Well, I'd like to turn to 1 Timothy chapter 4, verses 1 and 5. Now, the Spirit expressly says that in the latter times, some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons. speaking lies and hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron, forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. For every creature of God is good, and nothing is to be refused if it is received with thanksgiving, for it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer. Join me in prayer. Heavenly Father, we thank you for your word, and I pray, Lord, that you strengthen me and enable me to preach and teach your word this morning. Lord, that we will be guided by the truth of your word as a church and as individual believers, and I pray and ask this in Jesus' name, amen. Now, the last message I shared with you, verse 15, where Paul said that the church is to be the ground and the pillar of the truth, and especially, of course, the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I believe the church is to learn the truth, to believe the truth, hold fast to the truth, and proclaim the truth of our Lord Jesus Christ. But in this text of Scripture, Paul knew that the day would come when professing Christians would no longer hold to the truth. They would deny the truth. They would turn away from the truth. They would depart from the true church of the Lord Jesus Christ. And the question that I have for you is this, how committed are you to the truth of the gospel? What if a number of people decide, you know, even in this church, that, well, this church is too old-fashioned in its beliefs and in its practices that I'm not going to stay here. I'm going to go to some other church. What if, in our country, even the basic doctrines and morals of the Christian faith become ridiculed? What if we even face persecution because of our beliefs and practices as Christians? Will you stay true to the gospel? Will you stay true to a church that holds to the truth? Well, in this text of scripture, I hope that the Apostle Paul and the warning that he gives here will encourage us to stay true to the truth of the gospel, that we will not be led astray as, unfortunately, many will be. I want to share with you from this text, first of all, a sign of the last days. In verse 1, the Apostle Paul says that the Spirit expressly says that in the latter times some will depart from the faith. Just as the Holy Spirit inspired other scriptures, even so the Holy Spirit led Paul to this understanding that some will depart from the faith. And that is the main theme of this text of scripture, a warning that some will depart from the true Christian faith. Now, no doubt this is certain to take place. He says that the Spirit speaks expressly that this will happen. There's no doubt about it. And it actually happened just as Paul predicted. And this was not something new that Paul is teaching here. The Lord Jesus in his Olivet Discourse told of a time when they would depart from the faith. About six years earlier, Paul told the Ephesian elders that from your own selves men will arise speaking perverse things to draw away disciples after them. And note the time of fulfillment. When is this departing from the faith going to take place? Well, Paul says it will take place in the latter times. And that word translated times refers not to a chronological point in time, but to a time period. And it's actually plural. And so he says in the times to come, In the future, there will be those who depart from the faith. And it actually began to be fulfilled toward the end of the first century, and certainly was fulfilled during the Middle Ages. And more recently, there have arisen false religions and cults of various kinds that have departed from the Christian faith. And I believe that this departure from the Christian faith, this apostasy that Paul warns about, will be especially pronounced as we get closer and closer to the return of the Lord Jesus Christ. In fact, Jesus said false Christs and false prophets will arise and show signs and wonders to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. In the very last days, false prophets will even do miracles and there will be a real danger that even true believers will be led astray. And in 2 Thessalonians 2 and verse 3, it says there that before the return of Christ, there will be a massive departure from the faith. This departure from the faith will be so great that many professing Christians will actually follow the Antichrist instead of the true Christ. But what does he mean, this departure from the faith? A good number of professing Christians will actually be deceived and follow these false teachers and will withdraw from the true church and form their own churches, form apostate churches that have departed from the faith. When he says here they will depart from the faith, it literally means to stand away from. It refers to a physical withdrawal from the true church, whether they form a new cult or a new church that has departed from the faith. And the faith here refers, according to Jude 1.3, the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. Let me give you some examples of how this departure from the faith has already taken place. In 2006, the World Council of Churches called on member churches to discern the signs of the hidden Christ and presence of the Holy Spirit in other religions. In Singapore, on September 13th of this year, the Pope stated that every religion is a way to arrive at God. He said that God is the God of all and that we are all children of God. So much for what Jesus said when he said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but