 Our sermon title this morning is the anatomy of apostasy falling from the faith the anatomy of apostasy And we are studying together now first Timothy chapter 4 verses 1 through 5 where the Bible says Now the spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons Speaking lies in hypocrisy having their own conscience seared with a hot iron Forbidding to marry and commanding to abstain from foods which God created to be recede with thanksgiving By those who believe and know the truth for every creature of God is good And nothing is to be refused if it is recede with thanksgiving for it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer And as Paul comes to the end of his instruction in chapter 3 We've seen that he puts that instruction in perspective for us in verses 14 to 16 there We have a glorious heritage as the church. We have a glorious identity. We have a glorious function. We have a glorious Mission we are blood-bought members of the church of the living God that gives us a glorious heritage amen Amen, we are God's chosen people where the apple of his eye He is our portion forever And there is no greater truth to live for than that truth amen Amen The glorious salvation that we have in christ that God was manifested in the flesh that he was vindicated in the spirit That he was seen by angels preached among the Gentiles believed on in the world and received up in glory and that god According to his truth in christ would save wretched sinners like us That is a glorious blessing a glorious heritage a glorious mission A glorious message that are those are the glorious truths of the christian faith These are truths that we would give our lives to uphold as the pillar and ground of the truth Despite that truth however, paul in chapter 4 now moves on to the conditions Under which that truth must endure under which that truth must prevail under which we must prevail And all that gives us great cause for joy and worship in chapter 3 verse 16 that doctrine Which according to godliness All is seen under direct assault now in chapter 4 verses 1 through 5 The doctrine under assault the truth of god under assault you christian under assault And we must prevail we must endure to the end to be saved As much as we uphold the truth of god to a pagan world that needs the gospel that needs a savior We also must uphold the truth of god within the church to protect us From apostasy that we might persevere be preserved to the end to be fully and finally saved And that is the matter of concern for paul here as he begins this chapter chapter 4 His concern is apostasy His concern is going to be the concern of apostasy will be the focus of verses 1 through 5 But it's also a vitally important subject as we see from first Timothy chapter 4 verse 6 drop down to verse 6 He instructs timothy if you instruct the brethren in these things You will be a good minister of jesus christ nourished in the words of faith and of the good doctrine which you have carefully followed This instruction is so important that if timothy instructs and continues to instruct reminds the brethren of these things He'll be a good minister of jesus christ drop down to chapter 4 verse 12 Here he exhorts timothy let no one despise your youth But be an example to the believers in word in conduct in love in spirit in faith In purity and where these apostates give themselves to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons Here timothy is to give his attention to reading to exhortation to doctrine Do not neglect the gift that is in you which was given to you by prophecy with the laying on of your hands Laying on of the hands of the eldership Meditate on these things give yourself entirely to them that your progress may be evident to all This is an important subject Notice the balance of time those apostates giving themselves giving heed to deceiving spirits seducing spirits doctrines of demons and yet timothy to give himself entirely To the doctrine giving attention to that we are to be an excellent servant of jesus christ And in order to be an excellent servant of jesus christ, you must have an understanding of apostasy and paul warns us to expect apostasy here and then gives us five Considerations to fight it to crush it and to avoid it and we need to hear that instruction The first point that he brings up in verse one is a well defined warning of it About it a well defined warning in verse one Here paul says now the spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith that issue here Is it some are going to depart? There'll be some that will depart the faith that word in the greek is a feast Amy It means to withdraw means to remove yourself From the position that you originally occupied and notice there's a deliberate sense to that word They will depart from the faith. It's in the middle voice. It means they acted upon themselves It was an inward Departure followed by an outward choice of action to depart the living god Whether they are giving themselves over to They are doing it in self will it is a deliberate action a deliberate decision to walk away It's an active rebellion Apostasy or departing here refers to walking away from the faith There's an article there direct article and the faith refers to that body of christian doctrine to which you were once delivered When you came to christ, you were delivered to a content of the faith a body of doctrine that has been established It's been established by god in his word from the beginning You were delivered to that faith and here It's not necessarily faith in that sense in a sense of believing They may still believe in a set of facts But they have no heart for living to please god that since they are departing