Springs Without Water
First B Jackson
2019-05-26

Automatically transcribed. Where this and the recording disagree, the recording is the record.

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Good morning, everybody. How are y'all this Memorial Day morning? Was a a clouded response. How are y'all this morning? Yeah.

I'm Okay. Glad that you're here. We're gonna stand and sing some patriotic songs. This morning, I'm gonna invite Scott. Come on forward.

If you would, would y'all stand with us and we're gonna sing? I'm a little out of breath. We had they had cowboy church on the square and they needed a bass player. So after the closing, amen of the first service, I rode not a horse, but a bicycle over there. You got boots it was fun.

Yeah. So but we just got back from that three doses this morning. Beautiful. God of our fathers, hymn number eight zero nine, if you're looking for your part or you want to read ahead, anything you got to say this morning, Scott?

Listen, it's good to be

in the house of the Lord. Amen. All these smiling faces and worship God together. Amen. God of our fathers.

Hymn number eight zero nine.

Whose almighty leads forth anew to all the starry land all shining worlds in their toilsome way lead us from night to never ending and praise be ever thine.

Amen. Thank you. The trumpet fanfare at the beginning of that is kind of fun. I skipped it. I skipped it twice but.

We gotta. Still fun. Little hymn in public. Hymn number eight zero

four. Alright,

you like this patriotic music.

Listen, we gotta be. It's a classic.

Enthusiastic today. In the glory.

She's going. Here we're coming of the Lord. He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored. He has loose the faithful light

In the beauty of

the That's not true. This is not good. This I

hate to leave this one out. In the beauty of the lilies. Yeah. We'll start right there.

In the beauty of the lilies, Christ was born across the sea with the glory in his bosom that transfigures you and me as he died to make men holy. Let us live to make men free while God is marching on. Glory, We can almost hear the trumpet sound. The Lord's return is near. There are still so many people lost.

His message, they must hear. Truth is marching

Y'all can have a seat. I have a few announcements this morning and then, I'm going invite Steve Landis up to do a little moderator's report. Monday nights at first be our own. I know it's Memorial Day and sometimes in the past, we have skipped it on Memorial Day but we're not skipping it this year. Monday nights are happening, meal, music, and a message.

The message is going be from Colossians four. That's tomorrow night at 06:00. No Awana tomorrow night. So, it's going to be down at the other end of the hall. Come on if you want to.

The next night, Tuesday night, out at the old Bar J Chuckwagon, there is a benefit fundraiser for Turning Point Pregnancy Resource Center. Diane is over there with an envelope in her hand. That envelope has tickets in it for that evening. We have traditionally forecast this three weeks in advance and we have only announced it two this time. So if you want it, it is day after tomorrow.

If you want to be there, talk to Diane and she'll get you a ticket afterwards. $25 for adults, 12 for kiddos, 12 and under. Doors open as always at 05:30. The gates are open. And y'all know the show, but at this point of the year, they're still learning the show, Right?

Is that true, Scott? I like I like the I like to get a glimpse of the early show and then see what it turns into before the end of the summer. Now it'll be it'll be great, great music and good witty banter back and forth. You can always expect that out there. So Vacation Bible School, Miraculous Mission, Jesus Saves the World.

That's what they're calling this one this year, June 24 through the twenty eighth. So, that's coming up fast. Nine to twelve in the mornings and it will be for how old is Bible School? Up through fifth grade, right? It's up through fifth grade.

So, Vacation Bible School is happening. If you have kids or grandkids that you'd like to see here, register em. Sign em up. Bring em on in and if you'd like to volunteer, I think there are a few slots still available. If for any reason you felt like you needed to go downstairs and be alone during the service, there is a live simulcast at the same time.

It's a nurse and mother's room downstairs that has a video feed of the service that's happening at the same time as we're doing it. If you miss a message, it's possible to go back and find it on the internet but like I said this morning, isn't that possible for just about anything you missed? You find it on the internet. We have a First Baptist website which is firstbjackson.org and we also have a Facebook page, First Baptist of Jackson, Wyoming and that'll get you with whatever messages you might have missed. Immigrant Hope is doing a shoe collection.

It's kind of a fundraiser. They are attempting to raise, I think, 25, zero pairs of shoes. That sounds like a lot to me but it's a god sized task and they're hoping that you would bring these shoes good, quality shoes, and Immigrant Hope is doing a collection of that. There is a church drama that's going on. It's called The Liberator.

It was written by one of our own. It's directed by one of our own. It is completely cast by our own. It's going to be fun. So, that's going to be two weeks from today and it'll be at nine and at eleven, same thing each time and then I'll have a little bit of a a little sermonette afterwards on June 9.

