Podcasts about real jesus

Growing up in a tightly controlled religious system can make truth hard to recognize, especially when fear, shame, and manipulation shape every part of life. Ray, E.Z., Mark, and Oscar sit down with Taleah Hall to hear her powerful testimony of leaving Jehovah's Witnesses and encountering the true gospel of grace. The guys explore psychological and spiritual control within cult systems, discussing how information, behavior, and even language can be manipulated to keep people trapped. Taleah shares how she spent years believing she was serving God while never truly understanding salvation, grace, or the identity of Jesus Christ. Her story reveals both the pain of deception and the freedom that comes when the truth of Scripture is finally understood.The conversation examines key beliefs in Jehovah's Witness doctrine and why many members struggle when confronted with biblical truth. Taleah explains that Jehovah's Witnesses are often trained to avoid deep theological discussion and to rely heavily on organizational teaching. She recalls the overwhelming realization that she had been raised in a false system and the grief that followed as she processed the impact it had on her identity, family, and understanding of God. Even after leaving the organization, she struggled to untangle years of programming and fear.The turning point in Taleah's story came when she began seriously seeking to know who Jesus truly is. After exploring New Age beliefs and wrestling with confusion, she cried out to God, asking Him to reveal Himself if He was real. The next day, she met a young boy who unexpectedly shared the gospel with her. As he walked through sin, repentance, and salvation, Taleah became overwhelmed with conviction and suddenly understood the truth about Jesus and the gospel of grace. That moment radically transformed her life, and she describes it as experiencing the reality of being born again for the first time.Finally, the guys discuss practical ways for believers to witness to Jehovah's Witnesses with compassion and clarity. Rather than getting trapped in endless apologetic debates, the focus should remain on the gospel itself. Taleah encourages Christians to ask thoughtful questions, avoid unnecessary arguments, and genuinely love the people standing at their doors. The guys emphasize that salvation does not come through religious organizations or works but through grace alone, by faith in Christ. In the end, Taleah's testimony points to the gospel's power to break chains of deception and bring true freedom in Jesus Christ.Send us Fan MailThanks for listening! If you've been helped by this podcast, we'd be grateful if you'd consider subscribing, sharing, and leaving us a comment and 5-star rating! Visit the Living Waters website to learn more and to access helpful resources!You can find helpful counseling resources at biblicalcounseling.com.Check out The Evidence Study Bible and the Basic Training Course.You can connect with us at podcast@livingwaters.com. We're thankful for your input!Learn more about the hosts of this podcast.Ray ComfortEmeal (“E.Z.”) ZwayneMark SpenceOscar Navarro

God told David that His home would be built by Solomon and Solomon did just that. He built a temple that he knew would never be large enough  for the Creator of the universe.  Even so that temple now resides in the body of every believer.  We house the Holy Spirit when we accept Jesus as our savoir.Frank Spalding and the preaching team at Lincoln Hills Christian Church welcomes all those seeking to know more about the Real Jesus and how to be an active disciple.

Send us Fan MailJoin us as we take our time through the Gospel of Mark.