from the faith There are always those who understand the faith intellectually. They even play the part well They obey they play church. They go through the motions, but faith The faith isn't something that has penetrated their hearts And as such it's not something that has truly overtaken them. They've never been born again They've never been radically changed. They haven't had that heart of stone replaced with a heart of flesh They don't have the marks of genuine conversion And that in that sense they're not poor in spirit They don't mourn over their sin. They don't delight in the word of god delight in the things of christ They have no hatred for sin. They have no burden for lost people. They have no real zeal They have no diligence. They have no earnestness for the things of god The only thing holding them to the work is the work itself. There's no christ compelling the work There's no glory of god driving the work Those these are those which john bunion spoke of as standing at a door to hell at the very gates of heaven And those that haven't come through the sheepfold door to christ, but rather somehow have climbed over the wall and are no more than thieves and robbers In that sense it is a forsaking of faith as well not just the faith, but faith They just forsake faith in christ. They don't savingly believe Their hearts aren't changed And by finally departing they make it known that they were never one of us In first john they went out from us because they were not of us They demonstrate in actuality that they have an unbelieving heart With this definition of apostasy. Where are you this morning? Are you true? Are you in the faith? Have you been radically transformed? Has your heart your heart of stone been ripped out of your chest and replaced with a heart of flesh? Have your inward desires been transformed? Do your desires conform with the desires of christ? With the desires of god as revealed in his word. Are you a partaker? Can you say that you are a partaker of the divine nature that you have the mind of christ? If you have the mind of christ, you'll have the heart of christ and you'll have the heart of christ for his word You'll have the zeal of christ for the lost. You'll plead as if god were pleading through you You'll hate and despise your sin every sin that was paid for on the cross by christ Do you have that heart for the lord? Or have you swallowed whole the bait and hook of a lie and you're living the life of a hypocrite? Are you living a lie when the seducing spirits when the seducing spirits come for you? Will you be able to stand because you are transformed? Will you be able to stand because you are sealed by his spirit? Or will you be swept away by their deceit? In a biblical church, the scripture comes alive before our eyes And we see the fruit of apostasy, don't we? We've seen those that have departed the faith We've seen those that were outwardly external, outwardly conforming, playing the part Incidentally, that's where the word comes from Means pretending means acting acting apart playing out of play Certainly here that's the concern of paul and first timothy chapter four make sure you are in the faith We see that concern Throughout paul and throughout the scripture just flip a page back to the left in chapter one chapter one That was the concern in verse 18 We're here paul says to timothy this charge i commit to you son timothy According to the prophecies previously made concerning you that by them you may wage the good warfare and this is warfare Having faith with a good conscience which some having rejected concerning the faith have suffered shipwreck How many look around this room? Who do you want to suffer shipwreck of their faith? Not a one Not a one And so wage the good warfare fight the good fight Encourage one another stir one another up to love it love and good works Exort one another daily while it's called today We're to fight for one another this is a warfare and some are suffering shipwreck of their faith giving heed to seducing spirits And we've seen it happen too many times already and here this is the concern of paul It's like there are people who are suffering shipwreck fight Wage the good warfare We see it in second timothy flip over to second timothy look at chapter four In second timothy chapter four beginning in verse three Here he commands timothy the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine But according to their own desires and that's ultimately what it is that inward turning of the heart and that decisive action to rebel It is produced by their own desires Because they have itching ears. They will heap up for themselves teachers It's just somebody that will come along and tell them what they want to hear The christian life isn't all about that Why are you so serious? Why why such the high accountability? Why all the effort toward evangelism? Why do you have to obey? What is all this about? Just a seducing spirit with satan behind him tickling the ear to tell them what they want to hear and then they turn from the faith And and are lost And this is a war they will heap up for themselves teachers And they'll turn their ears away from the truth and be turned assigned to fables It's apostasy But the exhortation in verse five you christian be watchful in all things Endure afflictions. Do the work of an evangelist fulfill your ministry Apostasy is a serious concern And we see examples of this throughout scripture. It's all over scripture is full Of examples of apostasy all written for our admonition for our warning Ezekiel 18 verse 24 But when a righteous man Turns away from his righteousness and commits iniquity and does according to all the abominations that the wicked