Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
All right, nsr, as we
promised yesterday, we are back
, so occasionally we'll runepisodes back-to-back days.
This time it's because therewill not be an episode next week
.
Maddie will be on vacation,maddie and Colt are going to be
gone, and also I'll be gone withmy family, and so we'll be gone
(00:22):
and won't be bringing an nsrepisode thought about uh, we've
got some that we could load upfrom the hopper and just and
just launch.
But we're really trying to dothese.
I'm wanting to.
I'm wanting to keep this paceof sort of in real time.
There have been times wherewe've recorded stuff six to
eight weeks out and then we justhad stuff ready to go.
(00:44):
But I like doing this week toweek and addressing real-time
issues, and so we're going tokeep that going.
Anyway, we're going to pick upwhere we left off in yesterday's
episode, pick right up,literally, just seamlessly,
hopefully, right into thatconversation we had yesterday
and today, really get into whatI think are the biggest causes
(01:06):
of apostasy.
We looked at demons yesterday.
We're going to a few morethoughts on that and then we're
going to move into some otherthings that the scripture
teaches and then how we mightguard against those things so
that we stay firm and hold fastand follow the Lord to the end.
We don't shrink back.
So I want this to be so helpfulfor y'all, for me, as I've
(01:26):
prepared it, so let's dig intoit.
Welcome to no Sanity Required.
Speaker 2 (01:38):
Welcome to no Sanity
Required from the Ministry of
Snowbird Wilderness Outfitters.
A podcast about the Bible,culture and stories from around
the globe.
Speaker 1 (01:48):
Before we get into
today's episode, I did want to
give you one sort ofannouncement.
Let's see, let me look.
We've got the Respond Women'sConference coming up and I want
to see where our numbers are atright now.
For that, we're at 430.
So, uh, we're at 400.
So we're, we're, I don't knownow, um, we're way over four 400
(02:12):
people, I think.
For those adult single, um,adult conferences, not single
people, but like the, theconference that is like an
individual.
It's not, uh, youth groups,student ministry, but like the
adult conferences likeindividual.
It's not a youth group, studentministry, but like the adult
conferences, like um, be strong,respond to college, uh, the
college event that we do.
Those are typically individualregistrations and so we have a,
(02:35):
we have a S.
A lot of times we have asmaller capacity because we want
to handle that Well, it's justdifferent when you're running
adults through and so there'sstill space for you to get into
the sessions.
But you would probably call theSnowbird office and see if
you've got that April 20thweekend open.
(02:57):
Wait, is it the 20th?
I'm rambling right now, I know.
Yeah, april 20th weekend.
So the 19th through the 21st isour spring women's respond
weekend and it's going to beawesome.
I'm excited about what theladies have planned, very
excited about a skit slash dramathat Amy Davis has written.
(03:19):
That's, I think, going to be sogood.
The teaching content the ladiesare going to be teaching.
I'll actually be preaching onSunday morning just for a Sunday
morning worship service, butthe content on Friday and
Saturday is going to be so goodand if you, if you're interested
in it, go to the website, go toSW Outfitters, check it out
(03:41):
Also.
Um, our new website has dropped, is dropping, um, so check that
out also.
Um, our new website has dropped, is dropping, um, so check that
out.
I think, unless I've got mydates wrong, y'all, I think it
drops today, um, but it might benext tuesday.
Um, I think it's today anyway.
Brand new website.
John reagan and his crew haveworked hard, john reagan being
(04:04):
his crew.
He is the crew primarily whenit comes to the website, but he
works within that media officeHank Parker, austin, scott.
John Reagan got the whole mediateam between Austin and Chris
Fitzpatrick, issa, who runs mostof our social media stuff.
(04:25):
Chris and Issa do a lot ofInstagram stuff that's social
media related.
We have got an?
A team in there.
They're crushing it.
Really excited with the contentthey're putting out.
But John's worked hard to getthe new website up and running
and I'm excited for that.
So get over there, check it out.
(04:46):
Look at the Respond ConferenceLadies, we'd love for you to
come.
There should still be someavailability, a little bit of
room to get folks in.
I think we'll book that thingto about 500 people and then we
have, like I know we have 60ladies from our church coming,
but they'll only be here for thesessions and so it ends up
being probably between six and700 people in in in house.
(05:08):
Um, yeah, it might be somethingthat that, even though it's
last minute you could, you couldget over here and and be a part
of would love for you to dothat and an awesome time of
fellowship just time in the wordtime and worship.
It's going to be a greatweekend.