Title: “Let No One Deceive You” Part 3 Text: 2 Thessalonians 2:9-12 FCF: We often struggle fearing the deception that is to come. Prop: Because all who did not receive the love of the truth will be deceived, we must let no one deceive us. Scripture Intro: [Slide 1] Turn in your bible to 2 Thessalonians chapter 2. In a moment we'll read yet again the text starting in verse 3 and going to verse 12. Today I'll be reading from the Legacy Standard Bible but you can follow along in the pew bible or in whatever version you prefer. You'll notice on the screen that this is part 3 of this sermon. If you have not heard parts 1 and 2, I would encourage you to catch up on the teaching Paul has given regarding the man of lawlessness. The previous two sermons are foundational in understanding what is going on here and how we are to think about the end times. However, the sermon today, although relying on some of the conclusions we've made in the last two sermons, is by far the most standalone of the three. The message today is terrifying. It is gut wrenching. Because it speaks of a time when God is truly done with giving mercy to people who have rejected Him. And although God has done similar things in the past – it has never happened like this and only once on this scale. It is also terrifying because it remains in a context which emphasizes that many of the people who are being discussed here who have rejected God, are those who at one point believed in Him. But as terrifying as this message is – there is hope and comfort in holding fast to saving faith. Let's read once more. Please stand with me to give honor to and focus on the Word of God as it is read. Invocation: Gracious, Merciful, and Holy Father, You have endured the wickedness of men for thousands of years. You are longsuffering, extending mercy to all and allowing men to profane Your name and reject Your Son while You continue to bless them and give them common grace. But one day You will remove Your Restrainer and allow the man of lawlessness to come forth. One day Your mercies will end. One day Your common grace to wicked men will cease. And one day You will judge the world. I pray that even now You would be merciful and gracious to those in this room. Speak now words of comfort to Your people through this text…but Gracious God, send Your Spirit to open the eyes of the blind here and speak words of terror to those who are perishing. We ask this in Jesus' name, Amen. Transition: [Slide 2] ”It is the creed of every sound evangelical church that those who do go back to perdition were persons who never really believed in Jesus.” A.A. Bonar “None sink so far into hell as those that come nearest heaven because they fall from the greatest height.” William Gurnall [Slide 3] “To forsake Christ for the world is to leave a treasure for a trifle…eternity for a moment, reality for a shadow, all things for nothing.” William Jenkyn “To see a ship sink in the harbor of profession is more grievous than if it had perished in the open sea of profaneness.” William Secker [Slide 4] “The essence of apostasy is changing sides from that of the crucified to that of the crucifier.” John Stott “Scripture does not need to be denied for apostasy to begin: all that is needed is that scripture takes second place in our calculations.” Iain H. Murray Let these words prepare your heart for the preaching of God's Word today. I.) The Man of Lawlessness will be powered by Satan to deceive all the perishing, so we must not let ourselves be deceived. (9-10) a. [Slide 5] 9 - whose coming is in accord with the working of Satan, i. The LSB has put hash marks into the previous verse to set it off from what follows in verse 9. ii. This is incredibly helpful because for we western English readers, this would be quite jarring, since we would assume the “coming” he is talking about now is still the coming of Christ. iii. What we don't see that would make this even more jarring, is that in the Greek the word for “coming” is… parousia. Advent. iv. However, Christ will not come in accord with the working of Satan. v. Paul is going back now to the topic of the man of lawlessness. And Paul intentionally points to the mockery of Satan here by using the same word he has used repeatedly to refer to the return of Christ. Only this time he refers to the coming of the man of lawlessness. vi. That the man of lawlessness comes in accord with the working of Satan, clarifies and affirms that the man of lawlessness is indeed a man. vii. Much like Judas Iscariot was a man who was possessed by Satan Himself, so also this man of lawlessness is a man that will come in accord with the working of Satan. viii. This is probably an idiomatic way to say that this man too will be possessed by Satan. ix. Now just like the scriptures always see Judas as culpable for his own actions… he was not a victim… so also this man of lawlessness is not a victim either. x. This man will do and say things that are so egregious and so infamous that he could not be a mere man. xi. And this man will go along with it, willingly obeying his father the devil. xii. Again, this points to the mockery of Satan. xiii. Jesus did and said things that indicated that He was no mere man too, all in willing obedience to His heavenly Father. But this Anti-Christ figure will have an advent that is similar but will do the opposite. xiv. But that isn't the end to the similarities. b. [Slide 6] with all power and signs and false wonders, i. Part of the working of Satan happening for this man is that he is coming with all Satan's power and influence. ii. He will be able to perform signs and wonders, all of which will be false. iii. How do we determine if a sign or wonder is false? iv. Scripture gives two criteria 1. [Slide 7] In Deuteronomy 18:20-22 Yahweh clearly says that if a prophesy does not come to pass, then they know that what the prophet said was not from Him and that prophet has spoken presumptuously and should be put to death. 2. [Slide 8-9] Let's go to Deuteronomy 13:1-5 and read this together. Because what if the signs and wonders do come true? What if they are effective? a. Notice what God says… b. If a prophet performs signs and wonders that come to pass but they advocate worshipping other gods, they should not listen to that prophet. Why? c. Because Yahweh sent (take note of that. Yahweh sent) that prophet to the people to test their love for Yahweh. d. Then God reinforms them of the command. They should walk after Yahweh, fear Him, obey His commands, listen to His voice, serve Him, and cling to Him. e. But the prophet should be put to death for His attempt to mislead God's people. v. [Slide 11] The wonders and signs the man of lawlessness commits won't be false because they won't be powerful, effective, or come to pass. They will be false because they will be used to encourage people to worship him instead of Yahweh. Or to worship him as Yahweh or Jesus Himself. vi. We know how our Lord Jesus is coming next. He is coming on the clouds. He will gather us to Himself. That is how we will see Him next. In the air. vii. EVERY ESCHATALOGICAL FRAMEWORK AGREES! viii. Remember that my friends. Remember God's people. We will see Him next in the AIR. ix. No matter what signs or wonders a man does on earth… He isn't Christ if we don't meet Him in the air. He isn't Christ if we must go to Him. The Real Jesus will bring us to Himself. We will be CAUGHT UP. c. [Slide 12] 10 - and with all the deception of unrighteousness i. Another key factor that is hinted at in Deuteronomy 13 was that a person bringing signs and wonders that advocates for the breaking or distorting of God's laws – cannot be sent from God. ii. Jesus Himself said that a house divided against itself cannot stand. How can the real Jesus appear and lead people to conclude that living unrighteous lifestyles is… fine? iii. That disobeying the law of God… is fine? iv. Did Jesus do this at His first advent? v. He fulfilled the law, but He never rejected it or broke it. Nor did He ever advocate His followers do so. vi. As loving as He was to sinners and as much as He healed people what did He say? “Go and sin no more!” vii. He said, “Your righteousness must exceed that of the Pharisees.” viii. He said, “You must be holy as my heavenly Father is holy.” ix. When Jesus walks this earth again… x. HE WILL NOT TREAT SIN WITH KID GLOVES. xi. In Isaiah 11, where Paul pulled the reference to Christ consuming the man of lawlessness with His breath, in that same context it says that in that day “they will do no evil nor act corruptly in all My holy mountain. “ xii. The man of lawlessness though, will be a man who advocates a reversal of God's laws. Perhaps emphasizing love and peace over righteousness and blamelessness. xiii. Indeed, his only law is that all must worship… him. xiv. But what Paul says next is absolutely essential for a proper understanding of this time. d. [Slide 13] for those who perish, i. Notice that the power, the lies, the signs, these are all aimed at a specific group. ii. The perishing. iii. The bible gives us warnings and we must absolutely heed them. But just because the warnings exist doesn't mean that there is a chance that God's promises won't be fulfilled. iv. God has promised that He will seal all His people until the day of redemption. v. Just because the bible gives warnings of falling away and believing a lie doesn't somehow make God's promises null and void. vi. Instead, we must look for a way to make both truths of scripture stand with all their strength without contradiction. vii. And the church has, for thousands of years, understood that it is by hearing the word of God that we receive faith. Not just faith to believe on Christ but faith to believe all that God has said. viii. God's word is effective to produce change in the hearts of God's people. His Word will not return void or empty. ix. Warning passages accomplish their purpose to cause true believers to be alert and vigilant. x. This is the means God uses to prevent them from falling away and succumbing to a lie so powerful that if it were possible the elect would be deceived. xi. Paul makes it clear, that the man of lawlessness will be able to deceive ONLY those who are perishing. Why? xii. Because true believers, believers that have genuine faith, will heed these warnings, continue to reject sin and pursue Righteousness, and continue to believe God. xiii. Paul writes this as a comfort to a church whom he is convinced is counted worthy of God's Kingdom, whom he is convinced received the gospel in power. He is not uncertain about their identity as children of God. Therefore, this comment is designed to give them comfort. The perishing are the ones who will be deceived. xiv. So, they must not let themselves be deceived. xv. But why are they perishing? e. [Slide 14] because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved. i. The wording here is actually quite important. 1. The expression we might expect is that these people who are perishing would be those who did not believe the gospel. Or perhaps that they did not believe the truth. Or that they did not receive the truth. 2. But that isn't what saves a person and eliminates their possibility of being deceived by this Satanic Superman. 3. Christ Himself said that in the last day there would be many who said to Him, “Have we not prophesied in your name, and performed miracles and cast out demons in your name, but I will say to them depart from me lawbreakers, I never knew you.” 4. Paul says that people who did not receive THE LOVE of the truth are those who are perishing. 5. Only those who cherish the truth will be saved. 6. What does it mean to cherish the truth? We'll get to that, because a little later Paul is going to give us the opposite of this. Just hang tight for now. ii. So, the deception of the man of lawlessness will reach all the perishing because they didn't receive the love of the truth. What does that mean? iii. Right now, the gospel call goes out to all men. All men are given at least natural revelation that there is a Creator God who must be worshipped and obeyed. And all men are called to repent and believe the gospel. iv. But one day that general call will stop. v. At some point – when this man of lawlessness steps on the scene, the general call of the gospel to all men will no longer be available. vi. That isn't to say no more will come to saving faith in Christ at this time… vii. God may still effectually call people to Himself. viii. But those who are perishing, those whom God has not elected, will believe the lies of the man of lawlessness. f. [Slide 15] Summary of the Point: Paul has presented who the man of lawlessness is and the blasphemies he will commit. He has discussed when he will come and how he will end. Now, Paul reveals how he will deceive and who will believe him. The perishing, whether they have professed Christ or not, all those who have not received the love of the truth will believe the power, signs, and wonders of the man of lawlessness, and will be deceived into unrighteousness. God's general call to all men to repent and believe the gospel will ultimately go extinct as all the perishing are given over to the lies of this man. If we are truly elect of God, and we have received the love of the truth, we will not succumb to these lies. But how do we know we are elect and have received the love of the truth? We do not let ourselves be deceived. We hold fast to what we have been taught. We trust God no matter what our senses say. [Slide 16 (blank)] Transition: Perhaps you wrestled with that statement regarding the gospel call. Perhaps you were uncomfortable thinking that there will be a time when God is going to stop calling all men to believe the gospel and will only call those who are elect. Well, if you struggled with that. Buckle up. It is about to get very uncomfortable. Paul will now reveal how it will be so that all the perishing believe the lies of the man of lawlessness. II.) In order to judge them, God will actively reprobate the perishing, so we must not let ourselves be deceived. (11-12) a. [Slide 17] 11 - And for this reason, God sends upon them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false, i. For this reason – meaning because the perishing have not received the love of the truth. ii. God is not forcing them to not receive the love of the truth – but as a response to them not receiving it… God will act. iii. Why do I say that the general call of the gospel will cease? iv. Because God will send a different message. He has already sent the gospel call to all men. v. But He has not sent out another message to all men yet. vi. All the lies and deceit and questioning of God's truth today is all generated by the lies of demons and by evil men. vii. But one day they will not be the only voices spreading misinformation. viii. One day, God Himself will send an influence that deceives the perishing. ix. Ok. Stop right there. We all know that God cannot sin. Specifically, we know that God cannot lie. So how can we interpret this differently so God isn't lying. x. Well does this text actually say that God will lie? xi. It doesn't. xii. It says that God will send a deluding influence. The Greek word for “influence” here suggests it is strong and inescapable. xiii. Notice that it does not say “allow” either. The Greek word here, translated “send” cannot mean that God simply is “allowing or permitting” this influence to occur. The Greek word means to cause to go somewhere. xiv. God will cause a deluding influence to go to the perishing. xv. God isn't lying, He is sending someone or something to lie to the perishing. xvi. Why? xvii. So that they will believe what is false. xviii. The general call of the gospel ceases because God sends something to make sure they believe something else. xix. Why would God do this? b. [Slide 18] 12 - in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in unrighteousness. i. God wants to make sure that every single person who is perishing, is justly judged. 1. This phrase here is the explanation of what it means to NOT receive the love of the truth. It means to not believe the truth but to take pleasure in unrighteousness. 2. These are not, however, two items. They are one. 3. The New Testament often defines genuine belief as belief unto obedience. To have saving faith is to love righteousness. So, if we see someone taking pleasure in unrighteousness, they cannot believe the truth, no matter what they say they believe. ii. But attentive bible students might wonder why God needs to send a deluding influence at all. iii. If God did nothing, wouldn't they still be judged? iv. [Slide 19] The answer is yes. 1. The doctrine of election is a doctrine of God's intervention. a. In order for anyone to be saved, God must intervene. b. No matter what kind of Christian you are, you must believe that God saves us and must intervene to do this. c. Otherwise, you are a Pelagian and a heretic. d. God's elect are those whom God has chosen, according to the counsel of His will and based on nothing of us, to intervene for and rescue from our sin. e. The others that God has not elected will not inherit salvation, but not because God has intervened to keep them from salvation. Rather they will not inherit salvation because God has chosen to NOT intervene for them. f. God judges them according to THEIR deeds which are evil. 2. In short, all men are deserving of judgment and wrath because of their sin. God intervenes for some by electing them to salvation. v. So, what is different here? vi. God is no longer passive. He intervenes… but in order to assure that the perishing are judged for their rejection of the gospel and their unrighteousness. vii. This is what we would call the doctrine of reprobation. God closes and seals the door actively rather than passively. The outcome is the same, but God's activity in the matter is markedly different and it signals an end to God's mercy and common grace toward the perishing. viii. And the really interesting thing is, although we've only seen God do this on this scale once in the global flood, it was not accompanied by God sending a lie. But we do have smaller cases of this happening. 