by me. They have departed from the faith. And the World Council of Churches and the Pope and others are preparing our world for the fulfillment of Revelation 17, where there will be embrace of one world religion. And so knowing this sign of the end times, we need to be prepared to stand against the coming apostasy that is warned about in this text of scripture. Hold fast to the truth. Don't be deceived. Don't follow those who depart from the true faith and align themselves with false doctrine and apostate churches. But when you see these things happen, we can still rejoice because it's a sign that we're getting closer and closer to the return of Jesus Christ. Now, people may wonder, well, how can this happen? How can there be such a widespread departure from the true faith? Well, Paul tells us in verse one that it will be the influence of demonic activity. He says in the last of verse one that many will depart from the faith because they will be giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons. Now you know the Bible teaches there's a spirit world. There's the Holy Spirit. There are good angels and there are fallen angels known also as demons. And Paul says that demons will influence false teachers, false prophets, false religious leaders to teach things that are contrary to the gospel and the word of God. They will actually infiltrate the church with this false teaching and lead people away from the word of God. And all false religion is inspired by these false demons. In Leviticus chapter 17 in verse 7, the Lord said long ago that when you sacrifice to idols, false gods, you are actually sacrificing to demons. False religion is not just the product of mistaken humans, it is the product of demonic activity. That's why Paul said in Ephesians chapter 6 and verse 12, we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against the powers of darkness of this world. And of course, there's a contrast between the Spirit of God and these deceptive demons of Satan. The Holy Spirit inspired the true Word of God, but Satan and his demons have inspired other scriptures that are not the true Word of God. For example, Islam has their scripture. Mormonism has their scriptures. And you know what? Since the Bible says that Satan can transform himself into an angel of light, and since Paul says that demonic activity inspires these false doctrines and teachings, I would not be at all surprised if Mohammed actually did think he saw an angel reveal these scriptures to him. I wouldn't be at all surprised if Joseph Smith, the founder of Mormonism, did not actually encounter some spirit being that gave him some or all of his so-called scriptures. The result of all this demonic activity is that they deceived And that word translated deceived means to wander off the true path. They lead them astray. And so we need to be careful about The doctrines that are truly not of God, they're actually of Satan that lead people astray. And notice that they will give heed to these doctrines of demons. And that word, give heed, means to be devoted to. Have you noticed how the cults have some of the most devoted followers of any kind of a church? The Jehovah's Witnesses, the Mormons, boy, they have devoted followers. Islam has devoted followers. Sometimes it puts Christians to shame how devoted they are, but the word of God warns that they would be devoted. And you know, this seductive spirit goes all the way back to the Garden of Eden when the old devil in the form of a serpent came to Eve and said, hey, God's holding out on you. He's telling you not to eat of this tree of the knowledge of good and evil, because if you do, you'll be like God. You'll know what God knows. And so she was deceived and she ate of that forbidden fruit and the fall of humanity began with deception. And the old devil is still deceiving people. But not only does he It's false religion and the cults and so forth and this departure from the faith, the work of demonic spirits, but it is also the work of false humans, teachers who have been led astray. just as Satan used the serpent, even so Satan used his human instruments to lead people astray. And notice their deceptive words. Paul speaks about them speaking lies or speaking falsehood. Jesus says the devil is the father of lies, and so we should not be surprised if false religion inspired by Satan is falsehood. It's a lie. Watch out for the lies of Satan. Don't be gullible. And you know, some of these false teachers have actually been caught in their lies. Oliver B. Huntington. said that Joseph Smith, the founder of Mormonism, said this. Now listen. The inhabitants of the moon are more of a uniform size than the inhabitants of the earth, being about six feet in height. They dress much like the Quaker style and live to be very old, about a thousand years. Folks, that's just a myth. That's not, that's not the truth. And several of the cult leaders have set dates for the return of Jesus Christ, which have been proven not to be true. Oh, they are deceptive in their words. They also are hypocritical at first to indicate speaking lies and hypocrisy. Now that could mean that they speak what they know is not true, and yet they act like they're speaking the truth. Therefore, they're speaking hypocritically. But I believe it's also true that hypocrisy refers to their lifestyle. They preach one thing, they teach one thing, but live another. Paul later warns in 2 Timothy chapter 3 verse 5 that having a form of godliness but denying its power from such people turns away. Oh, they can look so religious, they can talk so religious, but they're hypocrites. And notice