The Devil's Great Commission - 2 John 7,9

Heretics who are already infiltrating the church of the world during the state.

They believed that they had advanced to a higher understanding of God, you need to know just poking them in the eye notice. Is anyone going too far and what not abiding, not keeping their stakes planted in the word of God. You do that you never sing spiritually Bilotta if you're leaving the Bible. Why you never graduate from the life that the Bible is for simpleminded and leaving the Bible behind is the way of wisdom that some the Bible is God's truth. Unfortunately, false teachers are proclaiming many different versions of Jesus in an attempt to give people what they want to hear and to lead them away from the truth. Remember in the New Testament when Jesus gave his disciples the great commission will Satan also has a commission it's his commission to false teachers with the deceptive message today on wisdom for the heart. Stephen takes us to second John with a lesson called the devil's great commission. Stevens, examining John's warning about the deceptive messages of false teachers and how we can be equipped to identify them while pastor and author recently, tongue-in-cheek, categorized a number of popular versions about Jesus and making the point that not every Jesus is the real Jesus friends as he said there's the open-minded Jesus. He wants everybody to coexist since everyone's right anyway. He loves everyone all the time to matter what they believe, except for people who are not open-minded like you, there's Starbucks Jesus he just love spiritual conversations. He drinks fair trade coffee does the film festivals and drives a hybrid there's Republican Jesus sees against tax increases. Big government is for family values, and noting firearm there's touchdown Jesus. He helps athletes run faster and jump higher and score more points than those who did brave again.

There's marker Jesus.

He's a good man who died a cruel death and we ought to feel sorry for there's general Jesus, high cheekbones, flowing hair, walks around barefoot looks very European. There's hippie Jesus who teaches everyone to give peace a chance.

Imagine a world without religion. He wants to remind us all that all we need is love.

There's career. Jesus career. Jesus gives us a great job and we think positive thoughts every morning and reach for our potential and stretch stars so we can ultimately buy more stuff their spirituality Jesus. He hates churches pastors doctrine.

He would rather add people out in nature finding the God within. While listening to weird music. There's guru Jesus he's an inspirational teacher who actually believes in you, he helps you find your center which is again all about finding you. Finally, there's good Jesus. He came to simply show you how to help people live the Golden rule, save the planet and become a better you.

But the danger of selling a false Jesus, a popular Jesus the comfortable Jesus is a new the deception and distortion in danger tracks all the way back to the apostles Paul warned the Corinthian church about deceitful workers, disguising themselves as messengers of Christ we are where coming in the name of Jesus.

The question is which Jesus without we arrive at the heart of John the apostle's warnings to go back to your copy of his little postcard called second John. John is not only about the remind this woman is writing to the real Jesus. He's about to equip her and her children in the church at large.

How to spot a false teacher. He wants to protect her.

He wants to educate her and frankly, to this day. It is little postcard remains a fantastic education on how to spot false teaching.

Notice verse seven which is where we've arrived today.

For many deceivers of gone out into the world. Those who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in/shortcoming in the flesh. This is the deceiver and the antichrist that out of verse 90 want to keep these together and pack them together goes on to describe that anybody who goes too far and does not abide in the teaching of Christ is not have God the one who lives in the teaching he has both the father and the son over the sake of our study sort of outline are thoughtfully give you six words that essentially show up in John's description of false teachers. First of all, they are they are deceptive about number seven for many deceivers have gone out into the world. The fact that John makes a reference here too many deceivers indicate this is in a little problem.

This is a minor error little issue. This is a wide spread movement when you get that the word John uses here for deceivers is plan switch means a wanderer class is from the same word family is plan a case, it gives us our planet. The ancient world thought that planet said stars were just sort of randomly wandering out there in space so like some wandering planet. John uses that word. These false teachers are leading people in the sort of roving mind. The last sunset old wandering path. Jude by the way, describes false teachers as wandering stars, for whom the blackness is reserved forever. Jude 13, the false teachers essentially want to pull you into their orbit as they wander away from the sun that has so and into outer darkness spiritual one. There, deceptive, though they are probably self deceived many of them as well. Connie is a deceiver will follow me.

They're not carrying signs around that say, let me lead you into spiritual darkness and follow me and will wander through life without any real meaning.

Is that how they approach you there pretending to care about the Savior there there pretending to care about Jesus there even pretending to care about you.

They really only want the following Titus described.

They want somebody they care about themselves.

I never forget hearing years ago that the enemy of the church doesn't most often stand out there and fire missiles to try to destroy the church. He comes inside he plays a role, the false teacher knows how to smile for the camera plays along great pretenders. Secondly, they're not only deceivers they are disciple makers notice again in verse seven. For many deceivers have gone out into the world.