1. [Slide 20] In I Kings 22, King Ahab had long heard the prophesies of Micaiah. God's prophet. Yet Ahab continued to refuse the counsel of the Lord. He continued to ignore and dismiss what God said. a. God determined that Ahab's time… was up. That it was time for him to be judged. b. To ensure that Ahab would earn His judgement to the fullest, God met in a heavenly council. He and angelic beings took council and God determined the course of action. c. He determined that a spirit must go and deceive Ahab. In that setting a spirit stepped forward and volunteered to be a lying spirit to the prophets of other gods and encourage them to tell King Ahab that he should attack a city because he would be victorious. A lie. d. Of course, God's prophet told Ahab that he would fail and even relayed the story of this heavenly council. e. But Ahab continued to choose to believe these false prophesies rather than believe God's prophet. f. Would Ahab had suddenly changed his mind and listened to Micaiah had God not done this? No. He wouldn't have. g. But that is not what the story is about. h. It isn't about Ahab's rejection of God… it is about God's rejection of Ahab. i. And that is what makes the story so harrowing. j. Ahab rejecting God, is just par for the course. k. But God rejecting a King of Israel to the point that He sends a lying spirit to convince Him to continue to DISOBEY Him? That is what is terrifying. 2. [Slide 21] In 2 Samuel 24 and 1 Chronicles 21 we see the same thing. a. We see God being fed up with Israel's disobedience under David's rule. b. The text of Samuel says that God incited David to take a census, and 1 Chronicles says that Satan enticed David to take a census. c. So, which is it? d. The devil is God's devil remember? e. God used Satan to accomplish His will. Which was to incite David to disobey so that God could judge Israel. f. Would they have earned His judgment without His intervention? g. YES!!! h. Again, this says more about God than about man. i. God's mercy does come to an end. At some point, God says, enough. ix. [Slide 22] And that is what is terrifying here friends. x. Wicked people loving their sin and rejecting God's truth? That has happened since Cain killed Abel. That isn't new or scary. xi. God sending a delusion to make sure ALL THE PERISHING reject Him? That is God rejecting, forever, those who are not His people. And that my friends… has never happened before. xii. There will be a day when God says… “I'm done with wicked mankind.” xiii. And it will coincide with a day when another says… “I'm God, I accept you as you are, come and worship me.” xiv. And everyone who hasn't received the love of the truth… will believe and worship that Satan empowered man. c. [Slide 23] Summary of the Point: For their comfort, Paul shows the Thessalonians that one day those who are persecuting them will be given over to the worship of the man of lawlessness. One day they will be judged. Paul's thought isn't quite complete. He will continue through the rest of the chapter to encourage them with positive news for them. But it is important that they know the end of the wicked. In order to judge them, God will give over those who did not receive the love of the truth to a reprobate mind so that He may judge them. They will believe and worship the beast and succumb to the pleasure of unrighteousness. So, what are the Thessalonians to do? Keep believing what they were taught. Hold fast and stand firm in the truth and do not let themselves be deceived. Why? Because with this man of lawlessness will come a great apostasy too. They must hear the warning of this passage and not let themselves be deceived, for only those who are truly elect will do so. Conclusion: So, CBC, what have we learned today that refines our beliefs and directs our lifestyles? Basics of Faith and Practice: [Slide 24] In his correction of the lie that the Thessalonians have allowed themselves to believe, Paul has reminded them of all that he had taught them concerning the man of lawlessness. And in these concluding thoughts about him, Paul reveals his influence and who will be deceived by him. There is no doubt that Paul does this to draw a contrast between the Thessalonians and those who will be deceived. He will make that even more apparent with next week's text. But the fact remains, that when the man of lawlessness steps on the scene, he will be empowered by Satan to convince all those who did not receive the love of the truth, that he should be worshipped as Yahweh. God is not passive in this, but rather than intervening to prevent this, God's mercy has reached an end, and God will send along with him a deluding influence to convince all the perishing to believe his lies. God will give them over to reprobation so that He may judge them for their love of unrighteousness. Paul's opening application to the Thessalonians remains the application. Don't allow yourself to be deceived. First must come the apostasy and the man of lawlessness and the deception of the perishing. Then and only then will the Day of the Lord come and the Lord return to gather His people to Himself. Don't believe anything but what we have already taught you. Otherwise, they too will succumb to the lies of this man and the deluding influence of God. But what does this mean for us? How can we be sure that we don't let ourselves be deceived? 1.) [Slide 25] Mind Transformation: “What truth must we believe from this text?” or “What might we not naturally believe that we must believe because of what this text has said?” We must affirm that the perishing are those who do not receive the love of the truth. a. Notice once again Paul's wording here. b. They do not receive the love of the truth. c. But wait a second, doesn't the bible simply talk about belief, faith being the way God unites us to Christ? d. It does. e. Isn't this a contradiction? f. Not at all. g. Just as we use the same word to talk about different aspects of the same thing, words like the cup which could mean 8 fluid ounces or just a drinking receptacle, so also the bible uses words differently depending on context. All doesn't always mean all. Call doesn't always mean the same thing. And as John the apostle demonstrates in his gospel, believe doesn't always mean the same thing. h. Here Paul is defining the kind of faith that saves. The kind of faith that unites us to Christ. It is not a faith that merely receives the facts. It is not a faith that merely respects the authority of the name of Jesus. i. The kind of faith that is saving… is a faith that receives the truth… and loves it. j. If salvation is a gift, we've all received gifts that we love. We have also all received gifts that we… do not love. k. We are warned in the gospels, that of the four soils of our hearts, three of them receive the gospel message. But only one produces fruit and is, therefore, useful to the farmer. l. The test of true and genuine saving faith is not in whether or not you believe in God or in Jesus… it is whether or not you love and cherish the truth of the gospel in your daily life. Is it precious to you to reflect on how you were once a sinner, doomed to hell, and Christ died to set you free? It is precious to you that Christ gave you His righteousness so that you could be declared righteous before God's judgment? Is it precious to you that the Lord sends His Spirit to all who are His and He enables us to live in obedience to Christ in an ever-growing way? Is it precious to you that Christ has united you to an assembly of people locally and universally who hold you accountable and encourage you? Is it precious to you to look hopefully toward Christ's coming as you live holy lives in preparation for His Kingdom? m. This is why when Paul later characterizes those who will be deceived, he says both that they did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in unrighteousness. n. In order to be saved by faith – it has to be a God-given kind of faith. What kind is that? One that propels you to seek God's Kingdom and His righteousness… first. o. Only those who love the truth… will deny the lie. 2.) [Slide 26] Mind Transformation: “What truth must we believe from this text?” or “What might we not naturally believe that we must believe because of what this text has said?” We must affirm that the man of lawlessness will deceive the perishing. a. Everyone else. b. No matter what you say you believe. No matter how much time you've spent coming to church, reading your bible, or praying. c. Everyone who does not love the truth and take pleasure in righteousness. Everyone who does not seek God's Kingdom first and His righteousness. d. Everyone else… will worship the man of lawlessness as God and submit to His rule over their lives. e. Fearing that they will lose their jobs, their possessions, their land, their homes, their wealth, they will take his mark and worship him as God. f. And mark my words… a good percentage of them will be those who have claimed to believe on Jesus. Many of them will have said the sinner's prayer. Many of them will have gone to church and come from a Christian family. 3.) [Slide 27] Mind Transformation: “What truth must we believe from this text?” or “What might we not naturally believe that we must believe because of what this text has said?” We must affirm that in the last days God will give over the perishing to a deluding influence. a. See it doesn't all come down to this man of lawlessness' cunning or his power. b. Paul doesn't give him all that credit. And Paul doesn't want to mislead the Thessalonian church. c. This man of lawlessness will be a Satanic Super Man… but if God wished to oppose Him, this man would not deceive even one. d. The fact of the matter is that when this man steps on the scene, when the restrainer is removed, God will actively send an influence, probably Satan himself, to deceive every single person who has not received the love of the truth. e. He will do this not because they have not already earned their judgment. But because He is done with evil mankind. He is ready to remake the world. His Kingdom is coming in full. f. Why will this man be so successful? The short answer? Because God wants him to be. g. But… 4.) [Slide 28] Refutation: “What lies must we cast down” or “What do we naturally believe, or have been taught to believe, that this passage shows is false?” We must deny that the elect will succumb to the deluding influence. a. In spite of the strength of the lie, based on this text, based on what Paul will say next, and based on the other promises in scripture – we must not conclude that God will allow any of His elect to be deceived by this deluding influence. b. Jesus said that in those days, IF POSSIBLE, the elect might be deceived. Jesus' wording leaves no room for misinterpretation. It isn't possible. c. The question then that must be asked, is how does God preserve us? 5.) [Slide 29] Comfort: “What comfort can we find here?” or “What peace does the Lord promise us in light of this passage of scripture?” The Perseverance of the saints is primarily about God preserving us. a. The statement, “Once saved always saved.” Is technically true but oftentimes it communicates something that the bible flatly rejects. Even in this text. b. Just because you have professed Christ doesn't mean that you are saved. And just because you are saved, doesn't mean that you don't need to persevere. c. This doctrine must be primarily about God. d. God gives to all His elect a faith that endures. So much so that if we see our faith fail, it is not because we have lost it or because we did not persevere. It is because we were not given saving faith. We were a soil that received the message of the gospel but it did not produce fruit. e. The apostle John says of people who walked away from the faith, “that left us because they were not of us.” Not, “they left us because they are no longer of us.” f. God is the primary agent in preserving His people and enabling them to persevere… g. But… that doesn't mean we are passive. 6.) [Slide 30] Exhortation: “What actions should we take?” or “What is this passage specifically commanding us to do that we don't naturally do or aren't currently doing?” We must not let ourselves be deceived. a. We are not passive in our own perseverance. b. Instead, God's true children will take warning passages such as these and, with fear and trembling, they will cling all the tighter to the gospel of Christ and the pursuit of holiness and righteousness, without which none will see God. c. God's true children will see the coming of this man of lawlessness, his empowering by the Devil, and God's active role here, and they will run back to what the scriptures teach and reject the lies even when all their senses tell them it is truth. And even when it will cost them everything. d. We must hold fast and stand firm in what we believe. e. So when we combine the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints with our role in persevering we realize that though we are certainly not passive in persevering… we are also… Praise the Lord… NOT ALONE. 7.) [Slide 31] Refutation: “What lies must we cast down” or “What do we naturally believe, or have been taught to believe, that this passage shows is false?” We must deny that Jesus accepts us as we are. Believing this is a symptom of not receiving the love of the truth. a. There is a teaching alive and well today that insists that Jesus accepts us as we are. b. Now what could be meant by that teaching is that there is no prerequisite to repenting of sin and trusting Christ. c. Meaning you don't have to be perfect in order to believe on Jesus. You don't have to have stopped sinning in order to become a Christ follower. You don't have to join a church, get a tattoo, be circumcised or any other prerequisite. d. If that is what is meant – then this is true. e. However, oftentimes this message ends up being – Jesus accepts you no matter what lifestyle you choose to keep living. Jesus will never ask you to be someone you aren't. Jesus just wants to love you for who you are. f. This… is a lie. g. Jesus died because of who you were. Jesus died because you fall short. You miss the mark. You are not good enough. That is why Jesus died. To pay for your shortcomings and to make you like Him. To change you. He died to make you a NEW CREATURE. Old has died… and new is taking its place. h. Jesus says in order to be His disciple you must crucify yourself… daily… and follow Him. i. He told the rich young ruler to sell everything he had and give it to the poor and follow Him. j. Christ's message is clear. k. Turn from your sin, follow Him and sin… no… more. l. There is no such thing as a Christian who loves his sin and Jesus too. m. There is no such thing as a Christian who dislikes God's law. n. There is no such thing as a Christian who loves this world. o. They simply… do not exist. p. They may call themselves Christians… but in the last day… they will be deceived, take the mark and worship the Anti-Christ, so that God may justly judge them. q. Jesus is so not satisfied with who you are, that He submitted to death to change you to be like Him. r. If you disagree – its time to really listen hard… 8.) [Slide 32] Evangelism: “What about this text points us to Jesus Christ, the gospel, and how we are restored?” In the last days, many that profess Christ today will take the mark of the beast and worship him as God. a. The tension in the scripture is clear. b. Although God by grace alone unites His people to Christ's sacrifice through giving them faith in His Son, the kind of faith that God ALWAYS gives, is a faith that changes the person to whom it is given. c. When God gives faith, it is like when someone gets hit by a bus. d. Their life is going to be different from that day forward. It will change… because it must. e. The soil of the heart is prepared by the Lord to receive His truth and produce fruit. f. All other soils may look like they have received the truth… but things choke or scorch them to death. g. There will be many in that day who have prayed a prayer and accepted a cheap grace that forgives sin and asks nothing of them. A grace that has less to do with you being a citizen of God's royal family and more to do with keeping you from going to hell. h. But the same grace that keeps you from hell, makes you into a citizen of His family and conforms you to His standard. It's a package deal. You don't get one without the other. i. So how do you avoid being yet another dupe? How do you avoid standing at the judgment seat of Christ wondering why the books containing your works did not prove you were His? j. You must be born again. You must have your heart prepared by God to receive the love of the truth. k. How do you know God has done that for you? l. Well – is He stirring you now? Do you feel the Spirit of God pulling on you now? That is a pretty good sign that your heart is ready to receive the love of the truth. m. So, turn from sin. Turn from your pleasure in unrighteousness. Turn from worshipping and pursuing things on earth. Money, relationships, careers, possessions, lusts, passions… n. Turn from your desires, your pursuits, your will o. Lose your identity so that you can be absorbed into Christ's. p. Trust Him and love Him and what He has done for you. Love Him so much that He becomes your first priority. q. Submit to His rule over your life as your one and only King. r. Trust Him and love Him enough to leave all other things you trust and love behind. s. Then… and only then… will you start to see the Lord change you into His own possession. t. If that is you today… don't wait to tell someone. u. Don't walk out the door and think -I'll just tell them later. I'll just call them later. No. v. If you need to follow Christ. If you are done following you. Tell someone you know is a Christian here. We would like to rejoice with you and help you in the next steps. [Slide 33 (end)] Let me close with a prayer by the church father Augustine of Hippo In a vast wilderness full of snares and dangers, look! At your enabling I have cut off many of them, thrusting them out of my heart. And yet so many of these things buzz on all sides about my daily life. Do I dare say that nothing of this sort catches my attention, or causes even the slightest interest? True, I do not spend time in the worst kinds of entertainment, I do not dabble in astrology or the occult. I detest all those sacrilegious mysteries. And I owe you my humble and singlehearted service, O Lord my God. Yet the enemy, with tricks and suggestions, looks for a way in. So I beg you, by our King, even if I am far away from consenting to the enemy, may it ever be farther and farther away. You enable me, and will enable me, to follow you willingly, doing what you want me to do. We ask this for ourselves in Jesus' name, Amen. Benediction: Now may He who raises the poor from the dust, The needy from the ash heap; And makes them sit with nobles And inherit a seat of honor. Bear you through troubled days, To you who trust in God's unchanging love. Until we meet again, Grace and Peace to you.

