Okay, let's pray. Our Heavenly Father, we thank you for this time that you've given us to look at scripture and to study these important issues, and I pray you'd bless us as we try to wrap up this series on the use, the historical use of the miraculous sign and wonder and revelatory gifts that you gave to your church during the times in which new scripture and new revelation was being given and authenticated to your people. We pray that you would help us to appreciate and love what you have given to us to believe in its sufficiency For us to govern all that we do in life It's what we're supposed to believe concerning God and what duty you require of us So bless us now to that and we ask in Jesus name. Amen Okay, remember last time we talked a lot about prophecy and the fact that because of There are no prophets today because the charismatic movement and the Pentecostal movement and all forms of continuationism that are out there have many, many, many people that they call prophets who do a lot of false prophesying and who prophesy things to happen and they don't happen, or they say certain people will win elections and they don't win elections. Remember, they spent a lot of time trying to discredit the true prophets in scripture. Do you all remember the name of The one main prophet they try to say got something wrong. Agabus. Yeah, or as one guy used to call him, Abacus. I'm like, no, that's something you use to count stuff. His name is Agabus, A-G-A-B-U-S, Agabus. And they try to say he got details wrong, which we saw last time, he didn't. He was a real prophet, and just like Jeremiah was a real prophet. And the fact of the matter is, and this is one of the real problems for that whole movement, that whole concept, There is no new definition of prophecy given to us in the New Testament. Jesus and the apostles do not give us a new definition of prophecy that lowers the standard, right? So that's a key thing. The Jewish people and the early Christians, they already had a definition of prophet and a definition of prophecy. What was that? How did they know who true prophets were? That's right. They got everything right 100% of the time. And what they also, what they taught was always in accord with the Holy Scripture, okay? So we looked at Deuteronomy 18 last time and looked at that passage that we know that prophets have spoken because what they say comes to pass. And if a prophet speaks something that doesn't come to pass, then you shall, not only shall you know this is not a true prophet, but what was supposed to happen. I'm sorry? Death, they're supposed to be put to death. And folks, you have to understand that the fact that this is so common today does not change the fact that it's still very serious in the eyes of God to attribute things to Him that He has not spoken. It's still a very serious sin against God. Now I want us to look at a passage of Scripture together. Look at 2 Peter chapter 2. And when I was in seminary, I remember going through this section of the New Testament and the seminary classes that I took. There's a lot of verbal parallels between 2 Peter and the book of Jude, and they both really have a lot in them about the depravity and the nature of false prophets, what they're like. And let's look at verse one of 2 Peter chapter two, and just read for a few verses here. I want you to just kind of see this. But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you. who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed. By covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words. For a long time their judgment has not been idle, and their destruction does not slumber. For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell and deliver them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment, and did not spare the ancient world, but saved Noah, one of eight people, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly, and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them to destruction, making them an example to those who afterward would live ungodly, and delivered righteous Lot, who was oppressed by the filthy conduct of the wicked, for that righteous man dwelling among them tormented his righteous soul from day to day by seeing and hearing their lawless deeds. then the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment. Look at verse 10. And especially those who walk according to the flesh in the lust of uncleanness and despise authority, they are presumptuous, self-willed, they are not afraid to speak evil of dignitaries, whereas angels who are greater in power and might Do not bring a reviling accusation against them before the Lord. Okay, you all tracking with this? He makes a long discussion there about the Old Testament. God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah and rained down fire and brimstone on them and God cast the angels down who sinned and they're reserved in chains for hell fire. He also knows how to deal with people who are presumptuous and self-willed. Remember, the false prophets are described in Deuteronomy 18 as being what? That prophet has spoken presumptuously. Okay, what does that word mean? What does it mean to be presumptuous? I'm sorry? Okay, sure. They assume I have a word from God and this is gonna happen. It's presumptuous if God hasn't actually said that to you, right? Okay, so that's the term that's used in the Old Testament that prophets have spoken presumptuously, here's the same condemnation. What I'm trying to show you here is the same standard applies to New Testament prophets as to Old Testament prophets. And there were prophets in those early churches, right? Why did they have prophets? There were real prophets in the church at Corinth and the church at