All right, without any moredelay, I want to get into our
(05:32):
conversation where we're goingto pick up where we left off
yesterday.
So yesterday introduced you toour boy, our guy Demas.
Demas, in review, was a guy whowas a co-worker.
He was part of Paul'smissionary team.
This was like alpha team.
This was an ODA team for gospelmovement, church planting in
(05:53):
the Roman Empire, first century.
I mean these guys plantedchurches in the major epicenters
of culture, philosophy,education, corinth, thessalonica
, rome, ephesus.
They were.
They were on the cutting edge.
They were in Athens at onepoint and this dude was on the
(06:15):
team.
I mean, like if you're a pastoror youth pastor listening to
this and you're, you'rediscouraged because of kids that
have turned away.
Man, the Apostle Paul, whoseteam was made up of St Luke I
say St Luke because I've beenlistening to some RC Sproul and
(06:36):
he'll say turn in your Bible tothe Gospel of St Mark, st Luke,
but Luke, dr Luke, barnabas,john, mark, timothy these dudes
were gunslingers, man, they wereOGs of church planting and
missions work and that was theteam that this guy, demas, was a
part of and it said that he hadabandoned Paul in Paul's
(07:01):
greatest time of need.
He left him out of a love forthis present world and it's a
good warning to us that none ofus are above that.
There's another couple of namesmentioned um, in Paul's letter
to Timothy.
Paul mentioned this in the lastepisode.
Paul call some people out.
Now he is not scared, um to toname names and I don't know that
(07:26):
it's a some.
I don't want to use that as ajustification to start naming
people's names and callingpeople out publicly.
Paul definitely had a differentauthority and he's under the
inspiration of Holy spirit.
He's writing scripture.
But, um, first, timothy, one18,.
Timothy, my son, I'm giving youthis instruction in keeping
with the prophecies previouslymade about you so that, by
(07:47):
recalling them, you may fightthe good fight.
So this is an admonition toTimothy.
He's like I'm going to, I'mgoing to remind you of some
things that you would recall sothat you might fight, fight well
, fight the good fight.
Might fight, fight well, fightthe good fight, having faith and
(08:09):
a good conscience, which somehave rejected and have
shipwrecked the faith.
So he says I want you to livewith a good conscience Once you
have faith, but there are thosewho have rejected it and have
shipwrecked the faith.
Among them are hominous andAlexander, whom I have delivered
to Satan so they may be taughtnot to blaspheme.
Um, I think what, what is beingdescribed here, what it most
(08:32):
often looks like, is reasoningagainst the conviction of the
Holy Spirit.
I bring up hominous andAlexander in in this
conversation aboutdeconstruction because and
here's why what these dudes aredoing is they've?
They're?
They're pushing against thedemands of faith.
They're making allowances forthings that God would not have
(08:53):
me to believe or act on.
How many?
What they're doing is they'rerejecting a good conscience.
How do we, how do I know that?
Where do I get that?
Well, having faith and a goodconscience.
So Paul is saying to Timothy youknow his, his young mentee, the
guy that he's you know he's,he's, he's training and raising
(09:13):
up.
He's like you have to live witha clear and good conscience,
which would mean for thebeliever.
Paul also writes my conscienceis clear, but that's not what
gives me vindication.
It's the Lord that judges me.
What brings me vindication andinnocence and clarity of
conscience is the conviction ofthe Holy Spirit.
So Paul's telling Timothy livewith the conviction of the Holy
(09:37):
Spirit.
Some have rejected that and indoing that they've rejected
their conscience.
They've rejected the convictionof the Holy Spirit.
Typically, what causes this isan underwhelming study and
meditation on the scripture andan overwhelming volume of the
world's entertainment, politics,definitions of justice or
(10:03):
goodness.
So the world begins to controland inform Christian doctrine
and biblical teaching ratherthan what I learn in scripture
and how my mind is saturatedwith scripture being the filter,
the doctrinally faithful filterthrough which everything else
passes.
So, in other words, how manydays?
(10:28):
And Alexander versus Timothypolicy and a Timothy.
Let the Holy spirit convict youand guide you with that
conviction.
Let your decisions be guided bythis conviction.
Let your doctrine be guided bythe conviction of the Holy
spirit.
And then he gives theseexamples of guys that have done
the opposite.
These guys rejected theconscience and conviction of the
Holy Spirit and he's warningagainst that.
(10:48):
And what I'm saying today isthat this is right in step.
So Demas forsook Paul and thechurch and the Lord out of a
love for this present world.