They brought out embedded in that original verb is a word which gives us our word exit. They exited that lets us know they exited the church. Certainly the truth more than likely, these are the same ones. John referred to in his first epistle, first John chapter 2, when he said, in fact, he uses the same verb Excel file they exited from us. That is, they went out from us, but they were really not of us, for they had been us they would have remained with us. He's not talking about a believer who backsides in these restoration he's talking about somebody that as exited the accountability of the church family. They have exited the gospel held by the true church. They paid exited the teaching of the gospel. They they laughed and that they are trying to talk everybody they can into leaving Jesus with them. But what's really chilling is John's expression here of them going out into the world.

They view themselves on a special mission by the way John uses the same language of the Lord for he is an apostle, commissioned by the Lord heard the same language go into all the world and make disciples. Mark 1615 go and make disciples of all the nations. Matthew 2819, which means these false teachers are equally passionate with their global disciple making enterprise.

They are as passionate as you are in making disciples affect every country I've ever been.

I rented the people from this country you are there on some kind of nation distorting who Jesus is and waiting disciples there just as passionate back in my mind about what their more passionate than I am. The discipling can't help but think how fast is this taking place. We John's allies living disciple it it's it's in his lifetime that he's written that already you have this enterprise with many of these discipling spreading out attempting to as the ambassadors of error deceive the world and unify the body of Christ are already adding how fast is maybe think of Mark Twain that the best theologian, but Mark Twain made a great observation when he made the observation that a lie can travel halfway around the world while truth is still putting on his shoes.

Just imagine the implications of this global mission. This is this is the fact that the debt all hazards on twisted version of the great commission. The commission of Jesus to his disciples was go tell the truth the commission of the devil is as I was gonna tell lies dispassionately and as strategically as you can desire to make disciples for the kingdom of light there making disciples of the kingdom of darkness. Third, they are deniers they are deniers for many deceivers and going out of the world.

Those who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh in the flesh, and with this by the way John arrived at the car of his warning and the core of their error and bio I Bob this is the main issue to keep in mind you don't have to be an expert in all the world religions out. You can learn more about they believes that that you can be a better apologist.

That is, you can defend it. The truth by knowing more of what they believe, but all you really need to remember is the false teachers and false teaching is fundamentally attempting to sell the world false Jesus described and defined in the Bible is why they've usually got something additional free terrine. Yet every bit there come your house and verbally say you daughter Jennifer of the Bible away here. Read just just add a couple of people on my doorstep the other day in her opening line was we like to interest you and reading the Bible. I said, well, I've always wanted to be interested in that. How can you help me they really want to do is redefine the nature and person and purpose of Jesus Christ. So even other going to give you little proof texts even at a turnaround translation of the Bible. The Macy's is not the God but a God even though they got take you to some of the stuff that they can value each is way and get back again and again to the core issue. The key core question. Do you believe in the coming of God the son, who became the literal God in the flesh Messiah. You need not, then you can, hold your breath deliver research and review on some of these world religions, false teachings, systems of false error and doctrine. Baha'i views God is unknowable, unable to incarnate himself Christian science believes Jesus is a highly enlightened man. Jehovah's Witnesses believe Jesus is a created angel.

Mormonism is Jesus as an exalted deity by virtue of his obedience. Scientology says Jesus was just invented by Dr. the Unitarian Universalist sees Jesus again is a merely a good man. The unity school of Christianity sees Jesus as the inner self of everybody. Zen Buddhism views Jesus as a good man but not a savior because while man doesn't need saving. And on see this is this is the unifying theme of false teaching. At some point there guarding the flash on Jesus. There are lawful and it is going to be like trying to nail Jell-O to the wall as you keep pressing the point of who is Jesus the at some point there gonna fit in at the waterfall on the deity. The purpose of the divine nature, along with human nature. The each are now living the sovereignty the sinlessness the final atoning sacrifice of the biblical Jesus notice.

John points out here. They do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flash that word flash is a figure of speech in which the word flash is intended to incorporate everything he did, so they don't acknowledge.

In other words, his virgin birth, they not acknowledge his sinless life is atoning – his literal resurrection and his literal ascension, his his soon literal coming. They do not acknowledge the word in verse John 19 is translated confess, yet they they can agree with. They can't say the same thing as the Bible says about.

They don't acknowledge by the lake. Would you notice the John inset the subtlety of their cleverness. He doesn't say and they openly deny Jesus coming in the flesh know he just says they don't acknowledge that they just won't say they won't talk about in other words, false teachers can be detected not just in what they say. But in what they just never do get around to say is why they can be so deceptive is the use biblical terminology and redefining in not saying what it really means many false preachers and teachers of icing on television or in print with a won't quite say that sin is sinful that Jesus is the only way way to heaven.

