can call that into question.

40:06 But you see when they even tried to judge a false teacher based off money. Do you see how subjective that can be? If I go online and I ask for money, then immediately am I a false teacher. I don't think it's that simple, That's all I'm trying to say. But they go after the false teachers for what here, look at everything Titus one ten through eleven. They go after them for a number of things. Right. One of the things they go after a Titus one ten through eleven, they subvert whole households teaching things which they ought not. Okay, well, again, that's subjective, right. You say you're teaching something you shouldn't teach, and they would say, I'm teaching something that you just don't like to hear.

40:59 Yeah, I'm saying to say, they're doing it for the sake of dishonest gain. It's hard for you to judge. You can't judge that, right, Maybe I'm maybe I'm only here teaching because I need my house payment. You could make that accusation against me, could you? Not? Right? Good? Absolutely, you can make that accusation. How could I? I can't defend that because that goes to what motive? That goes to motive. Oh, we're back to the stuff we can't see again. I can see in the teacher, but I can't really see the teacher. Oh that does that make it uncomfortable? Now? Does that make it uncomfortable? It makes almost impossible to what to fight or to judge? Right, Look at Secondpeter Chapter two. Second Peter Chapter two. What happens in this one? We're going to run out of time? That's okay. Secrepeter Chapter two. Tell me what you find there? Look at verse one. I think it's one to three. There we go, Secrepeater Chapter two. Everybody there saymen Secredpeter two to one. All right, But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you who will secretly Please note the word secretly, now if they're doing it in secret? Meaning what

42:35 if I'm doing something in secret? Cannot be seen. We're going you see them. I'm so driving this point home, like to the point that you should be tired of hearing you by now right. You cannot see it. They're bringing in destructive heresies, according to some translations, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bringing on themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their destructive ways because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed by consteousness. They will exploit you with deceptive words for a long time. Their judgment has not been idle, and their destruction does not slumber. Now. The bottom line is, first of all, this carries out some of the things that we've talked about as the characteristics of the enemies in Psaw eighty three.

43:23 Does it not destruction, chaos, deception, craftiness. They're coming, but they're coming in and they're going to bring destruction. Now. The thing is they do it what way secretly, meaning what you see is not what you see. That is maddening. That is maddening. I don't I don't have a good answer yet. Let's let's go on go to two Timothy, chapter four, really quick. We're gonna go through these quickly. Timothy, chapter four, verses three through four. Second Timothy, Chapter four, verses three through four. What do you find? What do you find? You tell me what you find? I said, I'm me reading it to you, tell me what you find. Okay, there's gonna come a time that people in the church will not want sound doctrine. But what are they gonna do.

44:29 They're gonna find the teachers that fit their desires. That it's just their ears. Anything else that says about these teachers and Second Timothy four, three through four, anything else, people are gonna turn their ears away from the truth. Now this becomes very difficult, right. What makes this difficult? Now, because you're gonna see the teacher? Oh, we see, we see the teacher. What else are we gonna see? According to this verse, it's implied, it may not be explicit. We're gonna see the teacher. What else are we gonna see? We're gonna see all the people following them? MENI then you cannot judge a ministry as being true simply on the basis of the number of people who are following it or present. Now that Christians typically say amen, at this point, they'll say it amen, But then watch them drive by a church that only has a few people, and almost instantaneously, what will they say? God's not doing anything there. God is done with that place. Same thing basically people would have said about Jeremiah Isaiah. But at the same time, just because you drive by a place and there's no one there, you can't immediately say God is there and they're doing things the right way. So that means it's hard to judge. Paste

46:00 off yu. See oh does that not drive you crazy? Wait? Because we gotta deal with these enemies, right, all right? Oh, let's go. Let's go on one more. Go to Romans chapter sixteen, Romans sixteen. Go quick, Romans sixteen seventeen through eighteen. Romans sixteen seventeen through eighteen. Everybody there, Roman sixteen seventeen through eighteen. What happens here?

46:45 All right, there's gonna the false teachers cause what division, chaos, difficulty, they break, they they cause dissword, they caught. They they're gonna cause division and fight and arguing because they're going to just disagree with everything. So it's going to be a divisive situation. False teachers are going to do that. Now, See, I could be accused of being a false teacher because I go against most of what Christians say. So therefore I can be accused of being what divisive? See you see how this can work. At the same time, the false teacher can use this as a way to protect himself. Right Bobby starts arguing, you're being divisive, You're being like a false teacher. I could use that to defend myself, making this all what utterly and completely subjective. I just wrote down a couple of things. Here's some of the tactics of false teachers. Want I won't go through all the scriptures to support all of these, Maybe I'll do it in a podcast.