These two guys rejected goodconscience, they rejected the
conviction of the Holy Spirit.
When someone walks away from God, walks away or deconstructs and
(11:12):
recreates a new form or versionof what they want their faith
to be, you watch, you look.
What they're doing is they'rerejecting the conviction or the
convicting teaching of scripture.
For example, the scripture saysum, do not be drunk with wine
where it is excess, but befilled the Holy spirit.
Someone might say, well, um, Ican use alcohol because the
(11:38):
scripture doesn't forbid it.
And then they and I've madethis mistake in full
transparency.
Then you abuse alcohol and youbecome intoxicated, all because
you rejected the convictingprinciple or guidance of
scripture.
That's a.
That's a maybe a more simpleone, but I think you know the
(12:00):
one, that that some, some of thethings that that would be maybe
prevalent right now areredefining sexuality, redefining
gender or masculinity, or theroles of men and women in
marriage and sex, and church andcommunity, and like all these
different areas where God'sgiven what we believe at NSR and
(12:22):
at Snowbird Outfitters and thechurch where I'm an elder, red
Oak Church we believe God hasgiven a complementarian role to
men and women, where we havedistinct roles in relationship
and leadership and family andministry, and in no, that's not
what the Bible teaches.
You're rejecting the convictionof the Holy Spirit, because all
(12:49):
scripture is breathed out byGod.
So you have to reject scriptureand then fill that space with a
new conscience, a newconviction, a redefined version
of the truth, which is not thetruth at all.
So let's go back, starting withthe last episode.
(13:09):
The way you fall away, turn away, apostatize, is you fall in
love with what this world offersyou materially, sensually or
philosophically, ideologically.
Or now, number two, you rejectthe convicting power of the Holy
Spirit, the convicting power ofthe word of God.
You reject scripture andspecifically, I think where we
(13:32):
see that happen a lot is whenyou start to read man more than
you read God.
We believe the word of God isthe word of God, and so what
people write and teach isdifferent.
It can be helpful, but itdoesn't have the same authority.
Number three, so number one,demas, our example in love with
his present world.
Number two Hymenaeus andAlexander are examples rejecting
(13:56):
good conscience, and Paul tellsus how do you not do that?
You remember with conviction,you have faith and a good
conscience and you fight thegood fight to maintain that.
Number three the number threething that will, that will
allure people and pull peopleaway and maybe deceive people,
(14:20):
is the deceitfulness of sin.
The deceitfulness of sin Do notbe deceived, brothers and
sisters.
Hebrews 3, 12 to 14 says thisWatch out, brothers and sisters,
so that there won't be in anyof you an evil, unbelieving
heart that turns away from theliving God.
(14:41):
But encourage each other daily,while it is still called today,
so that none of you is hardenedby sin's deception.
For we have become participantsin Christ if we hold firmly
until the end the reality thatwe had at the start.
So he's saying watch out, be onthe alert, because sin is
(15:05):
deceptive and it's deceitful.
And he says something importantin that verse 13, so that none
of you is hardened by sin'sdeception.
So if now, listen, think aboutthis y'all If sin deceives you
and you believe the lie and fallfor it, you will then become
(15:27):
hardened in that lie.
That's scary that I could bedeceived into believing a lie
that God is not enough or God isnot good Like what the serpent
deceived Eve with in the garden.
God is not good like what theserpent deceived Eve with in the
(15:51):
garden, or that God's design isnot the best design for
sexuality or for worship or howwe live in the material world.
Sin is deceitful.
The human flesh, the humanheart, will always prefer the
world and what the world offers.
I say always in its raw, fallenstate, will prefer what the
world offers over what Godoffers.
(16:12):
Romans 3 says nobody's going toseek God, they're looking to
consume the death anddestruction of the world and the
flesh.
In the oldest and simplestillustration the Bible says it's
kind of like a person thatprefers sweets and fried food,
desserts and bread over grilledmeat and vegetables.
(16:34):
And my hands are raised.
I'd rather eat fried chicken,some mashed potatoes with gravy
or some French fries.
I love French fries.
They say it's one of the worstthings you can eat.
Everything I've read is likeFrench fries are horrible for
you.
I love them so much and I liketo eat them and I like to drink
Coke with them.
That's bad for you, but I knowit's bad and so you know you try
(16:58):
to find that balance where I'mgoing to try to eat decent as
much as I can and then, but I'mnot going to be religious about
it.
But but I but I'm not deceivedinto thinking that ice cream and
French fries is good for me.