God Granted Solomon anything he wanted and he chose wisdom.  Even though he was blessed with wisdom he found it hard to stay the course of the wise. Frank Spalding and the preaching team at Lincoln Hills Christian Church welcomes all those seeking to know more about the Real Jesus and how to be an active disciple.

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By Ken Loucks - Do we truly know Jesus Christ, or do we only know His titles and the things He did? The Gospels reveal a Savior who touched the outcast, noticed the grieving, forgave the repentant, restored the overlooked, and confronted religious hardness. Jesus Christ understands human weakness and sorrow, yet

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The sin we struggle with in the shadows is the same sin mankind has struggled with for millennia.  Todays version might have many more  variations but its the same ones that King David had in his life.  Taking it to God is the only way to come clean and find true repentance.   Frank Spalding and the preaching team at Lincoln Hills Christian Church welcomes all those seeking to know more about the Real Jesus and how to be an active disciple.

Message from Matt Sweetman on May 24, 2026

Title: “Let No One Deceive You” Part 1 Text: 2 Thessalonians 2:3-5 FCF: We often struggle falling prey to speculation and uncertainty regarding the end times. Prop: Because the Day of the Lord must be preceded by the apostasy and the man of lawlessness, we must not let anyone deceive us. Scripture Intro: CSB [Slide 1] Turn in your bible to 2 Thessalonians chapter 2. In a moment we will read from the Christian Standard Bible starting in verse 3 and going through verse 12. You can follow along in the pew bible or in whatever version you prefer. Last week, Paul definitively addressed the concern the Thessalonians had about the Day of the Lord. That it had come and that somehow they had missed it. Paul answers them directly… it has not come. Today, he will outline a particular event that must precede the Day of the Lord and the return of Christ and the gathering together of His people. And that event seems to be something significant enough and obvious enough that he is somewhat shocked that they have believed this lie, since he has already taught them all of this. He warns them… don't let yourself be deceived. Because of the nature of this information and the fact that there is such wide uncertainty concerning it, I will be forced to break down this context into probably three or perhaps even four sermons from here until verse 12. But let's start with reading the entire context before we get into it. Please stand with me to give honor to and to focus on the Word of God as it is read. Invocation: God of our salvation, we confess that since our salvation is all of You, that there is neither nothing we can do to get it from You, nor is there anything we can do to void it if You have given it to us. Nevertheless, we confess that this does not make us passive agents in our preservation. You have told us repeatedly to hold fast to what we have received from Christ and His apostles. You have warned us repeatedly in Your Word to trust what You have said over and above what our own senses declare to us. You will preserve us, but the way You do that is by the faith You have put in us. A saving kind. A kind that endures. And so, Lord, we enter this passage to respond in faith and trust Your promise over and above what we observe. Keep us in Your loving care and preserve us to the end. We pray this in Jesus' name – Amen. Transition: [Slide 2] “Satan doesn't care what we worship, as long as we don't worship God.” D.L. Moody “Satan is not fighting churches; he is joining them. He does more harm by sowing tares than by pulling up wheat. He accomplishes more by imitation than by outright opposition.” Vance Havner “There is something very comforting in the thought that the devil is an adversary. I would sooner have him for an adversary than a friend.” C.H. Spurgeon These words prepare us for the exposition of the Word of God today. Let us begin. I.) A great rebellion led by a lawless man doomed to be destroyed by Jesus will occur before the Day of the Lord, so we must not let anyone deceive us. (3) a. [Slide 3] 3 - Don't let anyone deceive you in any way. i. Paul puts his finger directly on the root of the problem facing the Thessalonians. ii. They are letting people lead them away from what they have learned about the Day of the Lord. iii. Their discernment is vacillating, they have been overcome by sudden fear, and they are believing lies. iv. From verse 3 until verse 12, Paul's basic application is simply this: Do not let anyone deceive you. v. No matter what others say or how they say it, the Thessalonian church must be firmly rooted in truth and convinced of what they have been taught. vi. But Paul is not going to leave it there. He is going to instruct, or re-instruct them on the sequence of events concerning the Day of the Lord. b. [Slide 4] For that day will not come unless the apostasy comes first i. Paul gatekeeps the coming of the Day of the Lord behind one event. ii. The event is what he describes as “the apostasy”. 1. The Greek word here means “rebellion” which is most often what we might use to translate this if it were in a political sense. A rebel or a traitor. 2. But given the context of this passage, it seems better to see this in a religious sense. 3. There may be overlap as political and religious upheaval will most likely go hand in hand. But when we use the word rebellion here, I think we do generally lose the religious sense. 4. An apostate is someone who publicly denies a previously held religious belief and distances themselves from the community that holds to it. This could, although not necessarily, include persecution against their previously held beliefs. iii. So, to what is Paul referring? 1. Interestingly enough many of the references to this teaching are written after Paul writes this. a. [Slide 5] 2 Tim 3:1 – 5 - “But know this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, without gentleness, without love for good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to a form of godliness, but having denied its power. Keep away from such men as these.” b. [Slide 6] 2 Peter 3:3-4 – “knowing this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts, and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming?” c. [Slide 7] Jude 18-19 - “In the last time there will be mockers, following after their own ungodly lusts. These are the ones who cause divisions, worldly-minded, not having the Spirit. “ d. [Slide 8] 1 Tim 4:1 – “But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons, by the hypocrisy of liars, who have been seared in their own conscience” 2. This suggests that this is something Paul was shown directly by God's Spirit. 3. [Slide 9] And so, Paul is relaying that in the end there will be a time when people will say they are following the real Jesus, turning from what they see as a corruption of Jesus' teachings, emphasizing the freedom of their flesh to pursue anything they wish, and mocking any who would suggest that Jesus is concerned about living a holy life. They will claim to be godly but have no power to overcome their own sinfulness. They will divide, they will be worldly, and they won't have the Spirit of God. 4. Friends… if what I just described to you doesn't sound familiar… then you are living under a rock. 5. I have just described a cancer that is currently growing in western Christianity. iv. Does that mean that the great apostasy has happened? v. I would… cautiously say… no. 1. Down through the history of the church age there have been several events that seemed to be a great apostasy. a. When the Jews rejected their own Messiah and killed Him. b. When Gnosticism overtook the church and led many astray in the 2nd century. c. When Rome adopted Christianity as the official religion and paganism creeped into it and joined to make the Roman Catholic church. 2. And it is possible that what we see happening today would be fitting this prophesy but as Paul will say in a few verses, this spirit of lawlessness is already at work in the world. It makes sense that we would see aspects of this pop up – like birth pangs. 3. But the way this is spoken about, it seems like we might see a much more staggering and global case of people abandoning biblical Christianity and flocking to other forms of Christianity or paganism. 4. Although we see apostasy on the rise in our culture, and have seen periods of it through the ages, still we see great movements of the Spirit and people are coming to faith in Christ. 5. What Paul speaks of seems to be a great winnowing of Christians that will necessarily result in biblical Christianity being heavily persecuted, on a global scale, and seemingly the church will be overcome by it. vi. Although I don't think this has happened yet – where the United States goes, the world is sure to follow. Should the disdain of biblical Christianity continue to grow in the west, I can see it quickly developing into a worldwide event… especially when the other component of this event happens… c. [Slide 10] and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. i. The identity of the man of lawlessness is, as you might imagine, a hotly debated topic in Christendom. ii. Although there is actually more agreement than you might think, especially between two of the three major eschatological frameworks. iii. Although I am loathe to do it, it is necessary for me to briefly introduce these three major frameworks, so that you are not completely in the dark as to what I am talking about as we go forward. And in order to understand the makeup of these frameworks, you must understand some different approaches to prophesy about the end times. iv. [Slide 11] Last week I already introduced you to one of these… preterits. 1. Preterists believe that some or all of the events mentioned in the scriptures regarding the last days have been fulfilled, especially at AD 70 when Jerusalem and the temple were destroyed. 2. Historicists believe that some of the events mentioned in the scriptures regarding the last days have been fulfilled after AD 70. 3. Futurists believe that all or most of the events mentioned in the scriptures regarding the last days have not yet been fulfilled. v. Depending on how much of each of these you mix together in your recipe, determines what dish of eschatological framework you make. vi. [Slide 12] The names of the three major frameworks are premillennialism, amillennialism, and postmillennialism. 1. [Slide 13] Premillennialism, at least one branch of it, is the oldest eschatological position. a. Well known church fathers such as Justin Martyr, Papius, Tertullian, Irenaeus, and many lesser-known individuals clearly wrote about and believed in a premillennial return of Christ. b. Premillennialism adds a heavy dose of a futurist understanding of end-times prophesy. Premillennialism would recognize and appreciate smaller fulfillments, but advocate that these always leave some portion unfulfilled in literal ways. Meaning that they cannot be the complete or final fulfillment. c. At its core premillennialism teaches that the gathering of the saints and a return of Christ will precede a literal 1000-year earthly reign of Christ with His people from Jerusalem. d. After which would be the final judgment and eternal state. e. Even Augustine of Hippo believed this for a time, but eventually became an influential opponent of it. f. Premillennialism today is divided into three broad categories based on when the church would meet Christ in the air prior to the 1000-year reign. i. The historic position is that after the tribulation, Christ would descend, collect His people, and come with them to the earth. This is what all the church fathers I have already mentioned taught. ii. There is also a newer position, represented by one later church father's sermon composed between the 4th and 6th centuries. 1. His name was Ephraem and his sermon said, “all the saints would be gathered together before the tribulation, and taken to the Lord, so they do not see any of the confusion which overwhelms the world.” 2. This would be the bedrock upon which the pretribulational view would be built. 3. A view that says that before the tribulation period, the Lord would come and gather His people and take them to be with Him in heaven during the remainder of the tribulation. iii. Finally, there is a much newer position that attests that at some point in the middle of the tribulation the church would be caught up to be with Christ and wait with Him until the end of the tribulation. 