The Forgotten Letters: 2 John (North OC)

Dallas Kaauwai: All right.

Good morning everyone.

How are we doing?

Morning.

Happy Father's Day, all the fathers in the room.

Um, also just a special shout out to all the spiritual fathers in the room as well.

Um, we saw, I just wanna, like I said, I, for those of you who don't

know, I grew up in, not in Orange County, but in our family of churches.

And, uh, one of the things that my parents emphasized on me is that

to have deep relationships in the church, to like have another family.

Um, I didn't have a lot of extended family growing up in my life, so all I

had growing up really was the church.

For me standing before you today.

I see family.

I don't just see people or congregants or members in a church.

I see family.

I see mothers and fathers and sisters, brothers, uncles, uh, aunts and cousins.

I don't really say cousins, but I'd probably just say brothers and sisters

is probably the best way to put it.

But I see family in this room and I thank you to all the fathers that have helped

me, uh, make Orange County feel like home.

It's, I'm coming up on.

Oh, dear God, seven years, uh, here.

Um, and it is definitely, definitely felt like home the last, at the last few years.

I mean, in my undergrad I would feel like I was just wandering around

trying to figure out where I was gonna be in life, and then I ended

up staying here after my undergrad.

So I, I feel like I'm building my roots down here pretty deep.

So, but Happy Father's Day to all the fathers spiritual fathers in the room

that have really helped me mature in my faith and have invested into me.

I can't thank you enough.

Um, but also the way that you guys lead your families as well.

We appreciate the way you guys set the example for us, especially for young

men like myself, um, who aspire to be fathers one day, aspire to be husbands.

So I appreciate you guys so much.

Let's give you round applause for that.

So thank you.

Um, one other thing, um, as Marelle mentioned earlier, with everything

going on in our country right now, we just want to emphasize that.

The staff and the ministry leaders are very open to really discussing and helping

process through these things spiritually.

So please feel free to reach out to any, uh, any of those in your family

group or even just the leaders in the ministry here, um, to really

help you process through that.

Like, so we really wanna emphasize that we wanna do this together.

This is not a solo thing that you've gotta go figure it on your own.

Obviously, take the time to figure out and discern on your own and those things,

but also, let's have a discussion.

Let's not feel like we gotta silo ourselves to lay our own beliefs,

but let's do this in unification.

Amen.

Um.

But today we're gonna continue in our season.

Well, actually I want to first shout out my dad real quick.

There he is, uh, Kevin Kawai.

Aw man.

I get emotional every time I talk about this guy.

I love this guy.

Um, yeah, it's my dad.

He's, uh, unfortunately not with us today in the service.

He's actually, um, helping out in the lifeway service.

Um, he did leads worship out there.

Shout out to Frank and Florence Korea, who are here as well, um, from Lifeway.

Um, and, uh, yeah, it's my dad, you know, so on the left.

Left.

Um, yes, your left, my right.

Um, that's me and my dad.

I think when I was like six or seven.

I think he, my dad is the one that helped me fall in love with baseball

and fall in love with the Dodgers.

He was, he's, uh, always just bled the blue and so he, I

will ooze that out as well.

That's passed down in my generation as well.

Um, and that is us on opening day this year.

Um, so like the legacy continues and, uh, yeah, he's just my, he, he's my rock.

He's my inspiration.

I love this guy.

I mean, he is just.

I think a lot of what you see is from him and I can't express enough of how much

I am just blessed to have him as my dad.

Oh my gosh.

Haven't even started yet, man.

Oh, goodness gracious.

I love my dad.

He's awesome.

And I love my mom as well.

Uh, one and the same and very much, uh, my rocks in my life.

But my dad is definitely, uh, the man that I aspire to be every day.

Whew, man.

Woo.

All right, here we go.

All right.

Amen.

Let's pray.

Let me get myself centered here, but let's pray.

Um, before we get into our spirit, let's bow our heads.

Uh, God, thank you so much for today.

God, thank you so much for the fathers in the room.

God, thank you so much for the way that you are the ultimate Father,

the, the father that is ever loving.

Ever compassionate, ever present?

Um, God, we, we thank you so much for your son and the sacrifice that he,

uh, had laid before us, God, in the way that we get to live our lives today.

Not for ourselves, but for you, God, and that you desire to

have a relationship with us.

I pray today that the words that come out of my heart, God, are from your spirit

and from your word, and that they carry so much greater than my own Father.

We pray to be, um, inspired and encouraged, uh, but also convicted, um,

by what you have to share with us today.

Um, but Father, we love you so much.