man does Shall he live? The answer to that question is no The lord says all the righteousness which he has done shall not be remembered Because of the unfaithfulness of which he is guilty And the sin which he has committed because of them he shall die It's apostasy is turning away from the lord turning into your own flesh turning into the desires of your own hearts Turning away from god second peter chapter 2 verse 20 for if After they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the lord and savior jesus christ They are again entangled in them and overcome the latter end is worse for them than the beginning it's apostasy hebrews chapter 6 For it is impossible for those who are once enlightened and have tasted the heavenly gift And have become partakers of the holy spirit and have tasted the good word of god and the powers of the age to come If they fall away It is impossible to renew them again to repentance Since they crucify again for themselves the son of god and put him to an open shame And certainly these passages Put before us the fearful reality Of apostasy This isn't a fiction This isn't hypothetical There's a fearful reality of apostasy and it's fearful as these warnings are The fear is compounded should be compounded in our hearts by the fact by the impossibility To be restored from it once full apostasy is taken place We see all these examples in scripture go back to second chronicles with me second chronicles chapter 25 First king second kings first creen chronicles second chronicles second chronicles chapter 25 And again here an example An amaziah the king of juda It's interesting what the bible says here about amaziah I want us to see this in light of our understanding of apostasy We see apostasy here in this king of juda look at chapter 25 verse 1 Amaziah the bible says was 25 years old when he became king and he reigned 29 years in Jerusalem His mother's name was johadan of Jerusalem Look at verse 2 and he did what was right in the sight of the lord But not with a loyal heart The apostate is heartless The apostate is externally conforming The apostate is cold and dead in his external ritualism Here we have a king simply going through the motions doing what was right in the lord's eyes But not with the right heart How many of you this morning examine yourself? Where are you at in respect to that? Do you simply do what is right in the eyes of the lord in some External form of ritualism you do the work for the sake of the work Or do you do that from the heart lord? Thank you god for saving me Thank you lord for dragging me out of the pit of my sin And for making me just before you in christ so that I might serve you from a grateful heart lord I do this because of all that you've done for me in christ And not because I think of somehow by my good works that this is going to merit salvation Or it makes me a good person or makes me right before god It's in christ alone lord and I love you and I love I delight in your law I delight in obeying you I delight in giving you glory lord, which is why you created me. Is that your heart? It should be your heart when you obey the lord Lord, thank you god for the grace that comes through your spirit to empower me to live the christian life By the finished work of christ on the cross It's not in my own strength not in my own power Now that's the heart that clings to christ the heart that clings to his word that clings to the cross A heart that understands our great need and understanding our great need Holds us fast If you're just performing work for the sake of work, then you're no different here from amaziah He did what was right in the sight of the lord, but not with a loyal heart. It wasn't from the heart That's since its hypocrisy. It's legalism Look at verse drop down to verse 14 in verse 14 Amaziah here goes to war And he goes to war against edam. Okay, and look what he says he wins a victory over edam The lord delivered them into amaziah's hands and now look what it says in verse 14 Now it was so after amaziah came from the slaughter of the edamites That he brought the gods of the people of seer And he set them up to be his gods and bowed down before them and burned incense to them Ultimately apostasy is idolatry Here he just fell pray to idolatry Listen, if you're serving the lord, you're not serving the lord with a loyal heart with the right heart Then you open yourself up to seducing spirits Deceiving spirits doctrines of demons. You just open yourself up to be pray to the wicked one Just to fall into the hands of satan You just leave yourself open to idolatry Here it says in verse 15 therefore because of his wicked idolatry this heartless religion that led to apostasy Therefore the anger of the lord was aroused against amaziah and he sent him a prophet Boy in the grace of god the grace of god still Sent him a prophet Who said to him why have you sought the gods of the people which could not rescue their own people from your hand? I mean imagine for a moment the ridiculousness of this the absurdity of it He defeats them and then he worships their wicked false idols that if they were anything at all would have delivered the edamites out of his hand Foolishness absurd And just such is the wickedness of our own hearts the wickedness of our own flesh apart from christ apart from his spirit That's just a factory of idolatry verse 15 Why have you sought to the gods of the people which could not rescue you their own people from your hand verse 16 So it was as he talked with him the king said to him Have we made you the king's counselor cease? Why should you be killed he's gonna kill him because he told him the truth Then the prophet ceased and said i know that god has