Welcome to Bible Believers Fellowship and the ministry of BBFOhio.com and our expository study of the Gospel of Luke. If you have any questions, comments, or prayer requests, send those by email to BBFOhio at Protonmail.com. or you can mail your letter along with any check or money order contributions to support this ministry to Bible Believers Fellowship PO Box 662 Worthington, Ohio 43085 Donations can also be made at BBFOhio.com using the PayPal donation button. We now begin this expository study of the Gospel of Luke. This is part one of two. If you have special ringtones, you especially better be very careful with those. And now, our current events update. We are now already seeing a Rhino and Neocon revival among the Republican Party representatives in Congress and the Senate, with the idea that Joe Biden is going to be installed as the next president. and as Trump appears to be leaving. And those of you know me, if you've listened for very long, you know I've always tried to emphasize I am not a partisan. As a pastor, I'm just giving you information. I do not trust either political party. And I don't trust any political party. Those third parties are just as crooked. And we're not a political organization. What we deal with is the issues of sin and wickedness, which has become the platform of the Democrat Party. They're just a wicked party. And the Republican Party has a pretty good platform, but most of those who call themselves Republicans are rhinos. Republican in name only. They're fakes. And then the neocons are just as bad. They'll side with you on some social issues, even abortion, and then turn around and push a globalist agenda. So that's what you're dealing with in the Republican Party. They want war. The reason why the Never Trumpers, you ever heard of the Never Trumpers? They're Republicans who opposed Donald Trump in 2016 and since then. Why have they opposed him? Because they're warmongers. And Donald Trump had the audacity, even during the debates in 2016, to point out that the war in Iraq was a fraud on the American people. I believe on 9-11 that we were attacked by Muslim terrorists, although I also believe that our government let it happen just like they did Pearl Harbor, the Gulf of Tonkin, and the Lusitania, and all the other things, the frauds that they have perpetrated on the American people to get us into war. But those neocons under George W. Bush didn't go attack the people who attacked us on 9-11. They went into Iraq, who didn't attack us. They overthrew a very bad man. But I do not believe the Constitution gives our government leaders the right to overthrow governments they don't like. We're allowed what's called self-defense wars. Defensive wars are biblical and they're constitutional, but they better be truly defensive wars. And when you attack a country like Iraq that didn't attack you, that's an offensive war. It's a sin against God and it's against our Constitution. Thank you, George W. Bush. And so Trump had the audacity with George's brother Jeb standing right there next to him to call it out. And that's why the never-Trumpers and neocons, the rhinos and neocons became what we call the never-Trumpers. They want war. Now as Trump is going out, he's trying to get all of our troops back from overseas and all the rhinos and neocons to see him on his way out. So they're lining up against him. Psalm 120 verse seven says, I am for peace, but when I speak, they are for war. That could be Donald Trump's presidential verse, right there. That could be his motto verse. We call it life verses. He could call it his administration verse. I am for peace, but when I speak, they are for war. Now Rand Paul, who I just, full disclosure, I supported Rand Paul, and that's why I registered as a Republican in 2016. He dropped out, and then I supported Donald Trump. After Rand Paul endorsed him, I felt confident that, even though I didn't trust Donald Trump at the time, but as time went on, Donald Trump had his flaws. And his policy, well, some other time I'll deal with some of these. I think there are three strikes to explain why Donald Trump is out. You say, well, they cheated. Yes, but God's allowed it to happen. They've been successful. There's a reason. And one of those is his policy with Israel. A number one. A number one. But Rand Paul, back to what we're talking about with this war thing, he's fighting the bill that is the defense bill that is before the Senate. And Donald Trump promises a veto of that bill. So the Republicans are trying to get enough votes to override Donald Trump's veto. Did you hear that closely? I didn't say Democrats. Republicans are trying to get the votes to override the Republican president's veto of a defense bill because that defense bill is to keep all of our troops overseas so that when Biden comes to office, the puppet Biden will get us into more wars. You heard it here first if you hadn't heard it before. You've probably heard it before if you've listened to some of the decent talk show hosts and that kind of thing. This is the headline, Rand Paul blocks defense bill that would delay Trump's Afghanistan drawdown. He's trying to bring the troops home. Trump is. And the Republicans, including Mitch McConnell and all the RINOs, For four years, see these guys are up, they're bought and paid for. So for four years, they saw that if they didn't support Trump, they'd be in trouble with the people. So they supported Trump most of the time for four years, especially his judicial appointments, which has been a good thing for this country. But now, they think he's on his way