Rome and the church in Colossae. Why did they have prophets? What did they not have the fullness of yet? They didn't have the Bible yet. They needed to have those revelatory Offices people that didn't speak their language needed to have someone that could speak in their language that the works of God and the deeds of God and the gospel Okay, we don't need that anymore Okay, and so that's kind of the ironic thing is we have what they wish they had had Because we have the whole Bible and they didn't yet. They were they were dependent on prophets. They were dependent on The revelatory gifts that God was giving them at the time. Does that make sense? Now look at verses 12 and following here in 2 Peter 2, I want you to see this as well. But these, like natural brute beasts made to be caught and destroyed, speak evil of the things they do not understand and will utterly perish in their own corruption and will receive the wages of unrighteousness as those who count it pleasure to carouse in the daytime. They are spots and blemishes, carousing in their own deceptions while they feast with you, having eyes full of adultery and that cannot cease from sin, enticing unstable souls. They have a heart trained in covetous practices and are accursed children." And it goes on and on. This is one of the most horrifying description in the whole Bible of God's attitude towards people that do this. Y'all see how serious it is? Someone stands up and, I have an extra biblical word directly from God for you. That is the height of arrogance and presumption for us, okay? It really is. And you see here God's attitude toward it, and look what it goes on to say, verse 15. They have forsaken the right way and gone astray, following the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness. But he was rebuked for his iniquity. A dumb donkey, speaking with a man's voice, restrained the madness of the prophet. These are wells without water, clouds carried by a tempest, for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever. Okay, I mean, weigh that carefully when, if you ever get used to hearing people give extra biblical words from God and don't think it's that big of a deal. It's a huge deal. It's a huge deal when people say that. But it gets even worse. Look at the next verses. Look at verse 18. For when they speak great swelling words of emptiness, They allure through the lust of the flesh, through lewdness. The ones who have actually escaped from those who live in error. Remember the documentary that we watched on cessationism? They went over the history of the charismatic and Pentecostal movement. What were all of those leaders characterized by? Scandal, yeah, sexual immorality, scandal. I remember watching that documentary for the first time in preparation to put together notes and to do this study with you and just thinking, What they're describing is described in detail in 2 Peter 2. The whole chapter is a description of the depravity that characterizes false teachers. And if you look carefully at the lives of Charles Fox Parham and Amy Semple McPherson and all the modern ones, Kenneth Copeland and Mike Bickle and all the rest of them, I mean, it's just scandal after scandal after scandal and thievery and conning and sexual immorality. And all kinds of stuff. I mean, it is a never-ending parade of charlatans, okay? Because 2 Peter 2 is true, it's correct in what it says. But look, I wanna make sure we hear everything the Holy Spirit has to say here. Verse 19, when they promised them liberty, they themselves, or excuse me, while they promised them liberty, they themselves are slaves of corruption. For by whom a person is overcome, by him also he is brought into bondage. For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning. For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness than having known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them. But it has happened to them according to the true proverb, a dog returns to his own vomit and a sow having washed to her wallowing in the mire. Okay, so that's one of the, most scathing descriptions that the Holy Spirit gives us of any group of people. And it's not talking about the LGBT lobby. It's not talking about people that campaign for all the immorality in our culture. It's talking about false prophets in the church. That's what's so striking about this. He says, just as there were tons of false prophets among Israel, you guys are gonna have the same problem. And how do we test them? The same way the Old Testament people tested prophets. Okay, if they get something wrong, don't listen to a word they say. Okay, plus I would just maintain if someone claims to have extra words from God, I don't care what they say anyway. Sincerely, I don't. I've seen so many memes of good reform scholars. You lost me as soon as you said you had a word from God and didn't have a Bible verse behind it. Okay, because you don't. God's not talking to you outside of scripture. Okay, so 2 Peter 2, that's a tough chapter. It's a tough chapter, but it's very important. Okay, yes. That's a good question. Yeah, it's actually even denying the Lord who bought them. This is a common objection to limited atonement. The term that's used there, the Greek term for Lord is not kourios, which is normally the Greek word for the Lord Jesus. They translate the term there, the term there is despote. Despote, everywhere else it's used in the New Testament is a reference to God the Father, okay? Now the word bot here is the word agorazo. Can you tell I've heard this question before? Yeah, I thought it was because it's visible versus invisible, so this is a different explanation than whatever. Yeah, really the term agorazo, bot, everywhere that that