determined to destroy you Because you have done this and have not heeded my advice. We see that fulfilled drop down to verse 27 Verse 27 after the time after that time that amaziah turned away from following the lord They made a conspiracy against him in jerusalem and he fled to lakash But they sent after him to lakash and killed him there Then they brought him on horses and buried him with his fathers in the city of judah by the judgment of god One example after another there's a very interesting example in ax chapter five. Let's look at that one together ax chapter five Another example in scripture of apostasy We see these who had once turned to the lord And then in their deceit Turned away from him ax chapter five Look beginning in verse 33 And again these that turn to the lord and then are lured away seduced away And turned away from the lord here in ax chapter five look at verse 33 when they heard this they were furious and plotted to kill them Then one in the council stood up a Pharisee named gameliel a teacher of the law held in respect by all the people And commanded them to put the apostles outside for a little while Then he was talking to his Pharisee buddies in verse 35. He said to them men is men of israel Take heed to yourselves what you intend to do regarding these men For some time ago thudas there comes a deceiving spirit A lying hypocrite thudas for some time ago thudas rose up claiming to be somebody a number of men about 400 joined him He was slain and all who obeyed him were scattered and came to nothing The picture of that deceiving spirit and all those apostates who were lured away to follow him Just a lying deceiving spirit look at verse 37 after this and here they come again, right? It's just in the church from the time the church was established until now It's just one seducing spirit one lying hypocritical demon after another satan is behind it all But uses human agency and here we see human agency and thudas and judas Just lying hypocrites that lured people away after themselves to their destruction In verse 37 after this a man judas of galilee rose up in the days of the census And he drew away many people after him He also perished and all who obeyed him were dispersed and now from the mouth of a Pharisee Listen to what he says in verse 38 now. I say to you keep away from these men and let them alone For this plan or this work is of men. It will come to nothing But if it is of god, you cannot overthrow it lest you even be found to fight against god There will always be wicked Apostates always be wicked deceivers drawing away disciples after themselves. We see other examples in scripture judas Judas and apostate demas Who had forsaken paul in love with his present world? You see in john chapter six Those so-called disciples that were following christ who when christ had a hard word They turned away and followed him no more interested in the things of the lord interested in christ hadn't heard preaching like that before Astonished at what he was saying And yet when the going got tough Those apostates got going They turned and they followed him no more. They followed after the dictates of their own hearts There's a few important points to take away from this first Apostasy in that sense isn't accidental or unintentional the apostate decides to follow In the presence of alluring seduction The apostate makes the choice If you're not in christ You don't have his spirit His strength his wisdom. How are you going to stand? When the seducing spirit comes It's just so easy to be lured away pulled away So easy to be deceived many of you spent your lives deceived before you came to christ And now will you fall into deception all over again? Entangled in that wickedness the apostate decides to follow the dictates of his own heart He decides to turn to something or someone That will lead him astray Secondly, these are not people who do not know the truth They know the truth and they reject the truth And they are turned They once turned to the lord and now they turn from him They may be completely deceived about that Maybe believe that they're doing the lord's work Maybe believe that that is the right direction to go But they have been seduced deceived by deceitful spirits And deceived by the dictates of their own heart their own flesh their own deceitful heart And they have turned themselves out of the truth And turned themselves to lies But next these are not genuine christians A genuine christian is not an apostate as john says these went out from us because they were not of us They went out to me bane manifest. They weren't of us. These are those that are not christians These apostates are not genuine christians. We have the promises of god In the great doctrine of the perseverance of the saints that the lord in his power in his strength will preserve us Will cause us to persevere to the end and be saved John chapter 10 verse 28 says this and I give them eternal life And they shall never perish Neither shall anyone snatch them out of my hand. My father who has given them to me is greater than all And no one is able to snatch them out of my father's hand That's the security that we have in christ That is the Doctrine of the perseverance of the saints that the christian will persevere to the end ah strong if he elogen said this The only falling from grace which is recognized in scripture Is not the falling of the regenerate not the falling of the born again not the falling of the real christian But this is the falling of the unregenerate From influences tending to lead them to christ The unregenerate in a church like this is surrounded by influence that should tend them to turn to christ If a woman is married to a believing