Cowboy Church on the Square went well this morning. I put this slide in the announcements because at 10:00, it was happening and we usually finish here at ten. Actually, usually it's 10:05 and so, I've finished it ten and got on the bicycle and went into town and played the bass for that service and we're back. Would you pray? Because Rodeo Phil Wilson was the speaker and when he started off, I thought, this is an evangelistic message.

Would you pray that the seed that he planted would go deep in the fertile soil and that it grow up? It's good. So good and it was a lot of fun to play with Florine and Eugene and I went in and joined a bunch of singers from CBC and Jerome Young played the mandolin. So, that was fun too. Connect hour still happening at 10:00 hour down in the fellowship hall and today is if I I don't want to rush over it or forget, but today is Memorial Day, and I I don't think that there's anybody in this room who has not been affected by somebody in your family that has been in the military is one thing, but has lost their life in the military.

That's particularly what Memorial Day is about and so, on Veterans Day, I get the veterans to stand but for all of y'all that are thinking about that love and would you pray with me right now? God, I thank you for for this great country. I thank you for the principles upon which it was founded with liberty and with justice and with freedom for all and I thank you for those who have been called and accepted that call to serve and serve well even to the point of giving that ultimate sacrifice of their life and so God I I think of a bunch of old songs. My my head's always flooded with old songs but I think of the old song of my daddy's only a picture. There are some of us that remember the people who went off to war that didn't come back and there are some of us who remember the stories of a grandfather or a great uncle that went off and didn't come back and so, in their memory and in their honor, lord, maybe just be thankful together and thankful to you.

In Jesus name, lord, I pray for the men and women who are serving today that you would be with them, that you'd be known by them, and that your truth would be marching on in the midst of the wrecks there. In Jesus name, lord, I thank you for all of this. Amen. And I'm going invite Steve now to come forward. There you go.

It's on. Oh, there is one. I knew I had forgotten it. So, Carol Black usually sits right there in the back corner. She's not here this morning.

Miss Ingrid goes by and picks her up. Can we say another prayer real quick? And I'd like for all of y'all to be praying. She on Thursday was diagnosed as having a blood clot in her leg. It's incredibly painful.

She wasn't able to be here this morning. So, Carol, as faithful, faithful member of this church for a long time and God, we pray that she would heal her body. She has had so many things over the years, lord but this one is really putting her down and so we as a church come together collectively out of love and appreciation for her and her ministry in this community lord. I pray that you would heal her body, that you'd comfort her mind and her heart and that you would give her peace that passes understanding and revive her joy. In Jesus name, I'm thankful for these other intercessors in the room.

Amen. Thank you, Steve.

Well, I'm I'm Steve Landis, I have the privilege of serving as the church moderator. What that means is I'm an elder who oversees the board of trustees. This is a list of those who serve with me, and they're what a good bunch of people they are and talented and gifted, and these folks are volunteers. They do a lot behind the scenes around the church, and I just wanna put their names before you. I don't think is anybody here that's on that board right now?

Don't see anybody. So when you see them, say thank you. They are up on the bulletin board. You can see their faces out there and and get to know them that way if you don't know them, but thank them. We exist to bring glory to God and to bring people to Jesus, and that's why we're here at First Bee, and that's why we serve.

And, it is fun to serve with people who have that kind of mindset, and that's what they do, why they do what they do. Property and grounds, Paul Sandretto oversees our property and grounds, and these are the projects that we have for this year. One is to first one is to construct a deck on the west side of the church. Hopefully, by the July 4, if we can get a permit, and, we'd like to have that up by the July 4. We're gonna ask for volunteers when that time comes.

So if you have a hammer or have any skills of putting boards together or whatever or don't, but you wanna carry things, come on out and watch for that in the upcoming months. Also, we want to install some landscaping on this side since we finished the sidewalks last year. So if you want to buy a bush or a tree or something in memory of somebody, let us know and we'll point you in the right direction and put put a name on something. Somebody might want to memorialize somebody that way. So again, we're looking for some volunteers there.

Couple other projects staining the church. We're gonna hire professionals for this and installing a new roof, but they're all on front and center on the church to happen or projects to happen on the church this this summer. Another thing is we just want to make sure that you're oh, that's on the next one. We actually got we actually advertised in the front first service for anybody who might be able to help Paul, meeting people at church. We had two people come up and volunteer.

If you're in third one and you would like to, it just might be meeting a painter here, might be getting them in, might be running for materials. If you're would be willing to serve in that way, please contact myself or Paul, and, we'll put you to work put you to work that way. Financial report, you know, usually we stand up front here, and usually when you see the moderator come up, everybody go, no. This is a good this is a good one. Praise God.