They just never want to get around being pressed to say that they don't talk about guilty sinners in need of repentance. They don't want to talk about this. They there are just simply going to deny by virtue of never bringing it out when just we don't talk about hell either. Imagine if you really believe in any turnoff place a judgment call ahead is never to talk about in the regional click telling your kids, you know, I know there are cars going up and down the street. They can kill you. But I was there gonna mention by the way, the implication here as well is that they don't want to talk about Jesus coming again now. Annalee, moreover, is the ruling party document coming again. We really wanted to stay wherever that is beloved that is a different Jesus. The bottom line assembler Rosa well is this the Christ. They offer to their converts is not the Christ of history.

He's not the Christ of Scripture is not the Christ of the gospel to use the profile of a false teacher is a deceiver. He's a disciple maker. Those are hard to spot.

They look so good, but he's a denier. Fourth, false teachers are demonic. These false teachers are literally ambassadors of the devil in Matthew seven were given a scene where they stand before the Lord and many of them will it fit this profile here and they will say and and and and in the way the second we did everything we did in the name of Jesus we preached in the name of Jesus week healed in the name of Jesus we prophesied in the name of Jesus. We did everything in your name we say this is now the name of the devil. This is down the name of Satan. We did it in your name Jesus goes that in no you, which means then here is all are of that self-deception is Jesus rips off the mask of hypocrisy and reveals to them. They were essentially demonically driven and demonically inspired demonically power to never did anything for Jesus is really all about themselves.

They just use the name of Jesus to scan the church and gather a following Jesus at the false teachers and religious leaders of his day recorded in Matthew 23. Listen to these words well do you, scribes and Pharisees, you travel around on the sea and land to make one proselyte, one God-fearing, one egg your disciples and when he becomes one you make him twice as much a son of Hal as your cell that was very nice. Imagine there they are traveling on land and sea.

They are passionately devoted to that. Down the halls great commission are actually making their converts doubly accountable, doubly ensnared, doubly damned if you can imagine it why there already. Can down but now that you have double accountability and having believed in a false Jesus. Teachers for our disoriented down in verse nine anyone goes too far and does not abide in the teaching of Christ is not have God they may fool themselves in a full other people. They may use the words God and Jesus and the spirit and spiritual all and in all that, but they're not really abiding in the teaching again.

That word abiding shows that they haven't pitched a tent. Here are they have been driven down status in the here they don't abide by this they don't want to be confined to buy the student era.

They want to abide which is why they're not really interested in teaching God's word.

They might talk about it.

They might talk around it, they might refer to it they might quote a verse or two from it. They might even hold it up, but the last thing you'll ever hear them doing is actually teaching through it. They'd rather pursue their own clever thinking their own personal vision their own additional information or own principles their own revelations their own fascinating dreams of me that's that's a lot more interested. In fact, this is exactly what John is hinting at here the word he uses for anyone who goes to far. That word can be translated in a positive sense for advancing someone who advances to far that John is battling the Gnostics, these heretics who are already infiltrating the church in the world. During this day, they believed that they had advanced to a higher understanding of God. They come out with the secret ways for salvation made and Kyle may believe joy than the light understanding of Jesus I tell you that because you need to know John's poking them in the eye you are saying but you're advancing too far. Why notice again. Anyone going too far and what not abide in him, not keeping their states planted in the word of God.

You do that too far. You never advancing spiritually beloved, if you're leaving the Bible why you never graduate from the body. That was good for me back then do something new to do that is not to advance it is to plunge into spiritual disorientation.

Yes, you grow yes we advance, but we do this like the apostle Peter, who said but grow in grace and in the knowledge of your Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Second Peter 318 to be worn.

False teachers or deceivers disciple makers, deniers, demonic, disoriented. Finally, number six, there do verse nine anyone goes too far is not abide in the teaching of Christ does not have God the one who abides in the teaching has both the father and the son and other would you deny Jesus, and you forfeit the father you lose the son you lose everything.

One day you receive the son will gain everything forever. So friends, be alert to that would lead you away from the truth of Jesus Christ and embrace God as he's revealed himself to us through his word. This is wisdom for the heart. Our ministry is dedicated to the proclamation of God's word and you can join us each weekday.

Stephen Davey explains and applies God's word to our hearts. If you ever have to miss one of these broadcast.

These lessons are posted on our website which you'll find@wisdomonline.org go there anytime you also find them on our smart phone app which is available for your Apple or android device before we end. Today I want to make you aware of a special opportunity. Each October. Stephen hosts a conference for pastors, deacons, teachers, Bible study leaders, or anyone involved in church leadership. It's called the shepherds 360 national church leaders conference is coming up October 20-22 this year we have a special opportunity for our listeners. As a listener to wisdom for the heart, you can receive a discount on your registration fee for this conference. In addition, Stevens hosting a lunch for our listening audience during the conference. That lunch will be held here at our studio which is only two blocks away from the church where the conference is held before your register, call us for a special wisdom for the hard discount, our number is 86 648 Bible. That's 866-482-4253. Have a great weekend and join us Monday for more wisdom for the heart