husband I mean be a husband married to a believing wife That is an influence in the home that should tend to turn them to christ You're around a brother a sister at work at school It's the influence of salt and light in this earth that should tend to turn you to christ These are those unregenerate that turn from that influence that turn from that enlightenment so to speak that hebrews talks about They turn away from christ the rabbis said that a drop of water Will suffice to purify a man who has accidentally touched a creeping thing But an ocean will not suffice for his cleansing so long as he purposefully keeps the creeping thing in his hand Are you holding on to that creeping thing of sin? Are you holding on to that creeping thing of self indulgence self will That creeping thing of wickedness that you just won't release Does this mean that christians persevere in their sin? No That is the creeping thing If the so-called christian says i'm in christ And all the while they hold that creeping thing unrepentant of unreleased clutching that in their hand That is the apostate That is the lost person we were saved from our sin The christian perseveres in the faith consistently striving against sin until the end So then with that thought does this warning then in first Timothy chapter four verse one And elsewhere in scripture does that apply to christians? Yes At the same time yes, this is not a fiction This is not simply hypothetical This is a pressing concern of scripture first chrithians chapter nine verse 27 paul says this But i discipline my body. This is paul the apostle paul I discipline my body and i bring it into subjection literally he strikes it under the eye and makes it a slave He strikes it and makes it a slave Lest he says when I have preached to others I myself should become disqualified Does this mean that paul had no assurance of his salvation? No This means that paul feared god In a healthy way And paul feared the deception the wickedness of his own heart such that he Used the means of god in these warnings to persevere to the end To finish his race In hebrus chapter three verse 12 The author of hebrus says beware brethren Beware brethren bless there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief and departing from the living god At the same time a genuine christian Cannot lose their salvation cannot fail to be preserved by god Listen their names are written in the lambs book of life from before the foundation of the world They are graven on his hand So in the same way that a genuine christian cannot lose their salvation at the same time the scripture says brethren beware Lest there be in any of you it is a means used by god to help you persevere to the end and be saved And should we take these warnings seriously? Amen Or do we just take these? Ah, that doesn't apply to me. I'm a christian No a means of your preservation is taking these warnings seriously This applies to you hebrus says in chapter three verse 12. Listen make sure that it's not you Make sure that you're not the apostate Hang in there How are you running? How are you running? Are you fervent for the lord? Are you trailing off? Remember that confidence that boldness that you had at the beginning When you believe that the lord genuinely saved you If you held that picture up next to the picture of where you're at now, how would it compare? Where are you at? Have you begun to depart in your heart? Is your heart just lukewarm about things of god? Beware brethren lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief and departing from the living god At the same time that scripture teaches That christians will be preserved until the end preserved in the power of god the power of his spirit It also warns all christians that it is only he who endures to the end that will be saved Then these warnings are a means that god uses to help us persevere For this example the christian life Is like a man making his way up a hill A man making his way up a hill the christian life is ever upward If you in your sanctification believe that your christian life looks more like a flat line Or descending need to examine whether you're in the faith the christian life is ever upward It's like a man climbing a hill until fully and finally he reaches the summit in the power of god It's god that preserves him in strength to reach the summit But he may slip he may fall he may stumble over a rock He may step into a hole But it is ever upward he doesn't fully finally fall off the hill or roll down to the beginning never to start the climb again He is ever upward charles spurgeon said it's like a man On the slippery deck of a ship He may slip on the deck may fall a wave may knock him over The stumbling and tossing and turning of the ship may cause him to hold on to the banister hold on to the railing But he'll never fall overboard Francis quarrels says this the way to be safe Is never to be too secure Warning a traveler to keep a certain path and by this means keeping him in that path Is no evidence that he will ever fall into a pit by the side of the path simply because he is warned of it Let that sink in for a minute Warning a traveler to keep a certain path and by this means keeping him in that path Is no evidence. It's no evidence that he'll ever fall into a pit by the side of that path simply because he is warned of it The bible says that when you think you are secure Let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall It is right for a christian to have assurance of their salvation But not a presumptuous assurance To have a presumptuous assurance Is ultimately to turn the grace of god into licentiousness That you In the confines of your sinful flesh With your