term is used in the New Testament where it's referring to the death of Jesus, the purchase price, namely the blood of Christ, is always mentioned with it. What this is probably talking about is denying the master or the father. Everywhere else despotism is used, it's usually translated as master or father. I don't know why a lot of translations render it as Lord here. I think probably because they see the word bought and they assume it's a reference to the atonement, but it's not. Because the word agorazo can also mean preserves, oversees, takes care of, even denying the master that takes care of them. It's not about the atonement. This has nothing to do with the death of Christ. If it is, it would be the only place agaradzo, the term to buy, is used in the whole Bible, in the whole New Testament, and referencing to the death of Jesus, where the word koryos is not used and where the blood of Christ or his death is not mentioned either. So the word Lord is not the normal word for Jesus. It's the word despotate, which is always a reference to the Father. And the word agarazzo can mean preserve or overseas. And it's not the blood of Christ and the purchase price of the buying is not mentioned here. So is there some application then to think of it like in those that are in the miscible church who become apostate though, so that in some sense they're sort of... Yes. Yeah, the term despotate, master or father, It's simply yeah, they refer to him as their father because they're part of the visible church. Yes Even denying the master by whom they are overseen Yes Yes, that's all I would take it yes Even denying the Lord who bought them meaning their part They are part of the visible church, but what I'm trying to make sure you understand is this is not about who yeah This is not who Jesus died for Just remember, if this actually is a reference to Jesus, it is the only place that he's referred to in the entire New Testament, where the Greek word kourios is not used. He's not referred to anywhere else as despote, okay? I wish Julia was here, she'd pull it up in Greek, but I didn't, I could pull it up on here, but. Yeah, yeah. Okay, good, very good question. Okay, is it, yes sir? These false prophets, I suppose they read the Bible. Yeah. I mean, I wonder if they ever stumble across a second-hand thing, and how would they, I mean, I don't know, it would be blind to blind, but. Yeah, if they're unregenerate, they're not gonna care about that anyway. They're probably just talking about us, because they usually call us Pharisees. Yeah. So they read us and all those verses. Yeah, like getting into YouTube and all the charismatic wars and everything. Yeah, they call us the Pharisees and the scribes. Yeah, I'd say what? Because we want to hold the doctrine, so we cling to the law and all that. To the letter, yeah. Okay, so there's many other passages in the Old Testament. Is it kind of warm in here? Are you guys stuffy? It's warm in here? I'm like sweating, but I'm always sweating, so it doesn't matter. Okay, so let's see, I'm gonna push on, because we talked about some of that last time. We've talked a lot about speaking in tongues, and the main thing to remember about speaking in tongues, that really was a form of judgment on the Jewish people. Do y'all remember the importance of this argument? Turn in your Bibles to 1 Corinthians 14, I wanna make sure y'all, Get this, this is a really good insight on the part of the documentary writers. First Corinthians 14, verse 22 and 23. First Corinthians 14, 22 and 23. Would somebody read that? that you are out of your mind. Okay, now with that, so tongues are assigned, not for believers, but are for, tongues are assigned to unbelievers, meaning the unbelieving Jewish people. Just remember, what happened at the Tower of Babel? When the Spirit of God came down at the Tower of Babel, what did he do? He confused everybody's languages, okay? So then, after the Tower of Babel in Genesis 11, what happens in Genesis 12? You have the call of? Abraham. And of course, God is speaking to Abraham in what language? I'm sorry? I think it's just Hebrew, isn't it? Some form of Hebrew. Yeah. Aramaic? Aramaic. No, I think Aramaic comes a little later. Yeah. But he's speaking to him in Hebrew. And so the people of God all the way up to the coming of Christ, that's the only language God ever spoke. God didn't talk to, He didn't speak in Egyptian to the Egyptians or in some Moabite or Philistine dialect. He always spoke in Hebrew to this group of people. So the speaking in tongues, the speaking in these foreign languages, the languages of all these pagan nations was a sign of judgment upon the Jewish people. God is turning away from you now to the nations around you. Okay, so it's not a sign for believers, but for unbelievers, meaning for the unbelieving Jews. Back up to verse 21 there, you see it? The law it is written here Paul is developing his argument with men of other tongues and other lips I will speak to this people and yet for all that they will not hear me Okay, and then verse 22 therefore tongues are for a sign not to those who believe but to unbelievers Okay, so it's talking about the judgment of God on the Jewish people for not believing in Jesus for for rejecting Jesus crucifying Jesus he's going to speak in a Non-hebrew languages now to all the peoples of the earth and so that's what tongues really what Paul is saying there I'm gonna speak in other languages to people who are outside of the Jewish people Okay, and remember what are what are tongues? They're real foreign languages Yeah Yeah. It really is bizarre. And there's one question I would really love to throw out to scholarly charismatics who hold that position and ask them, can you name