Standing Fast in the Faith (part 5)

Welcome to NECF sermons. Each message here is

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right in. And we're welcome to church. We're

welcome to church. It's always a blessing to

have us around and we are going to continue.

with the teaching that we have been on which

is standing fast on the faith and the scripture

is first corinthians 16 13 i'll read it to us

again first corinthians 16 13 from new king james

version it says watch stand fast in faith be

brave be strong watch stand fast in faith be

brave be strong this is supposed to pose words

to the church and current in the church and current

And this word is very relevant to us. This word

is timeless, this word is very relevant to us

today and always. And in the series we started

to teach, I think I started with that whole paying

attention, being aware, being conscious, paying

attention to God's word, paying attention to

the disciplines. And we talked about learning

and how learning is important for our group.

If you don't learn, grow and in this kingdom

learning is very important learning is a priority

and then it has to be a priority to you if you

want to grow and apostle paul says watch watch

watch watch and then he continues by saying stand

fast in the faith so what i want us to what i

want us to see is that apostle paul here makes

use of military terms and it's no surprise to

us that he will use that on the basis of his

surroundings, right? He's surrounded by military

personnel and it's a very interesting situation.

It just communicates to us that we can learn

from what is around us. We can learn some form

of learning that happens when you look around

you, when you observe. Some of us don't take

time to observe our environment. Some of us don't

take time to understand what is going on. On

Wednesday, We're encouraged by our lead pastor

from the world from i think that was second corinthians

13 Five examine yourself There's an examination

that you have to do. There's an examination you

have to do of yourself There's an examination

you do of your surrounding. There's an examination

you have to do of what is going on. Praise god

and apostle paul Is someone that you will see

He talks he's very much around the prison or

very much around situations where he's around

soldiers, right? is around soldiers and and he

he looks at the way the soldiers behave and that

word watch is the military term that word which

is a military term and the Greek word means to

be a lot to be awake to be vigilant and when

i say awake this is not the time that you want

to sleep praise god to be a lot and and he sees

that in the way the soldiers take They are always

alert. They're always alert. And I want us to

see a couple of instances, because what has happened

is that he's either guarded by the soldiers,

or being escorted by the soldiers, or even rescued

by the soldiers, or even he travels along with

them. And in all of these encounters with them,

he's observing certain things. And in fact, the

four different phrases he uses here are military.

very military term and I want us to see it and

some of us in I think even here on the island

you know the you know the kingdom is a kingdom

right and with kingdom there are terms and terminologies

you know we have to learn to understand that

people outside don't understand the language

here you know you will do things like general

we we we call men we call them generals we in

fact on this island you use Invasion. You use

different things that are military terms and

terminologies that are not literal, right? Because

they're not physical or literal in that sense.

And Apostle Paul uses the different military

terms and he says like a good soldier. In Timothy,

he says like a good soldier. He uses all of that

because he picks that. In Ephesians, you see

him talking about the armor. Praise God. Talking

about an armor. And he gets that whole inspiration,

he communicates what he's communicating through

the lens of what he sees, through the lens of

the observation from around himself. And we see

in Acts, in Acts 27, when does it go to Acts

27? Acts 27 verse one, we see that it says, and

when, It was decided that we should sail to Italy.

They delivered Paul and some other prisoners

to one named Julius, a centurion of the Augustan

Regiment. That is a soldier here. That's the

centurion Julius. We see him being delivered

and they were traveling along and you can get

a sense of his looking at the soldier, observing

the soldier. Even in Acts 16, we see him being

guarded. we see the story of him and Silas in

the prison being guarded by a soldier that ended

up getting saved we talked about this in the

previous teaching and then even in Philippians

Philippians 1:13

1 verse 13 we get a sense of in Philippians 1

13 let's go to Philippians 1 13 we'll see another

instance where we will see him it says so it

became evident to the whole palace guard and

to all the rest that my chains are in Christ.

That my chains are in Christ. So it means that

he will have encounter with the palace guards,

and he will be able to draw some form of inspiration.

There are instances, even in Acts 21, where the

mob was coming at him. He was rescued by the

mob. Acts 21, 35. He was rescued by the mob.

Acts 23, 24. We see a situation where he was

escorted when he got an information that he was

going to be killed. He was escorted. So he has

so many encounters or so many interactions with

soldiers. And he, even in the one that we just

looked at in Philippians 1 .13, we understand

that these soldiers were keeping watch over him.

They were keeping watch over him. They were looking

at him and he had the opportunity to preach the

gospel to them since there was no other thing

to do. They are coming around. He had a free

opportunity to preach to them. Praise God. And

he says watch. And a soldier, I think the last

time I was speaking I talked about a security

guard. The role of a security guard is to keep

watch. A security guard sleeping on duty will

mean that a lot of things can go wrong. Will

mean that certain things will happen in their

sleep or happen without their watch. And we say

that that word speaks about being alert, speaks

about being awake, speaks about being vigilant.

