The longer one remains under false teaching and false prophets, the harder it is to break away!
Monday, September 14, 2020
How Hearts Become Harder
Yes, there is a stubbornness associated with refusing to question false teaching. The more one remains with it the harder their heart becomes.
Which Road are you on, the Wide or the Narrow?
These are the end times of apostasy! Many who say they are Christians are pridefully embracing doctrine that makes them appear more intelligent. They are ready and willing to believe lies if they can feel superior to others. They have lifted themselves up as gods refusing to listen to God's Word while enjoying false doctrine.
2 Timothy 4:3 "For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires,"
2 Timothy 3:1-5
“Difficult Times Will Come”
3 But realize this, that in the last days difficult (ragingly insane) times will come.
2 For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy,
3 unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good,
4 treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,
5 holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these."
2 Timothy 3:7-8 ", 7 who are always learning but never able to come to a knowledge of the truth. 8 Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these men oppose the truth. They are depraved in mind and disqualified from the faith.…"
And finally the road to hell is wide while the path to God is narrow.
Matthew 7:13-14 "13 “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. 14 For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it."
Most will enter the wide road to hell, while few will be on the narrow road to heaven. On the narrow path it is only Jesus Christ Who can put us on that path.
2 Timothy 4:3 "For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires,"
2 Timothy 3:1-5
“Difficult Times Will Come”
3 But realize this, that in the last days difficult (ragingly insane) times will come.
2 For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy,
3 unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good,
4 treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,
5 holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these."
2 Timothy 3:7-8 ", 7 who are always learning but never able to come to a knowledge of the truth. 8 Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these men oppose the truth. They are depraved in mind and disqualified from the faith.…"
And finally the road to hell is wide while the path to God is narrow.
Matthew 7:13-14 "13 “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. 14 For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it."
Most will enter the wide road to hell, while few will be on the narrow road to heaven. On the narrow path it is only Jesus Christ Who can put us on that path.
There is No Resolution with the Narcissist
With the narcissist "feelings are facts." There is no way to talk a narcissist out of their ideas based on feelings they will refuse to see the truth, their feelings mean everything to them. Even if what happened in an event was actually the opposite of what they remember they will only remember how they felt not what actually happened.
If the narcissist accuses you of hating them they are telling you how they feel about you, they hate you.
Narcissists do not have relationships, they use people as they would objects and discard them when they are no longer useful.
Remember we do not fight against flesh and blood, we fight against the devil who is roaming around looking for people to destroy.
When we are looking at the narcissist we are seeing the devil in them who controls every aspect of their being.
The devil's tactic is to poke at us until we say or do something ungodly. Our marching orders are to rebuke the devil and get away from him. Never allow the devil to cause you to act in ways that dishonor God, this only delights him.
This is what we are watching in the news these days, the rioting groups are deliberately attempting to start a fight and a war so they can claim to be the victims of something.
These groups have no legitimate cause for their rioting, they are merely attempting to provoke anger in others so they can point their bony finger and say, "see how you are" when the others finally fight back.
It is possible the authorities know there is going to be a civil war if anyone fights back with these out of control tantrum wielding brats. If anyone takes issue with my use of the word "brats", let them realize that only bratty children would break the windows of business owners who have done nothing to them.
These bratty thugs need Jesus Christ, their only hope is to repent from their sinful nature and become born again.
Proverbs 29:8-10 "…8 Mockers inflame a city, but the wise turn away anger. 9 If a wise man goes to court with a fool, there will be raving and laughing with no resolution.10 Men of bloodshed hate a blameless man, but the upright care for his life.…"
Coddling wicked men only empower them to do worse with each new encounter.
Isaiah 26:10-11 "10 Though grace is shown to the wicked man, he does not learn righteousness. In the land of righteousness he acts unjustly and fails to see the majesty of the LORD.11 O LORD, Your hand is upraised, but they do not see it. They will see Your zeal for Your people and be put to shame. The fire set for Your enemies will consume them!…"
Come quickly, Lord Jesus!!! Hallelujah!
If the narcissist accuses you of hating them they are telling you how they feel about you, they hate you.
Narcissists do not have relationships, they use people as they would objects and discard them when they are no longer useful.
Remember we do not fight against flesh and blood, we fight against the devil who is roaming around looking for people to destroy.