deceitful heart That assurance should be accompanied by a healthy fear of god A healthy For lack of a better word respect for the wandering of your own heart The wandering of your own mind the weakness of your own flesh the tendency to Follow after the dictates of your own heart As much as the reality of apostasy Should deeply trouble us It should outrage you right apostasy should Stir up in you a righteous indignation. I don't want to see anybody fall. We have seen too many fall already Here in first timothy people are falling making shipwreck of their faith We've seen people turn aside to seducing spirits We've seen them stumble and fall and stumble and fall and stumble and fall The wickedness of understanding that satan is behind it all It should outrageous, but it shouldn't catch us by surprise It shouldn't catch us by surprise in verse one It says now the spirit expressly says there's an emphasis there with that word expressly on the clarity With which it is said on the clarity with which we should see it We as timothy need to expect to see it because the spirit has expressly said In this sense, listen, it's not the word that is failing when we see it It is the word being confirmed when we see it It is the scripture being displayed before our eyes. It's god's word being fulfilled And notice that this well-defined warning here is given directly by the spirit of god notice first He's speaking the spirit is a person. He's not a force And this is present tense. It means it's ongoing present tense the spirit says Well, he said this in first timothy two centuries 2000 years ago And he said many things in scripture all those years ago But he says it authoritatively to us present tense now what the spirit says is always relevant It is always authoritative and it was always it's always important for god's people to hear He who has ears to hear let him hear what the spirit says present tense to the churches that is revelation And what has been said in the past is as important for us to hear today Let me give you one example of that in first timothy five Just look over another page first timothy five look down at verse 18 In verse 18 here we see this For the scripture says holy spirit is the author of scripture There again that says is in the present tense And then he says you shall not muzzle an ox while it treads out the grain now that verse is quoting Deuteronomy 25 Where the spirit said that same thing millennia ago and now he says it again first timothy chapter five And then he says it to us today The scripture the spirit jesus christ speaks to us present tense today for our admonition The spirit has always here spoken of apostasy and that speaking of apostasy is just as current Just as applicable just as authoritative just as clear as when he first spoke and does that mean that paul heard a voice? Maybe he had an impression he got to do a dream Maybe he had a vision He emptied his mind and then thoughts just popped into his head beware apostasy. Is that how it works? No, the scripture speaks through his word The scripture speaks to the authoritative the authoritative word of god when the scripture says present tense in revelation Hear what the spirit says present tense to the churches that was given in a letter To those churches in revelation. We have a letter We have a letter from god the revelation of god in his word the bible And we can hear clearly what the spirit says And so has the spirit spoken of apostasy in scripture? Yes, and he has spoken expressly and clearly and authoritatively for our admonition for our warning The first the spirit first gave paul that warning Enacts 20 where he warns the elders and emphasis look savage wolves are going to come in among you Not sparing the flock and they're going to lure men away after themselves It's a warning of apostasy and matthew chapter 24 verse 10 The bible says that many will be offended. This is jesus christ speaking who when jesus christ speaks the spirit speaks This is the deity of christ and the trinity He says many will be offended will betray one another and will hate one another Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many and because the lawlessness will abound the love of many will grow cold It's apostasy mark chapter 13 verse 22 Then if anyone says to you look here's the christ or look he is there Do not believe it for false christs and false prophets will rise and show signs and wonders to deceive if possible Even the elect these deceiving seducing spirits will stop it no ends to try to deceive even if even the elect if that were possible And they are effective in luke chapter 8 verse 13 in the context of the parable of the sower But the ones on the rock are those who when they hear They receive the word with joy And these have no root who believe for a while and in the time of temptation In the time of trial in the time of persecution in the time of difficulty they fall away They turn from him After they had turned to him and received the word with joy and believed for a while They become apostates There's so many ways to be deceived so many ways to be lured away Take heed lest you fall Anyone some person comes along whispering dropping honey in your ear Beware seducing spirits beware these lying hypocrites They are liars Second peter chapter 3 says that scoffers will come and they will abandon the faith for their own lusts It's pretty clear right Here's the spirit speaking clearly that's that word expressly it means unmistakably undeniably There's an emphasis here on its clarity. Why why is there such an emphasis on clarity? One so that you will not be fooled Don't be deceived Turn off that wicked influence cut it off like cancer cut it off like gangrene If