And vigilant in one sense. So what is the danger?

Because you have to if there would have to be

a danger for you to be alert, right? If there

is nothing, you sleep peacefully, right? And

for some of us, we have a, we're in a place where

it is secure. We don't sleep locking and, you

know, but locking and locking things to keep,

to ensure that nobody comes in and then you're

safe inside. Praise God. And then the point is,

for him to make this statement, it means that

there's a reason why you're watching. There's

a danger you're trying to avoid. There's a danger

you're trying to protect. And he says, the next

phrase is, stand fast in the faith. And it means

that that is a way that you can be able to watch.

That is the way that you can be able to watch.

Stand fast in the faith. And we have been learning

and we're being taught that anywhere we see the

word faith, you don't jump into conclusions.

You want to look at the context and understand

what that faith will be speaking of what the

faith is and we've learned that faith first and

foremost is what can be speaking of what salvation

right faith can be speaking of salvation it means

the means by which a person is saved that can

be what it will be talking about when you have

to read it in context and we see in Ephesians

Ephesians 2:8

2 verse 8 it says for by grace we have been saved

through faith so that faith there will not be

speaking of that's faith they will be speaking

of salvation being saved same or similar in Galatians

3 26 where it says, for you are all sons of God

through faith in Christ Jesus. The faith there

will be speaking or the faith there will be,

that's Galatians 3 verse 26, that faith there

Galatians 3:26

will be speaking of salvation, that's an individual

being saved. And then faith can also be speaking

of doctrine or teaching. We have been taught

that. I'm just recapping so that we will see

what is implied in this particular text when

you see stand fast and faith. Is it doctrine

or teaching? And that will be the content of

what is believed. And the faith will mean a body

of doctrine. And we see that in the passage that

we're asked to read in Jude 3. We'll see an example

in Jude 3 where there's an instruction to contend

endlessly for the faith. You can be contending

for something that you have already received.

So you can be contented for salvation. Salvation

has already been contented for and received.

The victory has been won. The contenting there

is for the doctrine and the teaching, the doctrine

or the teaching that you have been taught. Praise

God. The doctrine or the teaching you have been

taught. And we'll see that again. And there's

also the thought bit, which is the response of

a believer, right? The thought bit is the response

of a believer. And that response will be that

of trust. to God's command or trust to God's

instruction or trust to God's promise in the

case of Abraham and in Romans 10 verse 8 Romans

Romans 10:8 Romans 10:8

10 verse 8 it says but what does it say the word

is near you in your mouth and in your heart that

is the word of faith which we preach means that

he has received it and the response to it is

preaching right is the word of God or the word

of faith that is being preached that faith there

will not be that faith there will not be it's

the response that faith will be an action or

response to what god has done and then the last

bit is the believers conduct the believers conduct

faith will be expressed in how a believer conducts

himself and sometimes in some passages we'll

see in galatians five or six i will want to read

from the nlt galatians five verse 6 because he

words it Galatians 5 verse 6. So it says, it

Galatians 5:6

says for we have our faith in Christ There is

no benefit of being circumcised or being uncircumcised.

What is important? What is important is faith

expressing itself in law. Praise God. What is

important is faith Expressing itself in law meaning

that it's not just I have faith. There's an expression

of that faith. Praise God There's an expression

of that faith in how the believer conducts themselves,

and it's very important. So it means that when

we see faith, we want to look at the context

and understand what does that mean. Will it be

speaking of salvation? Will it be speaking of

doctrine or teaching? Will it be speaking of

the believer's response or will it be speaking

of the believer's conduct? And in our passage,

in our passage, we'll see it because it says,

Stand fast in faith. Stand fast in faith, very

kind of similar to the part where you're contending,

right? Stand fast in faith, contend, and we'll

see that that is what has been said. When we

go back to the 1 Corinthians 15, not the 16 now,

1 Corinthians 15. 1 Corinthians 15, it says,

moreover, brethren, I declare to you, the gospel

which I preach to you which also you received

and in which you stand praise God in which you

stand means that they are standing on something

right they're standing on the gospel which they

have received right the gospel which says I preach

to you and which you have received says and you

see the instruction is to stand in it The instruction

is to stand in it. And when we go down in the

passage, you'll see more reasons why the instruction

to stand in it, because there is an eminent danger.

Praise God. There's an eminent danger, and it

requires us to be alert. Because if you're not

alert, if you're not awake, if you're not vigilant,

you will have other things coming. Praise God.

You have other things coming. And know that He's

not asking them to stand fast in the salvation,

right? is asking them to stand fast in the doctrine

that they have received. Praise God. Going back

to Jude 1 verse 3, in the four, just the four

Jude 1:3

part, it says, for certain men have creeped in

on notice. Praise God. The four. The first line

of the four. It says, for certain men have creeped

in on notice. And we understand that if you are

not alert, some things will Some group of people

will enter, some people will creep in. You see

for certain men have creeped in on notice. Remember

we said that contending there is contending for

the doctrine because some people will creep in

and teach you something else or creep in and

communicate something else other than the truth.