When we are looking at the narcissist we are seeing the devil in them who controls every aspect of their being.
The devil's tactic is to poke at us until we say or do something ungodly. Our marching orders are to rebuke the devil and get away from him. Never allow the devil to cause you to act in ways that dishonor God, this only delights him.
This is what we are watching in the news these days, the rioting groups are deliberately attempting to start a fight and a war so they can claim to be the victims of something.
These groups have no legitimate cause for their rioting, they are merely attempting to provoke anger in others so they can point their bony finger and say, "see how you are" when the others finally fight back.
It is possible the authorities know there is going to be a civil war if anyone fights back with these out of control tantrum wielding brats. If anyone takes issue with my use of the word "brats", let them realize that only bratty children would break the windows of business owners who have done nothing to them.
These bratty thugs need Jesus Christ, their only hope is to repent from their sinful nature and become born again.
Proverbs 29:8-10 "…8 Mockers inflame a city, but the wise turn away anger. 9 If a wise man goes to court with a fool, there will be raving and laughing with no resolution.10 Men of bloodshed hate a blameless man, but the upright care for his life.…"
Coddling wicked men only empower them to do worse with each new encounter.
Isaiah 26:10-11 "10 Though grace is shown to the wicked man, he does not learn righteousness. In the land of righteousness he acts unjustly and fails to see the majesty of the LORD.11 O LORD, Your hand is upraised, but they do not see it. They will see Your zeal for Your people and be put to shame. The fire set for Your enemies will consume them!…"
Come quickly, Lord Jesus!!! Hallelujah!
What are Some Signs that Someone is Born Again?
I was asked how we can know if we are born again, here is the answer:
Some of the signs of being born again are that we no longer think the same WAY we thought before. The sin we used to love we hate. The ways of God that made us embarrassed and avoided we now love.
There will be the fruit of the Spirit which are the character qualities of Christ. Here they are:
Galatians 5:22-23 "22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law."
The born again believer does not need rules and laws, because their very essence loves to do what is right in God's eyes.
There will be a strong sense of justice and a desire to please God when we have become born again.
When someone becomes born again they cannot stand the thought of harming others, stealing from others or displeasing God by our actions.
We also are compelled to speak of Him to others. Many people begin feeling embarrassed to speak about God because of the rejection they know might happen with friends and family but they still feel the sense that they would like to do it. This is the state of the new believer who is still a baby.
Some people begin speaking of the Lord right out of the gate and others take time to grow in strength to be bold through the help of the Holy Spirit. "
These are the most prominent signs that one is born again. Our life is completely changed, our desires are opposite of what they used to be and we know through these things that Christ lives in us.
We also have a burning desire to know the heart of God by reading His word to obey it.
Some of the signs of being born again are that we no longer think the same WAY we thought before. The sin we used to love we hate. The ways of God that made us embarrassed and avoided we now love.
There will be the fruit of the Spirit which are the character qualities of Christ. Here they are:
Galatians 5:22-23 "22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law."
The born again believer does not need rules and laws, because their very essence loves to do what is right in God's eyes.
There will be a strong sense of justice and a desire to please God when we have become born again.
When someone becomes born again they cannot stand the thought of harming others, stealing from others or displeasing God by our actions.
We also are compelled to speak of Him to others. Many people begin feeling embarrassed to speak about God because of the rejection they know might happen with friends and family but they still feel the sense that they would like to do it. This is the state of the new believer who is still a baby.
Some people begin speaking of the Lord right out of the gate and others take time to grow in strength to be bold through the help of the Holy Spirit. "
These are the most prominent signs that one is born again. Our life is completely changed, our desires are opposite of what they used to be and we know through these things that Christ lives in us.
We also have a burning desire to know the heart of God by reading His word to obey it.
Following Christ Alone
No born again believer is "self-taught", that implies that we learned the wisdom of God all by our own efforts.
Anyone who has wisdom from God has been trained and taught by the Holy Spirit Who lives in us.
Seminaries and Bible Colleges were created out of the lack of faith of men that the Holy Spirit can teach everyone who has the Holy Spirit.
Nowhere in the Bible does God tell us to go to a college or seminary, NO, he tells us to be taught by the Holy Spirit Who is God. Can any man teach us better than the Holy Spirit? Of course not!!!!