you can rip it out of your phone rip it out if you can rip it off facebook rip it out Don't listen to that seducing spirit that is a lying hypocrite that will lure you away Be sober be vigilant because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour Greater is he that is in you then he that is in the world, but greater is he that is in the world than you Take warning here from scripture. Don't be deceived. Don't be drawn away cling to scripture cling to christ cling to your brothers This is the means of grace by which god has ordained that we should persevere to the end and be saved It says here that this is going to happen in latter times It might have surprised timothy that it was happening in Ephesus right then when he got the letter That's what it means. We're in the latter times. We have been when christ came He inaugurated the latter times and will be in the latter times until christ comes again Hebrews 1 verse 2 says this god who at various times and in various ways Spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets has in these last days the days that we're in Spoken to us by his son peter at pennacost Quotes the old testament prophet joel in acts 2 regarding what was seen at pennacost and it shall come to pass In the last days says god that i will pour out of my spirit on all flesh The last days began then Remember also timothy is receiving this letter and that apostasy Spoken of by paul is going on in the church at Ephesus at that moment And it goes on today Look at quickly second timothy second timothy chapter 3 Second timothy chapter 3 just a page over look at beginning at verse 1 But know this paul says That in the last days perilous times will come for men will be lovers of themselves lovers of money boasters proud blasphemers disobedient to parents unthankful unholy unloving unforgiving Slanders without self-control brutal despisers of good traders headstrong haughty lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of god Having a form of godliness but denying its power and from such people turn away. It sounds like us today, doesn't it? Well, isn't that a a fitting description Of the context that we live in today. We are in the last days now. Aren't we? That's right. So we're not to be surprised We are going to see some among us Fall from the faith They'll fall to self-will They'll fall denying the scripture They'll fall deceived about what genuine repentance looks like They'll believe themselves to be repentant and they'll run off in their apostasy believing that they have the faith And we're not to be caught off guard either. The spirit has expressly spoken. We must look after one another We have a responsibility. We must look after one another. That's why with Persistent vigilance, we are to consider one another in order to stir up love and good works Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together as is the manner of some but exhorting one another So much the more as you see the day approaching Will you be sickened enough by apostasy that you will guard look out for stir your brother up Help a brother out I don't want to see it not one more person fall How what does it take We need to be disgusted by this outraged by it sickened by it not one more Turn to christ and repent of your sin cling to the cross And if you find yourself under the influence of a seducing spirit in your own Ignorance or in the dictates of your own heart then listen to your brothers. Listen to scripture. Listen to reason Listen to this. This is bunion again In pilgrims progress they came to a place where christian met with one turn away That dwelt in the town of apostasy Wherefore of him mr. Great heart their guide now put them in mind saying This is the place where christian met with one turn away who carried with him the character of his rebellion at his back And this I have to say concerning this man. He would harken to no council But once a falling persuasion could not stop him It's oftentimes that the departure has already taken place in the heart By varying degrees over time they have slipped into a position that is now Virtually irretrievable And I won't listen to persuasion won't listen to council won't listen to reason It goes on to say before he came to the gate he met with evangelists Who offered to lay hands on him to turn him into the way again But this turn away resisted him and having done much despite unto him He got away over the wall and so escaped his hand Just lost lost this is listen This is not for the person that you're thinking about It's not for the person three rows back three seats over three rows in front of you. This is for you This is for me It's a warning for you It's a warning To look after our brother look after our sister It's a warning to get yourself right with christ has your heart grown cold Have you ever been truly quickened by effectual grace? Have you been born again? Or have you become hardened by the deceitfulness of your sin? Are you disinterested in the scriptures? Do you lack a zeal for the lord? Is your zeal more about opposing god's servants and god's work? Or is it a real zeal for the lord? Have you gotten to a place Where you know all the right words to say you know all the right things to do You know all the right passages to quote, but you are dead on the inside You have no joy. You have no real fervent love your christianity is no more than a than a forced externalism Just a moralism that just keeps you going It's like the dead guy you prop up and you just walk along it's a plastic plant producing plastic fruit Just go through the motions weekend week out. There's no passion for christ that drives you There's no glory of god that compels you the only thing