Praise God. Something else other than the truth

and that's why it's important for us to realize

there's a danger when you don't even know what

the truth is. Right? There's a danger when you're

not learning. There's a danger when you're not

growing, you'll be very, you'll not have any

immunity against a lie. Praise God, you'll not

have any immunity against a lie. And what we'll

see is the first danger, which is he's warning

against false doctrine. He's warning against

false doctrine. And we'll see a couple of reasons

why he's warning, he's passing that warning.

We'll see, we'll delve into it even. more. It's

one and against false doctrine. But first and

foremost, we want to understand what doctrine

is. What is sound doctrine? What is sound doctrine?

What is the word doctrine or teaching? We'll

see that a lot in the New Testament. We'll see

that a lot in the Gospels. We'll see that a lot

in the Epistles. We'll see that a lot. And when

you see that word in your Bible in English, that

word can mean or Yeah, can be different, can

be three different words in the Greek. It can

be three different words in the Greek. That's

why we go to the Greek, not because we want to,

but going to the Greek will help us establish

or clarify what the word is. The same way you

have the word faith, and we say the faith is

pistes. It's a Greek word, pistes, but it can

mean different things. But this one is one word

that can be any of these three. The first...

The first word we will be looking at is dida,

he. D -I -D -A -C -H -E. D -I -D -A -C -H -E.

And this will be speaking of the context of the

teaching or what is being taught. Or the truth

that is being passed down. The content of the

teaching or what is being taught. or the truth

that is being passed down. And this Greek word

appears 30 times in 29 verses. It appears 30

times in 29 verses. It appears 30 times in 29

verses in the New King James Version. And I will

just go through some of the instances. I will

review myself again. It speaks about the content

of a teaching. what is being taught or the truth

being passed down or the truth being passed down

and and we'll see a couple of times or we'll

see most of it in the gospels we'll see a good

amount of it in the gospels we'll see instances

where it describes the content of jesus's message

it describes the content of jesus's message and

and you will see instances where the listeners

were amazed because of the authority by which

Jesus spoke. The listeners were amazed because

of the authority by which Jesus spoke. That is,

there was something, there's a truth that was

being passed down that results in them being

amazed. Praise God. And we'll see the first in

Matthew 7 verse 28. Matthew 7 verse 28. Matthew

Matthew 7:28 Matthew 7:28 Matthew 7:28

7 verse 28, it says, And so it was when Jesus

had ended the saints. that the people were astonished

at his teaching. That teaching there is the word

didahé. That teaching there is the word didahé,

it's pronounced that way. And it means the truth

has been passed down, what was being taught.

They were astonished at that teaching. And also

in Matthew 22, 33, Matthew 22, 33, we'll come

back to this passage and see, we'll come back

to this passage again. He says, and when the

multitude heard this, they were astonished at

his teaching. We see them being astonished at

the teaching. And then Mark 1, 22, and then 27.

Mark 1, 22, and 27. He says, and they were astonished

at his teaching, for he taught them as one having

authority and not as the scribes. 27, he says,

then they were all amazed so that they questioned

amongst themselves saying what is this what new

doctrine is this for with authority he commands

even the unclean spirit and they obey him with

authority commands the unclean spirits and they

obey him and then we look at look 432 look 432

says and they were astonished as his teaching

for his word was with authority who has done

it as his teaching, for his word was with authority."

And then lastly, let's look at John 7 16. John

7 16. It says, Jesus answered them and said,

my doctrine is not mine, but his who sent me.

My doctrine is not mine, but his who sent me.

And we see that he, There was something about

the content or something about what he taught

and communicated that amazed or captivated or

astonished The congregation who was all the people

he was speaking on people that were listening

to him praise God was something about the content

things he taught and Note that it was truth Right?