John 16:13-14
"13 But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. 14 He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you."
Who is that man who is greater than God, who thinks he can know ALL that God knows? Do not listen to that one, he is self-exalted and will bring false doctrine to those who follow him.
Any man who will not listen to others who challenge him with the Scriptures is unreachable because of his own pride.
We are told to follow no man other than Jesus Christ.
1 Corinthians 3:3-5
"3 for you are still fleshly. For since there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly, and are you not walking like mere men?
If anyone quotes a man more than they quote Christ or they quote a man as though Christ did not have that same wisdom, then they are fleshly and disobedient servants. If we quote any man on anything then we must also provide the scripture that proves what that man says.
Every born again believer has the Holy Spirit, the teacher, and has access to all His wisdom if only they will ask Him.
James 1:4-6 "5 But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and [d]without reproach, and it will be given to him. 6 But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind."
Notice God did not say "go and ask your pastor", go and ask the neighbor or a friend, no He said to ask the Holy Spirit and He will lead you into all truth.
Godly Christian people can offer God's wisdom to us but ultimately we must check with God to see if it is true. Those who will not ask the Holy Spirit are often led away into strange doctrine, simply because they like what they hear they will believe it.
2 Timothy 4:2-4
"2 preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction.
3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires,
4 and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths."
If we are self-taught or taught by men we will be in error a lot. If we are taught by the Holy Spirit Who is God, then we will not be in error.
Follow Christ, not men!
Anyone who has wisdom from God has been trained and taught by the Holy Spirit Who lives in us.
Seminaries and Bible Colleges were created out of the lack of faith of men that the Holy Spirit can teach everyone who has the Holy Spirit.
Nowhere in the Bible does God tell us to go to a college or seminary, NO, he tells us to be taught by the Holy Spirit Who is God. Can any man teach us better than the Holy Spirit? Of course not!!!!
John 16:13-14
"13 But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. 14 He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you."
Who is that man who is greater than God, who thinks he can know ALL that God knows? Do not listen to that one, he is self-exalted and will bring false doctrine to those who follow him.
Any man who will not listen to others who challenge him with the Scriptures is unreachable because of his own pride.
We are told to follow no man other than Jesus Christ.
1 Corinthians 3:3-5
"3 for you are still fleshly. For since there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly, and are you not walking like mere men?
4 For when one says, “I am of Paul,” and another, “I am of Apollos,” are you not mere men?
5 What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, even as the Lord gave the opportunity to each one."
5 What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, even as the Lord gave the opportunity to each one."
If anyone quotes a man more than they quote Christ or they quote a man as though Christ did not have that same wisdom, then they are fleshly and disobedient servants. If we quote any man on anything then we must also provide the scripture that proves what that man says.
Every born again believer has the Holy Spirit, the teacher, and has access to all His wisdom if only they will ask Him.
James 1:4-6 "5 But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and [d]without reproach, and it will be given to him. 6 But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind."
Notice God did not say "go and ask your pastor", go and ask the neighbor or a friend, no He said to ask the Holy Spirit and He will lead you into all truth.
Godly Christian people can offer God's wisdom to us but ultimately we must check with God to see if it is true. Those who will not ask the Holy Spirit are often led away into strange doctrine, simply because they like what they hear they will believe it.
2 Timothy 4:2-4
"2 preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction.
3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires,
4 and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths."
If we are self-taught or taught by men we will be in error a lot. If we are taught by the Holy Spirit Who is God, then we will not be in error.
Follow Christ, not men!
Becoming Cleansed by Christ
In these times of great apostasy do not be surprised or moved by those who are offensive but will never admit it or consider your relationships with them.
Most people in our culture today base all they think and do on their emotions. They are ready to justify mean behavior merely because they felt a certain way without evaluating what actually happened or the feelings of another person.
2 Timothy 3 tells us what these people would be like, one of the traits is a lack of natural love toward one another.
2 Timothy 3:1-5 "But realize this, that in the last days difficult (ragingly insane) times will come.
2 For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy,
3 unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good,
4 treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,
5 holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these."
When we think with the mind of Christ we see how monstrous these mentalities are but those who are not born again think they are perfectly normal and justified in their own eyes. They will even have a form of religion but do not know Christ.