2. [Slide 14] Amillennialism is also incredibly old. Many church fathers held this view. a. Because this view takes many forms, we do see it mix together all three views of end-times prophesy. There is a dash of futurist, a hint of historicist, and a splash of preterist in this view. b. The view says that the tribulation and the millennium are figurative expressions to summarize the events of the last days. c. The tribulation is not seen then as a literal 7-year period, nor is the tribulation an event that is in the future. d. Amillennialism would see the events of the tribulation as describing events that led up to and including the destruction of the temple in AD 70. e. The 1000-year reign of Christ is a metaphorical age of the church, which begins after the destruction of the temple. f. Within this reign of Christ, Satan is bound so the church can share the gospel, but that doesn't mean that there is no opposition. g. At the end of the church age, Christ will return, gather His people, judge the earth, and usher in the eternal state. h. There is a lot of variety within Amillennialism, but this is the general framework behind it. 3. [Slide 15] Finally, there is Postmillennialism. Postmillennialism is, by far, the most modern of the three major frameworks of the end times. It's earliest known writings occurring in the late 1600s. a. Postmillennialism is very similar to Amillennialism, but with a heavier dose of a preterist view of end times prophesy. b. Like Amillennialism, Postmillennialism teaches that the events of the tribulation occurred prior to the destruction of the temple in AD 70. c. After this, a period of time, mentioned as 1000 years but really an undefined amount of time, will occur in which the church will progressively influence the world into a time of peace and prosperity. d. After this the Lord Jesus will return physically and judge the world and the eternal state will begin. e. Although often caricatured as merely supporting liberal social programs to institute progress, or to militantly take the world over, evangelical postmillennialism understands the transformation of the world happening by the preaching of the gospel alone. vii. Having now a basic understanding of each view, we can rightly give the options for how each view sees this “man of lawlessness.” viii. [Slide 16] Postmillennialism understands this entire passage quite differently than the other two eschatological frameworks. 1. Postmillennialism suggests that Paul is not talking about the second coming of Christ at all, nor is it talking about a Christian apostasy but rather a Jewish rebellion. 2. The rebellion then would occur with the events that lead up to the destruction of the temple in AD 70 and the man of lawlessness is none other than Emperor Nero his death occurring just prior to the destruction of the temple. ix. [Slide 17] Amillennialism understands this passage very broadly. 1. Although they do not believe in a literal tribulation or millennium, they do see this man of lawlessness as a movement, an institution, or an individual that telescopically occurs several times throughout the church age. 2. Although Paul's description here would be thought to refer to the events in AD 70, Amillennialism is broad enough to suggest that there could be several small fulfillments of this prophesy before a definitive manifestation of it occurs before Christ returns. 3. This isn't a baseless claim because most of the Jews of the 1st century would have concluded that the prophesies about the man of lawlessness were fulfilled when Antiochus IV Epiphanes defiled the temple and set up images of Zeus within it in 167 BC. Yes, over 150 years before Christ this happened. The last name “Epiphanes” means God-manifest. 4. Caligula, who claimed to be a god, tried to have an image of himself put up in the temple in AD 40, which was just 12 years prior to Paul writing this letter. He was stalled and then assassinated before he could see it done. 5. And Roman General Pompey entered the holy of holies in AD 63, just 11 years after Paul wrote this. 6. All that to say – what we have already observed – prophesies like these seem to have multiple fulfillments leading to an ultimate fulfillment. x. [Slide 18] Premillennialism would view the man of lawlessness as the little horn, the beast from the sea, the fourth king that rises up over the other three. The Antichrist. In premillennialism this is a future king or ruler who will establish a global regime, empowered by and submitted to Satan, seeking to destroy the saints of Christ. 1. Although we will not turn to them, there is remarkable harmony between 2 Thessalonians 2:3-12 and several other passages which refer to a similar person doing similar things. If you would like to look these up later and read for yourself, the references are on the screen. a. Dan 7:24-27 b. Dan 8:21-26 c. Dan 11:36-45 d. Dan 12 e. Revelation 13:1-10 2. [Slide 19] Furthermore, that a great apostasy would be tied to this person's rise to power and that he is given the same title as Judas, this seems to indicate a future, celibate, Christian insider, who betrays biblical Christendom and begins to seek to destroy it. a. The CSB translates this “the man doomed to destruction”, which is the same name that Christ gave to Judas Iscariot. This suggests not only that his regime will ultimately fall to Christ's Kingdom, but also that as a consequence of the apostacy, an apostate will emerge with great power. The man of lawlessness will be a former Christ professor. b. Daniel 11 indicates that this future king will not only not regard the gods of his ancestors but that he will also not regard the desire of women, more than likely this means he will be celibate. c. This could mean that he is celibate because he is focused on power alone and hasn't given his strength to women (Prov 31:3). Or perhaps he is celibate because he is asexual or even a homosexual. xi. I am of the opinion that, although the other frameworks include godly brothers, the premillennial position fits what Paul says… like a glove. d. [Slide 20] Summary of the Point: Verses 3-12 are heavy on teaching and light on application. That is a blessing to us because as much uncertainty as there is regarding the specifics of the teaching, there are some things that are quite certain. Paul assures the Thessalonian church that the Day of the Lord will not come until the time of great apostasy comes led by a lawless man who is doomed to be destroyed by Christ at His coming. Therefore, they must not let themselves be deceived to think that the Day of the Lord will come before these things. They must compare what they hear to what they have been taught. [Slide 21(blank)] Transition: Paul has identified the event that will occur before the Day of the Lord. He states that the apostasy and the man of lawlessness will come first. We have done our best to identify this person with consideration to broader Christendom. But what will this man of lawlessness do? II.) The lawless man will commit blasphemies that no created being ever has, so we must not let anyone deceive us. (4-5) a. [Slide 22] 4 - He opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, i. One of the primary atrocities that the man of lawlessness will commit will be his blasphemies against Yahweh and His Son. ii. In many of the contexts I put on the screen with the Premillennial position, this blasphemy is spoken of quite plainly. iii. And here Paul gives us a surprisingly rich description. iv. Paul isn't trying to be vague. He is trying to be crystal clear. v. First, we should recognize that this man of lawlessness does something that LITERALLY no Roman Emperor ever did. 1. We know that the Emperor cult was alive and well during the first century. We know that Caesar worship was going on in many cities that Paul visited. 2. We know that several titles in the New Testament, given to Christ, were actually mottos of Caesar worship which the apostolic authors used to correct pagan emperor worship. 3. Things like, Lord, Savior, Son of God, Image of God, God manifest, Lord and Savior. No King but Christ. 4. It was a deliberate rhetorical strategy of first century Christian preachers to simultaneously denounce Caesar worship and exalt the true King of Kings and Lord of Lords Jesus Christ. vi. But as often as we have noticed that Roman Emperors elevated themselves to deity… vii. NOT ONE Roman Emperor EVER put himself above every god or temple or object of worship. Not one. viii. Emperor worship was always viewed alongside the worship of many pagan gods. And temples to other gods were not torn down or replaced by temples to the Emperor. ix. Not only that, but down through the ages, although common to elevate a king to some level of deity, no king ever had the gall to suggest that he was over all gods. x. This gives postmillennialism a very difficult problem to deal with. Nero never claimed to be over every other god or object of worship. xi. Amillennialism too has a similar problem although it is not as problematic since some brands of amillennialism would say there is still a future man of lawlessness. xii. What is certain though, is that Paul's prediction here is, in no way, fulfilled prior to AD 70. Not if his words mean anything. xiii. Of course, a premillennial framework, which is primarily futurist allows for Paul's words to be true in their fullest sense. xiv. But this is not the extent of the man of lawlessness' blasphemy. Afterall, being over all so-called gods, demons or otherwise, and being over objects of worship – is no great blasphemy. xv. The real blasphemy comes next… b. [Slide 23so that he sits in God's temple, i. Every single eschatological framework has been written about after the fall of Jerusalem in AD 70 and the destruction of the temple. ii. Paul writes before the destruction of the temple by 18 years. iii. On the surface, it seems like Paul would most assuredly be referring to the literal temple and that the man of lawlessness would go into the temple and sit upon the mercy seat in the holy of holies. iv. What's the problem then? v. The temple doesn't exist and hasn't for the last 1,956 years. vi. Postmillennialism and Amillennialism suggest that The Roman General Titus did this when Jerusalem and the temple was destroyed. 1. Jewish historian Josephus gave account that the Romans entered the temple and set up images of the Roman Eagles on its ruins and worshipped there. 2. However, other accounts indicate that the temple was destroyed before the Romans entered in and that there is no actual evidence, aside from Josephus' words, to suggest that they set up images to worship on the temple ruins. 3. And no historian suggests that anyone went in and sat down in the temple. vii. [Slide 24] Amillennialism also suggests that this may be interpreted figuratively, although there are three ways it could be seen – hence the difficulty of a figurative fulfillment. 1. The Authority of God a. Taking his seat in God's temple could be metonymy which substitutes something for something that is associated with it. b. “Taking his seat in the temple of God” may simply be an expression to say that he took the place of God – perhaps even that he takes a religious position of authority that God alone would have. c. Some historicists point to the highly problematic position the Pope of the Roman Catholic church created in the 1200s called the Vicar or deputy of Christ, who can forgive sins. Such a place seems to take the authority that belongs to God alone. 2. God's Throne in Heaven a. Taking his seat in God's temple could also be seen as God's heavenly throne. b. Many scholars say that this cannot be for a man could not ascend to God's throne. c. However, if we understand a heavenly throne to imply space – we could actually see someone coming from space (or at least saying they did) and claiming to be the Lord of the Stars. d. I don't want to go down too big a rabbit trail here – but this is a possibility that seems to be even more possible given recent declassifications. 3. The Universal Church a. Many times, throughout the New Testament, the church is called the dwelling place or the temple of God. b. Perhaps the man of lawlessness would be a Christian apostate who rises from within Christendom. c. Furthermore, Paul never uses the expression “Temple of God” to refer to the temple building in Jerusalem. What he does call the temple of God are believers who have the Holy Spirit dwelling in their hearts. d. We'll talk more on this in just a second but let's get to the Premillennial position on this… viii. [Slide 25] Premillennialism traditionally has seen this as fulfilled literally with the building of a third temple. 1. This is plausible, although this puts the immanency of Christ's return, to which the New Testament resolutely espouses, at odds with premillennialism. 2. How can Christ's return occur at any time, when an entire temple needs to be built before someone can go and sit down in it? 3. As someone who leans heavily toward premillennialism, this is a huge problem and the answers that are traditionally given are fairly unsatisfactory. a. Some have suggested that the Day of the Lord and when Christ gathers His people should be seen as two separate events. b. Thus, the temple being rebuilt and the man of lawlessness taking his seat, is a prerequisite for The Day of the Lord and not the gathering of His people. c. However, the weakness of this view is that Paul seems to see both of these events as the same. In verses 1-2 of this chapter, it seems like they are the same event. 4. This is why the Amillennial view of a figurative interpretation is actually quite intriguing. Especially the third one. 5. Maybe we aren't looking for the man of lawlessness to actually sit in the temple of God. Maybe the man of lawlessness will take his seat among Christians. 6. [Slide 26] At first this sounds bonkers, but Revelation 13:6-7 says that the beast “opened his mouth in blasphemies against God, to blaspheme His name and His tabernacle, that is, those who dwell in heaven. And it was also given to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them” 7. Here John refers to the name of God and His tabernacle as those who dwell in heaven. And he is going to make war with the saints and overcome them, meaning he will kill them. And send them where? Heaven. 