Not that it was truth. The way the truth was

communicating, praise God. It was truth it was

communicating. And we'll also see in Acts of

Apostles, we'll see where the early church devoted

themselves in Acts 2 .42. Let's resize the Gospels

now. We'll see an instant where the apostles

themselves. It says, and they continued steadfastly

in the apostles doctrine and fellowship, in the

breaking of bread and in prayers. And we know

that the apostles doctrine, as we understand,

we know that the doctrine that it was what was

handed to them, right, is a doctrine of Christ

that was what they communicate, that what they

were teaching, what they were teaching was a

doctrine of, and we see that in the NLT we refer

to it as teaching. In the New King James we say

this doctrine. So that word, you can see it interchangeably,

doctrine, teaching, and so on. And then we'll

now see false teaching. We'll now see false teaching,

and we'll see that in Revelation 14 -15. It says,

but I have a few words against you, because you

have there those who hold the doctrine of Balak

who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before

the children of Israel to eat things sacrificed

to idols and to commit sexual immorality and

we see we can see all of this in Numbers 22 to

25 and then 31 this is toss you also have those

who hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans which

thing I hate, which thing I hate. So we see two

doctrines here, and we know that these doctrines

are not of Christ, right? We see these two doctrines,

and it says the doctrine of Balam, and it clarifies

what the doctrine was, right? Means that there

was a teaching, right? And it says, who taught

Balak to put a stumbling block before the children

of Israel? So there's a, somebody would have

had, somebody had to do it, right? And we know

that the story was that Balak, Balam was summoned

to cause them and he had a hard time doing that,

right? And then he had to now, since he couldn't

do it, he had to now give, he had to teach Balak

on what he will do that will result in what he

desired, praise God. And we see that this was

the, when we were reading numbers, we read and

then all of a sudden, it changed and then in

31 numbers 31 that's when we see who was responsible

for what had happened because something had happened

and then you're wondering what had happened and

when you read further in that numbers 31 16 you

will see that it says in number 31 16 says look

those women caused the children of israel through

the council of balam to trespass against the

lord and incident of paul and there was a plague

among the congregation the Lord there was a plague

among the congregation of the Lord and we see

that is Balam's own and we can clarify what Balam's

own is and we see that there are doctrines so

we'll have false doctrines that are not the doctrine

of Christ and you want to be able to be alert

right you want to be on the watch you want to

be vigilant so that you can be able to and if

you know what the doctrine of Christ is when

you see something foreign you can be able to

spot it right you can be able to spot it you

come be able to say this is not of the Lord and

if there is anything we'll see how God still

and in that same revelation 2 verse 6 you see

Revelation 2:6

that that doctrine you see that the doctrine

will result in actions means that the deeds of

these people is what they taught and remember

I was saying something about just looking at

the way people behave around you you can learn

and that's why you want to be careful of what

you surround you or who you surround yourself

with Because if you surround yourself with the

same subconsciously, you are picking on things,

you are seeing things that your brain is not

necessarily processed. You don't even understand

it, but you would find yourself acting along

that lines. Asides the fact that somebody teaches

you is the unconscious learning that happens

when you watch. Certain things happen and for

many of us, we grew up in environments and certain

things are norm, but they are not, they are norm

in those environments, but they're not the normal.

Praise God and that is why teaching learning

is very important learning and teaching is very

important because you get to you get to Break

away from what you have always known as normal

to what really is truth. Praise God You get to

break away from it and in this day and age we

have many false doctrines available You don't

you just need to be alive to be able to to see

And in fact, you think that it's not over, new

ones are being cooked. Praise God, and it's not

new in a sense because it's still old stuff because

you just bring it back and then it trends again

and then we see. So the main thing that Apostle

Paul will be communicating or is communicating

to the church in current is to be alert, to watch,

to be vigilant. And the worst form, and I know

that all of these things are all inspired. Yes,

they can call it the doctrine of Balaam, the

doctrine of the Likudai, but we know where the

source is. We know the source or the origin of

it. The source of the origin of it is from the

devil. And in 2 Corinthians, 1 Corinthians 4

1 Corinthians 4:1

verse 1, this will lead us to the other news.

It says, now the Spirit especially says that

in the later times, some will depart from the

faith giving heed to deceiving spirit and doctrines

of demons and doctrine of demons the doctrine

there is the second use of the word that is didascalia

that's the second use that's didascalia i want

you to write the second one now which is d i

d a s k a l i a d i d a s k And this is the activity

of teaching or learning. It's a process of instruction.

It's all a process of instruction. This activity

of teaching or learning is a process of instruction.

And it can sometimes, because it's a process,

so it can sometimes be used for the first one,

which is didahe. because sometimes we use for

it. And you know, teaching is a, learning is

a process, right? Teaching is a process of being

instructed, and the first time you don't get

it, the second time you hear it again, it makes

sense, it doesn't make sense, but it's continuous,

it has to be continuous for it to be effective.

It has to be continuous for there to be good.

And then let me go back a bit. Most dangerous

forms of errors are the ones that are laced.