We pray on your son Jesus name.

Amen.

All right, so we are studying out what's called the Forgotten Letters.

Not so much from the sense that they are forgotten and because that we

just don't think they exist, but they're actually just those smaller

books in the Bible that we don't usually get around to talking about.

Last week, Marcel started off with Philemon, and that was a great series.

I think I haven't, I can't remember the last time I talked through

him, went through Fight Philemon.

But honestly, it was also great to see that.

I think for me, what I grew up in, what I see is that.

Like we have to fight tooth and nail in the church to see each other

as brothers and sisters in Christ.

First.

It's hard because easy, it's easy to see each other as friends or as colleagues

or as coworkers, but sometimes, but it's really that we are brothers and

sisters in the spiritual kingdom of God.

Amen.

And so in, in the context of giving, what I'm giving you from

FIMA was that, you know, FIMA was writing to one and he had, um.

He had a slave was, was a slave that he was sending back to him.

And basically it was like finally was saying, Hey, please receive this

man, this back, this slave that once ran away from you as your brother in

Christ, not as this slave something even better, which is your brother.

And so I think I really loved that talk and I mean, it was just really, it was

really inspiring because like I said, in the world it's easy to see each other as

odds of what we can get from each other.

But in the kingdom we look to collectively be unified and can be connected.

Amen.

So today we're gonna talk about second John.

So if you wanna flip your Bibles over there, if you can

find it, it's there, trust me.

Um, but we're gonna be in second John in just a little bit of background.

So the author of this is traditionally attributed to the Apostle John,

one of the 12, likely written between 80, 85 and 90 and 80 95.

John lived the longest outta all the other, all the other

apostles, and died a natural death.

So if you didn't know that, John actually was obviously one of the original 12.

He was actually the only one that was not crucified or beaten or, um,

even, or not Cruc crucified, beaten.

He was definitely beaten in, in certain, in certain capacities,

but he wasn't like crucified.

He wasn't killed.

He wasn't like necessarily tortured to death in a way, but he died a

natural death on his own, which is honestly pretty, it's pretty

intense to think that he lived.

Such a long span of life.

So usually he's attributed to this letter and especially in his style of writing,

which we'll get into a little bit later.

But some of the main characters that we wanna talk about here are John the

elder, the elect lady, her children, which in this context I believe it could

be the A local church and its members.

And I'll explain why a little bit later.

But also the deceivers false teachers who denied the incarnation of Jesus Christ and

pose a threat to the believers in faith.

You know, the purpose of this is for John to write, uh, to encourage

believers to walk in the truth and with love while warning them to remain

vigilant against the Sears who deny the incarnation of Jesus Christ.

The letter emphasizes obedience to God's commandments, the importance

of abiding in correct doctrine, and the need to avoid giving false

teachers any platform or support.

This is not your normal Father's Day lesson, so I'm sorry if you

were coming in for something fuzzy.

We're about to get into it.

All right.

So let's jump in real quick.

So first, uh, second John chapter, uh, verse one.

See, this is where I'm, this chapters are gonna get me, um, to the la to the, uh,

the elder, to the lady chosen by God and her children, whom I love in the truth.

Not only I, but also all who know the truth because of the truth which

lives in us will be with us forever.

Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father, and from Jesus

Christ, the father's son, will be with us in truth and love.

Alright, so obviously context real quick.

So the lady chosen by God and her children.

Now remember we have to also understand that we can't read

this from our perspective.

We have to remember that we're reading this from someone in a

different times, in a different, uh, era of time right now when they're

sending letters around the church.

Obviously Christianity was not very, pop was popular, but very

unpopular against the government.

That was honestly, um, overseeing, uh, the times of where John

and the church were at.

Now, like I said, if a letter was intercepted at any point, maybe that's the

context of certain letters of who it was.

So maybe when John was writing this, John was trying to maybe keep a

secret, the identity of who he was writing to and call it the elect lady.

That's what some scholars choose there to believe.

I'm not trying to impose my own self here, but that's just what some

scholars have were choosing to believe or, uh, just, uh, theorize at times.

Another thing as well is that think about how we refer to our family of churches.

We say what our sister churches, right?

So the idea is that in Greek, the Ecclesia is actually a feminine term,

so that when we refer to the elect lady, we're actually referring, he's

probably referring to a local church.

I don't know if he's talking about to the greater church.

Obviously this is, this letter has gone to us today as the Greater

church, but as the elect church, maybe this was a local church and it's,

and her children are the members.

So that's where most scholars have believed to get this perspective from

what John was writing from at this point.