that keeps you working is the work itself Turn to christ You don't know if you've passed that point only god knows You don't know if you've passed that point of full and final apostasy only god knows And so turn if you have any inclination in your heart toward the things of god toward christ who bled Then turn to christ and repent in faith be saved turn now at this warning There will be a time when it is too late There'll be a time when you have received all of the revelation that the lord is going to grace you with and you will get no more And when that time comes the door is shut And all hope will be lost For you christian as peter says you therefore beloved Since you know this beforehand beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness being led away with the error of the wicked But in contrast grow Grow in the grace and knowledge of our lord and savior jesus christ We are not of those who draw back to perdition. We are those of who believe to the saving of our soul Do you see yourself in this prayer or not? If you resonate with what this says Then maybe that's evidence of the fruit of god's work in your heart But if this has no meaning to you whatsoever You don't see this in your own heart and examine yourself whether you're even in the faith Thou creator upholder proprietor of all things I cannot escape from thy presence or control nor do I desire to do so My privilege my privilege is to be under the agency of omnipotence Righteousness wisdom patience mercy grace Thou art love with more than parental affection. I admire thy heart I adore thy wisdom stand in awe of thy power Abase myself before thy purity It is the discovery of thy goodness alone that can banish all my fear Allure me into thy presence help me to be wail and confess my sins When I review my past guilt and unconscious of my present unworthiness I tremble to come to thee I whose foundation is in the dust I who have condemned thy goodness defied thy power Trampled upon thy love rendered myself worthy of eternal death But my recovery cannot spring from any cause in me I can destroy but cannot save myself Yet thou hast laid help on one christ that is mighty For there is mercy with thee and exceeding riches in thy kindness through jesus May I always feel my need of him Let thy restored joy be my strength May it keep me from lusting after the world Bear up heart and mind and loss of comforts Enliven me in the valley of death work in me the images of the heavenly And give to me to enjoy the first fruits of spirituality Such as angels and departed saints know It's the heart A christian that understands their need for christ Their need for god's preserving strength and power That we can only destroy ourselves. We cannot save ourselves If you're here today and you haven't come to that understanding And somehow in your own mind you're thinking That you can have your cake and eat it too That you can run off After the dictates of your own heart Now it's not all it's cracked up to be Besides I don't even think these guys have it right Who's to say that's true? Read your bible You christian if you begin Wandering off that path When will your wandering end? It needs to end right now needs to end right now If you're off the path and get out of the ditch It's not just a ditch. It's full of quicksand And it will drag you under And prove fully and finally if it does you are never a christian to begin with Don't give heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons. It is a our next point a dangerous devotion Any church with respect to apostasy you have three groups you have true believers Those that are born again that bear fruits of that conversion Then you have those that are The the opponents those hypocritical liars They lurk under the Rain of their father the devil under his influence and working for his ends They camp out about the people of god seeking those that may pluck off in their deceit And then you have those that are susceptible to being lured away Where are you? Are you running strong in the word of god in the power of his might? Where's your prayer life? Are you fervently crying out to him? It's a demonstration of your need demonstration of your understanding Or are you of that group that is susceptible? Easy pray easy pickings for the wicked one turn from that And with fervency of heart repent Be zealous As the lord commands as the spirit expressly says let's pray together Father in heaven one god. Thank you for this This glorious passage of scripture that is so kind so gracious to us in the warning that you give The pray lord that would not fall on deaf ears They wouldn't fall on hard hearts Lord that it would fall in fertile soil. They would Drive our roots deep so that we would produce lasting eternal fruit fruit of worship fruit of praise Fruit or that displays your glory Thank you lord for your grace and mercy to us. Thank you for your spirit God caused us to persevere Protect us lord in your great grace your great mercy Lord those that are teetering lord that One foot in this world and one foot supposedly in the church God, I pray that you would do what it takes to keep us in the church We're to cut off a hand or pluck out an eye Or cut off that foot that's in the world For your glory and god for our preservation For your eternal worship and praise for the good of your people Lord There's anyone here that is not saved lord. I pray god Please show them lord the deceitfulness of sin Show them the lord that the longer they persist the harder and harder they become Show grace and mercy to them to save them One more worshiper lord one more labor in your harvest field for your glory We love you lord. Thank you lord in all these things in jesus