they have a conscience that has been seared with a hot iron, as he says there in the last of verse two. But you would have to have a conscience that's insensitive, that is no longer hearing the voice of conscience and saying what you're doing, what you're saying is wrong, in order to teach and to do what these false religious leaders are doing. And so to protect ourselves from such deception, To protect ourselves from the lies of the devil, we need to be like the ones described in the last of verse 3, who believe and know the truth. How do you know the difference between a counterfeit $20 bill and a true $20 bill? Well, the only way you can know the counterfeit is to know what the real thing looks like. The only way you can know the difference between the lies of the devil and the truth of the Word of God is to learn the Word of God. And I tell you, one hour a week on Sunday morning is not enough to learn the Word of God. You need to also learn the Word of God in Bible studies and in your own personal reading and study of the Word of God. To learn it. Learn the Word of God. Let me tell you this. Just because a church sings about Jesus, just because a church talks about Jesus, doesn't mean they're preaching the Gospel of Jesus. In Galatians 1, verse 7, Paul warns of those who pervert the Gospel of Jesus Christ. They're talking about another Jesus all too often rather than the Jesus that is revealed in the Word of God as our true Savior. You can go to churches and all you hear is religious pep talks. religious sacral value, rather than the true word of God. And so, he warns of apostasy that is to come. But finally this morning, he gives some specific examples that would take place, and they did take place in the latter part of the first century, and there's always been a tendency to repeat this. Notice in verse 3, forbidding to marry and commanding to abstain from foods. Now toward the end of the first century, dualistic Greek philosophy infiltrated into the church. And they tried to mix Greek philosophy with Christianity. Well, Greek philosophy says that the material body, the material things of life, are not morally good, but only the spirit is good. And so it led to asceticism. where you deny yourself the pleasures of life that are of material nature like food and marriage as we see here. And this philosophy of religion has this in common, where you try to show a way of salvation, a way to please God, that is physical in nature rather than truly spiritual and biblical in nature. You know, anybody can do without certain foods. Anybody can do without certain physical things. Anybody can pray five times a day. It doesn't take any special work of God to do a lot of the religious work that these folks are doing. And so, look at the specific examples. First of all, he mentions forbidding marriage. And you know, the church got to the point where in 1139 A.D., it became the official position of the church that priests, monks, and nuns must not marry. In spite of a clear teaching of scripture warning of this, they embraced no marriage for the most religious among them. They said, you can't be truly holy. You can't be truly close to God if you're going to be married. And that was the very thing that Paul warned about. And then in the late 1700s, there was a movement called the Shakers, and they too embraced no marriage. By the way, you can't find any shakers anymore. You know, if you don't have marriage, it's hard to repopulate. And so, this teaching is contrary to the Word of God. Why? Because marriage is a divine institution that predates the fall of Adam and Eve. God created marriage. Did you notice that in the creation account, every day God created something else, and He said, it's good, it's good, it's good. And then God created man, animal. And you know what God said? It's not good that man should be alone. So what did He do? He created woman. And Adam said, goody, goody. No, that's great. No, God said the creation of marriage is good. It is His gift. And so how in the world can a religious people say that you should not get married when God is the one who created marriage? Hebrews 13.4 says that marriage is honorable among all and the marriage bed undefiled. You know, there aren't many folks that are still forbidding marriage today in the religious community. But I will say this, watch out for any group, religious group, any philosophy that perverts or tries to change God's plan of marriage. This is a very important test because marriage is the foundation of the Christian family. It's the foundation of a stable society. And so we have examples of this. Mormonism, Joseph Smith and several other early founders They practice polygamy, having many wives. Folks, when God created marriage, it was one man and one woman. Amen? There's no polygamy. That's a perversion of God's plan. And then living together without marriage, engaging in the benefits of marriage without marriage is contrary to God's plan, and yet more and more churches are becoming tolerant of this. We now have a homosexual marriage and Christian denominations are allowing this and even allowing their clergy to engage in that kind of marriage, but that's not of God. Now look, it's for some people Paul says in 1 Corinthians 7 that if you stay single, you can serve the Lord better for some people of your own free will. That's one thing, but the norm for Christians is marriage as God has given it. And yet the marriage rate in the United States has been declining for decades and currently it's at the lowest point in the history of our country. Only half of adults are married at this point in the life of our country. Down