47:45 They twist scriptures, They use smooth persuasive speech, They use flattery and approval seeking to win people over. They use exploitation and greed. They use secrecy and deception. These are what false teachers do. All right, now, are you ready? Here we go. We try to come in with a summary so that we can walk away with something. Here. Everybody ready, okay? So in Psaw eighty three, the psaumis is lamenting God because they are facing a set of confederacy of nations that want to destroy them. He describes those enemies using very specific attributes, does he not. We've looked at those attributes. Those attributes are the exact same attributes that we all encounter with our enemies. We have looked at four enemies so far. Enemy number one, Satan, Enemy number two Demons, Enemy number three Sin. Okay, and Sin, we see not only sin as sin and action, but a sinful nature. Next, false teachers. Now you've got those four, You've got those four enemies, they all meet, They all followed those attributes almost to the letter. I think we can all agree on that. Now, here's what I want you to consider, and I don't. This is not going to be very helpful, but it's something we have to admit here,

49:15 right, are you ready? What is an absolute truth about these four enemies? What is an absolute truth about all four of those enemies? What is an absolute truth about them? Like? No one can deny this, It's an absolute truth. Okay, I'm not denying that, but that goes back. We already know that they all four follow the same attributes. Right, We already know they maintained the same attributes, right right, they all those four, they all four okay, Well, well you can't you can see false teachers, Okay, are you ready for this, I'm just gonna give it to you, right because this is very This is very kind of how saw maybe three plays to us. This is where it's going to get complicated.

50:09 Here's what we do know. Those four enemies God is never going to get rid of as long as we are on this earth. These enemies will not be done away with until the end. Is that not an absolute truth? When will Satan be dealt with? The end? When will demons be dealt with? And the end? When we'll sin will ultimately be dealt with? And the end? When will false teachers fall ultimately be dealt with in the end? All right, So that means what that as long as we live, as long as we live, these enemies are not going away.

51:02 Now, this, this is going to be very difficult because much of Christianity talk constantly talks as if God is involved. He's doing this, he's engaged here, he's doing I mean, you listen to your average Christians talk. Just listen. It's like, well, God let me hear, or God showed me this, or God took care of us here, or God did this and God did that, and God did this and God did that, and sometimes you're like, well, if God is doing all of those things, well, then can he just get rid of the enemies? Right? Right? And it's and it's so weird, right, it's so weird how people will talk. Right, But those enemies are not going away now in the same way. Now, this is going to be interesting. They're asking for God to intervene in Psalm eighty three, right, they're asking God to to He specifically asked God to intervene in the present and the same way he intervened in the past. But here's the thing. And all the way that he asked God to intervene in the past was God intervening in the past to destroy what physical enemies whom they could see. Now that he's asking God to intervene to destroy the physical enemies whom they can see, right, because he's asking to get rid of those enemies. Now, here's what we know about this. Look at those enemies in Psalm eighty three. Look at those enemies they're listed starting I think verse five. We have the Edomites, we have the Ishmaelites, right, Felistia tire right, all nations can we agree to

52:39 that? Here's what I know. Even if God intervened and destroyed all of those nations. What has proven to be true from that point on that if that happens around the time of David and Solomon, does Israel's physical enemies go away? They do not. They're not even gone today. Now you see where this is going to make us uncomfortable. Asking God's intervention to get rid of an enemy whom you can see is in no guarantee that even if he got rid of that enemy, that another one won't show up the next day.

53:28 So if we're gonna if that is true, even with our physical enemies, then when we look at our spiritual enemies, what are we can be absolutely guaranteed of God is not going to get rid of them. God is not going to get rid of them. God is not going to get like that is hard for you to acknowledge. God is not going to get rid of them false teachers. In fact, if our eschatology is right, false teachers will only increase, deception, will only increase, Satan will only manifact become more if you get to the Book of Revelation, even become more powerful in a sense, or at least I will say more visible. His actions will be more present. Won't become more powerful, but you will, He'll be presented in a more powerful way, and maybe that's the right way to say it. There'll be more satanic visible activity, more visible demonic activity, and sin will continue to what abound. So meaning then what is our hope?

54:35 All right? So let's go through these again. We as people, we live in a world believing in a God whom we cannot see, while surrounded by circumstances which we can see, which calls into question to God whom we cannot see. At the same time, we live in a world surrounded by enemies which we can see, and at times we forget the enemies whom we cannot see, and as a result, we get so preoccupied fighting the enemy we can see. So therefore we become distracted and end up in many cases doing the wrong thing. Well, guess what, As Christians, we have to realize that these enemies, whether we can see them, whether we cannot see them, they will continue to be present, and the God whom we cannot see is not going to get rid of them, which will cause you to question the existence of that God whom you cannot see. Our only hope that look, So we what can we dogmatically assert what is not our hope getting rid of the enemies? We have no hope in getting rid of these enemies. Do we have any hope that these enemies are going to be defeated in our lifetime? No, no hope in that. I know that goes against everything you hear in church. There is no hope and getting rid

56:06 of these enemies. They are never going away. So then what is your only hope? Your only hope is in the God, whom you cannot see, providing a righteousness which you cannot see, which guarantees your position, which you cannot see, will preserve you to an eternity that you yet cannot see, so that when you finally get there and can see it, then all of those enemies which you can and cannot see, will ultimately be done away with. Now, I know that goes against everything any church will teach.