Now, what's a phrase that or the, or the word that you see the most in these

three, in these three, uh, verses so far?

Truth.

Right, right.

It says Who I love in the truth and who I know the truth and because of the truth.

Right?

And with us in truth in love.

Right.

And so just some context as well.

First, John was talking a lot about love First.

John was all about love and the writing style that John has is

that, you know, he calls himself the one that Jesus loved, right?

I don't know.

That's a.

To me that that's a, I don't have that.

I don't feel like I don't have that big of an ego, but if John calls

us the one that Jesus loved, 'cause he said it, I'll give it to him.

But John emphasizes a lot of love though in First John, and now in the second John.

Here we are.

And he's talking about truth.

So it's like, okay, John, what is more important here?

Is it love or is it truth?

And I think it's, I think it's hard for us to kind of discern on our

own what is more important without Jesus in the picture, because some

of us lean more towards the truth.

And some of us lean towards a lot of love, right?

But in, in, on their, in, on their own, on their own planes, it's

very hard to have one without the other and try to be like Jesus.

Amen.

Because if you have a lot of truth and no love, it's harsh.

If you have a lot of love, but no truth, it's very shallow.

So it's hard to find the balance.

So John here is not trying to have us choose between the two or confuse us.

He's trying to show us that both are needed.

Yeah.

Truth and love are both needed.

Now, I don't know about you, but to me, truth gives us at least direction, right?

The common ground that we share as disciples in the truth is Jesus is our

Lord, and that he has died for our sins.

Amen.

And that the reason we are here is because of him.

So that is the truth that we have.

It gives us direction as to least where we are going, but how do we get there?

Well, it's because of our love for him is where we can actually

have some direction to keep going.

Now, moving forward.

Right.

So if we have the truth and we say, well, Jesus loves me and he died for me, and we

stay here in our truth, then it's hard for us to what move forward and branch out.

Or we have love and say, well, I know I love Jesus and I love the

church so much, but I have, but my truth is not rooted in that.

Then we're just going aimlessly everywhere.

So we need to have truth, and we need to have love in our relationships.

That is essential.

Now, the love that he talks about here, and, and this is where we have

to, like I said, make sure we're doing our studies as we're reading.

Is that we have to know what kind of love is he talking about?

And obviously he's talking about agape love.

If you translate it, and we've talked about a lot about agape love here,

and that is the selfless, selfless, action based and unconditional love.

It's not rooted in emotion, but in commitment and in truth now.

Now what is the truth?

Now, like I said, he, he kind of keeps it.

Now obviously, I, I don't think he means to make it very ambiguous,

but if he's speaking to the church and what the truth is.

It's called.

It's called this word in Greek called Althea.

It was this Unhidden reality, the Unhidden reality.

So let's, okay, what is this Unhidden reality?

What is the truth that you're talking about here, John?

It says, the truth is that the full, unchanging reality of who Jesus is, what

he's done, and what he teaches, that is the truth that we walk in, we walk in

knowing that Jesus is who he says he is, and who he's said to be in the Bible.

What he's done and the miracles and he's performed, the sacrifice on the

cross that he has and what he teaches us to do and how to live a godly life.

That is the truth that we walk in.

That is the common ground that we live in.

Are you guys with me so far here?

Yes.

And so you have to ask yourself though is, is your, are your relationships

with one another built on shared truth or just shared interests?

Because if this is your truth that we live by.

Do our relationships look like we were reflecting more of

Christ or more of the world?

Because like I said, Marcel said yes, uh, last week that we have, it's

the Kingdom of God versus the world.

What perspec, what perception, what um, what nar know, what narrative are you

going to take on the one that the world gives, the one that the kingdom gives?

Because if it's the kingdom, this is your truth, and that you live by who

Jesus was, who he said to have been, and what he commands us to become.

Truth is the compass, love is the fuel.

One gives direction, the other gives us power.

You know, my dad never shied away from the truth.

He's always, I, I think that's why, for me, if you know me, I'm, I'm

very much direct because of my dad.

He, he, he, he laid it on me at times, man.

There were times where I, I, I, I'll be honest, I was in knucklehead

and I, if he, if you could believe it or not, thank you Eric.

Um, but my dad never shied away from the truth.

One thing I love about my dad is that because he's a man of God, he also never

shyed away from showing me love as well.

That just because there was truth doesn't mean that there wasn't love in,

in the discipline that I received in my sometimes when I said, when I was

a knucklehead and I needed direction, the truth, yes, it set me on the right.

It gave me direction, but it also, the love prompted me to want to be better.

And in our relationships with one another is the truth.

Directing ourselves back to you need to become more like me.

Or do we need to become more like Christ?

And if you're encouraging one another to do that daily, then that should

be felt in the truth that you share through God's word and also in the love

that you share because of your love for him and your love for each other.

Like I said, 'cause our love is limited, right?

We cap our love at a certain point, but if we are trying to live within the

truth, then our love has to be agape.

It has to have no limits.

It can't be based on emotions.

It can't be based on similar interests or likeness.

It has to be based in the truth.

Amen.

Amen.

All right, let's keeping, let's keep it moving here.

We have to love with truth at the center.

Sorry.

That's my first point.

Love with truth at the center, we're gonna continue.

In verse four, it says, it has given me great joy to find some of

your children walking in the truth just as the father commanded us.

And now, dear lady, I'm not writing to you a new command, but one, um,

we have had from the beginning, I ask that we love one another.

This is love that we walk in obedience to his commands.

As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love.

He says, you know, I, I love how you points out.

He's like, I'm not writing to you something new here.

He says something that we've heard from the beginning.

And you know what's pretty funny is that I think some of us can feel

like even myself, I, I put myself in this, in this, in this bowl with

you, is that we hear this all the time, love, love, love one another.

Love God, we'll love one another.

And you think to yourself, you're like, man, how many times does someone

have to say it before we get it?

But don't you don't you have to.

We have to kind of, I have to humble myself to think of like,

okay, you think the reason why he says it so many times is 'cause we

actually haven't done it all the way.

Right?

Let's think about it.

Right?

Like if someone has to tell you to do something over and over and over

again, which honestly my dad hated having me do it because I would

tell me, he'd tell me something.

I was like, Dallas, make sure you take the trash.

Yeah, I got it.

Five minutes later, Dallas, take out the trash.

Yeah, I got it.

Don't worry.

Don't worry, dad.

I got it.

Dallas, take out the trash.

Dad.

I told you I get it.

He's like, this is my third time telling you when are you going to do it.

Right.

So in the same way John said, I'm not writing to you something groundbreaking

or something new or fresh off the pre.

Like this is something that has been preached since the

beginning to love one another.

And like I said, if we're being told something time and time again, maybe we

have to take a look in the mirror and think, am I doing this the right way?

Am I doing this to the full extent that I'm expected through Christ?

Now, obviously it's not perfection, but it's the idea that if we are called to

love one another, how important is it though that we truly love one another?

And think about this, what would it truly look like if we love to the full

capacity that we are called to love?

What would our church look like?

What would your relationships look like?

What would your families look like?

What would your marriages look like to love to the full capacity?

We are called to love, and it's hard because like I said, it's not based on

your limits and based on your standards and what your capacity is to love.

It's based on the capacity to give sacrificially like Christ.

Now, honestly, it's pretty interesting because what now, he goes, he goes a

step further to define what love is.

He says that what is to that?

This is love.

He says, I'm gonna define it for you.

He's like, if you, if it wasn't clear enough what love is, this is what it is.

It says that we walk in obedience to his commands.

John is not trying to make this an ambiguous thing that he's like, no, love

is like this abstract, confusing emotion.

No, love is obedience to God.

And it's as simple as that.

But I know it's easier said than done.

Let's be honest.

Right?

It's easier said than done.

And it's hard because sometimes for me, I know for myself is I feel like, oh man,

I'm feel like I'm doing a pretty good job.

But like I said.

To, when we're called to love someone, to the full extent,

let's tie that in with obedience.

Are we being obedient to the full extent that we know that we should?

That's where we have to be.

Kinda like, ugh, that, that, it kind of, it, it, it checks us because we have to

sit there and think, man, and be honest.

Am I being, am I being obedient to the full extent that God expects me?

And it's a high calling, right?

'cause I'm not, this is not talking about.

Perfection.

We're not talking about living it to the T because obviously we are

flawed beings, but the desire has to be there if you desire to only go.

Like I said, if I was a, if I, if I was an athlete, I remember my, and my dad,

um, he played baseball and man, he, he would, we would go to the field when I

was growing up and we would, we would, I'd throw and I would, because I was a

pitcher and I would field, he would, he would help me train everything like that.

And man, if my goal was only to be 50% good.

Man, I would let some balls go by.

I would let some throws go sailing over first base or I, I would just,

I would, I wouldn't swing at some pitches when we were practicing batting

if I, if my desire was to go 50%.

But I said that I wanted to be the best, right?

I wanted to be the best I wanted to be in, in baseball, but if I wasn't able

to give my 100%, if I just, because I had the, the thought and it was a

good idea to give a hundred percent.

And if, if I'm not showing that, do I truly want that?

If we desire to be fully like Christ, but we're giving 50% effort,

75% effort to wanting to be fully obedient, do we truly, truly love God?

Can we be real about that?

Right.

I don't think anyone in this room desires to, to, to really, I honestly, I don't,

I don't wanna assume, but I don't want think anyone fully desires to truly like.

Just go off the deep end just for the, just for, just for, just for

the fun of it and for and for the idea and the possibility of it.

But let's think about it.

If we're here today, your desire is that you want to walk in the truth.

Amen.

And if you want to walk in the truth, you want to love God.

Amen.

And if you want to love God, then you want to obey God.

Amen.

So if that's the case, are we fully obeying God to the full

extent that we truly desire?

We have to be honest with ourselves in that church.

The point I wanna make is that loving God, love God by obeying all the way.

It's simple as that, but it's an honest question that we have to observe within

our own hearts and have to discern and honestly keep each other accountable

to, is that we obey all the way.

I know for myself, it's like it's easy for me to let myself off because I feel like

I'm doing good enough, but you know what?

God didn't ask for me to do good enough.

He asked me to give everything that I have, and it's not perfection.

Right?

It's giving all of our hearts because he gave all of us, God never asked us

to do something that he didn't do first.

We have to be willing to give all the way, obey all the way, and love all the way.

Amen.

I know my dad loved me all the way.

I mean, if it was I, a memory that I had with him was I was, uh, in first grade

and we were doing presentations and.

I remember I chose to do the solar system and present what all the planets were,

and I, it was really cool because I had like a, I wish I had a picture of it, man.

I should have found that one.

But it's a, basically, a picture is, it was like a black cardboard cutout

and with a bunch of styrofoam balls.

And I, and I, and I, my idea was to like, kind of put them all on sticks

and then order them in the way from like the sun all the way to Pluto.

You can argue Pluto is a planet.

This was like way back when, so don't worry about it.

Right.

It's, but I remember, obviously I'm working on it as a kid.

I have no clue what I'm doing.

I fall asleep early, so who stays up late and finishes it for me.

My dad and I wake up the next morning and my project is done, and it, and honestly,

it was a pretty dang good project.

I, I, I hate that mess.

It was great.

But I'm saying that I know my dad loved me all the way just because he said, he

said, he didn't just say, I'll help you.

He said, let me do this for you.

And even then my dad, oh my gosh, this man, I'm telling you, he would.

He just, he's so sacrificial.

I know my, my parents, they work in team ministry.

They've been in team ministry last 10 years since I was a teen.

Yes.

They, they kind of cramped my style a little bit when I was

in the teens, but it's fine.

But I know my, my parents and especially my dad loves the teens.

Not because he just shows up to devo and not because he just gets time with

them, but he just pours into them.

He takes them out for lunch.

He takes them out for dinner.

He even, like I said, when I was a teen, we would have sleepovers

at the house with other teen guys.

Since I've left, he's continued to have boys over that sleepover at their house.

My par, my dad loves the teens all the way.

He doesn't wanna sell 'em short.

He wants to make sure that they know that they are loved and that he, that

they know that they are supported.

He goes through all of their graduation.

I think he, he went to his third graduation.

This, this season already.

Like this, like this, man, I, like I said, and I don't wanna, I don't

wanna put this man on a pedestal.

Like, I just, like, I just like, he's my dad.

I love, I gotta hype him up, you know?

This is his day too.

I, I, I mean, I'll, I'll hype him up 364 other days of the year.

Absolutely.

But you know, today I, I definitely gotta hype him up because he truly

shows me what, when you wanna obey God, you love people all the way.

You give all the way.

You don't sit there and sit back and say, well, you know, this is my desire to give,

but I'm only gonna give up to this much.

He says, what can I give to the full extent?

And I think that we also have to embody that that's how Christ was.

He gave us all that he had to the full extent, not withholding anything.

'cause if he withheld anything, his sacrifice would've been in vain.

In a sense.

It would've been invalid because he would've backed out

whether that was on the cross.

That was enduring the shame, whether enduring the scorn, the flogging,

whatever it was, if he would've just pulled back, he would not be the

blameless perfect sacrifice that we get to worship and be grateful for today.

Amen.

So let's obey God by loving all the way by and love him, by obeying

all the way it goes hand in hand, just the same way Christ obeyed God

all the way on through the cross.

Amen.

Let's continue reading here.

That's where we're gonna kind of get into it a little bit more here.

I say this because many deceivers who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ,

verse seven as coming in the flesh, have gone out into the world.

Any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist.

Watch how that you do not lose what we have worked for, but

that you may be rewarded fully.

Anyone who runs ahead and does not continue in the teaching

of Christ, does not have God.

Whoever continues in the teaching has both the father and the son.

If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not take

them into your house or welcome them.

Anyone who welcomes them shares in their wicked work.

Once again, this is not your typical Father's Day lesson.

Alright, so let's break it down a little bit.

I, I wanna underline the word antichrist.

I don't know if you've heard about it.

I, I'm sure some of us have heard about it.

I don't know if it's been defined for you.

Now, obviously, when we hear the word anti, what do we think of?

Opposite.

Right.

Right.

To night and day.

Right.

Black and white.

Right.

Those, they're antis, they're opposites of each other.

Well, like I said, this is where we, let's say, continue to do the deep diving

of certain things and we, and we study it out when we get to it, actually,

anti means against, or instead of, it's anti cresto in Greek, and so the anti

is against her instead of, and then c Christo obviously is Messiah or correct.

So if you put those together, it's the against Christ, obviously,

but also the instead of, or in other words, a replacement,

interesting, interesting perspective, right?

Because now it is not just like the opposite of Christ, right?

Obviously it's like good and bad, light and darkness.

It's, it's not, it's, it's, it's the replacement.

Because back in the day, people were actually trying to, to, to deceive other

people saying that Jesus actually wasn't fully God or that he wasn't fully man.

They try to alter and try to shift the perception of who Jesus was

so that would fit their narrative.

And I mean I can, I'm sure you can think about how that has formed out

from there all the way until today.

I mean, just this morning, I'll be honest, I was on Instagram and I was

looking through and some of the things that come up on my feed about Jesus

and about church are blowing my mind.

The, the internet has become such a dangerous place for false

teachers to insert their ways and their, and their doctrines into

the minds of, of our, of us, right.

And of our children who are receiving that.

It is a dangerous place to be.

I mean, something like, let's talk about a little bit some of the things

that I feel like that are like, that are antichrist or replacement Jesus is,

or that Jesus was just a good teacher, or that all religions lead to God.

Or that Jesus, that God just wants you to be happy.

You don't have to be holy or that, or that your truth is your truth,

and that you can stand in it.

And that Jesus affirms me without requiring change.

That I'm saved by grace alone and that I don't have to live a life for him.

That replacement, that idea that, that we take Christ out of the, we take the, the,

the Biblical Christ out of the picture, we insert him with something else.

Now obviously I think for us being here today, I don't think any of us are

looking for an opportunity to, right now, at least I don't think of us are

looking for an opportunity to really, um, to create, I guess, disunity within

what the doctrine is of our church.

We all believe that Jesus is the son of God, that he came down here, lived

a perfect life, died on the cross of three days and was raised to life.

There are people that are out there, like I said, that have a different

narrative of who Jesus is, whether that's in Mormonism or Jehovah's Witness.

Yes, I'm going to nineties.

Because this is what we deal with.

This is real talk.

John talked about it back then and we're gonna talk about it right now.

There are people here who are dis and disfiguring the image

of the biblical Christ, who are looking to make it fit their own

narrative and fit their own agenda.

We have to be solidified in who Jesus is, and if anyone brings

you anything that is not biblical.

That is not the real Jesus that is an antichrist, that is a replacement Jesus.

Or even like I said, the Jesus that tells you that you don't have to forgive of the

people, that you just love 'em from afar.

The Jesus that tells you that you don't have to repent of the sin or you have,

you just have to just confess to him, but not confess to the rest of your brothers

and sisters if you need people that get you in your life to help you out.

There are things in this life that are going to try and disfigure and dis and,

and, uh, and, and change you and form you away from what the biblical Christ is.

That is what our culture, that is what the world, that is what Satan wants.

He wants to take us away from what Jesus, who he truly is.

And that is the biblically accurate Jesus.

And like I said, as someone that is on campus at Cal State Fullerton,

at Fullerton College, I run into a lot of people a lot of times.

I remember talking to Eric one time and I was telling him, I

was like, Hey, I, I, I ran into.

Those of another, um, of another faith, another belief.

And, you know, I wanted to debate and I wanted to go after it.

I wanted to, I wanted to, I wanted to prove to them that this

is, this is not the Jesus that they're preaching is inaccurate.

And I was right to do so.

I'm in every right to do so because that's what God calls us all to do.

However, you know, I, I think, I think sometimes pride can get in the way

and it becomes about, you know, let me tell you how you are wrong and let

me show you who the true Jesus is.

Like I said in that tone and that demeanor, that's not

the true Jesus right there.

I mean, Jesus obviously stood up to the Pharisees, but he did it with what?

With love, right?

The Bible tells us to correct with gentleness.

Now, I don't want any of us to fall for a fake Jesus.

That's what John didn't want.

John was so he loved the church.

Somebody says, please don't be deceived, but what should our response be, though?

Well, I think it's these things right here.

It says To discern, to disconnect, to correct and continue.

Discern, like I said, that whatever is brought to you, whatever you hear online,

whatever is said to you in person, discern, is this biblically accurate?

Where is the biblical support?

Or is it just what you think or what you interpret the scripture to be on your own?

And honestly, disconnect.

Not in a way that's just like, I'm gonna cut you off and never talk to you again.

But like I said, if people come up to you.

Iva witness this, they go door to door.

I, I'll never forget my first encounter with Mormons.

I remember I never had met a Mormon in my life, but I remember they

came up to me and I was like, I was kind of scared 'cause I was like,

these two men dressed up in uniform, approaching me on the street and I

was in high school at this time, so I really didn't know what was going on.

I'll be honest, I thought they had a gun on them.

I was freaking out.

I was like, I didn't know what to do.

But as they, as they continued to share, I was like, oh, okay.

I don't, I don't really.

I don't think we agree on what this is.

However, I think as I've grown older and I, as I've grown in my faith,

I've learned that, you know what, I'm gonna continue to love these people.

'cause that's what I'm called to do, even though I don't agree with them.

But I'm gonna shepherd them and correct them gently and, and make

sure that I point them back to God's word and what God's word truly says.

And I disconnect with them in that way.

Not to the sense, like I said, to like totally disregard or totally

like in a sense of like shun them and like just, I'm not listening to you.

Say, Hey, you share what you need to share, but I'm gonna

share with you the truth and I'm gonna share with you in love.

And I know as a young man, and for me, it's hard for me to kind of like look

at a crowd that has probably seen a lot more than I have, but I can share

with you this is that I'm glad that we are in a church that is Bible based.

I'm grateful to be in a church that really discerns what the truth is.

Because I think in the times in our, in our, in our next generation, what the kids

need and what you guys need to hear is that you need to be based in the truth.

You need to fight to know what is true.

If you don't, this world will take you places where you do not

want to go and you will believe in things that are just obscene.

And so I pray that in our next generation, in our, in our older generation, that

you please continue to help us discern in the truth so that we can know that

though, that though there are, that though there are false teachers and

false figureheads out there, try to deceive us that the truth is in God's

word and that it hasn't changed.

Amen.

And in those to correct, like I said, are you in your word?

Can you back it up?

You can't just tell 'em they're wrong and then just say, well, it's just 'cause it's

in the Bible where in the Bible, right?

We've gotta be in our word this.

We are not just church goers or just church attenders.

We are students.

We are disciples.

We have to know and be in our word.

Amen.

Are you in your word?

I'm not calling anybody out.

I'm not trying to point fingers and play name names, but listen, these are

the things that we have to be ready for because like I said, this is not

the first and not the last time that we're gonna hear about these things.

It's gonna be continuous and they're gonna get worse.

And they're gonna get worse, and they're gonna get worse.

And if we are not gonna be a church, a body of Christ that is rooted and

grounded in the truth, to correct in love with God's word, then

this church is gonna just veer.

We've gotta be rooted in the truth and at the end, we've just gotta continue.

Don't, like I said, don't give 'em the time of day.

They give you a plant fit, a pamphlet, take it.

Throw in the trash after when you're done talking with them.

Simple as that.

Like I said, they've come on your door.

Thank you for your time.

Not interested, and just continue in your truth.

Continue in the truth of who Jesus is.

The unchanging reality, right, the truth that we all walk in,

we have to remain in the truth.

We have to continue forward because I think 'cause it's gonna be distractions,

there's gonna be allegations, there's gonna be all these things that are gonna

try and veer us off of what the truth is.

But we have to stay rooted in the truth.

It's getting distorted.

And you know what?

It's not even just about other false doctrines in a sense of just like,

oh, that there's Muhammad and Buddha and all these things, but even in

these churches, and let's be real, and I feel like I, I don't know.

I'm just gonna be honest here.

Can I be honest with you guys?

It's even infiltrating our churches because we are having doc, we have

people calling themselves gay pastors,

and there's a pin drop in the room because yeah, that's a real thing.