from 72% in 1960. The number of couples living together without marriage has increased 15-fold since 1960. And yet marriage is a critical component to establishing healthy, connected communities. And marriage is healthy, it's good. People live longer on average when you're married, especially us men, okay? So he says, any religion that changes God's plan of marriage, reject it. Furthermore, forbidding certain foods, Paul says in verse three, commanding to abstain from foods. Watch out for religions that get all hung up over diet. Eat this, don't eat that. The seven-day Adventist is an example of a group, just like Paul warned about. And then there are certain religious groups that would forbid eating meat on a certain day of the week. When I was growing up in school, I looked forward to Fridays. You know why? Because I liked fish patties. And that was the only thing that was served on Friday to accommodate the Catholic students in the school. That could be an example of what Paul is talking about. Islam forbids certain foods from their followers. Listen, you are not more spiritual or less spiritual based on your particular diet. Today we have vegetarians, and there's a vegetarian movement within the Christian church. And I would agree that a vegetarian diet is probably more healthy for most people. But it is not morally wrong to eat meat. There is nothing in Scripture that says that. Paul said in Romans 14, the kingdom of God is not food and drink, but righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. Be careful about religious groups that get off on tangents like the foods that you eat. Let me close with this. Paul gives three reasons why we should feel free to enjoy foods and not be restricted from this food or that food or this day or that day. Three reasons. First of all, food was created by God. In the middle of verse 3, Paul refers to foods which God created. Verse 4, every creature of God is good or excellent. When God created plant life, including plants for food, He said it is good. And have you noticed, and by the way, in Genesis 9-3, he added meat to human diet. And have you noticed that most food that God created tastes good? And so food not only nourishes us, not only strengthens us, but food is given by a good God for our enjoyment. Paul said in 1 Timothy 6, verse 17, that we are to trust in the living God who has richly given us all things to enjoy. Food is created by God. Secondly, food is consecrated by the Word of God. Paul says in verse 5, for it is sanctified by the Word of God. In other words, the Word of God sanctifies the consumption of food because it teaches that it is a gift of God. It is provided by God, both plant and animal food. Jesus said, no less than Jesus said in Mark chapter 7 verses 18 and 19, do you not perceive that whatever enters a man from the outside cannot defile him because it does not enter his heart but into his stomach and is eliminated. And many commentators believe that the addition of the words, thus purging all foods, purifying all foods, was added by Mark as a comment. In other words, the Old Testament dietary laws have been abolished. They serve their purpose. For believers, we are free to eat all kinds of food, and no one has to restrict us For religious reasons, health reasons yes, but for religious reasons no, regarding the kinds of foods that we eat. Let me give you one other reason why we should be able to enjoy all the foods that God has provided us. He says in the last of verse 4, nothing is to be refused if it is received with thanksgiving. Then in the last of verse 5, Paul points out it is sanctified by prayer, specifically a prayer of thanksgiving. God has given us food for our nourishment, and we must depend upon Him to provide us with our food. Give us this day our daily bread. We are to pray every day. God has given us food for our enjoyment. But there's a third reason why God has given us food, in order that the food might invoke thanksgiving to God on a regular basis. Now, how many times a day do you eat? Some of you don't answer that. Now, most of us do at least three times a day, right? Three times a day, if God intends for you to pause and thank Him for the food that you have received. You know, we live in a modern America where we drive through McDonald's and get our food and don't even take time to thank God for what we have just received. No, I believe we ought to thank God at every meal. even in public. I think it's a good witness to bow your head and thank God for the food. Well, that might offend somebody. Well, I hear a lot of people cuss in my hearing and they don't seem to worry about me being offended by their cussing and so I want to pray a blessing even if someone hears me in public. Folks, we're living in days where there is going to be an even greater departure from the faith that we have witnessed up to this date. And the question is, are you going to stay true to Jesus? Are you going to stay true to the Word of God? Or are you going to be led astray? Oh, don't be lusty. Listen, learn the word of God. Be sensitive to the warnings of the Holy Spirit in your heart. Be sensitive to the voice of conscience and stay true always. to the truth of the Word of God. Stay true to any church that faithfully teaches the Word of God. Would you bow with me in prayer? Heavenly Father, we thank you that you give us guidance. not only about what you've done in the past, but what will take place in the future. Lord, help us to give heed to this warning of the Apostle Paul and to always stay faithful and true to your word. I pray and ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.