56:59 But that I'm telling you, I can dogmatically assert those enemies are not going away, and I'm telling it ticks me off. Get rid of Satan, get rid of demons. Hey, even if you don't want to get rid of Satan and demons, here's enough. Just get rid of my sinful nature for crying out loud and after two thousand years at church history and Christians are always like, well, God, every sermon I listen to, the same trash is prayed between before everything. God, show us tonight, open our eyes. Let everything I say be in accordance to your word. Like God is obviously not doing any of that. If he was, we would all believe the same thing. Nothing. So God is not doing any of that.

57:52 So because we want God to do that which we which we can see, I mean I want that. You can you can think I'm an ungodly person, and you're, well, you're right, But at least I can admit that I'm so ungodly that I get mad that God won't take care of the things that I can see, so or and take care of the things which I cannot see, so that I can be better off in a way which I can see. But what I have to do is I no, no, no, no, no, I've got this all wrong. The God, whom I cannot see, is providing for me in a way in which I cannot see, guaranteeing an eternity which I cannot yet see. And how does he do that? By faith? He does what imputes his righteousness to me? So what is my positional standing before God today? I'm perfect, holy, righteous, san state taken care of as far as my position is concerned. In Christ, can Satan do anything to it? No, nothing, right, nothing, he cannot. In Christ, I am more than a conqueror, and my position not in Practically, I don't know why we quote that as a practical promise. Now can anything separate me from the love of God? Now? And all the people who want to talk trash about me and make accusations, I mean I make judgments. Doesn't matter because who can lay a charge? Who can accuse these the elect of anything?

59:17 It's God who justifies. Satan can accuse me all day. For every accusation someone gives me, I'll give them Christ's phone number. Their accusations may be valid, but in Christ he invalidates their accusation because he says, I'm sorry. He's perfect, He's holy, he's righteous. So that is what I can't see. That. I have to hold on to what I cannot see, because everything that I can see is messed up. And even what I cannot see, I can't stand against those enemies. I can't stand against my sinful nature. I can't stand against a spiritual being by the name of Satan.

1:00:04 I can't stand against an army of demons. How am I going to even have a hope against false teacher? Right? So my only hope is that what none of that stuff can do, what can'tact, can't separate me from the love of God. In Christ, nothing can touch me positionally. So in Christ I am more than a conqueror. In Christ, no weapon formed against me shall prosper in Christ. Please know you see the difference here?

1:00:45 Wait, what a Christians do? We take all of these scriptures and try to apply them to what we can't see. No God works in a way in which we cannot see. I know everybody wants to go to the Old Testament goal, but God intervened in ways in which they can see, and it didn't matter. Every intervention was what Now, come on, let's be honest. Every intervention ultimately was futile. At the time it may have felt great, but I mean, they defeat the Egyptians and this enemy, God defeat that the enemy that had another enemy, defeat that enemy, another enemy, and ultimately what was the biggest enemy in which God did never even try to defeat their own sinful nature, meaning God has no desire to get rid of our sinful nature. I don't understand. Do you understand that God says be holy? But what he won't get rid of the very thing that stops me from being holy? That is insanity. But I have to trust in a guy whom I cannot see when everything around me says makes no sense.

1:01:46 You know what makes no sense is that have a sinful nature. But in a sense, God's dealt with the sinful nature, but not in the way we want. How do you want God to deal with your sinful nature practically so that I can be holy? I mean, come on, if you're married, don't you wish God would deal with the sinful nature of your spouse? Absolutely? Right? I mean, wouldn't it be great? You're gonna be like, man, well, I got I got the perfect spouse now now of course, then once the perfect spouse would look at you and go, what's your problem? I'm perfect and you're not. So ultimately, we need God to do it. But he's not fixing us. Oh I oh? Did I just say that? He's not fixing us? But He's fixed the ultimate problem because he fixed that which we cannot see in a sense by ignoring what we can see by imputing to me what I cannot see, to guarantee me an eternity which I cannot see. But once I see it, all those things that I can and cannot see are going to be gone.

1:03:05 All right, pray, Lord God, we come before you this afternoon. Lord, thank you so very much for giving us an opportunity to look into these things, and study these things, and struggle with these things. Lord. I know that these questions are these concepts, and these ideas go against everything that is taught everywhere. Lord, I if forgive me if I'm wrong, Lord, but I pray that we will continue to meditate and think on these things and struggle with them, so that if there's ways in which we were wrong, we will see it and correct it. But Lord, we live in a world which we just constantly are confused by what we see. But all we can do is trust in You, whom we cannot see, and Lord, to be very honest, I can't speak for anyone else.

1:03:51 Sometimes I don't understand what I see. Forgive me for my doubt, Forgive me for my questions. Forgive me sometimes for my bitterness, Because Lord, it is very difficult living in a world which all the things we see calls into question your very existence. Help us with that very reality. And we asked this in Jesus name because people said