a single Christian theologian, interpreter, or Bible scholar in the first 1,900 years of church history that thought that? That thought that that's what speaking in tongues was? Because I actually watched a video this past week of, Michael Brown talking about how he'll sit at his desk and he does that. He'll just sit and do the stuff, praying and babble. And he says it edifies his soul. And you think if Paul's whole point in 1 Corinthians 14 is untranslated tongues are useless. Remember what he says, I would rather speak five intelligible words. than 10,000 in a tongue, meaning that remains uninterpreted. In other words, if we can't understand it, it's useless to us. Just like me, even if I'm trying to teach you something in English, if you don't get it, I haven't helped you at all, right? Let alone if I stood up here and did the Japanese auto dealer stuff for you, like we saw in those videos. Remember, don't think about it, just empty your mind and start Start your own private prayer language. If you don't understand what actually is being said or communicated, it is literally useless. Literally useless. Okay, so I think that's good. I actually listened to an excellent talk today by Sinclair Ferguson about the groaning. You had asked about the groaning in Romans chapter 8. That groaning that we experience. Have you ever heard that argument? groaning too deep for words, you know, in Romans 8, maybe that's the incoherent babbling. And Ferguson pointed out something, and I was looking up stuff on BibleWorks as he was going through the passage, and I was kind of like, had this epiphany, like, of course, when you groan, the term for groaning, it refers to the feeling of some kind of burden or pain, right? It's even likened to the groaning of a woman in birth pains. And what Ferguson pointed out in that excellent video about the groaning of being sanctified by the Spirit. Have y'all experienced this? It's painful being sanctified, isn't it? It hurts. Facing down sin and seeing sin and being burdened and wanting to overcome stuff. And that's what the groaning is talking about. It's not talking about incoherent speech. It's the groaning that we experience because of the pain of going through the trials that we go through and going through the God's sanctification program. I mean, how many of you have had parts of your sanctification program you wish God would have cleared with you before they happened, right? I have a whole list of them, okay, that I'm convinced I could be more useful to God without them, but he just doesn't believe me, I guess. So also remember when Jesus taught his disciples how to pray, what did he teach them? Words, that's right, and sentences, the Lord's Prayer, we recite it together. You know, after at the end of my pastoral prayer, I love that we do that because all the kiddos in the church know it. And it's really cool to hear. I can hear the little voices are loud because they know it and they're happy to say it. But you know what? That's going to structure and direct their prayers for the rest of their lives as they'll remember those petitions. And that's I always think, well, you're always safe if you just follow the petitions in the way that you pray. You can't go wrong. Right. So he tells them, don't use vain repetitions. Don't use babbling like the heathen do. for they think that they'll be heard for their many words, but you follow clear structure and you be sober-minded in the way you pray. Okay, so he taught us to pray in clear human language. Okay, remember the stuff about the tongues of angels from 1 Corinthians 13, one? Okay, we're not told, pray in the tongues of angels. By the way, every time an angel talks in scripture, what do they sound like? I'm sorry? Yeah, they speak in human languages, right? So apparently they don't speak in incoherent babble, okay? All right, I've mentioned to you all to remember, look at verse 27 there of chapter 14 of 1 Corinthians. If anyone speaks in a tongue, let there be two or at the most three each in turn, and let one interpret, okay? I know some of you have been in these kinds of meetings, but you saw some of the video footage. What did you see everybody doing all at the same time? They're all doing it. At the same time, they're not taking turns. They're not having an interpretation. And so the rules for tongues are just discarded. They're just ignored pretty much. And my experience, I never saw them followed. I never saw the rules followed in any of my own experiences. And also, remember all of the preachers that we saw in the documentary, what were so many of them? Women. Okay, and that's another thing. For some reason, if you have an anointing, you get a free pass to not obey those simple commands of scripture. Okay, next thing. Healing. The issue of healing. This issue is actually a lot more simple than I think people make it. If someone has the gift of healing, they should be able to heal people, right? Wouldn't that follow? Demonstrating these gifts would be easy if they were still operating. And one thing I was thinking about as well earlier today, I was just thinking about what to talk to you about. Have you ever noticed in the New Testament churches in Corinth, in Galatia, in the Galatian churches at Colossae, Philippi, they didn't have continuationists and cessationist factions in those churches? Why do you think they didn't? They were all continuationists, why? That's right, the gifts were operating right in front of them. Like if someone had said, well, we believe in the cessation of the gifts, they'd be like, no, we know someone with the gift of healing. We know someone with the gift of tongues. We know someone with the gift of interpretation. Many of our guys, many good cessationists