I know it's not, um, but I willrationalize it, you know.
So one of the biggest dangers in, in, in, is when we rationalize
(17:20):
and reason from the fleshrather than from the spirit.
Now, I'm not talking about icecream and French fries, I'm just
using that as an example.
But you know, someone might saywell, I want to be with this
person and I wouldn't feel theway I feel if I didn't, if I
wasn't supposed to be with them.
I've asked God to take thesefeelings away if he didn't want
me to be with them, you know,and you start to reason and
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rationalize.
So anyway, let me read you apassage of scripture from
Galatians five, in dealing withthis, this is in dealing with
the deceitfulness of sin.
Now we're going to go over fromthe CSB to the ESV, because
that's what I'm most, thispassage, that's what I'm most
familiar with.
We'll begin in verse 16.
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But I say walk by the spirit andyou'll not gratify the desires
of the flesh.
Excuse me, that means that wordgratifies.
The same way.
It's from the Greek word teleos, which is the word to tell us
die, root word to tell us die.
It's finished.
Jesus said it's finished, it'scompleted.
Romans 10.
Paul says Christ is the end ofthe law.
(18:22):
He's the fulfillment of thecompletion of the law, the
teleos of the law.
So he's saying walk by thespirit and you will not gratify
the desires of the flesh.
In other words, you will notlet the flesh bring to
fulfillment, completion, bringto an end the teleos of its
desires, you know.
So, in other words, you'llstruggle with and fall into and
(18:44):
make mistakes when it comes tosin and the desires of the flesh
, but you won't let it come tofinal fulfillment, where it
crushes you and brings you to anend and completes its ultimate
work Kind of a cool way to wordthat.
So.
But I say, walk by the spiritand you will not bring to
fulfillment and completion thedesires of the flesh for the
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flesh, for the desires of theflesh or against the spirit?
The desires of the spirit or ofthe flesh For the desires of the
flesh are against the spirit.
The desires of the spirit areagainst the flesh.
These are opposed to each other.
To keep you from doing thethings you want to do, but if
you're led by the spirit, you'renot under the law.
Now the works of the flesh areevident Sexual immorality,
impurity, sensuality, idolatry,sorcery, enmity, strife,
(19:27):
jealousy, fits of anger,rivalries, dissensions,
divisions, envy, drunkenness,orgies and things like these.
I warn you, as I warned youbefore, that those who do such
things will not inherit thekingdom of God.
The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness
(19:52):
, goodness, faithfulness,gentleness, self-control.
Against such things there is nolaw.
And to those who belong toChrist Jesus.
And those who belong to ChristJesus have crucified the flesh
with its passions and desires.
If we live by the Spirit, letus also keep in step with the
(20:12):
spirit.
Let us not become conceited,provoking one another, envying
one another.
So what Paul is saying is um, asChristians, we don't need to
give into those fleshly desires.
We don't let.
We don't need to let sexualimmorality, impurity, sensuality
, idolatry, we don't need to letthose things come to
(20:34):
fulfillment in our lives.
We might wrestle with them andmake mistakes and fall into them
, but recognize that the livesin is that, hey, this is good,
this is fulfilling, this willreward you.
Sin is deceitful, no matter howrewarding it seems, it's
deceitful.
Just think of the Lord of theRings and think of Bilbo
recognizing I got to get rid ofthis ring, I, you know.
(20:57):
And and Gandalf saying I can, Ican't, I'm not, I can't take
that, I can't, I don't want totouch that ring.
And the way they handled it wasthis awareness of and this
thing yields and wields greatpower, but it's not a power I
can handle.
The flesh wields great power,but it's a power that will
overwhelm you and it'll link upwith the lies and the
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deceitfulness of sin to do it.
A lot of people turn away fromthe Lord because they are
deceived by sin.
Number four people have itchingears and desire for loose,
permissive teaching.
Second Timothy four, onethrough five, I charge you in
the presence of God and ofChrist Jesus, who is to judge
the living and the dead, and byhis appearing in his kingdom,
preach the word, be ready inseason and out of season,
(21:42):
reprove, rebuke, exhort withcomplete patience and teaching,
for the time is coming whenpeople will not endure sound
teaching but have an itchingears.
They will accumulate forthemselves teachers to suit
their own passions and will turnaway from listening to the
truth and wonder off into myths.
As for you, always be soberminded, endure suffering, do the
work of an evangelist, fulfillyour ministry.
(22:04):
Itching ears and a desire forloose, permissive teaching this
is what progressivism is.
