Please stand and turn in your Bibles to 1 John chapter 2 and follow along as I read verses 12 to 25. 1 John 2 verses 12 to 25. I am writing to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven for his name's sake. I am writing to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I am writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one. I write to you children because you know the father. I write to you fathers because you know him who is from the beginning. I write to you young men because you are strong and the word of God abides in you and you have overcome the evil one. Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life is not from the father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires. But whoever does the will of God abides forever. Children, it is the last hour. And as you have heard that Antichrist is coming, so now many Antichrists have come. Therefore we know that it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they were not of us. For if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they are all not of us. But you have been anointed by the Holy One, and you all have knowledge. I write to you not because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and because no lie is of the truth. Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the Antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son. No one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also. Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you too will abide in the Son and in the Father. And this is the promise that he made to us, eternal life. Pray with me again, please. Lord, thank you for your holy word. You've given it to us, and I pray, Lord, now that your Holy Spirit would accompany the preaching of this text as well. Change our hearts, draw us closer to you, conform us more and more into your likeness. In Jesus' name, amen. Please be seated. In our daily lives, we experience signs that warn us of all kinds of things all the time. In fact, it happens so frequently that I think often we tend to even pay little attention to those signs. How often have you seen a bright, oversized sign that reads, lane closed ahead, followed by orange and white striped barricades topped with flashing lights that incrementally reduce the space of a lane? Yet we catch, or yet we watch some people drive straight ahead until they come to an abrupt stop to keep from running right over the very last barricade that's now square in front of their car. Now whether it's from ignorance or obstinance, the driver finds themselves stuck and scrambling for a solution. Now today, John provides us with a very specific warning, a warning about a definitive lie. In fact, it is a lie that is as prevalent today in our own neighborhoods as it was to those in the Mediterranean region a couple thousand years ago. It's my hope that you will heed John's warning about that lie and you will not become stuck and have to scramble for a solution. We can do much better than that. We have access to all the knowledge of the truth we need so that we might be filled with courage that comes with holding to that truth. So to that end, there are two main points. The warning of a lie and the promise of a truth. And each point has three under it, which are a what, a who, and a when. Both points have the same three under it. The warning of the lie has a what, a who, and a when, and the promise of a truth has a what, a who, and a when. So this epistle at this point has gone, it's transitioned from encouragement And then it went to exhortation, which is what we heard about last week. And then it's now proceeded on to a warning. And once again, we can see this change in topic is used by John's use of the term children. We're kind of getting in the habit of seeing this. As soon as we see him say children, my children, little children, besides what that communicates all on its own about his position of authority and those kinds of things that I spoke about in the past, it also shows a definitive break. It kind of changes, it lets us know, it's pointing to the fact that he's about to talk about something different. So he's breaking from the previous topic regarding the behavior of the believer, and specifically of not setting their affection on this present world, and is drawing their attention to a new issue. It's a warning about a teaching. John is addressing a false doctrine that had infected the church. The warning was necessary because there was a significant shakeup in the church because of a lie. A number of people believed the lie, they chased after that lie, and then they left the church because of the lie. The defection of those that perpetrated the lie and all of those that believed it was consequential enough that John had to speak to it. So, what was the lie? So, our what under the warning of the lie? Well, before we hit the exact what, the first thing I want to do is look at a separate verse where it kind of gives us a little bit of context about lies. that comes from this very epistle. As we look at the what of the lie, it's important to make this observation. If you look in our text here at verse 21, we'll note the phrase that no lie is of the truth. So chapter two, verse 21 of 1 John, I write to you, not because you do not know the truth, but because you know it and because no lie is of the truth. So John is going beyond pointing out just the mere existence of a lie. He's going to talk about the lie, but he's also commenting on its origin. So for us, you know, we're proceeding through this epistle in chunks, right? I'm trying to exegete this so we see each other. you know, weekly, and then I'm taking this in chunks. They would have at least originally read this letter all at once. They would have started from the beginning and just read it through. And it would be fresh in their minds things that were said about lies previously in this very same epistle. They would have read from chapter 1 verse 6, chapter 1 verse 10, and