There are people that are, are, are emphasizing gay marriages in church.

There are people that are, are allowing sin to take place and

not be held accountable for it.

Like we have to understand that this is not just outside of this building, but

this could easily infiltrate our building if we are not rooted in the truth.

And this is why as God's chosen people, we have to stick to God's word.

His word alone.

'cause if we don't, we are going to veer.

If we don't, we're going to allow things that should never have

been allowed in the first place.

And that doesn't mean we get all legalistic and we get all like all by the

book Hard rule and everything like that.

'cause that's where we used to be.

I feel you've incorporated a lot of love and a lot of grace in the last few years.

And I think that we're trying to learn how to balance it both in the church.

'cause I said it's a, it's a dance.

We're constantly dancing with it because it's gonna be hard.

If we can learn as a church to do love and truth together, then the things

that I said that are infiltrating other churches will not infiltrate this one.

And if we are going to be the royal priesthood, the holy people, God's

holy nation, that he has chosen for us, we've gotta be rooted in the

truth, but also rooted in the fact that God's love is the one that covers

all of us, and that, that we get to live in the truth because of his love.

Amen.

In the end, John writes this in verse 12.

He says, I have much to write to you, but I do not want to use paper ink.

Instead, I hope to visit you and talk with you face to face

that our joy may be complete.

The children of your sister who is chosen by God send their

greetings, and I love John's heart.

John has such a pastoral heart for his people.

He loves his people.

Guys, I, and this is no disrespect to anyone that is watching online,

but please come, please be connected.

Like there, what you, what you desire for outside of this out or online and

I guess what you, what you hope to gain relationships digitally is never gonna

be the same as is being right here.

Doing life with the people in this room.

That's why we even, we have family groups.

That's why we have ministries.

It's not just that we come together on a Sunday and then we just go

out our separate ways and we never see each other throughout the week.

No, we do life together.

And John shows that in his heart, that he desires to do life with his

people and to see them face to face.

So in the same way, let us join together and let's say continue to do life

together and to do life, not just.

In within it, just 'cause we're going together in church, but to do life

in love and to do life in the truth.

Amen.

So actor said for this week, I want us to live out the command, to love,

intentionally connect, encourage, confess, forgive, whatever it is

that falls in the category of love.

Please do it and live it out intentionally.

And finally, examine all the voice or influences in your life.

Ask yourself, is this helping me walk in the truth or leading me away from it?

It because if we can discern that as disciples, we truly will be able to

discern what the truth is, not on our own, but because of what God says.

And then we can align this.

And like I said, if you're having a hard time, if you have

questions, please ask them.

Don't feel like this is a, this is a, a doubt free zone.

This is where we have to be able to ponder and, and honestly, those

questions will give us answers that will deepen our faith.

So it's okay to ask questions.

This is, like I said, this is not a final.

Answer from Dallas or from Marcel, from whoever.

If it's in God's word, let's discern it together and let's work to find the truth

about what God is truly trying to speak to us, not just what we want to hear.

'cause then, like I said, it becomes the salad bar Christianity where

I take this and I don't want that, but we accept the truth in its

entirety, the unchanging reality.

Amen.

So that's my lesson for today.

But I just wanna say, I encourage and say, happy Father's Day once again.

Uh, to all the fathers in the room, thank you for being rocks of faith

and leading your families and your marriages, um, for faithfully.

Um, and for those that are new fathers or are soon to be fathers, we hope to

you continue that same legacy as well.

Um, we're grateful for all those.

And, uh, I just want to pray us out before we have one final song.

Amen.

Let's pray.

Uh, God thank you for today and just the time to, uh, connect with, uh, not just

my brothers and sister God, but my family.

Just like, it's so awesome to be able to.

That you, it's awesome God, that you've really prepared this for us.

That you desire, uh, nothing more, but for us to feel this connection

that we have with you but with each other God, and that we share in that.

And the truth that we walk in God, that your son died for each and every

person in this room and that his blood covers over all of our sins, God.

But we pray that we just continue to love intentionally God,

we pray to be truth seekers.

God, we pray to be people that dive into your word, that truly want to know, uh,

what you're speaking, um, to us about God.

We pray to be people that are knowledgeable, um, and that are,

are studious in the word God.

Not just people who, who like to hear it or people that like hear it passively,

but God, that people that want to live it out and live it in action.

We pray to see them in our relationships and in the church as we continue to grow.

We pray to see the love and the truth that you have based for us

since the beginning, flourish and be fruitful in our relationship.

Father, we prayed for all this in your son Jesus' name.

Amen.

Amen.