Change Your Master: Reject False Teachers, Embrace Christ

``The only way, I think, the only way that we can hold to the gospel is to know the gospel. We need to know the word of God. That's why I kinda stressed at the beginning of the sermon. We need to know the word of God. Justin and Mike at this point, the past past several weeks, again and again, we need to read it. We need to believe it. We need to obey it. We need to submit our lives to it. We don't need to try and change it. We need to let it change us. [00:42:19] (27 seconds)  #KnowTheGospel

And as you read and study and believe the bible, you'll see that Jesus isn't just a good teacher, but he's a good shepherd. And he's a good shepherd who laid down his life for the sheep. And he's a good shepherd who rose again from the dead three days later. And as you read it, you study it, you believe it, you'll see that that that Christ not only promises freedom, but he delivers freedom every single time. [00:44:35] (27 seconds)  #JesusOurShepherd

know what's what's most troubling about them is verses 20 through 22. It says they have some knowledge. They have knowledge of Jesus. They know that he is lord, that he's the sovereign, that he's the one who deserves their submission, that he deserves to be their master. And they know they know that he is savior in Christ, that Jesus is the promised messiah, the one who would deliver his people from their sins. Peter says that they even escaped the world's impurity, and yet as demonstrated by their actions, they refused to submit to him. These false teachers in many ways look like believers. They look like believers, but in reality, they're not. While they have knowledge, they don't have the obedience of faith. And the most shocking thing, like I mentioned earlier, is this. It would have been better for them to have never known the way of righteousness than to turn back from it. [00:38:20] (60 seconds)  #ObedienceOverKnowledge

We shall also ask in what ways am I spiritually bankrupt? Have I been trying to find satisfaction and pleasure in the temporary things of this world? Have I sought after riches and fame? Have I so deceived myself and now I deceive others? Am I like a spring without water or cloud without rain? Am I empty? Or do I, like Isaiah chapter 12 mentions, do I joyfully draw water from the well of salvation? Am I spiritually bankrupt? Or am I being filled with the love of and the love for Christ? [00:47:30] (43 seconds)  #DrawFromTheWell

And that's the last point to be encouraged. We should be watchful. We should be warned, but we should also be encouraged. We should be encouraged because false teachers didn't catch God off guard. They're nothing new. They started in the very beginning in the garden. They continued throughout the whole history of Israel. They were there during Jesus' time on Earth. They were there during the apostles' time, and the apostles are warning us, hey. They're still gonna be there. False teachers don't catch God off guard. [00:51:03] (33 seconds)  #GodIsNotSurprised

I had a friend actually who once couple years ago, there's a parallel passage to that little section right there in the book Hebrews, of and he sent it to me. He's like, does this mean we shouldn't be teaching our kids about Jesus? Because if they reject it and the judgments worsen, was like, dude, that's the exact opposite of what this is saying for us to do. And we're supposed to teach our kids about Jesus. And we're supposed to pray that they put their faith in Christ at an early age. And if they do, we praise god. But we don't just stop there. We continue discipling them, continue teaching them, continue training them up in the way of the lord so that they can finish the race. Right? It's like a marathon. Who can say they're a marathoner or a marathon runner? Is it the person who starts, or is it the person who finishes? It's the one who finishes. It's the one who finishes. [00:39:21] (43 seconds)  #FinishTheRace

Think about it. A spring without water. A spring is some place you should go to. It promises satisfaction, rest, and peace, and nourishment, but they have no water. It's like a a cloud pushed by the storm. Think about it in a drought. The the most important thing that could happen is the rain to come. And then they're like a a cloud that comes over that promises but doesn't deliver. It's empty. Verse 19 says they they, they they utter boastful empty words. They're empty living, empty deception, empty springs, empty clouds, empty words. They're they have nothing to offer. They are empty. They're bankrupt. [00:27:02] (45 seconds)  #EmptySpringsEmptyWords

We need each other. We have spiritual blind spots, areas in our lives that sin has taken hold of, areas that we may not see clearly. We need each other to encourage us. In Hebrews three, it tells us to encourage us daily. Sin is deceitful. Pride is deceptive, and we need a community, the community of believers. Christ gave us this for a reason. [00:49:53] (23 seconds)  #WeNeedEachOther