They are subtle distortions. They don't come

in. Most of us are trained to see error because

we have seen and we know, okay, this is bad,

this is good. But the worst forms of errors are

the ones that come in with a bit of truth laced

with the error on the inside. when something

is sugar coated or when something is coated with

something that is nice but inside it you have

the error right in and you have to taste of it

to be able to know or to and when you taste of

it it's already in except if you're a lot enough

to spit it out praise god and it's very subtle

distortions from sound what is what is sound

just subtle distortions that happens and that

is why the process that's why we commit to a

process praise god that's why we commit to a

process and we don't even we we do we do we do

the learning with others praise god we do the

learning with others we have and as a church

we have different times where we are engaged

in learning so that we get used to the process

of hearing and hearing and hearing and hearing

again because we forget because we have a tendency

to forget and an apostle paul uses this one a

lot he uses this particular one a lot. This didaskalia,

he uses it a lot. He uses it out of the 21 times

where it appears, he uses it 19 times. He uses

it 19 times, out of the 21 times. I just want

to help us see something. He uses it 19 times

out of the 21 times it appears and it's no surprise

because he emphasizes on sound doctrine and you

don't get sound doctrine from just a session

of teaching. You can get it, but it doesn't sink

in. It requires coming into it again, and even

in the passage that we're looking at, it highlights

the need for vigilance, discernment in teaching,

and also what leadership you're under. Because

if you're under a leadership where you are not

taught again and again what is true, what is

true, you are seeing error as normal. And we

remember we say that it will just result in erroneous

actions, praise God. It will result in actions

that are erroneous. And I want us to see this

because it's very much dependent on the leadership.

1 Timothy 5 .17, it says, let elders who rule

well be counted worthy of double honor, especially

those who label in the word and doctrine, that

doctrine there. is didascalia so label in the

word and doctrine and then in second Timothy

4 2 to 5 it says preach the word for second Timothy

4 2 to 5 it's a preach the word be ready in season

and out of season convince rebuke exalt with

all long suffering and teaching note that the

teaching here the teaching here is didache it's

not the didascalia it says in all the teaching

for a time will come when they will not endure

sound doctrine, when they will not endure sound

doctrine. That doctrine there, at the sound doctrine

together is Yizaskalya. But according to their

own desires, because of their itching ears, they

will heap up for themselves teachers, meaning

that if you are someone that want to hear what

you want to hear, other than what you need to

hear, You will find a way or you'll gravitate

towards those that will tell you what you want

to hear and you will not grow. You will just

be, you will just be pacified with something

that is erroneous. You'll just be, it's going

to be convenient, but it will not be fruitful.

It will be convenient, but it will not be fruitful.

It says, verse four says, and they will turn

their ears away from the truth. Meaning that

you have to desire, you have to want to listen

to and because that action itself means that

you will not be listening to any other thing

other than what you want to hear and be turned

asides to fables five now says but be but you

be watchful in all things praise god but you

be watchful in all things remember that whole

idea of being a lapse be watchful in all things

endure afflictions do the work of an evangelist

Fulfill your ministry. It says endure afflictions,

you know, sometimes I you know in church, right

That is nowhere the soundness of what you have

received will be challenged, you know, you know

when you're in church Nobody is going to ask

you. What do you believe? It can happen sometimes

right just to check but when you go outside that

is when you will be able to that that's when

it will be exercise right as when you have to

Be sure of what exactly it is that you believe

in. And for many of us, we don't, we learn and

forget that there's going to be exams. Right?

We learn and we forget that it's going to be

that time where what you think you know will

be put to a test. Or you're surprised when you

have an exam. But like I told you, we're just

meant to just do it. Praise God. It says, do

the work and And difficult, like if you're, learning

is not a enjoyable process, I don't know. If

you are in that place where you are learning,

it's not fun. It's difficult, it's hard. Sometimes

you have to, you will not believe the things

you do because you really want to learn. The

lens you will go. because you really want to

learn. And sometimes you are in a school situation

where you are taking courses that you don't necessarily,

you're not the one that chose the courses. The

curriculum was set already before you came. You

can now sit down and be discussing with your

advisor. Can we remove this? I don't like this.

You can only do that with courses that are electives,

right? You can select that one because they are

electives. They are core courses that you have

no choice. It's handed to you. Praise God. And

so is the saying that things that you are handed

and there are learnings that you have to do whether

you like it or not because those are the things

that will help you succeed in the work and he

says do the work of an evangelist means that

that work that work has to be done and the way

you can do it is when you are watching in all

things when you are able to endure because it's

how you can feel down that the work will suffer

praise god is how you can be down and then the

work will not make any progress in the work.

And we don't allow the things that we go through

affect the work, praise God. The things that

we're experiencing shouldn't affect the work

because the work is priority, praise God. Romans

15, four. Romans 15, four, it says, for whatever

things were written before were written for our

learning. that we, through the patience and comfort

of the scripture, may have hope. It says, we're

written through patience and comfort. Patience

and comfort, they say, that we, through patience

and comfort of the scripture, may have hope.

And I think, let me just talk about the word

patience. Patience, you know, Lenin, you know,

A whole four years to arrive at a destination

doesn't look like, is a lot of time. But if you're

not patient, you will not see that finish line

for any journey at all. Means that the learning

will take time, but you have to be patient with

it. You have to trust that you will get there.

And even for us, the learning doesn't end, praise

God. The learning doesn't end, it continues.

And you will need to be comforted all through.

Praise God. You need to be comforted all through.

And there's hope, there's great hope, there's

great encouragement that comes when we do the

work. And you know, all of this will not be beautiful.