He has supplied it through you, his generous people, and we are ahead of budget. Usually, we're behind budget at this point of the year. We are ahead of budget. So we praise God for that. And yes, give him a round of applause.

Go ahead. And because of that, we were obviously able to then do some projects, put some money towards some things, and we're able to build up the coffers that kind of got diminished a little bit during the kitchen remodel. So this team does a very good job of being very faithful and efficient with those those funds. So I can honestly say your money is being stretched and and sent as far as it can. So we're we're grateful to God for that.

We also wanted to let you know we opened two new accounts. One is called the widow and or widows and orphans account. So if you have if if if God lays it on your heart and you wanna give specifically to that account, we never know. The last one last time we used that was when Mark Upton died and went to his family. And we just want to have something standing permanently and continually so that we're not you know, we don't have to do a big campaign, but there's there's funds available if those needs arise.

You can always just put widow and orphans on the memo line of your check. And the other one we opened up is called Eye Eye on Romania. Okay? Florina Valletta would love to go to Romania as missionaries someday and several people have given, so we want to open up an account for that. It may be used for other things but it will go to Romania one way or another and whether it's supporting them or supporting someone else.

If you have God lays on your heart for that you can also put that on the memo line. I on Romania. Okay? Thirdly, with finances, some of you might want to give, just take care of this and have it done automatically. It's electronic debit authorization.

The forms are in the back. If there's none there, let me know. We can get you one. But more and more people are moving towards just automated giving. And if you want to do that, there is a means and way to do that.

Frank can always help you or I can always help you. Somebody can help you with that if you'd like to do that. Last but not least, we did have an active shooting training with the police and the sheriffs. That went well. We had really good turnout and if you were there, thank you.

And if you weren't there but you have ideas or thoughts or questions, feel free to direct them to the board of trustees and we'll take them up. We are slowly implementing some of the things that we learned that night and so that is ongoing and active and just wanted to make you aware of that. It's something that the leadership is aware of and and is taking action. So that's it. Thank you.

Thank you, Steve. I appreciate you serving in that. And now is the time if I I don't think I've forgotten anything. Thank you, Inger for reminding me. If there's anything though that I have forgotten or anything you need more information about, it should be in your paper bulletin.

So, if you would, stand up and greet one another. We will bring you back together with a song in just a second.

Amen.

Amen. I guess it's time for the sermon. Okay. Jesus, Jesus, we just want to thank you. You know, hymn number seven ninety one.

I threw Blake a curve just saying, I want to I gave him a picture and the little shaky shake hand time and. Shaky. Shaky hand time. And so he'll play that up in a minute but he's back there trying to do the computer and it only likes to think about one thing at a time. So, Jesus, we just want to thank you.

Hymn number seven ninety one. Alright.

Jesus, we just want to thank you. Jesus, we just want to thank you. Jesus, we just want to thank you. Thank you for being so good Jesus we just want to praise you Jesus we just want praise you, Jesus, Jesus, we just want to praise you, praise you for being to savior we just want to serve you for being Jesus we know you are coming take us to live in your home

Amen. Y'all can have a seat but I am going to invite the frontline team to come forward. God almighty, we thank you for the day that you've given. What a glorious and beautiful day it is. We thank you for the generous blessings that you have bestowed on us lord and we come to this time in the service where we want to acknowledge that you are the giver of all good things lord and we want to give it back.

We want to give a portion of it back so that you may bless others. We pray that you'll use it in the advance of your good gospel, the the extension of the kingdom of God and to this city, county, state, country, but lord, beyond that, that we would be a blessing to the uttermost parts, to the ends of the earth. In Jesus name, lord, we ask that you'd bless the funds that are placed in these plates that you'd multiply them to do your kingdom's work, to bless the gift, lord, but also the giver. In Jesus name, amen. Amen.

Thank you, Chris. Amen. Alright. So, this morning, we are up to second Peter two ten B. So, it's the last last part of verse 10 up through three two is where I'd kind of plan to get.

I might stop after verse 19, okay? I did in the first service because I ran out of time and had to be somewhere else. But before we get going on that, so that is a punk rocker and a gypsy that were leading the music in the cowboy church. And I thought, I was over there playing with them. I had my little hat on too.

And I thought if if somebody started off a story and it said, you know, a punk rocker and a gypsy and a baptist preacher were on their way to the town square. That would sound like a joke, wouldn't it? But that was that's that was so much fun this morning and a blessing to be able to be a part of the larger body of Christ in the valley. So, that was fun. Second Peter two ten B is where we're going to start off with the new learning today but it's been three weeks since we talked about the leading up to this part.