out, and they're showing their true colors. Did I say the word right? That was closer. Colors. Colors. It's a Southern thing. These people are racist against Southerners. They don't like Southerners. Inside joke for those of you online. But the article that was in the New York Post quotes Ryan Paul, but the Libertarian Republican said, it's hypocrisy. Amen? for hawkish lawmakers to support presidential power to initiate conflicts, but not to end them. See, these guys want war, and they'll give the president power so he can go start wars, but they don't want him to have the power to end them. Now again, this isn't politics when it's your child coming home in a body bag. It's not politics. It's right. The love of money is behind all this. I continue to quote, they really don't care about their theory of an all-powerful commander in chief. They care more about perpetuating the Afghan war, Paul said. This is the last quote, but this is important. Quote, this defense authorization bill could more aptly be called a bill to prevent the president from ending the Afghan war. Yeah, that's the real title. Paul added. If these people were honest, that's what they would call the bill. The bill to prevent the president from ending the Afghan war. Now here's three strikes against the bill. Number one, it strips presidential power to withdraw troops. It can send them over to die, but it can't bring them home. Strike two is, you may think this isn't important, but it is. It mandates politically correct renaming of our bases that are named for Confederates. This bill is a butt kiss the Black Lives Matter movement bill. And they're going to take bases that have been for decades named after American men who were on the Confederate side during the war. It's a matter of history and honoring the men, not necessarily the fight. And it's American history. These men, after the war, became American citizens. And so there's nothing wrong with having those bases named for Confederates. But political correctness, Orwellian news speak is what this is all about. And strike three is it lacks the section 230 repeal that has nothing to do with the defense bill. And it's funny how all of a sudden that matters. Go look at the stimulus bills and other defense authorization bills passed previously by crooks like Nancy Pelosi that's filled with all kinds of things that have nothing to do with defense. And now the president said, these crooks who run Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube have been getting a free ride, ending to be social media platforms, when in reality they're publishers who edit their content, and so they're crooks, they're liars, they're abusing the law, so let's repeal Section 230. And he told them ahead of time, if you don't put it in there, I'll veto it. But they see him on his way out. So all the rhinos and neocons are lining up because they're bought and paid for by Google, Twitter, and Facebook. You want to know why you got Republicans who claim to be conservatives who stand up for free speech, who are fighting for the enemies of free speech in this country? It's because they're bought and paid for. Anybody says, well, that's politics. You'll think it's politics when they come knocking on your door to shut you up. That's when you'll realize it's not politics. Amen. Psalm 40 verses 1 and 2, deliver me, O Lord, from the evil man, preserve me from the violent man, which imagine mischiefs in their heart. Continually are they gathered together for war. That describes both political parties, both major political parties in this country. They're the leadership of those parties. And so what we need to pray for right now and going forward, especially if Biden is installed, is we need to pray against these wars that will send our young men over to fight wars for the globalists. It's not for America. It's not to protect your freedoms. It's for globalism. And I respect all the young men who go in the service with that intent, but the wars I don't have to agree with. So whoever voted for Biden, voted for war. Even if he got in cheating, at least 65 million people voted for that disgusting creep. And if you voted for Biden, you voted for war. All right, if you have your Bibles and can turn them to Luke 9. Verse 18, and if you have a Bible and can't turn there, please let us know so we can call the ambulance and have you taken out of here for whatever your issue is. Everybody should have an open Bible when they come to church, amen? And if you want to have the right one, you have a King James Bible. Otherwise, a lot of what I read will probably be messed up because they've messed it up for money. We're gonna go beginning of verse 18 through verse 23, and we'll read the odd verses, so I'll begin reading in verse 18, you join in verse 19. And it came to pass, as he was alone praying, his disciples were with him, and he asked them, saying, whom say the people that I am? They answering said, John the Baptist, but some say Elias, and others say that one of the old prophets is risen again. He said unto them, but whom say ye that I am? Peter answering said, the Christ of God. And he straightly charged them and commanded them to tell no man that thing, saying, the son of man must suffer many things and be rejected of the elders and chief priests and scribes and be slain and be raised the third day. And he said to them all, if any man will come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. All God's people say amen. Now, this is kind of a two-parter message, but we're going to cover the first part here and then pick up where we leave