All of this, what makes all of this beautiful

is that you're not doing it alone. You're doing

it with others. And when you're down, and when

you're down, you have somebody that will be there

for you. And we're not doing the work of God

in isolation. We're doing the work of God together.

and that should encourage us that should stir

us up and that should help us the word the word

the word is learning like the word the didascale

here in this passage is is learning that our

learning and i told us that the word can be teaching

there's also learning for didascale too there's

another word that that comes in then the third

one or the last one is hetero didascale is H

-E -T -E -R -O -D -I -D -A -S -K -A -L -E -O.

Hetero and then the Dascaleo. H -E -T -E -O -T

-E -R -O, sorry, D -I -D -A -S -K -A -L -E -O.

And this is to teach something other than what

is correct. This is to teach something other

than what is correct. The hetero there, if you're

familiar, it means different, contrary, or other.

And then you will notice that it's similar to

the Daskalia, which is to teach. So it means

that you are teaching something that is other

than what is correct. You're teaching something

that is other than what is going to be, that's

contrary to the truth. And this one appears just

twice. This one appears just twice and you can

guess who would have used it is Apostle Paul.

So on the two occasions where this appears is

Apostle Paul. Remember we said he's very big

on the soundness of the teaching, the soundness

of when he had written a good amount of the epistles.

So it appears in 1 Timothy 1 .3 and 1 Timothy

6 .3. 1 Timothy 1 .3 and 1 Timothy 6 .3. 1 .3

and 6 .3 of 1 Timothy says, as I told you, when

I went to Macedonia, remain in Ephesus that you

may charge some that they teach no other doctrine,

that they teach no other doctrine is the word

hetero didascale, that they teach no other. doctrine.

Then 1 Timothy 1 .6, it says, if anyone teaches

otherwise and does not consent to wholesome words,

even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and

to the doctrine which accords with godliness.

The doctrine there is the Dyskalia, the teach

otherwise is the hetero -dyskalia. So we see

that there's continuous warnings against false

doctrines that are taught by false teachers.

Praise God. These false doctrines don't just

appear. The false doctrines are taught by false

teachers and they are contrary to the doctrine

of Christ. They are contrary to the doctrine

of Christ. And I want us to see, even Peter highlights

the same thing. Apostle Peter highlights the

same thing in, he gives a whole chapter. A whole

chapter to tell you how possible does the same

thing. But Peter gives a whole chapter. That's

2 Peter 2 verse 1 downwards, but we'll just look

2 Peter 2:1

at verse 1. 2 Peter 2 verse 1, it says, but there

2 Peter 2:1

were also false prophets. There were also false

prophets as the teachers that are running the

false doctrine, false prophets. Yeah, it's pseudo.

You see the word pseudo. Pseudo means false.

Even in English language, when you use pseudo,

it's very much adopted. When you use anything

pseudo, it just means false, anything false.

So they are false prophets amongst the people.

So know that these people are not outside, right?

Yeah, you can have them inside teaching false.

They say even as they will be false teachers,

so they are false prophets. false teachers the

false teachers are pseudo didascalios even among

you it says who will secretly bring in destructive

heresies secretly bring in destructive heresies

even denying the lord who brought them and it

says who brought them and bring on themselves

swift destruction so these people are bringing

in destructive heresies and then the worst of

is they're denying the Lord, right? They're denying

the Lord to just cap it up. So he gives a whole

entire chapter to warn, to strongly warn against

false teachers and their destructive heresies

and how they come in to exploit believers for

their own gain. They're exploiting believers

for their own gain. So we see, even in that same

2nd Peter, we see him make reference to Balam,

right? We see him make reference to Balam. Let's

go to the 15 and 16, just to see. 15 and 16,

it says, they have forsaken the right way and

gone astray, in order to move away from, gone

astray, following the way of Balam, the son of...

Note that this... There's, you know, if you,

I think we were reading our canonical, you see

that Jehovah, the son of Nibbeth, is the standard

for when people, you would say they say according

to, when you have done so much evil that they

are, you set the standard for, when we are saying

evil, we say according to, like, in the simi,

in fact, some people will go higher than, but

we see that they use, that is being used in this

case you say following the way and because it's

now it's now a part that you choose to follow

not that we say that yes he did that but there's

a source of it right there's a source of it so

it says who loved the wages of unrighteousness

so his own what the drive for it was the resource

he was going to get and the 16 is an interesting

process but he was rebuked for his iniquity a

dumb is it a dumb donkey speaking with a man's

voice, restrained the madness of the prophet.

So it had to take a donkey speaking to him, it

didn't even restrain him, it still went ahead

because we saw that he had to, it gave the counsel

that resulted in what befell the children of

Israel, praise God. And sometimes when people

want to do evil or when people want to for the

benefits or the gains they will do, you find

yourself doing, because it's madness, right?