8. So perhaps we can be premillennial and not have a 3rd temple after all. ix. But even taking his seat among God's people or even in the temple itself is not the most egregious act of blasphemy. x. What is the worst thing he does? c. [Slide 27] proclaiming that he himself is God. i. Again, postmillennialism has no answer for such a prophetic word. ii. No Roman Emperor has ever claimed to be Yahweh. iii. [Slide 28] Pope Innocent III declared that “No king can reign rightly unless he devoutly serve Christ's vicar,” to which he was referring to himself. Although this comes very close to claiming to be God, it is not the same. iv. [Slide 29] No person in the history of the world has ever claimed to be God Himself… save one. The God-Man, Jesus Christ. v. This is why many rightly point out the mockery of Satan. vi. [Slide 30] Satan takes what God does and mimics and defiles it. 1. Just as God is three persons in one God, Satan is the Father power behind the man of lawlessness, his son, and the second beast from the land also called the false prophet, aids the man of lawlessness by giving false signs and wonders. The unholy trinity. 2. Just as Jesus was a Jew and rose up within Judaism, claimed to fulfill the law, and claimed to be God Himself, so the man of lawlessness will rise up within an apostate Christendom, exalt himself above every other so-called god and claim to be God. vii. Both the Amillennial and premillennial framework make way for this… but I think the premillennial position gives a clearer understanding here. viii. As close as some emperors and popes have come, none have ever truly fulfilled Paul's words to the letter. ix. This is all certainly a lot to take in. x. Nevertheless, Paul speaks of this quite succinctly. In only a couple verses he has talked about several extended passages in Daniel and throughout the yet-to-be-written New Testament. xi. How can he write so briefly on such a huge topic? d. [Slide 31] 5 - Don't you remember that when I was still with you I used to tell you about this? i. Paul can speak briefly about all of this – because he remembers teaching them all of this in much greater detail. ii. Paul now, as an aside, interrupts his teaching of the man of lawlessness to express, what I see as a bit of frustration or confusion regarding all that he has just said. iii. He says – “don't you remember?” iv. It has only been a few months, at most a year since Paul and his companions were with them in Thessalonica. v. They should remember…. vi. Paul is shocked that they are vacillating on this issue when it was so recent that he taught them these things. vii. But this drives us back to the original exhortation which Paul began in verse 3. viii. They have “let themselves” be deceived. ix. In this he also teaches them the cure to not allowing themselves to be deceived. x. It is, quite simply, to remember what they have been taught. xi. Compare what they are hearing, what is causing them fear, and what they are being tempted to believe to what they have already been taught. xii. Anything that contradicts – must be cast aside. e. [Slide 32] Summary of the Point: Again, shoving aside all the uncertain things, we can arrive at certain truths. The lawless man will commit acts of blasphemy so egregious that they have never been or been allowed to be before. He will elevate himself above all other gods and objects of worship. He will take his seat in God's temple and claim to be God. Because these things are so terrible, we should be looking for nothing less before the coming of the Day of the Lord. Let no one deceive us on this. Hold fast to what we've been taught. Conclusion: So CBC, what have we learned today that refines our beliefs and guides our lifestyles. [Slide 33] Basics of Faith and Practice: Even though there is a great deal of uncertainty here, some things Paul says are certain. The Day of the Lord must be preceded by the apostasy and the man of lawlessness. Until these things occur, the Lord will not return. And in order to be an orthodox Christian, you must see some or all of what has been predicted in this text, as still yet to come. So, we must not let anyone deceive us. So, what things do we need to take away from this text this morning? 1.) [Slide 34] Mind Transformation: “What truth must we believe from this text?” or “What might we not naturally believe that we must believe because of what this text has said?” We must affirm that before the Day of the Lord, first there must be the apostasy and the man of lawlessness. a. Aside from Postmillennialism, all Christians in the church age have believed that there will be some ultimate and definitive manifestation of the apostasy and the man of lawlessness before Christ returns. b. The two oldest positions concluded that things will get worse for the church before Christ returns. c. If you are Postmillennial, although I still see you as a brother –I find a lot of difficulty arriving at such a position. d. Providentially, we have seen a huge rise in Reformed or Reforming churches adopting Postmillennialism as their eschatological framework. But with an honest look at this passage – my friends – I just don't see it. e. We must conclude from this text, even after the events of AD 70, that there is still yet to come a great apostasy and a lawless and blasphemous man who will lead it. 2.) [Slide 35] Mind Transformation: “What truth must we believe from this text?” or “What might we not naturally believe that we must believe because of what this text has said?” We must affirm that the man of lawlessness will commit acts of blasphemy that go beyond what any created being has committed in the history of the world. a. Even if Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28 describe Satan, even he never committed such blasphemies against Yahweh. b. At most Satan said he would be “like” the most High. c. But to elevate himself above every other created being, to sit down in the temple of Yahweh and claim to be Yahweh Himself… such acts have never been committed, by any of God's creatures. None have dared to do such things. d. The only man to have done something like this – is Jesus. Of course, then it isn't blasphemy, because it is true. e. Next week we will observe that something or someone is holding this man of lawlessness back. It is keeping him from leading this rebellion and committing these blasphemous acts. f. This all fits together to indicate to me – that as believers we will know when such a man is upon us. It won't be hidden and it won't be a surprise. There may be elements of it that will be tempting to believe… but we won't be fooled. And Paul gives us some fairly big clues. g. Look for a blasphemous man to claim to be God or even Jesus. h. Look for him to be claiming to be a Christian. Look for him to not regard the desire of women. Look for him to try to snuff out biblical Christianity. Look for him to desire power above all else. 3.) [Slide 36] Refutation: “What lies must we cast down” or “What do we naturally believe, or have been taught to believe, that this passage shows is false?” We should deny that the man of lawlessness has already come. a. I use the word should and not must – because of the uncertainty in this. I don't want to be too strong. b. But from my view, Paul doesn't give this sign to the Thessalonians supposing that it will be hard to see. c. In fact, he kinda words it like it will be easy to see. He is shocked they are thinking the Day of the Lord had come, when so clearly this apostasy and man of lawlessness had NOT come. d. This isn't negating what Jesus said about the false prophets giving prophesies and exhibiting signs that are so strong that if it were possible, it would deceive the elect. e. Jesus' point there is that it will be such a tumultuous time spiritually, that all Christians in name only will not stand a chance. They will be deceived. Only the elect will be preserved, not because they are special, but because they will hold fast to their divinely given faith – even though their eyes and ears tell them something completely different. f. Paul is saying to look for these signs. They must precede the Lord's return. g. Therefore… 4.) [Slide 37] Exhortation: “What actions should we take?” or “What is this passage specifically commanding us to do that we don't naturally do or aren't currently doing?” We must not let ourselves be deceived. a. Christian, hold fast to your faith no matter what. b. And don't go running to see someone who has claimed to be Christ. No matter how convincing He is… We won't need to be called to go meet Him… He will bring us to Himself. c. Keep trusting in Christ alone. d. Keep growing in faith and love for one another. e. Keep gathering together with other believers who will help you see through the lies. f. And don't be looking for new or creative approaches to Christianity. Seek beliefs and practices that are firmly rooted in what the church has been doing since the beginning. g. Novelty and innovation in the church's doctrine and practice is the spirit of lawlessness. It is the beginning of this man's work. h. Do not let yourself be deceived Hold fast to what you were taught. 5.) [Slide 38] Comfort: “What comfort can we find here?” or “What peace does the Lord promise us in light of this passage of scripture?” The man of lawlessness is also the man doomed to destruction. a. Though we may despise him, though we may hate him, though we may be tempted to love him, though we may be tempted to follow him… he is doomed for destruction. b. No doubt he will be convincing and powerful. He will persuade many. Another will come and give many signs and wonders proving him to be what he claims to be. c. Many people, friends and family members who we know and who have claimed to be Christians, will be deceived and will fall away. d. Many of us… will be hunted and killed by this man because we hold fast to biblical Christianity and refuse to worship Him as God. e. But remember… He will be slain by the breath of the Lord. His kingdom will topple. And he will be cast alive into the lake of fire along with the False Prophet. f. As much destruction as he may cause – also remember that God has sealed His true people by His Spirit. g. If possible, you would be deceived. But it is not possible. Not for those who continue to believe. Not for those that God has promised to glorify since He has counted them worthy of His call. h. God will preserve you… so keep believing. Keep hoping. Keep trusting. Even if all your senses tell you to stop. Keep hoping in Christ alone. 6.) [Slide 39] Evangelism: “What about this text points us to Jesus Christ, the gospel, and how we are restored?” As long as you remain a quasi-Christian or an unbeliever, you will be deceived. a. Jesus' comments in Matthew 24 and Paul's words here make it abundantly clear. b. In the last days, the line between the visible and the invisible church will grow crisp and black. c. Now such a divide between the organization and the people who truly are Christians is very blurry. But in that day, the line between them will be quite plain. d. The visible church will be apostate. You will still be able to call yourself a Christian. You will still be able to worship Jesus. But you will have to confess that this one… this man… is Him. It will appear that He has come and set up His Kingdom. e. And the invisible church, the real church, will be the ones considered rebels. Deniers. f. They will say, “How can you deny that the Jesus you believed in all your life is not the one who is walking among us today? He has brought peace and love to the world! How can this not be the Jesus of the bible? He has healed our wounds!” g. Everything will be flipped on its head. h. My friends, if you are not a genuine Christian, you will be deceived by this man's coming. And what's worse, you will turn against true believers. You will seek our death. i. But its not too late. Not yet. j. You can repent of your sin and put your trust in the REAL Jesus today. You can leave all your sin and pride behind, all your idols, and serve Christ forever. It won't be easy… and you may die for Him… But you will be gathered together with Him on that day when He defeats this man of lawlessness. k. Won't you repent and believe on Jesus? Won't you bow the knee to Him today? [Slide 40 (end)] Let me close with a prayer by the Danish Reformer Niels Hemmingsen O Heavenly Father, I pray to you for your dear Son's sake, Jesus Christ, our only Savior's sake, that you would reign over us all with your word and your Holy Spirit. Do not let your enemy's hand have power over us, to steer us away from you. Give the rest of us the will and ability to refute the devil's deeds, adultery, and sexual sin. Make holy all those servants of God's word with your Spirit, so they might learn and seek your holy will. Help us all that we may live here in the world according to your will—in the fear of God, in honesty, and in pure living-that we may find on the final day of judgment that we are your chosen, in everlasting joy and salvation through your son, our Lord Jesus Christ. To you, the only good and merciful God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, be all worship, honor, and praise forever, amen. Benediction: Go, dwell on his love by sweetest song, And crown His head with multitudes of praises. Till all kings bow down to him and all nations serve Him. Until we meet again, Grace and peace to you.