chapter 2 verse 4. I'll read that for you. 1 6 says, if we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie. and we do not practice the truth. And then verse 10 in the first chapter, if we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar and his word is not in us. Chapter two and verse four, whoever says, I know him, but does not keep his commandments is a liar and the truth is not in him. So these verses demonstrate that a lie is associated with one that walks in darkness and does not practice the truth. A lie is consistent with one who does not have God's word in them. Also, the one who lies does not have the truth in them. So you can see how antithetical a lie is from the truth. There are not two points that are at greater odds than a lie and a truth. Which is why John can accurately say that a lie has no part in the truth. And any and every lie is not of the truth, that's absolutely true, but a lie of this sort, the one that's contained in this particular case at this church, has its origin in the worst conceivable place. It's not a half-truth. It's not a white lie. It's not some kind of a misrepresentation of the truth. It is the chief of lies. So what is that lie? Look with me. Back at our text in 1 John 2 verses 22 and 23. Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the Antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son. No one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also. So what is the lie? The lie is anything that denies the full divinity or unconditional deity of Jesus. That is why we read from, or that's why this morning we read from chapter eight of the Confession. Our church stands by what is articulated in the first half of that first sentence of paragraph two. You read this along with me. This is what it said, the Son of God, the second person in the Holy Trinity, being very and eternal God, the brightness of the Father's glory, of one substance and equal with him who made the world, who upholdeth and governeth all things he hath made." This is what we confess. This is biblical. This is what God the Father says about the Son. In John chapter 1 and verse 14, it says, and the word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. And again, in Galatians 4, verse 4, but when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law. And Romans 8, 3, for God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do, by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh. And for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh. See, the Father and the Son are inextricably tied. They are coexistent and co-eternal. Jesus is not a lesser form of God. He's not a lower form. He is equal to God. And as chapter 2 of our Confession states, when it's talking about the Trinity, it says that it is of one substance, power and eternity, each having the whole divine essence. So they are each entirely God. You do not get the Father without the Son. Think of it this way. You do not, like the Mormons, get to begin your prayers with Heavenly Father. I don't know if you've prayed with Mormons much or heard them pray. They love to start their prayers with Heavenly Father while they deny the deity of Christ and then still believe that their prayer is going to be received. You do not get to swear wholehearted allegiance to Allah, like the Muslims, while denying the deity of Jesus and expect to gain God's favor. As a Jehovah's Witness, you cannot literally refer to your body of beliefs as the truth and expect to be one of the specially chosen Spirit-anointed Christians drawn up from the earth while denying the deity of God's Son. You cannot, as a Jew, claim to be one of God's chosen race while you strip Jesus of his deity. To subtract even a shred of divinity from Jesus is a lie. This is why in verses 22 and 23, successively John describes the liar as, and I'm quoting here, denying Jesus is the Christ. Denies the father and the son. Denies the son has the father. They're all tied to the same lie. And who is telling us the lie? Who is telling that lie? Or perhaps, how does this text describe them? So as if I haven't named enough names here. Let's look at what the identity of those liars are given by the Apostle John. So this is our who under the warning of a lie. So go back to verses 18 and 19 in chapter 2. Children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that Antichrist is coming, so now many Antichrists have come. Therefore, we know that it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they were not of us. For if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us." So the who, as it relates to the perpetrators of the lie, are described as antichrists. Those who went out from us and those that are not of us. I found this to be interesting, which is the term Antichrist itself, the term Antichrist, the word, is used exclusively in 1 and 2 John. In other words, it is a term that is found only in books authored by the Apostle John. So it leads to the speculation that he's actually the one that coined that term. Now, we have every reason to believe that there will be an end-time figure that will wield great power. In 2 Thessalonians chapter 2, he's referred to as the man of lawlessness, or in Revelation 12 and 13, he's referred to as the beast. And it is to that figure that John is likely referring when he writes back in verse 18 of our text when he says, It's a very specific reference. But he's framing the statement by reminding them that they know there will be a man of lawlessness, but note the tense of the verb that follows then after that, you have heard that Antichrist is coming. He's acknowledging that it's true, that this person exists and that is going to come one day. But he is not saying that it is this specific being that is in view when this particular division took place. So they're probably, I'm speculating, that there was a sense that this division was so great and shook the people of the church to such an extent that they may have even been thinking, has