Progressive Christianity isloose, permissive teaching, and
it says people will accumulatefor themselves teachers to suit
their own passions.
There's never going to be ashortage of carnal, worldly
(22:25):
teachers that'll support yourfleshly desires.
I mean, yeah, they're there.
I mean, this is no surprise.
So so one of the things thatleads to apostasy or
deconstruction is a desire anditching ears.
That desire loose, permissiveor what we would call
(22:46):
progressive teaching.
So kill that desire.
The way you kill it is bysurrendering it to the authority
of the word.
Number five, just a couple moreof these Separation from
community and fellowship withinthe body of Christ.
There's one of the most amessage that I've done I do it
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every year with our staff calledDon't drift.
And one of the steps in theprogressions of drifting away
and turn away from the Lord isthat you begin to disassociate
or cut yourself off fromChristian community.
Fellowship with within thecommunity that those that will
will hold you accountable, speakinto your life, will hold, hold
you to the faith you profess.
(23:29):
Um, that's, uh, that'ssomething that we see happen a
lot.
So you got to maintaincommunity, got to maintain
fellowship.
Um, ephesians four one through16 is this really cool passage
about the fellowship that comeswithin the body of Christ?
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Paul says to the Ephesians Iurge you to walk in a manner
worthy of the calling to whichyou've been called, with
humility, gentleness, patience,bearing with one another in love
, eager to maintain the unity ofthe spirit in the bond of peace
.
There's one body, one spirit,just as you were called to the
one hope that belongs to you, toyour call.
(24:12):
One Lord, one faith, onebaptism, one God and father of
all, who is overall and in allthrough.
All but grace was given to eachof us, to each one of us,
according to the measure ofChrist's gift, therefore, it
(24:44):
says, and the knowledge of theSon of God, to mature manhood,
to the measure of the stature ofthe fullness of Christ, so that
we may no longer be childrentossed to and fro by the waves
carried about by every wind ofdoctrine and human cunning, by
craftiness and deceitful schemes.
There it is Community, allthese gifts working together,
(25:05):
shepherds, teachers, prophets,evangelists, the unity of the
body, the building up of thebody, mature manhood, the
measure of our stature and thefullness of Christ.
What is all that for?
To build us up so that we won'tbe tossed about by human
cunning and craftiness, ratherspeak the truth in love.
We're to grow up in every wayinto him.
(25:26):
Who is the head?
Christ, so Christ is the head.
And then who?
The whole body, joined and heldtogether by every joint with
which is equipped, when eachpart is working properly, makes
the body grow so that it buildsitself up in love.
So he's saying Christ is thehead, we're the body.
There's strength in that.
If you get away from that,you'll be carried away by every
(25:46):
wind of doctrine and humancunning.
So separation from communityand fellowship with the body of
Christ will almost always leadto a turning away.
And the last two things thatI'm not going to elaborate on
here, that I think but we willbe in 2024, we're going to visit
both of these in episodes Twothings that I think are worth
(26:09):
noting.
I think two of the biggestreasons right now that people
are abandoning the biblical,historic teachings of
Christianity are number one andthis is really number six and
seven of this study.
This two part study issuesLGBTQ issues.
It's driving.
(26:31):
It's driving it right now.
When I say it's driving it, Imean it's driving this big shift
away, this exodus from thechurch or from Christianity,
where we're seeing a lot ofyoung people and people that
were at one point on fire forthe Lord fall away or turn away.
(26:54):
Lgbtq issues it's such acultural topic right now and
it's interesting because tolisten to the world's narrative
right now, you would think thatit's just.
Would think that I don't.
It's just crazy to me thatthousands of years of history,
we can study so many societiesand cultures and when this
(27:16):
becomes a key and prevalentissue, a society's days are
numbered.
And that's where we're at.
It happened in the Roman empireand as, as well as in other
empires, and that's where we'reat.
It happened in the Roman empireand as well as in other empires
, and that's where we're atright now.
Um, I hate it, but it's just areality and it's, I think people
(27:37):
are, people are, so it I wantto, I want to try to articulate
a thought here.
There are people that have beendeceived by the LGBTQ, the
demonic movement that it is, andthey are victims to some degree
, to in, in, in one sense, andto to one degree they're victims
(27:59):
, and what I mean is a kidthat's been wounded, hurt, maybe
abused.
Maybe abused, not loved, well,rejected, neglected, you name it
.