What we want to do for God is not always what God wants from us.  David finds this out when he wants to build a temple for God to live in but God tells him that is for Solomon to do.Frank Spalding and the preaching team at Lincoln Hills Christian Church welcomes all those seeking to know more about the Real Jesus and how to be an active disciple.

Eric Jensen and Mason break down the schedule   Key moments Diva Ice cream(2:00) Data centers (10:00) Perineum sunning (13:00) Our families clearly do not matter (18:00) Week 1 (20:00) Holidays, you do not matter, the new Jesus is Caleb Williams (38:00) Some takes (55:00) The Sabres lose game 7 (01:04:00)  

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Have you ever wished God would just make things clear? In this message from our series "Everyday Presence: Life with the Holy Spirit," we explore how the Holy Spirit reveals God's truth and guides us in our everyday lives. Discover why the Holy Spirit isn't a distant force or an optional add-on to faith, but a person to be known and loved. The same Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead and now lives in every believer. We unpack the difference between the real Jesus and the "fake Jesus" filters we often create, why silence is essential to hearing God's still small voice, and how the Holy Spirit empowers us to make a real difference in the lives of others. Whether you're a new believer or have walked with Jesus for decades, the Holy Spirit is always revealing, always guiding, always inviting you deeper. Come, Holy Spirit.0:00 - Wishing God Would Make Things Clear2:00 - Confusion About the Holy Spirit5:06 - The Breath of God6:44 - Resurrection Power Lives in Us9:08 - The Revealer Who Is Always Revealing10:26 - The Real Jesus vs. Fake Jesus14:53 - The Spirit Reveals Jesus IN You19:25 - The Practice of Silence and Prayer23:49 - Guided Into All Truth26:10 - The Spirit Reveals Jesus THROUGH You30:06 - Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch32:38 - Come, Holy Spirit35:42 - Closing PrayerSupport the showMade a decision to follow Jesus? We want to know about it! Fill out our connect card here: https://local.churchcenter.com/people/forms/115766Thank you for your generosity. For information on how to give, visit https://localvineyard.church/give.

Message from Matt Sweetman on May 17, 2026

If you’ve ever wondered, “Am I truly following Jesus or just a version of Him I’ve created?” then this conversation will challenge, ground, and refocus your faith on who He really is! Kyle Idleman joins me in today’s episode to talk about his book, The Missing Messiah, and how our culture has reshaped Jesus into something more comfortable and less true. We dive into what it really means to follow Jesus as Messiah and King, not just Savior, and how to move from a surface-level faith into deep, transformative relationship!

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Saul was a king chosen by the people and ultimately failed to do as God demanded.  David on the other hand was a man of God, chosen by God and obeyed God.  This is a crucial issue.Frank Spalding and the preaching team at Lincoln Hills Christian Church welcomes all those seeking to know more about the Real Jesus and how to be an active disciple.

Message from Adam Gerdel on May 10, 2026

The book of Samuel tells us of a couple of corrupt generations of Levite priests led Israel to demand of Samuel to choose a king for them.  God was not pleased but let them do it to their own regret.  God was their true King.Frank Spalding and the preaching team at Lincoln Hills Christian Church welcomes all those seeking to know more about the Real Jesus and how to be an active disciple.

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Message from Matt Sweetman on May 3, 2026

Matthew 27:15-26 (NIV) Two thousand years ago, a crowd stood in front of two men. Both named Jesus. One a criminal, one the Christ. They weren't fooled. They just wanted the Jesus that wouldn't cost. In this message, we revisit Pilate's courtyard, confront a church still choosing the counterfeit, and answer the question every soul has to face: which Jesus will you choose today?