the Antichrist come? Is that what's going on here? But see that he adds, so now, Many antichrists have come. You have been told about the great liar that is to come, but basically there are now, even now, liars in our midst. So while not called antichrists specifically by other apostles, the same category of liars is described in Matthew 24, 24 and Mark 13, 22 as false Christs and false prophets. And this is how those verses read. Matthew 24, 24 says, For false Christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. In Mark 13, 22, it says, for false Christs and false prophets will arise and perform signs and wonders to lead astray, if possible, the elect. So the church is reeling, this local church is reeling from this division over those that were willing to leave the orthodox beliefs of the church based on a false claim that undermines the deity and authority of Jesus. And those that stand by that lie are deceived and are deceivers themselves and are antichrists. In other words, by antichrist it means they are opposed to Christ and they never were legitimate members of the family of God. They are not of us. They are not our brothers and sisters. And those liars seek to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. So it's this very principle that demolishes this whole idea that all roads lead to the same path, that somehow, hey, you know what? You're trying hard. I'm trying hard. We're all going to pretty much just end up in the same place. Or all religions are basically the same. Or the sentiment that, you know what, as long as you truly believe, like just true belief in and of itself in something and are faithful to that, you'll go to heaven. Everything's going to be okay. Do you think that the Apostle John that authored this letter shares that opinion? No. No, he did not. Those that believe that are liars. They're not just liars. They're not agnostic about Jesus. They're not indifferent. They're enemies of Jesus. They are antichrists that have no part with us. Orthodox doctrinal distinctions are not just matters for theologians to squabble over. They are the difference between the promise of an eternity in heaven and the penalty of everlasting judgment. It breaks my heart to say it, Because I picture people just like you do when I say a pleasant disposition, a kind heart, and an attitude of generosity paves the road to hell if it isn't accompanied by a genuine love for Jesus as the Son of God. We know who those people are in our lives, and it's painful to think that. The sweetest, most selfless people in the world that fail to acknowledge Jesus' rightful position as God are in jeopardy of hearing the Father say, I never knew you. Depart from me, you workers of lawlessness. That brings us to the when of the warning. So John is telling the original readers, and he's telling us that the last hour is now. They were living then, and we are living now in the space between Christ's first coming, when he secured salvation for those that love him, and his second coming when he will judge the world in righteousness. John has made it clear that those who deny Jesus' deity are liars and antichrists. Consider Jesus' words about the Father's mandate to honor the Son. This comes from John chapter 5, verses 19 to 24. So Jesus said to them, truly, truly, I say to you, the son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the father doing. For whatever the father does, that the son does likewise. For the father loves the son and shows him all that he himself is doing, and greater works than these will he show him, so that you may marvel. For as the father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the son gives life to whom he will. For the father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the son, that all may honor the son just as they honor the father. Whoever does not honor the son does not honor the father who sent him. Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life. So this is the testimony of Jesus about himself and his relationship to the Father. I hope you can see that you can't play around with the identity of Jesus. To say that Jesus was a good man, to say that Jesus was a prophet, that won't cut it. In fact, you really have to land in one of two camps. He's either God, because he said this about himself, he's either God, or he is one absolute, complete, and wholehearted liar himself. That's really where you have to land, because if he's saying this about himself and his own identity, you can't say that he's a prophet, or that he's a good man, because this means that he would be lying. And that's implausible, unless he actually is. So, my friends, whoever hears the word of Jesus and believes in the Father that sent him has eternal life and does not come into judgment. And as to the point of when, this is the last hour. Lies and antichrists are here and will continue until Jesus returns. But this is the opportunity to separate from those deceivers and run to the cross. The time is now. Now is the day of salvation. Now, for those that hold to this lie, unquestionably, I hope that this is shocking to the conscience and that they would repent. But I have something else to say to the believers in the room. How does this news, how does thinking about this a little more clearly frame your mindset? How does it impact your relationships with the unbelieving world? I, for one, have found that the warning brings greater clarity to the issue, and perhaps more importantly, I think it promotes an increased sense of urgency. Brothers and sisters, you and I know the truth about Jesus as the Christ and the cost of believing otherwise. May the Lord forgive us for our past apathetic attitudes and motivate us to share the warning with those ignorant souls currently bound for condemnation. So some of you know, will remember Mike Lynch. He formerly was our next door neighbor. He's since passed away. But he became a believer during the time that we were neighbors, and he began attending church