It's madness. You know that this is error. In

fact, you couldn't even do the thing that you

went for. You failed several times. The man had

to take you to different points. You failed several

times, but you still went ahead and told him

what he was going to do. So we see it here as

a way and then it later becomes a doctrine because

people now, that's what people look at it and

then they learn. So the question is, what are

you learning or who are you learning from? Praise

God. What are you learning or who are you learning

from? When you open your Bible and nowadays people,

you do a lot of learning online. You do a lot

of learning online and when I mean online, I

don't mean you taking courses online. I mean

you watching all manner or all forms of content

and you learn and you learn and you learn and

you are surprised when you manifest. You're surprised

when you manifest know that it's a product of

what you have bombarded or what you have received

that you Given off and that's why you scripted

time and time again will warn us to guard There's

a guard that there's a garden that you do to

ensure that you don't go off You don't you don't

enter into error. Praise God and we see In in

Galatians 1 69 I want to read this very quickly

says Galatians 1 .69, it says, I marvel that

you are turning away so soon from Him who called

you in the grace of Christ to a different, that

different there is, heteros, gospel, that is

Eugelion. It says, which is not another, but

there are some who trouble you. and want to pervert

the gospel of Christ. They want to pervert it.

He says, but even if we, see what he says, even

if we or an angel from heaven preach any other

gospel to you than what we have preached to you,

let him be accursed. Now he says, as we have

said before, so now I say again he has said it

before he's repeating himself again because it's

very important that is said again if anyone preaches

any other gospel to you other than what you have

received let him be uh cursed and it means that

there are people that will pervert if you want

to get other words the nlt says they are deliberately

twisting the truth concerning christ they're

deliberately they know what the truth is but

they are twisting it. Remember we say they are

doing it for their own gain. There's a benefit

and they are gain. The ESV will say they are

distorting the gospel. They are distorting the

gospel. And we see that Apostle Paul's emphasis

continually is on the purity or the soundness

of what is being communicated. Praise God. The

purity and the soundness of what is being communicated.

And in Hebrews, I want us to see Hebrews first

before we go back to where we close in what we

are. Hebrews 6 verse 2. Hebrews 6 verse 2, you

Hebrews 6:2 Hebrews 6:2

see a list, you see that there's a doctrine of

baptisms, the laying on of hands, there's a resurrection

of the dead, and there's the internal judgment.

And we'll see that in 1 Corinthians 15, the focus

is on that resurrection of the dead. The focus

is on doctrine on the resurrection of the dead.

That's what we'll see in that 1 Corinthians 15.

Just go to 1 Corinthians 15, 12, to 14. 1 Corinthians

15 12 to 14 says, now if Christ is preached,

if Christ is preached that he has raised from

the dead, how do some among you say that there

is no resurrection of the dead? Notice that there

are some that are saying now that there's no

resurrection of the dead. Note that there's an

implication to that statement. When somebody

says there's no resurrection of the dead, it

means that Christ didn't, so, but if there is

no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not

risen. Remember when we, the previous teaching

where I, in Matthew 28, where we talked about

how the soldiers were lying that he never resurrected,

his body was stolen. You know that his body being

stolen means that he did not resurrect, that

he took it physically. So now you have people

saying that he never resurrected and then, yeah,

and if Christ was not risen, then the preaching,

is empty and your faith is also empty. So the

preaching is empty. There's no need to preach.

Why are you preaching? Why are you going about

and telling people that they should surrender

to this, to Him, to believe in Him? Because the

whole thing is anchored. They say, yes, we have

found false witnesses of God. So we that are

saying it are in error. Like we are the ones

now in error, they are the ones in the truth.

That's basically how he's trying to, he says,

because we have testified of God that he raised

up Christ whom he did not raise up, if in fact

the dead do not rise. And we see that all of

this, let's just stop there. So it's a very interesting

matter. It's something that shakes the core of

our faith, something that affects the core of

our faith. And we know that the people that hold

on to this are the Sadducees. The people that

hold on to this belief system are the Sadducees.

And you understand that because they have believed,

there are some people that are still holding

on to the belief of the Sadducees, right? And

they're the ones that doing this back and front.

And we'll see that this whole matter that our

support is trying to address did not start today.

Let's go back to the Matthew 22, where Jesus

Christ was dealing with the same situation. Start

from 22, 23. Just to give us a bit of context,

Jesus Christ had just finished dealing with the

Pharisees. The Pharisees came with their own

issue with regards to tax, their own government

issue. So they finished dealing with him, and

their own was a failed attempt. They did not

succeed in trying to trap him or trying to trick

him. their own was a failed attempt. Then the

Sadducees now come with theirs. That is a bit

of a spiritual, it's a bit of religious issue.