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Make sure you subscribe to this channel and follow us on all our platforms to always stay up to date with our latest content!And you can always head over to our website for any general information!https://godspeak.comPrayer/NeedsIf you have any needs, or have a willingness to be used to meet various need in the body, please email info@godspeak.com. Also, let us know if you need prayer for anything.Giving is part of our worship time, and in this season, the easiest way to do that is online. If you go to our website, godspeak.com, you will see the "Give" tab in the top right corner. Or you can simply click this link https://pushpay.com/g/godspeakAny questions?Please feel free to email us, comment here, or DM us on Instagram any questions that you may have.Please Subscribe to this channel and turn on your notifications to be notified when our Livestreams start so you don't miss out! We hope you are blessed by the service!-The Godspeak Team

While others in her family blame God for their misfortune Ruth remains faithful and is rewarded.Frank Spalding and the preaching team at Lincoln Hills Christian Church welcomes all those seeking to know more about the Real Jesus and how to be an active disciple.

Message from Matt Sweetman on April 26, 2026

During a time when Israel was doing what was evil in Gods eyes Samson was meant to lead and defend Israel but because he broke his vows and believed his strength was from himself and not from God he paid a heavy price.Frank Spalding and the preaching team at Lincoln Hills Christian Church welcomes all those seeking to know more about the Real Jesus and how to be an active disciple.

Send us Fan MailI NEED A BREAK...from the Apocrypha, that is. So, join me as we do a study of the Gospel of Mark, looking into the life of this Jesus who comes to us as God in the flesh.

We need to keep faith in God when we are in our wilderness moments in life.  Let God lead you to the safe path.Frank Spalding and the preaching team at Lincoln Hills Christian Church welcomes all those seeking to know more about the Real Jesus and how to be an active disciple.

Send us Fan MailI NEED A BREAK...from the Apocrypha, that is. So, join me as we do a study of the Gospel of Mark, looking into the life of this Jesus who comes to us as God in the flesh.

Pastor JD seeks to get everyone including himself to really know the real Jesus at a time when many have believed in a political, social and more amicable Jesus.

Pastor JD seeks to get everyone including himself to really know the real Jesus at a time when many have believed in a political, social and more amicable Jesus.Social MediaApple App Store: https://subsplash.com/calvarychapelkaneohe/appGoogle Play: https://subsplash.com/calvarychapelkaneohe/appAmazon Appstore: https://subsplash.com/calvarychapelkaneohe/appRoku Channel Store: https://subsplash.com/calvarychapelkaneohe/appProphecy Website: http://jdfarag.orgChurch Website: http://www.calvarychapelkaneohe.com/X: https://x.com/JDFaragFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/JDFarag/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/JDFarag/

In a world full of different ideas about Jesus, how can we know what's true? In this opening message of So That You May Know, we explore John's eyewitness testimony and discover that Jesus made Himself known so that we can truly know Him. Real life and lasting confidence are found not in a version of Jesus we create, but in the real Jesus revealed in Scripture.Questions for Reflection:• Is my faith built on the real Jesus or a version shaped by culture or preference?• What would it look like for me to know God more personally this week?

There is a high price for our sin so what does a Holy God do with sinful people?  He dies for them  The ultimate sacrifice.Frank Spalding and the preaching team at Lincoln Hills Christian Church welcomes all those seeking to know more about the Real Jesus and how to be an active disciple.

Encountering the Real Jesus by

Send us Fan MailI NEED A BREAK...from the Apocrypha, that is. So, join me as we do a study of the Gospel of Mark, looking into the life of this Jesus who comes to us as God in the flesh.

Welcome to our Easter Sunday message.Brian Becker

Thursday April 2, 2026 Intro: Barabbas Syndrome - choosing the wrong saviors. Main Idea: Every human heart stands on trial before Jesus,... for full notes: https://www.cgtruth.org/index.php?proc=msg&sf=vw&tid=3277

This Palm Sunday message explores the powerful contrast between the way of earthly kings and the way of Jesus Christ, revealing a King who enters not with force, but with humility and peace. Through the lens of Gospel of Mark 11, we see how expectations of power and control collide with a Savior who conquers through sacrifice and love. Ultimately, this sermon challenges us to examine how we “show up” in our own lives—whether we reflect the kingdom of control or the kingdom of Christ.

As we continue in the book of Exodus, God gives Moses a plethora of instructions for His Tabernacle.  This is because The Lord wanted to dwell among His people.Frank Spalding and the preaching team at Lincoln Hills Christian Church welcomes all those seeking to know more about the Real Jesus and how to be an active disciple.

Discover this powerful palm sunday sermon on the Triumphal Entry explained from John 12. On Palm Sunday the crowd waved palm branches and shouted “Hosanna!” for the Jesus on donkey in this unforgettable palm sunday message. Just days later the same crowd turned against Him.Pastor Brandon reveals why three groups—the crowd, Pharisees, and Disciples—had expectations of Jesus that didn't match the real Jesus. The crowd wanted a political Messiah to fix their nation. The Pharisees saw a threat to their control. The Disciples understood He was the Messiah and Jesus King but missed that victory would come through the cross first.This holy week sermon challenges you to examine your own expectations of jesus. Are you cheering for the real jesus—the King who redeems us from sin and death and invites us into eternal relationship with God—or are you following a counterfeit jesus you've shaped to fit your agenda?Align your heart with the real jesus this Holy Week and experience the King who truly satisfies your soul.What are your expectations of Jesus? Drop a comment below with which counterfeit jesus you've wrestled with (Political Jesus? Santa Claus Jesus? Guru Jesus?) and how the real jesus changed everything.

In this episode, we unpack Mark 9 and discover how Jesus flips our definition of success—showing that real transformation doesn't happen on the mountaintop, but in the valley. Through powerful stories and Scripture, we're reminded that Jesus didn't come as a ladder for us to climb, but as God who came down to meet us in our weakness. If you've ever wrestled with doubt or felt stuck trying to measure up, this conversation will point you back to a faith rooted not in trying harder, but in trusting someone greater.

Speaker: Danielle Cummings   Scripture: Mark 5:25-34

Message by Chris Brown on March 14, 2026. Today we need to call a timeout in our Surrender series just to reminder ourselves who Jesus really is. Most people would define Jesus by His time lived on earth between the manger scene and an empty tomb. Today we are going to find out that there is a much, much bigger Jesus in the Bible than just those 33 years. Video available on YouTube at https://youtu.be/TM2gu3aHFsI - Live Notes available at https://churchlinkfeeds.blob.core.windows.net/notes/38370/note-261629.html

Message by Chris Brown on March 14, 2026. Today we need to call a timeout in our Surrender series just to reminder ourselves who Jesus really is. Most people would define Jesus by His time lived on earth between the manger scene and an empty tomb. Today we are going to find out that there is a much, much bigger Jesus in the Bible than just those 33 years. Video available on YouTube at https://youtu.be/TM2gu3aHFsI - Live Notes available at https://churchlinkfeeds.blob.core.windows.net/notes/38370/note-261629.html

Who is the authentic Jesus? In a world full of opinions, cultural interpretations, and personal versions of Christ, it's easy to lose sight of who Jesus truly is. In this sermon, Pastor Doug explores what the Bible actually reveals about Jesus—His identity, His authority, and why understanding the real Christ matters for your faith.Rather than reshaping Jesus to fit our preferences, Scripture calls us to encounter Him as He truly is. This message challenges believers to move beyond cultural ideas of Jesus and rediscover the authentic Christ revealed in God's Word.Support the mission of the Salty Pastor ministry! Visit our donations page at https://pushpay.com/g/thesaltypastor to help us continue sharing truth with a world in need.Discussion Questions:What are some ways culture creates a different version of Jesus than the one found in Scripture?Why is it important for believers to understand the authentic Jesus of the Bible?How can we guard against shaping Jesus into an image that fits our own preferences?

Colony House is back with a new album, and they sat down with Emily to reflect on 10 years of making music and what they want the next decade to look like. In RELEVANT Buzz: Papa Roach lead singer Jacoby Shaddix shares his powerful faith journey — from foxhole prayer, to sobriety and a faith that sounds like the real thing. We also bring a story flying under the radar: nearly a million Christians are living inside Iran right now, and we hear directly from believers on the ground to get their thoughts on the war and religious freedom. Plus, the backlash to the Atlanta Hawks announcing "Magic City Night" — a themed game night centered around an infamous Atlanta strip club.Then, pastor Kyle Idleman joins us to talk about how modern American Christianity has slowly turned Jesus into a therapist and self-help guru — and what we've lost in the process. It's a challenge worth sitting with.In Slices: a Turkish soccer player performs CPR on a seagull he accidentally hit mid-game, United Airlines starts banning passengers who refuse headphones, and we close with a Spring Break edition of Would You Rather.01:00 — The crocheting trend taking over 03:48 — The appeal of old stuff10:41 — RELEVANT BUZZ 10:41 — Papa Roach lead singer Jacoby Shaddix shares his Christian testimony. Foxhole prayers, sobriety and millennial rockers finding faith14:25 — Marty's attempt to join the Elk Club for a Newport parking spot22:04 — Iranian Christians: nearly 1 million believers inside Iran28:33 — Atlanta Hawks "Magic City Night"30:42 — Kyle Idleman interview: How American Christianity has missed the real Jesus35:16 — SLICES35:16 — Turkish soccer player performs CPR on a seagull he accidentally hit41:01 — United Airlines bans passengers who won't use headphones45:31 — RELEVANT RECOMMENDS: Colony House — 77 Part 2 50:33 — WOULD YOU RATHER: Spring Break Edition | Pullout couches, photo shoots, emo cruises, bad vibes vs. mediocre food, and Marty's 3am cockfight vacationAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy