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Hendersonville Seventh-day Adventist Church, NC

Brian Hindman

Seven Attacks Against the Truth

Our subject this morning is actually found in your Bible, a Bible study on, it might sound like an odd title, 7 Attacks Against the Truth.

You know, Jesus says in John 14, 6, I am the way, the truth, and the life.

And then we read in John 17, 17, sanctify them through thy truth.

And so as we study the word of God, we come in connection with Jesus closer and closer, and truth is under attack.

And 1 of the early Protestant reformers, John Calvin, he actually made an observation in his day when truth also was under attack and said, Even a dog barks when his master is attacked.

I would be more than a coward if I saw my master's truth being attacked and I remained silent.

This from the pen of the great John Calvin that even dogs bark when someone attacks their owner, because they don't want to stand for that.

At any rate today, maybe I'm a dog today, just barking and trying to help warn and share what I believe is Bible truth to help protect us from deceptions that the devil has tried to enter into the world today.

But before we begin, let's begin with a word of prayer as we start this morning.

Dear Father in heaven, Lord, thank you so much for the privilege of standing before your people and of speaking your word.

Lord, I pray today that you would hide me behind your cross, that you would forgive my sins, for I am a sinner, and I am in desperate need of a savior, and that your truth would be clear, it would be magnified and exalted in the earth.

Lord, bless all of your people, that we might be strengthened to do your will and to live your life in our own life.

This is our privilege and our holy calling, and I pray this prayer in Jesus' name, amen.

As a pastor, I'll call this pastor's prerogative, I study my Bible every day.

Somebody should've said amen, I hope so, right?

I study my Bible every day, and so therefore, I'm learning every day, learning something.

And just this week, as I was studying John chapter 17, there was an expression, just a small phrase, that I learned something about that really was powerful and so I just wanted to share that just off the top as a Pastors prerogative to share things that I'm learning and I'm growing Continually and I praise the Lord for his truth.

As I study the prayer of Jesus in John 17, he has this phrase here where he says, speaking to his disciples, and the glory which thou gavest me, I have what?

Now We understand, and this makes sense in this context, what is glory?

The glory of God, it represents his character, right?

The glory or the character that God the Father has given me, I have given them a demonstration, an example of that same glory, and now it is for them to live this same glory or character in their own life.

And he says the reason for doing this is that they may be 1 even as we are 1.

So Jesus says I have given my followers glory.

And I was like well what does that exactly mean?

And so I started reading around and studying and in the spirit of prophecy And I read this quote that was just so amazing to me and I just wanted to share it with you.

And then we'll get into our message this morning.

It says here, this is from volume 3 of Spirit of Prophecy, page 260.

Thinking of Jesus, Jesus, he declares himself glorified in those who believe on him.

He declares he is glorified as we believe in him as our Savior.

The church in his name is to carry to glorious perfection the work which he has commenced.

And when that church shall be finally ransomed in the paradise of God, he will look upon the travail of his soul and be satisfied." Where is that expression found?

Isaiah 53, 11, he shall see of the travail of his soul and shall be satisfied, refers to Jesus looking down through the cost of the ages of his sacrifice and seeing you and I and that travail and anguish of soul would satisfy him that you and I could be saved.

It says, through all eternity, the ransomed host will be his, what does it say?

Now, let that sink in, that through all eternity, the ransom, those who are saved, will then be the chief glory of Jesus Christ.

I had a realization that I am not worthy of that privilege and ability, calling, whatever.

The chief glory, chief, what does that word mean?

It means the highest, the greatest, the most important glory will come from those who have been redeemed by the power of his sacrifice and his love for us.

That is just an incredible, thrilling thought that just really grabbed me this week, and it's been a thought that I've thought about each day, and I just said I gotta share it for church, even though it's not part of my sermon.

So thank you for being willing to listen to that, and I hope that it will give you an exciting conviction of how great God has worked in our lives and what he wants us to be.

The greatest glory, look what I did in those wretched sinners.

Revelation chapter 12, verse 9 tells us, as we begin with our subject of 7 attacks against the truth, the mission of Satan after he was cast out, that great dragon that was cast out of heaven, that old serpent called the devil and Satan, which does what?

Which deceiveth the whole world, Christians, non-Christians, heathen, whatever, he is trying to deceive the whole world.

And it says he was cast out of the earth and his angels were cast out with him.

We have got to be on our guard and realize the devil is actually working his very best to deceive us.

And in fact, in Matthew 24, verse 4, when the disciples came to Jesus and said, "'Tell us what are gonna be the signs of your coming "'and of the end of the world, ' the very first thing that Jesus says in Matthew 24 4, "'If you're taking notes today, "'I'm probably gonna drive you crazy "'because I've got a lot of Bible verses, "'and I'm gonna go quickly "'because I have a lot of Bible verses but they're gonna be there.

And by the way, if any of you ever want any of my presentations, whether my notes that I'm preaching from or my PowerPoints, I am more than happy to give that to you, email or otherwise.

I'd be glad to share that if it's in some way helpful to you.

But notice what Matthew 24, verse 4 says, the first thing Jesus says to his disciples is take heed that no man deceive you.

The first thing he says, take heed that no man deceive you, so therefore the first thing he warns them about is deception.

It must be significant if Jesus mentions that.

Now, listen to Paul in 2 Timothy chapter 4, verses 3 and 4.

Chapter 4, beginning in verse 3, Paul says, writing to young Timothy, for the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine.

The time will come when they will not endure it.

That time will come, Paul says to Timothy.

But it continues on and says, but after their own lusts, their own sinful desires shall they heap to themselves teachers Having itching ears and they shall turn away their ears from the truth and shall be turned unto fables Because they don't want to follow and hear what the truth says But now notice in the book The Great Controversy, page 594, this very illuminating statement referring to that Bible verse.

It says there, the Apostle Paul declared, looking down to the last days, the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine." And we just read that, 2 Timothy 4.3.

That time and the time that the great controversy was written was in 1888, which was some 130 years ago nearly, from where we are today, that time when people will not take and will not listen to sound doctrine has fully come.

Truth will never be accepted by the majority.

Yes, there will always be people that will come to the truth, but it will never be popular.

The time will come, and the servant of the Lord, Ellen White says, that time that Paul was referring to in the future is now a present reality.

The multitudes do not want Bible truth because it Interferes with the desires of the sinful world-loving heart and Satan is more than happy to supply the deceptions which they love I like following deceptions the world says because I don't like the truth because it involves sacrifice Surrender and involves a cross and commitment to God That's the time that we're living in.

Listen to these verses here in Ephesians chapter 4, verses 14 and 15.

The Bible writes and says that we henceforth should be no more children, children that are young, have not been trained and educated and they have not developed mentally.

And Paul is saying we should not be spiritually children, that we should be progressing and growing up into the fullness of Christ.

We should not be children that are tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine by the slight of men and cunning craftiness whereby they lie in wait to deceive.

Here's the positive admonition, but speaking the truth how?

In love, speaking the truth in love that we may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ.

Continuing with how should we respond to errors?

I'm not gonna quote all these verses, but I could.

Ezekiel 3, verse 17 says, Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel.

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Seven Attacks Against the Truth

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