with us. Anyway, what would happen is we would get people come through our neighborhood, of course, Mormons, and we would get Jehovah's Witness come through the neighborhood. I remember that Mike would be outside and I would see these, it was obvious to me they were Jehovah's Witnesses that were standing out there, two of them talking to Mike. And I saw them talking to him and I knew Mike was a believer, but I also knew he's a younger believer, newer to the faith. And I saw them out there and I knew that they were telling him lies. And so I was, and the reason I saw him at all was because I was going outside, and why was I going outside? It's because I was on my way to go do something. So I'm on my way to go do something, and I was faced with, ugh, do I stop everything that I'm doing to go over there to try to deal with this? And I didn't. I got in my car, I drove down the street, and to my own shame, I even glanced in the mirror because it was weighing on me, and I saw them standing there talking to him. And I went and ran my errand, whatever it was, and I came back, and they were gone. Mike wasn't outside. They weren't there. And it just, ah, you know, crushed my conscience. Well, God is good, and Jehovah's Witnesses are persistent, so guess what happened? It was a Friday, I can tell you, because they always came on Fridays. The following Friday, I was walking out to go run an errand, and I was jumping in my car, and I glanced over at Mike's place, just as I'm starting to drive, and there they are standing with him, as I'm zooming past. I'm like, oh no, I'm not dealing with this again. So I whipped that car around, and I came back, threw it in the park, and got out. Hey, Mike. How you doing? Hey, how are you guys doing? Oh, we're just talking to Mike. And I'm like, yeah, you don't need to talk to Mike. Mike's with us, you know. So anyway, the point being is that, look, we face these. You know this story is the same story. Different people, different address. You have the same experiences. What I'm saying is that I have experienced failures myself. But it's my hope that when you think about this warning and the severity and the seriousness, of what these other people are saying, that it will motivate you to take action yourselves and to step in, particularly for other people that struggle to do it for themselves. Okay, that takes us to the promise of a truth, so our second main point. And what, so our what under the promise of the truth, what is the truth? Well, we can see that in verse 23, 1 John 2, 23. No one who denies the Father has the Father, whoever, confesses the Son has the Father also. So the truth is the confession of the Son. The truth is what Jesus said about himself. In John 14, verses 6 and 7, it says, and you've heard it before, I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you had known me, You would have known my father also. From now on, you do know him and have seen him." So there is a public and ongoing aspect to the truth of this confession. There must be an open acknowledgment that you stand with Jesus Christ as he is described in the Bible, as the one and only Son of God, begotten, not made. Remember that the truth has nothing to do with a lie, which is why those antichrists that were not of the believers could not remain with them. As the confession of Jesus' true identity is proclaimed, they could not possibly continue to identify with them. And in the same way, there's no place for any of us believers to intermingle our beliefs with non-Christians. I'm not saying we can't spend time around them. We cannot allow our beliefs to merge together or to even appear that it does. We are not pretty much the same as Mormons. And we should be prepared to make that distinction. We should be quick to confess that we believe in a triune God that includes the divine Son, Jesus, who is the Christ. Ours is a faith to confess. So does this describe you? Is the truth about Christ on the tip of your tongue? or does it get stuck in your throat? I'm very appreciative. I'm a sports guy. Very appreciative of the athletes that when they win a championship and they've got their one or two minutes of camera time that, you know, that they say, I want to give thanks to God and stuff. I'm grateful for that. I'm thankful that they do that. I'm always hopeful in the back of my mind that they are actually living a life that's consistent with the sound bite. I'm not judging them, I'm just saying I hope that it's true. But to that point, I have to ask you, is your proclamation of faith one that can be summarized with a soundbite? Or are you willing and able to initiate and maintain a conversation about God, his son, his spirit, and his word? When others are telling lies, so you know, you can smell it, you know when it's happening, and others are telling lies about Jesus, are you prepared to have some level of conversation with those that deny the deity of Jesus? Or do you just avoid the thing altogether? I'm not saying that you have to go looking to pick a fight. I mean, maybe you do, but I'm not saying that that's what you're compelled to do. But when someone approaches you, they're knocking on your door. Are you prepared to clearly confess the identity of the son? The who, the who of the promise of a truth. How are the ones that confess the true identity of Jesus described? Well, back in our text, 1 John 2, verses 19 to 21, they went out from us, but they were not of us, for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out that it might become plain that they are not of us. But you have been anointed by the Holy One, and you all have knowledge. I write to you not because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and because no lie is of the truth." See, the ones that have the truth, they continue with us, and are anointed by the Holy One, and have knowledge, and they know the truth. Remember that this message here that John is giving them, that he's writing in this, is in light of a division that took