So, gonna do a little refresher course, a very quick, hopefully, review but I think it's important. Second Peter two is one of the darkest and most judgment heavy chapters in the New Testament and I'm I think it is. I just, it just is but for Paul, the preacher of grace and for Ray, the mercy, yeah, it's a hard one for me to preach but I want to give you the first chapter first or most of it and then the second chapter and I think that there's a lot to be heard and learned here today for our day. I've been weighing this one out for quite some time now and we had Mother's Day sermon and then last week, we did an extended sermon on Balaam. If you haven't looked up Balaam, Numbers 22, 23, and 24, reading that whole section or maybe going back and catching the message if you missed it last week would be a good idea.

It'll help you understand this passage at hand. Very beginning, Peter introduces himself and introduces his mostly Gentile audience in verses one and two. He starts with grace and peace as the New Testament writers I want to do. In first Peter, second Peter one, three, and four, it says this, his divine power and I think I'd capitalize divine power right there. That's the Holy Spirit.

His divine power has given us Christians. This is a letter to Christians. Mostly Gentile Christians but to Christians. His divine power, his Holy Spirit has given us everything that we need for a godly life. It's a new international version, older versions might read everything we need for life and godliness.

His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Remember the proverb that says, the fear of God is beginning of wisdom and the knowledge of God. It's possible but through the knowledge of God, through the knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness, sovereign God did that. Through these, he has given us his very great and precious promises. It's by his glory and goodness that he's done that.

So that through them, good and precious promises. You might participate in the divine nature. Isn't that great to be called in not to becoming a god but to be called into a participation with almighty God through his Holy Spirit. Having escaped the corruption in the world that's caused by evil desires. Those that are contrary to God and it is for this very reason.

Peter says and this is his call to holiness at the very beginning. He's already saying this by verse five of this little short book. For this very reason then, make every effort. He's saying, strive for this. Make haste or make every effort to add to your faith.

He's writing this book to people who already have the Christian faith. They've already accepted Christ, okay? Add to your faith. So, first of all, faith is a prerequisite. You have to have faith in Christ and that is about being.

You are because you believe in Jesus because you have trusted in him, you are but he's saying to add to this faith, goodness. Are you with me? This is his positive stance on this. Add to your faith, goodness, and add to your goodness, knowledge, and to knowledge, self control, and the self control, perseverance, and to perseverance, godliness. That's think about things the way God thinks about things.

Because you have the Holy Spirit in your life. You have access to that still small voice. Think about things. Add this. Tune your ear.

To his grace. And to godliness, add mutual affection. That is brotherly love, Philadelphia, brotherly love, and to that, brotherly love, add agape, which is unconditional God's type of love, seeking the best for the other. That's really good. So, it's first be and then do, okay?

Strive for. Make every effort and in a lot of cases, the making every effort is just make the effort to submit your will to God's will. When you see that they are at opposite ends, you submit to God's will and these things will be added unto you. Seek first the kingdom of God and all these things will be added to you. Imma skip a few verses and go forward to verse 19 of chapter one in the NIV.

We also have the prophetic message as something that is completely reliable. Peter's looking back at scripture, Old Testament for him, right? For us, we're looking back at both old and new but he's saying, we also have this prophetic message as something that is completely reliable and you will do well to pay attention to it. As to a light shining in a dark place, that word is a lamp to my feet, a light to my path always. It is something that is external.

It is truth that can shine a light on our path. Until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation of things. He's not he's saying that Isaiah and Jeremiah and Daniel and all those guys didn't just make it up. They didn't have cleverly invented fables but as the next verse says, for prophecy never had its origin in the human will but prophets, though they were humans, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit and I might go back to 20 here and say, that that hideous or ideals is above all you must understand that no prophecy of scripture ever came about by one's own interpretation.

So, that's on you too. It is about scripture means what it means. There is a purpose and there's a singular purpose in what it means. It's not the will of the prophet nor is it the will of the interpreter to decide. It means what it means.

Beginning of this chapter, we've covered together. Verse three verses are but there were also false prophets. He's just mentioned that the prophets of scripture were carried along by the Holy Spirit and they said what he wanted for them to say but there also were at the same time false prophets among the people. Just as there will be false teachers among you. Remember the old false prophets?

Remember Jeremiah and Jeremiah twenty nine eleven? He says, Jeremiah, I know the plans I have for you. Remember that? Before that, he says, you're going to be here a while. You're going to be here a while.

So, put down roots. Plan on having kids here and grandkids here. You're going to be here a while. There are going to be lots of prophets that say, no, you're going be fine. God's going to deliver you just like this but that's not so.