Or they just come from a familysituation where there's been a
lot of pain under the roof, andunder that roof, in that home,
(28:24):
in that house, there's been alot of pain and so there's
confusion, there's a lack ofsecurity.
A kid that grows up with a mamaand daddy that are working to
get along, working to pay thebills and love each other Well,
a kid's going to be morewell-rounded, they're going to
be more confident of who theyare.
Um, but a kid that grows up ina and hear me out, I'm not
(28:45):
saying everybody that saysthey're gay or trans or bi or
whatever it's, because they gotdaddy issues or their mama was
mean to them.
That's not what I'm getting at.
I'm saying there are enormousnumbers right now that are
inflated because people aresaying you see, there's a 30%
increase in transgenderteenagers because they're
(29:09):
finally free to expressthemselves and say who they are.
No, what it is.
The LGBTQ demonic movement hasvictimized and manipulated kids
that are hurting with the samethings kids have been hurting
with for a long time, and whatthey need is Jesus, and instead
we're trying to give them amovement that is driven by older
(29:32):
adult people that stand toprofit in one way or another
from it.
So kids become the victims.
In that sense, we need to beburdened and broken and saddened
for these kids and we need todo what we can to see them as
victims.
Now, on the other hand, thereis a massive movement.
That is the enemy.
It is demonic, it is wickedpeople that are going to face an
(29:57):
eternity in hell because theyhave rejected the truth, but
they have manipulated anddeceived people into following
their lie.
That's what's driving the LGBTQmovement.
It is calculated, it isabsolutely calculated.
It's demonic, it's an attackand a perversion of everything
(30:18):
that God has designed and inthat sense, the LGBTQ community
and movement is the enemy.
So you've got in the same camp,our enemy and those that we
need to fight to rescue.
And it's very complex, and Ithink what a lot of Christians
are doing is they're just soscared of being they.
(30:41):
Usually you'll hear this phrasequote, unquote, on the wrong
side of history.
Well, whatever that meanswhatever that means.
This is not the same thing as acivil rights movement.
Courageous men and women in thesixties fought for equality for
African-Americans and it wasone of the most noble and
powerful and wonderful thingsthat has happened in our
(31:04):
country's history.
This is not the same thing asthat.
This is not the same thing asthat People did not march and
suffer Jim Crow laws and socialridicule and lynchings and
physical abuse andmarginalization and poverty so
(31:24):
that modern day gay people,trans people, perverts could
call it a civil rights issue.
It's just crazy.
So we need to be burdened andscared for those kids that I'm
thinking of.
A kid right now who she'ssaying she's a boy.
She's, I don't know, 14, 14years old maybe, and she wants
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to be a boy, so 15 maybe.
She's like call me, don't callme this name.
Call me, I'm going to give youfake names here because I want
to protect this kid.
Don't call me Emily, call meMikey, don't call me Emily, call
me Mikey.
She's doing that.
She's saying that's not thename.
But she's saying I don't wantto be called this name.
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I'm no longer a girl, I'm nolonger that person, I'm a boy
and this is my name.
But that's not going to fixwhat's broken in this young lady
and I happen to know her storyand she's a broken person.
She's been hurt and wounded andwe have a movement.
What we need is for people thatare capitulating to this
movement and abandoning historicChristian faith and teaching to
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follow after it.
They're saying we have to beloving and I don't want to
believe in a Christianity and aGod that doesn't love these
people.
No, no, see it for what it is.
There is a movement that ispredicated on chopping body
parts off of teenagers, taking aboy's testicles and his penis
(32:50):
and cutting them off.
This movement wants your 14 and15-year-old sons to, without
your consent, be castrated andemasculated, and then they want
to celebrate them as brave.
They want to try to rebuildfeminine genitalia, which is
impossible to do.
(33:11):
It would be a semblance or somedistorted, broken, grotesque
butchery of that.
You want to take your 13, 14,15-year-old daughters and chop
their breasts off, like cuttheir breasts off of their body.
(33:32):
That's what they want to do,without your consent as a mom or
dad.
That child that's strugglingwith an identity crisis is a
victim and we need to rescuethem, and we don't rescue them
by encouraging them to believethe lie, referring to them as a
boy or girl, opposite ofwhatever they are.
(33:53):
Well, I need to be loving, soI'm going to call her a boy, if
that's what she wants to becalled.
No, I love her enough to notfeed the one thing, the one lie,
that is destroying her as aperson.
So it's a complex issue whenyou see it for what it is, but
that's one of the issues that'spushing people away from the
church because we're nothandling it appropriately and
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it's very tricky to see it forwhat it is.