really throughout all of church history have pointed out, if the gifts did continue, there would not be a debate about it. So healing is something that God can do, but individuals don't have that gift anymore. Okay, remember we've also looked at the fact that when Jesus did miracles, when the apostles did miracles, their opponents acknowledged what? That something miraculous happened. Yeah, we can't deny it. I mean, yeah, even that to me, one of the most bizarre passages of scriptures in John chapter 12, after Lazarus is raised from the dead, the Pharisees and Jesus's enemies are plotting to kill Lazarus. And you think, how irrational is that? Yeah. I think that's pretty bold. Yeah, do it again. We'll see how many times. Lazarus, can you imagine being raised a second time? Be like, I wish you guys would make up your mind. I would love to just go to heaven and stay there. Acts 4 14 remember the man who was lame from his mother's womb I mean that was a true organic healing and Acts 4 14 and seeing the man who had been healed standing with them. They could say nothing against it Okay, remember the the leg lengthening videos we watched Todd white the lengthening people's legs claiming to lengthen their legs. I mean, that's a parlor trick okay, the New Testament the enemies of Christ the Apostles they couldn't deny the miracles and It's just the opposite today. Today you have charismatics spending all their time trying to explain why nothing's happening. And the fact that there's a debate about it is proof that the gifts have ceased. Not that God can't do miracles or doesn't do them, because we've shared stories. We've seen God can do miraculous things and do miraculous healings when he wants to. But the miraculous gifts that people have are gone now. So God can and does heal. And when people ask me, don't you think that God can still heal? Yes. But why do you think God doesn't give these gifts to people anymore? And the answer is actually really simple, because there's no need for them. Why is there no need for tongue speaking and prophecy and healing anymore for people with those gifts? Why do we not need those? Because there's no new scripture to be tested. That's right. We've got everything God wants us to have here. There's no authenticating of scripture through people that could do miracles. is needed anymore. And always remember, to me, the simplest, easiest example of this is Moses. Because Moses was a smart guy. Moses was a normal person. He asked God the exact same question I would have asked him. Remember when he says, OK, Moses, I'm going to send you down to Pharaoh. I want you to tell him the story about how I appeared to you in the burning bush and tell him to let the people go. And what does Moses say? What if they don't believe me? What if they say, uh-uh, God didn't appear to you. And what has God given the ability to do? Three miracles. And they always worked. And I'm sure Moses, people said, I don't believe that either. Really, he turned his stick into a snake. I got to see this for myself. Look at that, he can. OK, I guess God has spoken to him. So really, it's that simple. That's how God showed, these are the ones that speak for me, and these other guys don't. So many people think, when you say we don't need it, I can hear the man-sinner thought, what do you mean we don't need it? People are still sick. So because they don't understand Those gifts were not for those people. That's right. They were to point to Christ. That's right, exactly. So the gifts today wouldn't be for you to go on stage and be like, oh, look what I can do. Yeah. Give God a little secondary credit, which is what they do. Yeah. You know, they bring up God, but really it's about them. Right. So of course they're not here today, but I can hear when you tell them we don't need them anymore. I can hear somebody like, people are sick and dying. What are you talking about? The world's horrible. Yep. So it's a good opportunity. Yeah, that's a great point Yeah, people have said that to me don't you think God still has compassion isn't that why? Yeah, and I say yes, and that's why he sent Jesus to die for us That's why that we can be forgiven but think about along to your point one of the first miracles Jesus does in Mark's Gospels It's one of the most astounding things that he ever did is when they they cut a hole through the roof of and let the guy down through the roof, right in front of Jesus in that house. And remember, what is the first thing Jesus says to the guy? What? Yeah, that's the first thing he says, son, your sins are forgiven. And then they say, who is this man who blasphemes? Who can forgive sins but God only? And then he says to them, which is easier to say? your sins are forgiven or rise and walk? Think about it, which one's easier to say? Your sins are forgiven, because it's invisible, right? But then he just throws in, but just so you know, I really can get up and take your mat and go home. And the guy that's a paralytic, I mean, the guy can't even move. And he gets up in front of this huge crowded house. It's like, it gives me the chills to think about it. But he's pointing out the far more important thing here is that you're right with God, that your sins are forgiven. And that's the thing, sick people, I've heard Justin Peters say that. I think it's, what a wonderful providence. Justin Peters, a guy who was born with cerebral palsy and he can't walk. And I've heard him say many times, I've got all of eternity to be able to run and jump and leap. But the most important thing is that I'm forgiven and that I'm justified before God. And that I'm gonna go to heaven and not be judged and condemned for my sins. And so, yeah, that mentality really focuses us