You might think this is bad news but it's the truth. So, there were false prophets way back then and there will be false teachers among you and he was speaking to a first century audience but he has reminded us and reminded us and reminded us of things that were going to be true until that great mighty day of the Lord and there are false teachers in our era too. He says, they will secretly introduce destructive heresies even denying the sovereign lord who bought them or I should say, who paid for them. He paid the way for everyone who would believe. There are those who will deny him.

And that will bring swift destruction on themselves. Many will follow their depraved conduct and they will bring the way of the truth into disrespect. How much trouble has the church suffered because of the lives of the messengers? Whose lives have not lined up with what scripture taught. In their greed, these teachers will exploit you with fabricated stories.

Their condemnation has long been hanging over them and their destruction has not been sleeping even though it looks like they're winning right now, Peter says. They're growing in wealth and they're growing in fame. But the condemnation is hanging over them and their destruction is not been sleeping. He goes into a few examples right here. For if God did not spare angels when they sinned but sent them to hell, putting them in chains of darkness to be held for judgement.

If he did not spare the ancient world where he brought the flood on its ungodly people but he did protect Noah, a preacher of righteousness and seven others. If he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to ashes and he made them an example of what's happen to the ungodly and if he rescued Lot, which he did, a righteous man. Now, if you've read the stories of Lot, he don't look like a righteous man, does he? Do you remember the stories of Lot? I won't go into em.

They're they're not G rated though. If he rescued Lot, a righteous man who was distressed by the depraved conduct of the lawless, his own family included. For that righteous man living among them day after day was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and he heard. He had a righteousness that was from God because externally, he don't look like a good candidate for righteous. If this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials and he also knows how to hold the unrighteous.

It says here and then IV for punishment but it it the implication of the text is that he knows how to hold the unrighteous in punishment. Their sin is a form of punishment for them that they are enslaved to it and the wages of sin is death. It's a slow death it seems. If this is so, then lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials and to hold the unrighteous in their punishment until the day of judgement which will be even worse. This is especially true of those who follow the corrupt desires of the flesh and despise authority.

That authority can be the authority of God or it could be the authority of scripture which it seems to be right here because Peter has lifted up over and over the authority of scripture in our lives to lead us. It's a it is a completely reliable message. It's especially true of those who follow the corrupt desire of the flesh and despise authority. So, here's a little summation. Scripture is reliable and it's authoritative.

Either we will bend our lives to what it says or we'll bend scripture to agree with our lives. It is God's word. It means what it means. Don't dare bend it. False prophets used to twist it and false teachers will continue to twist it and they will introduce destructive heresies and we see those in the church today, do we not?

Yes, we do. Thank you. People will be led astray. The implication of this text is since people will be led astray, don't be those people, okay? His judgment in this second chapter is all for the enticers.

So, the sermon is really talking about the enticers or the false teachers. Every time the judgment feels harder and harder, it's about people leading other people into error, okay? People will be led astray. Don't be one of em and judgement is looming over the ones who are leading people astray. Judgment, salvation, he says, there's the flood in Noah, there's Sodom and Gomorrah and Lot.

So, God knows how to rescue the righteousness. Do you remember Jesus? He kept on entrusting himself. First Peter says it three or four times. He kept on entrusting himself to a faithful, his faithful God, right?

If you keep on entrusting yourself, God knows how to rescue the righteous even if all around you seems like it's awful. And he knows how to hold the unrighteous in their punishment until that great and mighty day of the Lord. Judgment. This is especially true of those who follow corrupt desire of the flesh and despise authority. So, it is about the false teachers and we'll go forward in 10 B.

This is where we start our sermon, right? 10 B, bold and arrogant. Who is that? It's the people who follow the corrupt desire of the flesh and despise authority. They are bold and they are arrogant and they are not afraid to heap abuse on celestial beings.

Now, this celestial beings has been something that people have interpreted variously over the years. The word itself is doxas. Doxas. Doxas is is the plural of glory. So glories or glorious ones.

Celestial beings is translated glorious ones. I mean, it could be translated glorious one. Honor, renown, glory, splendor. It is an especially supernatural quality. It can be used of human beings.

It can be used for somebody who is a big figure that is a glorious figure and everybody kind of agrees that it is divine. Their their their foundation is divine. But it's usually used for glory, singular, the glory of God but when it's glorious beings, they they translate it celestial beings. To go with me here, I might have to do a two, are you with me in this portion? I've I've thought through this and prayed through this and I've I've read every commentator that I can find on it and people disagree about what it says but I think it makes the most sense this way and in our time, I think it makes the most sense and we can see it more heavily and readily available right now or to to us right now as a rebuke for our current church situation.