Um, learn how to articulate thebiblical position.
And then the last thing ispeople are turning away because
of the biblical teaching on hell.
What you get is people a lot ofthis, quote unquote, turning
away or deconstruction is whatit is.
They don't completely turn awayand become atheistic.
Some do, but what's happened?
(34:36):
And also, as a lot of peopleare redefining things, they're
saying well, I want to create aChristianity where there's no
hell.
Um, and hell is a doctrine thatJesus himself taught.
We're going to be doing asermon on that at SWO 24 this
summer.
Spencer Davis will be bringingthat sermon and we'll do um in a
few months.
We'll be doing a sit-downepisode about the content of
(34:57):
that sermon and he's studyingright now.
He's deep into it.
People don't like to think.
I don't like to think abouthell, especially not when I
think about people I love thatare headed there or that I think
are already there.
That's hard to cope with, but Itrust the Lord in that.
It's hard to cope with, but Itrust the Lord in that, so we
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don't have to compromise whatGod says in his word and create
some other form of Christianity.
So let me review.
These are just seven thoughts.
I don't know what we call this.
Lessons from Demas is what Istarted and I kind of tapered
off into different.
So number one this is primarilyfrom Demas.
He loved the world and what itoffers.
What is it that causes people toturn away, to apostatize, to
(35:42):
become apostates, to abandon orreject the faith?
They professed?
Love for the world and what itoffers.
Number two reject goodconscience.
Number three the deceitfulnessof sin.
Number four itching ears anddesire for loose, permissive
teaching.
That's progressive Christianity.
(36:03):
Number five separation fromcommunity and fellowship within
the body of Christ.
And then number six LGBTQissues.
And number seven, uh, thedoctrine of hell.
That's it, man.
Those are the big things that Ithink, if we can hold fast to
the scripture, hold fast to ourfaith, fight the good fight of
(36:25):
the faith and just believe whatthe Bible says.
Believe Jesus at his word andyou will stand firm and stand
fast.
I want to close by reading Idon't know who wrote this, it's
from like a random website, thatit's like question and answers,
but I found it interesting.
(36:47):
It goes back to where westarted in the last episode with
Demas, kind of sums up Demas'journey.
Demas had at one time been oneof Paul's fellow workers in the
gospel ministry, along with MarkLuke and others, philemon 124.
During Paul's firstimprisonment in Rome, demas was
also in Rome.
Colossians 4.14.
(37:09):
There's also biblical evidencethat Demas was with Paul during
Paul's second imprisonment inRome, at least for a while.
Then something happened.
Demas forsook Paul, abandonedthe ministry and left town.
Paul wrote about the sadsituation.
Demas, because he loved thisworld, has deserted me and has
(37:29):
gone to Thessalonica.
2 Timothy 4.10.
The Greek verb used in theoriginal implies that Demas had
not merely left Paul but hadleft him.
Quote in the lurch, unquote,that is, demas had abandoned
Paul in a time of need.
The apostle was in prison,faced a death sentence, and
that's when Demas chose to setsail.
(37:51):
Undoubtedly, paul was deeplylet down by Demas.
It's never easy to see a friendand associate in whom you've
placed your trust forsake you inthe midst of hardship.
The separation caused by Demas.
Demas' desertion of Paul was notmerely spatial, but spiritual.
Demas left Rome because he fellin love with the world.
In other words, demas chose thecorrupt value system of the
(38:12):
unsaved world over what heavenvalues.
As the NLT translates it, demasquote loves the things of this
life, end quote.
We don't know the details ofDemas' situation, but it is
evident that Demas decided thatwhat Satan has to offer in this
life is better than what God hasto offer in the next.
Much can be said in support ofthe view that Demas, in love
with the present world, wasnever a born-again believer in
(38:35):
Jesus Christ.
Demas, in love with the presentworld was never a born-again
believer in Jesus Christ.
Paul makes a sharp contrast in2 Timothy 4, 8, and 10.
In verse 8, paul speaks ofthose who love the Lord.
There is laid up for me thecrown of righteousness which the
Lord, the righteous judge, willaward to all those who love his
appearing.
Demas, in contrast to those wholove Jesus' return, loved the
(38:57):
present world.
Let me pause here so that whathe's pointing out is that in 2
Timothy 4.8, those who love theLord love the crown of
righteousness that awaits for usthe future award.
The future appearing of JesusDemas, in contrast, is showing
that he loves what this presentworld offers.