way too much on the here and now. As if you could have your best life now. I always think, yeah, Lazarus came back to life. Yeah, that guy was healed of being paralyzed. Yeah, the guy who was lame from his mother's womb. But you know what? Every one of those people still died. Something else killed them eventually. They got sick and they lost their lives eventually. So the far more important thing, like you said, these are all pointers to the finished work of Christ and to what He has done. to heal us of our sins, to forgive us of all of our sins. Okay. I think ultimately it's, again, man trying to usurp God. It's that self-focus, this is what I deserve. God should be compassionate, people deserve to be able to live a good life, and walk, and see, and hear, and that's really just what matters to our finite idolatry in our hearts. But First Timothy, godliness with contentment. Yes, and that my sins are forgiven. And I remember a professor in seminary, he went to a conference, just a pastor's conference. And Johnny Erickson Tata, you'll have heard of her. She was paralyzed. Diving accident when she was, what, 19 years old and has been quadriplegic for her whole life. She comes up to the microphone with her wheelchair. She says, you all may think I have it pretty bad, but I don't have it anywhere near as bad as I deserve. And you think, wow. She sees things the way they are. These charismatic and Pentecostal groups have created what Reform theologians have called, I can't wait groups. It's like, I want it now. I want healing now. I want prosperity and everything now. That's just not the way things are. We're not going to be given everything that we want now. And you know what? It wouldn't be good for us if we were given everything that we want. Think about your own kids. If you gave your kids everything they ever asked you for, first of all, my house would look even more like Noah's Ark than it already does. We'd have eight of every kind of animal under the sun in there. But it wouldn't be good for us to be given everything. God says no to lots of things that we ask him for, lots of good things we ask him for, but that's for our good. Because it wouldn't be good for us. Maybe he denies things to us because they become, I don't know. But we can trust he has a purpose for everything like that. So in scripture, we're told to pray for one another. As the gifts begin to cease and as they fade away, we're told in scripture you pray for the sick, pray that they would be healed. The modern healing movement teaches that there's some amount of faith that we have to generate. And that if we don't do that, that's the reason we're not getting our healing or whatever. I see you nodding your head. That just tortures people. I mean, that is devastating to people, especially people with sick children. They're told, well, the problem's you. You know, God's ready to heal, but there's some defect in your faith or how you're praying, and that's really cruel. Because what people who are sick and people going through really terrible things really need is compassion from people. They need someone to weep with them. They need someone to rejoice with them, to weep with them. Okay? Whose fault is it? You know, often in those circles, it's chalked up to a lack of faith, a lack of giving. Maybe you haven't given as much money as you're supposed to. I love Kenneth Copeland, who's one of the most horrible false teachers alive today. Every time he tries to take up an offering, he says, okay, everybody, now's the time for you to increase your income by giving me more money. You know, it's like, wow, increase your income. Yeah, have you seen that where he's talking over the window of his car? It's like the demon comes out for a second. Yeah. Yeah, Kenneth Copeland, he's horrible. Him and Benny Hinn, Bill Johnson. Bill Johnson, y'all know who Bill Johnson is, the pastor of Bethel Church, the church that tried to raise that little girl from the dead five days by chanting over her. If you can stomach that, you should do it. Yeah, a little girl, two-year-old girl died in their church. And the church, I mean, that's a church of 12,000 members, and they chanted and chanted and chanted. They wrote songs and were singing them about, the little girl's name was Olive, and they're singing for hours. Olive, come out of that grave, come out of that grave in Jesus' name. And after five days of this, they finally throw in the towel and they have a memorial service for her. And that's what Chris Roseboro and other discernment people, you all know who Chris Roseboro is? from Pirate Christian Media. I love that guy. He's really good. But he's made the exact same prayer. He was showing videos of them doing that, of them chanting and jumping around on the stage. He said, this reminds me of the show down at Mount Carmel, where they're, I mean, the only thing they're not doing is cutting themselves as they're crying out to whoever they're crying out to, to raise this child from the grave. But the fact is, when we die, we're gonna stay dead, okay? I mean, The church is not supposed to engage in activity like that. That's very wrong to do that. Okay. Yes sir. Yes, would you read it? Yeah. If a prophet or dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder, and the sign of wonder that he tells you comes to pass. And if he says, let us go after other gods, which you have not known, and let us serve them, you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams. The words of God is testing you. Nobody will love the words of God with all your heart, with all your soul. if they did happen to get who was gonna be elected right. Because if they're saying God is a God of irrationality and you should speak incoherent