off this week and pick up next week. I mean, I could have just gone through the whole thing and kept you here till 2.30. But some of you have ants in your pants and have trouble sitting still as it is. So we're not told how many days later But this is after feeding the 5,000. How many of you remember last week? About half of you don't remember last week. That's about par for the course, I think. But our last study, we saw Jesus, the creator, take bread and fish and had enough for maybe two people. and he fed 5,000 men, and we assume that they fed their women and children too. So it was way more than 5,000 individuals. So verse 18, we pick up after that, and it came to pass. So this is sometime after that. We don't know exactly how long. As he was alone praying, his disciples were with him, and he asked them saying, whom say the people that I am? That is the most important question a man will ever answer. I mean, you think about that. Who do you say Jesus is? If you say he's just a man, you're going to hell. If you say he was Michael the archangel who became Jesus and now is Michael again, you're going to hell. See what I mean? That's how important this question is. If you say that Jesus was just one of the spiritual guides who had the Christ consciousness and this and that, you're going to hell. If you say he was a created being and he's the brother of Lucifer, you'll go to hell. It doesn't matter what your answer is, if it's wrong, you're going to hell. So this is the most important question man will ever answer, because no matter what you do in this life, where you spend eternity is the most important thing in your life. If you're in hell, you're not going to be down there saying, oh, I'm tormented in these flames. I thirst, but hey, I had some fun up there. That's how people think. You talk to people who will look you right in the eye and say they believe in hell, and they believe they're going there. And they'll say something stupid like, well, that's where all my friends will be. Maybe so, but you're not going to be hanging around with them laughing and carrying on. And you're not going to look back and be glad that you made the choice you made. Every man, woman in hell will spend eternity in regret. Ain't no doubt about it. So then verse 19, after Jesus asked, whom say the people that I am? They answering said, John the Baptist. Wrong. But some say Elias. Wrong. Others say that one of the old prophets has risen again. Wrong. All those people will go to hell if they do not change their minds and conform their minds to the mind of God. Such a pretty important question, wouldn't you agree? Herod had these same false ideas, remember, back in verse 8? And of some, that Elias had appeared, and of others, that one of the old prophets was risen again. And Herod said, John, have I beheaded, but who is this of whom I hear such things? And he desired to see him. Herod never did see him. I mean, he saw him with his eyes, but he never did see him for who he really is. So Herod's in hell right now. Some of you may think those pews aren't the most comfortable thing in the world, even though they've got some carpet on them. Those of us with short legs, we have to get the little stools out because it cuts off the circulation. It can get uncomfortable. Hell, it'll be a whole lot worse. I mean I'm laughing, it's not a laughing matter, but I'm laughing because of the silliness of the minds of people who just scoff at hell and just blow it off like it's no big deal. And you think about it, Herod right now is in hell. The Bible says at the judgment, Great White Throne, everyone in hell will be brought up before the Great White Throne. And then they'll be judged by the Lands Book of Life, and if their name is not written in the Lands Book of Life, they're cast into the lake of fire. Now you just think about that. If you get this question wrong, you'll go to hell for however long there is, at least a thousand years by the way, at least a thousand and seven. I mean, we know that after the rapture, and once that covenant with many between the Antichrist and Israel is agreed upon and signed, or whatever they do, that marks the beginning of a 1,007-year countdown to the Great White Throne. So no matter when you die, you have at least 1,000-plus years in hell. Then you're brought up before the Great White Throne to check if your name is in the Lands Book of Life, and then you're cast into the everlasting lake of fire. You don't believe that, it doesn't change the reality. And once you get in hell, you can positive think yourself to you turn blue, you're not gonna get out. It's real, you're there. The time to make your reservation in paradise, in heaven and in the millennial kingdom is now. Now is the time. And you put it off one day, you are a fool if you don't know right now you're saved. Because you know, you ever listen to the heart? We watched a show the other day, I hadn't thought about it in a while. A fella going to be a vet, somebody gave him the stethoscope. Thank you. Put little things in his ear. She started talking and he's like, I can't really hear that. So then she put it on her heart. Isn't that something? Talk is cheap. The heart's what matters. Your heart could be bleeding out and you could be dying. You could still talk, but you're a dead man. The heart's what matters. There's a lot of people go around saying, I'm a Christian. They don't even say, I love Jesus. And yet their heart is dark, solid coal. Lost. And that was Herod's conditional. But back to verse 20, after they told him what other people were saying about him, he