And then they said in the 23, it says, the same

day the Sadducees went and they say that there

is no, they say the Sadducees, who say? Not that

they are on the core of, and these people are

no longer in it. They're no longer there because,

you know, when, when everybody, when a good amount

of people believe that Jesus Christ resurrected

your entire, the core of your whole belief, is

useless. They are no longer there. So they say

that there is no resurrection, right? They came

to him and then they asked, saying, that's in

24 now, saying, teacher, Moses said, they now

anchor it on what Moses has said. They start

from the premise of Moses trying to make their

case. Because if you want to anchor it on some

authority so that you can move from there and

then make your point. So if a man dies, having

no children his brother shall marry his wife

and raise up offspring for his brother he says

now they are they see they were there was there

were they were with us seven brothers the first

died after he married and having no offsprings

left his wife left his wife to his brother then

26 likewise the second also and the third even

the seven, so it kept happening till the seven.

So it's like seven, it was where it stopped.

The last of all, the woman, they say last of

all, the woman died also. So the woman now concludes

it. It says, therefore in the resurrection, whose

wife, whose wife of the seven shall, will she

be? And the all, it says that for the all had

her, right? For the all had her. So we see that

they bring up a hypothetical. bring up something

hypothetical, right? I said, okay, this person

is married to this person that has seven brothers,

and then you have, you know that this is practically,

it doesn't even make sense, right? So Jesus Christ

now answers them saying, Jesus answered and said

to them, said, you are mistaken. And that word

mistaken is, as I explained now, means you're

deceived. it says not knowing the scriptures

nor the power of god not knowing the scriptures

nor the power of god see for in the resurrection

they neither marry or are given in marriage but

i like the angels of god in heaven 31 now says

but concerning the resurrection of the dead have

you not read anaginousko have you not read what

was spoken to you by god saying I am the God

of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of

Jacob. God is not a God of the dead, but of the

living. Praise God. God is a God of the living.

It says, and when the multitudes heard this,

which is what we read earlier, they were astonished

at his teaching because he demolishes the entire

belief system of, because he says like, look,

he's not God of the dead. It's God of the living.

And in case you're wondering, you serve a living

God, a God that death could not hold, a God that

came out of the grave, he conquered death. And

on the basis of him conquering death, we will

do likewise, praise God. Scripture says it's

the first foot, right? So meaning that we are

not just, when we don't, in fact, all through

scriptures, you see the word used as sleep. And

that has turned it as his teaching. Remember,

he said that that teaching there is the dida

key, meaning that he corrected something. And

you would think that that was where he started.

These people have been at it before 2022. They

have been at it since 16. They have been at it

since 16. They come from time to time to test

him. And Jesus Christ has even warned his disciples

to go back to that whole warning them to be alert.

Just write Matthew 16, 1 to 12. We'll just read

1 and then we'll read 12 for the sake of time.

Just read 1 and read 12. So what is going to

happen is that in the subsequent teaching, I'll

give us examples of individuals, even in the

Old Testament, that didn't bow down. They knew

the truth and they held on to the truth. They

were persecuted for it, but God delivered them.

You know, one thing that we fail to, or one thing

that sometimes we can fail to realize is that

When we're standing for the truth, because of

whose truth we're standing for, God will always

deliver. And the way He's going to deliver might

not be the way you want to be delivered, right?

You might not even know how you'll be delivered,

praise God. You're going through stuff, you're

going through situations, you don't know how

God is going, you have been praying, you don't

know how God is going to deliver you. You want

to just trust that He is going to deliver you

because you are His property, praise God. You

are His own, you are His child. So Matthew 16,

Matthew 16:1

Verse 1, it says, then the Pharisees and the

Sadducees came and testing him, asked that he

would show them a sign from heaven. He will show

them a sign from heaven. And he goes on and on

and on about, he points them to the sign of Jonah,

right? The sign of Prophet Jonah in 5. It says

now the disciples are, he points them to the

sign of Prophet Jonah. And then now he now wants,

he now tells the disciples, that they should

take heed. In verse 6 Jesus said to them, take

heed and beware of the living of the Pharisees

and the Sadducees. The disciples were confused.

They were like, is he talking about bread? Is

he talking about bread? Because prior to that

there was a situation that happened where people

were fed, multitudes were fed. But in 12 now

we see, it says, then they understood that he

did not tell them to beware of the living of

bread but of the doctrine of the Pharisees. and

the Sadducees. Praise God. He was calling the

attention to beware of the doctrines of the Sadducees

and the Pharisees. And even Jesus himself warns

his disciples. Jesus is warning us through Apostle

Paul in the letter that we should watch. We should

watch. We should stand fast in the doctrine of

faith that we have received. We should be strong

about it. We'll look at that even further. The

other translation we see, we should act like

men, right? we should act, we should be able

to take on on it, we should be brave, we should

be strong. And the strength that we exhibit is

not the strength that, it's not solely the strength

that comes, it's the strength that comes from

God, praise God. The strength that is being exercised

is the strength that comes from abundance of

strength that relies in God, that comes from

that relies in God, praise God. It's not the

strength that we, because most of the times we

have... We appreciate you being here today. We

hope you carried this word with you throughout

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stay blessed.