babble rather than rational language, that's giving me a different God. That's right, that's right. So even false prophets would occasionally get things right, but they're saying, If they teach false doctrine that's out of accord with what I've revealed about myself, don't listen to them either. So they've got to get the doctrine right, and anything they prophesize has got to be right too. So it's not just one, it's got to be both. So good point. And of course, in that passage, what were they supposed to do if they found out a neighboring town had in fact gone after other gods? Destroy the town and everything in it. Okay, so it was once again, just shows did not show you how serious this is to God. So, okay. Right. Yeah, that's right. And that's, and that's really, that's a huge blessing. For us, we have the completed Word of God. And so we can give ourselves a studying it. And if we if we know it well, We can be fully confident that we're right with God and that we're in his will. We can obey him. We know exactly what we're supposed to do. It's such a huge blessing. I don't have to wonder about anything. I can know the truth if I devote myself to studying scripture. Not as easily deceived. That's right. Some people that aren't in church enough or aren't in good churches can't discern these things around them. And they end up following after, hey, let's go follow this God. They don't understand what they're doing. Yeah, we've got to be Bible readers. We're a soundbite and short video culture today. We've got to be Bible readers, like reading lots of the Bible every day, listening to it on Audible, whatever. I would encourage you, pick a translation, stick with it, and just make that the one you read from. It makes memorizing easier. But yes, sir? To your comment earlier about faith, because obviously faith is not we don't bring anything to the table. God is the one who heals, God is the one who saves, and obviously prayer is a means that he can't use. So how do we interpret that with some of the passages in the New Testament where faith did play into how Christ did heal or perform miracles, like I was thinking of, the Matthew 17 passage of the disciples asking, I think it was Katsinao, of why could we not drive it out? And Jesus said to them, because of a little mess of your faith, for truly I say to you, if you have faith in the signs of my message, then you will say to this mountain, move here, and it will move, and nothing will be impossible to you. So how do we interpret that with the broader view of, is that something unique in the New Testament with what the disciples were doing? Yeah, because demon exorcism is listed as one of the sign of wonder gifts. So, but apparently that is a very difficult passage to really probe the depths of because we don't have exorcisms today. Remember what 2 Peter 2 says, they're not afraid to speak evil of dignitaries. That term really is a reference to angelic beings of some kind, like demons. Have you ever noticed, like what do the charismatic people in there that we've watched, what do they tend to do a lot of? Yeah, they talk to the devil and talk to demons and will rebuke We should never do that. Don't ever try to address demonic hosts, okay? But this is, yeah, singularly unique. Apparently there were some demonic forces that were so strong that only prayer and fasting could, I mean, it's one of the most enigmatic phrases, remember, Jesus says, this kind only comes out by prayer and fasting. You know, there were times in my Christian life I felt like a stronghold was so bad in my life or someone else's life. I thought, okay, this is a demonic force. I got to come over with prayer and fasting, but it didn't actually do anything. But yeah, that's pretty unique to them. So yeah, I would not try to apply that really to us, but yes. What's that book, Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus? Venus is a lot warmer, I guess. Okay, good, very good questions, very good questions. I am gonna do a sermon on demon possession, because I think that's a really important issue, and I've been doing a lot of studying on that lately, looking at every passage in the New Testament on it, and I, that's not gonna be this Sunday night, but probably the following Sunday night I'll do one on demon possession, because I think it's a really important issue, I think there's a lot of misunderstandings about that and how we're supposed to approach it and what we should do with it. And also we need to understand, I'm kind of torn. I think I know I'm going to preach Sunday night because Ryan can't preach this Sunday night. So I'm going to be doing two sermons Sunday, but I've been doing a lot of reading about the devil and trying to like, I might do a whole sermon on a biblical theology of Satan and demons because that's important because people often give him way too much power. And sometimes people act like he doesn't even exist. In fact, one of the stuff, one of the things I read today, said a recent Barna poll said that 60% of professing Christians don't even believe the devil's real. Did you know that? Sproul tells a story I've heard. I remember reading a book he wrote and he said, he asked a class of Bible college students, how many of you believe in God? And everyone like laughs and everyone raises their hand. How many of you believe in a personal devil? And half the hands went down. And he's like, I'm genuinely curious about this. Why do half of you not believe there's a devil? And they just kind of had this long discussion about it. Isn't that a strange thing? The devil's real. He's a personal being. He has power, but limitations. It's important that we have a biblical doctrine of Satan, but we'll look at some of that. Okay, let's