Not necessarily here in this church but in the church at large. Bold and arrogant, they're not afraid to heap abuse on celestial beings, glorious ones. Yet, even angels, although they are stronger and more powerful, angels are more stronger, Oh, they're more stronger. They're stronger and more powerful than what? Than the celestial beings.

Angels are stronger and more powerful than these glorious ones that he's talking about. It says, and these angels do not heap abuse on such beings. Now, such beings is the same as celestial beings. That's the same. They're equal grammatically, right?

So, celestial beings are these such beings and then it says, when bringing judgement on them from the Lord. So, angels, they're the messenger of God and they carry out judgement on these celestial beings. That's pointing towards demons. Now, there are people that say, no, that means people but carrying out judgement from the Lord. I don't think they'd use glorious ones in that case.

Angels don't keep abuse on such beings. Do you remember the angel, the archangel of the Lord that said, this battle is the Lord's and he wouldn't banter back and forth with the powers of darkness even though he was stronger and more powerful. He's waiting at the time when God says, go. Bold and arrogant. They're not afraid to heap abuse on celestial beings.

Yet, even angels although they're stronger, more powerful, they don't heap abuse on such beings when they're bringing judgement on them from the Lord. In our time, there are a lot of people that just play with demons this and demons that and there's a devil behind every bush and you've got power in Jesus name and there are a lot of folks that are saying, I'm way over these demons and I can tell em to do whatever I want to but it's saying that not even the angels treat demons like that. You do, what you have to do, there's a certain amount of authority as a believer that you have. You're kept in God's hand. There's not anything that the demon can do to take you out of that situation.

Matthew seven twenty two is a scary passage. This is Jesus speaking. He says, not everyone who says to me, lord, lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven. Only he who does the will of my father. Remember, first B and then do.

First B is about your faith in Jesus and your belief and then do is adding goodness and perseverance and self control, knowledge, and it's the steady advance and submission of your will to God and through knowledge of him, gaining a greater and building love, not just a brotherly love which is world, which is available to the world but also an agape type love. He says, not everyone who says to me, lord, lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven but only he who does the will of my father in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, that great mighty day, the day that we've been talking about. Lord, lord, did we not prophesy in your name? And in your name, did we not drive out demons and perform many miracles?

And then I will tell them plainly, I never knew you. Depart from me, you workers of iniquity or lawlessness. That's a tough passage too, isn't it? Peter sounds a lot like Jesus in this passage because he's saying, I think that's what he's saying. Bold and arrogant, they're not afraid to heap abuse on celestial beings and command them.

Now, I certainly pray that God would bind Satan. I certainly pray that he would keep any interference from happening when someone is coming to Jesus or when they're beginning to know and see the way of God. But I pray that we always do that with humility and not with any kind of boldness or arrogance. That's undo. Always.

Even angels, although they're stronger, more powerful, they don't heap abuse on such beings when they're bringing judgement on them from the Lord but these people, these who these people who are these people, these people are the false teachers or the enticers he's been talking about. These people, they blaspheme in matters they do not understand. So, the false teachers will be going very boldly into a place that they don't even understand. They are like these false teachers. Aren't you glad it's about the enticers and not the enticed in this particular ceremony, in this particular service?

I mean, These false teachers are like unreasoning animals. They're creatures of instinct, and they're born only to be caught and destroyed. And like animals, they too will perish. Wow. They will be paid back with harm for the harm they have done.

You know, Jesus when the children were coming to him and he said, blessed are these that are coming right now, these kids, you have to accept like a child and then he says, but on the day of judgement, anyone who leads one of these little ones astray, it would be better for him that he had a millstone tied around his neck and thrown into the depths of the sea. They will be paid back with harm. There is a day of judgement coming and any unconfessed sin. An unbeliever's life will be repaid with harm for the harm that they have done. That's a horrible, horrible thing to think about.

Their idea of pleasure is to corral in the broad daylight. Now, if I said, what is to corral? What would you say? I I always, always, always, in my mind, I've always put carouse is drunkenness. It's but in Paul, it's almost always if he says carousing, drunkenness is coming alongside of it.

But to carouse, when I look that word up, I'm going give you the full lexicon definition. This is straight up from Strong's and Thayer's lexicon right here. Truth is softness or daintiness or luxuriousness to carouse is effeminate luxury, softness, indulgent living. It is from crypto to meet to break down due to overindulgent. I guess that's why I always think of drunkenness.

They do kind of go hand in hand. It is just being just playing. Just playing all the time in your luxury. Properly, it is a feebleness that is brought on by self indulgence or luxury. Figuratively, it's a moral and spiritual breakdown, enfeeblement from overindulging in dainty and delicate things.

Dainty living that deteriorates soul and body. It it's excess. Does that make sense? And it receiving that word in our society today, you may just go, well, all of us kind of living in luxury compared with people across the world. Yeah, take that word too.

This is about the enticers though and it is people that go out of their way to extract from others so that they may live this dainty lifestyle and not really involve themselves in the work that is before us. Paul mentions carousing same word. The night is nearly over. He says, the day, same day, is almost here. So, let us put aside the deeds of darkness.

He's making his call for holiness here and put on the armor of light. Let us behave decently. Add to your faith these things. Let us behave decently as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension, and jealousy. He's saying those are things that normally are practiced in the night.

He said, let's act like it's daytime. Let the sunshine in and that's the best sanitizer ever. Peter says that these folks like to corral in the broad daylight. They're acting like every every day is a party all the time. And then he goes on to say they, same ones, false teachers are blots and they're blemishes.

Reveling in their pleasures while they feast with you. Do any of y'all see the prosperity gospel in these verses at all? I I I cannot I can believe it but I cannot imagine how it's been this way. It was that way. It's still that way and it feels like it's just got a grander and grander stage and arenas are being filled with people and he goes on to say, they're blots and blemishes.

They're reveling in their pleasures while they're feasting with you with eyes full of adultery. Adultery is any kind of sexual activity outside of committed marriage. With eyes full of adultery, they're lusting after things. With eyes full of adultery, they never stop sinning. And they seduce the unstable I told a story in the first service.

There was a guy, a friend of mine, who had been a member of a band, he was a rock band, know, traveling around all the time. They went out from the Southeast as far as Manhattan and over as far as Kansas and they traveled all the time. And it was, he said it was pretty debauched living the whole time, ten years or so he did that. And while he was out playing all these songs, I know a million songs. I got a whole lot of songs in my repertoire.

And I did sing a Merle Haggard song two weeks ago, and I know that. This guy, I don't have any painful association with those songs whatsoever. I feel like the pagan poets Paul used and the pagan rockers or whatever I use or country singers, I can use those, not saying Merle is, but just just say it. They seduce the unstable. So my my buddy becomes a Christian and he knew that he had to put down his old life He knew that he had to put down the things that accompany that lifestyle.

For him, it was that music and those places, people, places, and things, you know, it was the drinking that went with it and he started playing in a Christian band and so this itinerant Christian music band, he's a great guitar player, best one they've ever had, and he plays and plays. And there were guys that when they get in the car to go down the road, they'd start playing something, the music they'd start playing. And he would listen or whatever, he just kind of obviously didn't like it, put his own pods in, and he'd listen to something else and the guy said, no, man. You're, you know, you're set free from all that stuff. You don't have to, you don't have to worry about that anymore but he was convicted in his heart that it wasn't good for him to listen to.

I'm not arguing about whether he should've listened to it or not. If if you're convicted about it, don't do it, you know? But for him, there was no doubt. For him, it was sin and he said, I know that I've got liberty in Christ but do I have to? Please, he wasn't unstable.

He was stable in his faith and he knew that he couldn't do that because it take him to take him back, take him back to back to a bad place. So, they seek Jesus being unstable. They're experts in breed. It says, so prosperity gospel again in our day is this way and do they sound like they are a little bit flippant about the spiritual realities and demons? I think so.

And a cursed brood. Children of the curse actually is the straight up translation of it. They have left the straight way. Oh, my favorite example. The favorite example is that we've got this good old gospel way right here in the center and we can be off in the Ditch Of Legalism or we can be off in the Ditch Of Liberty, you know, license over here.

I listened to a preacher this week and he said, I, my favorite, he was Scottish. He goes, my favorite illustration and his was the same except for he used the tightrope. The tightrope with a yawning chasm to the right and a yawning chasm to the left. They've left the straight way and they wandered off to follow the way of Balam, son of Bezer, who loved the wages of wickedness. Now, if you didn't hear it last week, we talked about numbers 22 through 25.

It's Balam, the four prophet prophet and I mentioned Lot and how unrighteous he could have looked to us except for the scripture calls him righteous because God imputed to him righteousness. Because of the distress that he felt. Now, Balam, if you look at Balam in chapters 22, 23, and 24 of numbers, he never says anything that sounds bad. Everything that he says is you stay here and I'm going to go talk to the Lord and when the Lord delivers a message, he goes back and faithfully proclaims it to this guy. I can only do what the Lord says but he did also say, there are these guys here, lord that want to want me to go with him and he says, do not go with them and he goes back and says, I can't go with you but they sent more people, more illustrious, magnificent people, and they sent more money and he went back to God and said, but can I go please?

Really? Let me go with him. Let me go with him and God says, okay, go ahead. That's where we get the donkey story. Balam story is much more than just that donkey, okay?

Peter's going to mention the donkey in a minute but If you missed that one, that might be one to go back to, honestly. That that one and he sums up the the way of Balam as this. He was one who loved the wages of wickedness. If you look at chapter 22, 23, and 24 of numbers, you see Balam and everything that he says sounds pretty good and honestly, when you listen to prosperity gospel, guys, most of what they say sounds pretty good but how much error do you have to have mixed with it in order for it to be wrong? Not much.

So, Balam loves the wages of wickedness. In Revelation, we see Balam. Actually, let me go through this verse. He was rebuked. Balam was rebuked for his wrongdoing by a donkey.

Even the donkey could see that this was a bad path. He had left the straight way. An animal without speech who spoke with a human voice and restrained the prophet's madness. Balaam, if you read those chapters and numbers, he sounds pretty good but if you read Revelation and you read Deuteronomy and you read numbers 31, he died with the kings of Mideon at Mideon at the sword and Revelation says that Balam taught Balak who's the bad guy trying to give him curse God's people in those first three chapters. So, Balam taught Balak.

It's Revelation two fourteen. He taught him how to ensnare the Israelites. 24, zero of them had to die because he said, you can get at em with sexual immorality. If you just have the women throw themselves at these people, they will go after you and they will ruin themselves even though they're blessed of God. They can ruin themselves from the inside out.

Are you with me? Okay. Enough about Balaam. These people, when it gets back to these people, these are the enticers or the false teachers. These people are springs without water.

Oh, when you're traveling in the desert and you see, oh, there's an oasis up above or there may be a sign that says such and such a spring right up here and you travel and you're weary and you're thirsty and you're looking and you're and you get there and you see a container that looks like a great place for a spring and then you go and there's no water there. Just dust. What a disappointment. That's what he's saying these false teachers are. It sounds really good.

It looks really good from the outside, but there's nothing living there. There's no water there. There are mists that are driven by a storm. It's not the good soaking rain that you need, but it's just mist. It's not really substantial.

He goes on to say, this is what judgment brings for them. Blackest darkness is reserved for these false teachers. For they mouth empty and boastful words and by appealing to the lustful desires of the flesh, they entice people who are just escaping from those who live in error. That's what I was telling the story about my buddy and it's pretty easy to slip into that. They go, no, man.

You got liberty in Christ. Don't be so, don't be so stuck on that, you know? They're just now getting going. Called holiness is still in order and Peter's given us that and he says, I'll remind you and I'll remind you again. He says, these people, these false teachers, promise them freedom while they themselves are slaves of depravity.

I like the Greek on this and I just this is from Bible Hub. It's website. It says, freedom them promising themselves slaves being. That great? Freedom, them, other people promising.

They're promising other people freedom while they themselves are actually slaves. They promised them freedom while they themselves are slaves of depravity for people are slaves to whatever has mastered them. That goes on from here but I hit a. Dot. This morning.

This is going to be a to be continued message. It'll be continued next week. I can go forward to this and say, dear friends, because this is where he makes a turn into chapter three. Dear friends, this is now my second letter to you. I've written both of them as reminders and you know he does because in first Peter, he says, I mean, in second Peter one, he says, I will always remind you of these things.

It is right to refresh your memory and I will make every effort to see that after my departure, you will always be able to remember these things. It's in holy scripture. It's easy to remember because he's told us that. What's the reminder for to stimulate you to wholesome thinking? So, if it's been defeatist or if you felt like this chapter of judgment, it's primarily on false teachers.

It it keeps me and my job very very honest before God not to add anything or take anything away from what he says but for you and for me, it's to stimulate us to wholesome thinking into holiness. Alright. I'm going invite Kristen to come back forward. Scott to come back up and we'll just stand in the dot dot till next week, okay? We'll finish this one up and we'll go into chapter three.

Would you stand with me and we're going to sing America the Beautiful. When you end a sermon, when you end a sermon without an invitation, after the first service, I knew I wasn't going to be here to to catch anybody at the front. So, let's end it with this patriotic kind of hymn but look for God in this in this in this hymn.

Beautiful for spacious

skies

from sea to shining sea

Amen. And for the benediction this morning, I will go back to our excuse me, ironic blessing. May the Lord God make his face to shine upon you and give you peace. In Jesus name, lord, would you work that out as we are attuned to what your spirit is saying directly according to what you have written is completely reliable, propositional truth that you've given in the Bible. Lord, may we go forward seeing clearly, enable to articulate the message of the gospel.

Straight up, true, and free. May we live it out in our lives as whole and holy moral agents. In Jesus name, we pray that it would be so so that you may reach others. Amen.