With the 2 Timothy 3 generation, we see that no one else matters, only themselves full of self-worship that justifies anything and everything if it causes them to feel superior or special.
We see this in the rioters in the streets recently, no conscience and full of rage about nothing! The devil is using them to ruin the lives of others and they enjoy the power they feel from it.
Everything bad that happens to the 2 Timothy 3 type, is someone else's fault. Those who will speak the truth of the Word of God will be treated with contempt continually by those who refuse to hear anything from God.
These people will argue feelings, justifications, circumstances and when those arguments do not work they will resort to character assassination to demean the one who loves truth. But they never consider the truth to be able to repent.
There is hope for anyone, even the narcissist if they will confess their sinfulness and trust in Christ. While it is unlikely that a full-blown narcissist will evaluate themselves, there are some people with narcissistic tendencies who are able to feel the conviction of sin and could become born again.
Those who are full-blown narcissists have a seared conscience, the inability to feel sadness or regret over what they have done.
1 Timothy 4:1-2 "1 Now the Spirit expressly states that in later times some will abandon the faith to follow deceitful spirits and the teachings of demons, 2 influenced by the hypocrisy of liars, whose consciences are seared with a hot iron. "
The more someone resists confessing their sin the less likely we are to ever become born again. God will not cleanse someone who refuses to admit their sin. Those who refuse to admit sin in their heart will grow deeper into bitterness preventing them from ever confessing to becoming cleansed.
1 John 1:9 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
Most people in our culture today base all they think and do on their emotions. They are ready to justify mean behavior merely because they felt a certain way without evaluating what actually happened or the feelings of another person.
2 Timothy 3 tells us what these people would be like, one of the traits is a lack of natural love toward one another.
2 Timothy 3:1-5 "But realize this, that in the last days difficult (ragingly insane) times will come.
2 For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy,
3 unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good,
4 treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,
5 holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these."
When we think with the mind of Christ we see how monstrous these mentalities are but those who are not born again think they are perfectly normal and justified in their own eyes. They will even have a form of religion but do not know Christ.
With the 2 Timothy 3 generation, we see that no one else matters, only themselves full of self-worship that justifies anything and everything if it causes them to feel superior or special.
We see this in the rioters in the streets recently, no conscience and full of rage about nothing! The devil is using them to ruin the lives of others and they enjoy the power they feel from it.
Everything bad that happens to the 2 Timothy 3 type, is someone else's fault. Those who will speak the truth of the Word of God will be treated with contempt continually by those who refuse to hear anything from God.
These people will argue feelings, justifications, circumstances and when those arguments do not work they will resort to character assassination to demean the one who loves truth. But they never consider the truth to be able to repent.
There is hope for anyone, even the narcissist if they will confess their sinfulness and trust in Christ. While it is unlikely that a full-blown narcissist will evaluate themselves, there are some people with narcissistic tendencies who are able to feel the conviction of sin and could become born again.
Those who are full-blown narcissists have a seared conscience, the inability to feel sadness or regret over what they have done.
1 Timothy 4:1-2 "1 Now the Spirit expressly states that in later times some will abandon the faith to follow deceitful spirits and the teachings of demons, 2 influenced by the hypocrisy of liars, whose consciences are seared with a hot iron. "
The more someone resists confessing their sin the less likely we are to ever become born again. God will not cleanse someone who refuses to admit their sin. Those who refuse to admit sin in their heart will grow deeper into bitterness preventing them from ever confessing to becoming cleansed.
1 John 1:9 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
James 1:2-11 Consider it all Joy
"2 Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials,
3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.
4 And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
5 But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.
6 But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind.
7 For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord,
8 being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
9 But the brother of humble circumstances is to glory in his high position;
10 and the rich man is to glory in his humiliation, because like flowering grass he will pass away.
11 For the sun rises with a scorching wind and withers the grass, and its flower falls off and the beauty of its appearance is destroyed; so too the rich man in the midst of his pursuits will fade away."
3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.
4 And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
5 But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.
6 But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind.
7 For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord,
8 being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
9 But the brother of humble circumstances is to glory in his high position;
10 and the rich man is to glory in his humiliation, because like flowering grass he will pass away.
11 For the sun rises with a scorching wind and withers the grass, and its flower falls off and the beauty of its appearance is destroyed; so too the rich man in the midst of his pursuits will fade away."
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