see if we can finish this up here. So cessationism, just to kind of wrap up, it's not about limiting the work of the Holy Spirit. Cessationism, I hate how it's couched in those terms. Cessationism, we think something has ceased. And I've heard charismatics say, don't go to a church where all they ever talk about is what God's not doing anymore. And I'm like, that's really poisoning the well. Because what we need to be about is the true work of the Holy Spirit. The true work of the Holy Spirit of God. It's about magnifying what he really does. And not being satisfied with cheap substitutes and counterfeits. It's about the true work of the Spirit. And based on what you know from Scripture, what is the true work of the Spirit today? What does He do today? How do we know where He's working? You see people being saved, being converted. And what does it mean to be converted? Okay, good. And what are you going to see in the life of someone who's genuinely converted? The fruits of the Holy Spirit. That's right. What about their previous life of being enslaved to sin? What will we see that's different there? They're gonna be at war with sin now, and they're gonna repent of it, and they're gonna hate the things they once loved, okay? And that, you're not gonna see necessarily. I mean, I've seen people. Weep and cry over like God has God has saved me and I've seen people shake before because they were born again And they're just so excited and they see their sin and they see it's Christ alone But for so much of this stuff that we saw it's the falling down and the writhing around and the the strange phenomenon Those aren't the work of the Spirit the true work of the Holy Spirit is when people see their sinfulness trust in the finished work of Christ and their lives begin to change and they stop being so self-centered. They start realizing my life is about the people around me. It's about the people I'm supposed to love. I'm supposed to spend myself and put myself out there for the people around me. Life's not about me and me getting everything I want. It's about me spending my life for the people that God has asked me to love, starting first with my own family, with my wife, with my children, and then my church and my neighbors. Does that make sense? In other words, there's not a whole lot of fanfare to it. You'll see big changes happen. I always think of Augustine. When Augustine was converted, it was such a radical break with his past. It was, I'm finally not gonna live my life like that anymore. And he left it all behind and gave himself completely to the service of God. He struggled just like we all struggle, but that's what you'll see. That's the true work of the Holy Spirit. Conversion and sanctification, the fruits of the Spirit. Okay, so has it been helpful to talk about this issue, the charismatic stuff? It's a huge issue, and as I said, I kind of went into it with my eyes closed. I didn't really realize what kind of church I was going into. I just thought, man, these people are really into this stuff. But I'd see people doing the strange things, people talking about speaking in tongues and everything, and I met a lot of really good people in there. I think they were well-intended. But over the years, as I read the Bible more and just started thinking about things and measuring things by scripture, it just kind of faded away and eventually died altogether in my thinking. But there's so much of it out there. There's what, somewhere around half a billion charismatics in the world? Okay, I mean, it's huge. It is huge. So any final comments or thoughts, anybody? Really in her mind it was Those are the ones who had, you know, a better Christianity, or even though she knew she was saved, she knew, she believed and knew the right things, even though she was a little, I think, deceived with some of Benny Hinn and Cullen. She watched them on television some. We tried to talk to her, but fortunately, I believe she still was very much a Christian, just ignorant. I mean, she was just ignorant, and it was just sad that she felt like she needed that gift of touch to be more spiritual. And now we get home. See, I knew people in the vineyard churches that had it. And so I prayed for it and prayed for it. And then I faked myself into thinking I could do it for a couple weeks. And I think I've told you that story. And eventually I kind of realized I was faking it. And it didn't take, I stopped doing it after that. But then a few years later, I kind of look back like they were faking it too. They were doing the same thing I was doing, which is nothing. It's nothing. Remember, especially once I started studying Greek, I'm like, glossolalia means human languages, and the term dialectos means dialects. Well, that's not what they were doing. These aren't real human dialects anybody's talking about. Always remember that. Acts chapter two, 16 distinct languages are listed there that people could hear the gospel in. Okay, any other thoughts or comments? All right, let's close in prayer. Father, again, we thank you for your grace and love and your mercy. Thank you for your kindness. And I do pray for reformation in your church and true revival. There's such a desperation to see revival, but we can't manufacture it. We're completely dependent on you. We know the means that you brought it in the past is the simple exposition of the word of God, the preaching of Christ and him crucified as the only salvation of sinners. So we pray that we would be faithful to what you've authenticated and given to us in scripture and be satisfied with it and find our highest joy in the communion we have with you through what it tells us about you. We ask in Jesus's name, amen. Thank you all, appreciate you.