said unto them, but whom say ye that I am? See, this is a personal thing, it's one-on-one between you and God. Belonging to a church, having a family. I've run into people who I'll ask them about their soul, I'll talk to them about that thing, and they'll say, well, my dad was a preacher. Congratulations, now let's get back to the point. Your dad can be a preacher and you'll still go to hell if you do not get your heart right with God. What's the old saying? I didn't understand the first few times I heard it, but you'll hear people say, God doesn't have grandchildren. You think about that. It's because you can't go to heaven on the coattails of your parents. You've got to be his child. By new birth and adoption, you become his child. By faith in that gospel, not what your last name is, not what church you belong to, not even what you say matters unless it comes from the heart. And that's what Jesus is kind of dealing with here with these fellas because you know, he knows that one of them here in this conversation is lost. We end up seeing 11 of them saved, but one of them right there, you talk about churches, even in Jesus' church, his 12 apostles were basically his local church. And one of them made a profession, but was lost. He said to them, but whom say ye that I am? And in reality, Jesus is asking you this same question. This is one-on-one between you and the Lord. And then the second part of the verse, Peter answering said, the Christ of God. Okay? That is the correct answer. And This is very important. You can actually say that and still go to hell. Why? Because God will judge the heart, which means that the words have to mean something. When you say that Jesus is the Christ of God, if you mean what the Bible means, Christ means He is Messiah. And Messiah, in Isaiah 9-6, is called the Mighty God. So when you call Jesus the Christ of God, but in your mind, your heart, you don't accept Christ being God manifest in the flesh. Which, by the way, in 1 Timothy 3-16 in your King James Bible tells you God was manifest in the flesh. but in the new versions, they ripped that out. All about this. God, he's the Christ of God, but Christ is actually God. Well, that doesn't make any sense. It does if you're what we call a Trinitarian. If you believe the Father is God, the Son is God, the Holy Ghost is God, they're not three gods, but one God in three persons. That makes perfect sense. If you reject the Trinity, then the idea of God the Son or the Son of God, the second person of the Trinity, being Emmanuel, God with us, makes no sense. You see how it all kind of intertwines. We always say, you know, you don't have to believe in the Trinity in order to be saved, and that's really a half-truth. The reality is none of us really, let me make this clear, nobody fully understands the Trinity. If you have a God so small that your pea brain can understand him, he's not the true God. The true God is beyond our comprehension. We can only believe what we can know, but beyond that there's much more to know. See? So when it comes to the Trinity, you may not understand it, but God tells you it is so, so check in your pride and your arrogance and say, you know what, God? I believe it because you said it. That's the way it ought to be. So the Christ of God is Christ as God manifests in the flesh, and he is of God, who? The Father and the Spirit. And there are a lot of professing Christians who fail that one. But that is the correct answer if you mean what the Bible means. And today there's a growing effort to deny Jesus even existed. Hence the book. I didn't do this on purpose, but it just so happened I finished this book last week. And the historical Jesus proves that Jesus existed. And if you deny that Jesus existed, you not only are denying the Bible, you're denying extra biblical evidence that you then must deny that people like George Washington even lived. And people like Caesar. You can't believe they lived if you don't believe Jesus lived because there's much more real evidence for Jesus than there is most ancient men and women who existed. And so that's the purpose of reading books like that. And you say, I can't read that kind of a book. Because you've got too much time on your computers and your games and your TVs and everything. But if you turn that crap off and read stuff like this, you'll find your faith will be built on the Word of God. It makes your faith in the Word of God that much more influential and powerful in your life. Rick? I find it ironic when I talk with people Darwin's book was written by a very fallen sinful man and they believe him over Moses Book written by man So they deny that Jesus even existed or that he is the Christ and I want to turn over to first John and look at this Very important passage related to this This is the spirit of Antichrist First John chapter four, verses two and three. Verse two says, hereby know ye the spirit of God. Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God. Now, I have to say, it's not saying that that's all you have to say and believe and you're of God. It's saying that if someone claims to be of God and they will say this, then that box is checked. There are other things that people can say that would tell you that even though they may say this with their mouth, there's something wrong with their heart. Someone who confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh, but says it's alright to murder babies, it's alright to marry sodomites, it's alright to push the Marxist godless system of Marxism and socialism, there's something wrong with somebody's heart there.