(39:21):
1 John 2.15 is clear about thespiritual state of those who
love the world.
Do not love the world oranything in the world.
If anyone loves the world, thelove of the Father is not in
them.
Nowhere in the Bible do we readof the restoration of Demas.
The tragedy of Demas is stillbeing lived out today by those
who choose the temporarybenefits of this world over the
eternal riches of heaven.
Today there are still those whoseem to receive the word, but
(39:46):
then the worries of this lifeand the deceitfulness of wealth
choke the word, making itunfruitful.
Matthew 13, 22 past services, noguarantee of future
faithfulness.
We must depend on the Lord, ourstrength.
Psalm 28, eight we must be bornagain.
John three, three, otherwise wehave no foundation of faith.
(40:07):
They went out from us but theydid not really belong to us, for
if they had belonged to us theywould have remained with us.
But they're going out showedthat none of them belonged to us
.
First, john 2, 19.
And then also Matthew 7, 22 to23.
Is that sobering verse thatsays on that day, many will say
to me Lord, lord, did we notprophesy in your name?
(40:29):
Cast out demons in your name,do many mighty works in your
name.
Then I will declare to them Inever knew you.
Depart from me, you workers oflawlessness.
It's a scary thing to me inconclusion of these two episodes
.
Scary thing to me is that theremight be God forbid, there
might be somebody listeningright now to my voice, who is
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right now professing faith inJesus, right now professing
faith in Jesus.
But, like we saw in the firstepisode, the last episode, the
faith is a faith that you got tofight for.
You got to fight to hold on,you got to fight to maintain,
you got to fight to not bedeceived, you got to fight
(41:12):
against Satan's lies.
And we saw how those two guys,hy and, and we, we saw how, uh,
those two guys, hymenaeus andAlexander, rejected that faith
by rejecting good conscience.
So you got to say what isguiding my conscience?
What's driving me in thedecisions I'm making?
Is it the world?
The world is telling me this isokay, this is what God wants.
(41:33):
God did God really say Godwouldn't withhold this from you?
And what we can easily do is getcaught up in living in the
moment to the point that we lookfor.
We need to live in the moment,in that we are planted, our feet
are planted in the moment tomake an impact in the moment.
But we do not need to live inthe moment as if the moment
(41:53):
would provide for us what weultimately need and desire.
We live in the moment so thatwe can be effective in the
moment, as if the moment wouldprovide for us what we
ultimately need and desire.
We live in the moment so thatwe can be effective in the
moment, but we live with oureyes fixed on Jesus and our
eternal reward.
Keep that in mind and I praythat this next couple of weeks,
um till we're, till we bring youanother episode, lord willing
(42:15):
um that you would live in themoment in so much as a moment by
moment your eyes are on Jesusand you're looking for ways that
you can be a light in a darkworld, but that we would live
with our mind, our heart and oureyes and our affection set on
the future appearing of our Lord.
And we and we strive towardsthat reward that awaits and we
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keep our hands on the plow, ourgrip firmly fastened, and we
don't look back.
And may we be faithful to theend, and may we not be of those
who shrink back, but of thosewho persevere and endure and
prove that our faith is asteadfast faith.
God bless you have an awesomeweek and next week and I'm going
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to be having a good timesomewhere, I don't know I'm
going to be hanging out with myfamily and riding bicycles and
throwing football and shootingbasketball and fishing, I don't
know.
It's going to be fun just toget away with the four kids that
are still at home Next year,another one gone and so I'm
(43:19):
going to enjoy it while I can.
I would ask you to pray for myson Tucker, just to share a
prayer request.
He has torn his ACL.
Many of you know and havefollowed his career.
He's a football player atVirginia Tech and he tore his
ACL.
So we'll be praying andnavigating surgery for that and
I think that's a that's a deadnuts that knocks him out of this
(43:42):
next season.
Even though it's April, there'sno way he'll be ready to go
come September.
So April, may, june, july,august five months you don't
come back in.
Five months, five months fromnow.
Hopefully he'll be rehabbingwell and progressing well, but
he'll not be ready to bereleased to play.
So uh, just pray for wisdom inthat and that the Lord will grow
(44:04):
him through that.
Thank y'all so much forsupporting NSR and for being
faithful listeners.
And uh, do not go the way ofDemas.
Let's be faithful to the end,as Paul was and as so many
others have been before, and beencouraged that others are being
faithful and remaining faithful.
Many will remain faithful.
(44:24):
Let's be among that number.
All right, I'm out.
Speaker 2 (44:30):
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