place when the lie by these antichrists was exposed by their separation from the body of believers. That's how this whole thing went down. They separated. They took a stand for something that was a clear contradiction of God's word. They left the community of believers that embraced orthodox biblical Christianity, and it served as a visible testimony to their unfaithfulness and it brought greater clarity to those who remained. Those that are truly God's people persevere in the faith and continue steadfastly in truth. Truth is not something we sacrifice at the altar of unity. The apostle here is encouraging the believers for remaining in the faith and he is pointing to what may be a little bit of a surprising fact. that we need not fear divisions. We serve a sovereign God that even uses schisms to bring glory to himself. We have no need. In fact, we should not seek unity at all costs. Unity does not trump truth. Paul commented on this as it related to different factions that were abusing the Lord's Supper. Now you've read this portion of scripture as it relates to the Lord's Supper, but what I'm trying to point to is not the piece about the Lord's Supper, the piece about the divisions. So consider this, 1 Corinthians 11, verses 17 to 19. But in the following instructions, I do not commend you. Because when you come together, it is not for the better, but for the worse. For in the first place, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you. And I believe in part, for there must be factions among you in order that those who are genuine among you may be recognized. Paul is pointing to the God-ordained benefit of divisions that demonstrate who is genuine. Think about Jesus in John chapter 6, verses 63 to 66. So this is Jesus speaking. He says, it is the spirit who gives life, the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. But there are some of you who do not believe. For Jesus knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray him. And he said, this is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father. And then verse 66, after this, many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him. Did Jesus know who did not believe? Yes. Did Jesus know Who would betray him? Yes. Did Jesus still speak words of truth knowing it would result in people turning away? Yes. This is an example to us. We need to major on the majors for sure, not major on the minors. But as to those majors, we give no ground, nor do we give quarter to those who deny those truths. Not only do those who have the truth continue steadfastly in the immutable truths of God's word, but those with the truth are anointed by the Holy One, and have knowledge, and they know the truth. So to be anointed is to be set apart for special use. In the Old Testament, Aaron and his sons were anointed in their service to the priesthood. They were set apart with the expectation they would continue in the service of the Lord. In 1 Samuel, we read the prophet Samuel anointed men to be king. They were set apart to be rulers of the nation, but for the Lord. Of course, the anointed one, par excellence, as recorded in Acts 4 and Psalm 2, of course, is Jesus Christ himself. who was set apart to do the work of the Father. So John is communicating to his readers and to those of us that confess Jesus today that they are recipients of that anointing by the Holy One and that we have been set apart for his service and have gained a special knowledge. gained a special knowledge. What kind of knowledge? Well, consider the knowledge that we have that is listed just in this epistle. I've only reduced the verses to just the book of 1 John. So I'm going to read through these with you. 1 John 3, 2, we know that when he appears we shall be like him because we shall see him as he is. Chapter 3, verse 5, you know that he appeared in order to take away sins and in him there is no sin. 314, we know that we have passed out of death into life because we love the brothers. 315, everyone who hates his brother is a murderer and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. Chapter 5, 13 to 15, I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life and this is the confidence that we have toward him. That if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the request that we have asked of him. Chapter 5 and verse 18, we know that everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning, but he who was born of God protects him and the evil one does not touch him. Chapter 5, 19, we know that we are from God and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one. And finally, chapter 5 and verse 20, and we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true, and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life. The apostolic teaching that they had received, along with the anointing of the Holy One, had given believers a foundation that cannot be shaken by Antichrist. That's what he's telling them. You know all of these things. These things you've been taught from the beginning. And guess what? We know them. In fact, we have even greater reason to have confidence that our faith cannot be shaken. They didn't even have the full canon of scripture at that particular time. We have these apostolic teachings in its inscripturated form in the palms of our hands. No false teaching, no liar, no divider can separate us from God and the truth that we have as his anointed ones. Then finally, as to the when of the promise, the when of the truth is seen in verses 24 and 25. And I think it's a little bit interesting. I'm just going to cover this very quickly. In verses 24 and 25, we see a past, a present, and a future. So look at 1 John 2, 24 and 25. Let what you heard from the beginning, that would be the past, abide in you, that would be the present. If what you heard from the beginning, that's the past, abides in you, present, then you too will abide in the son and in the father, present and future. And this is the promise, future, that he made to us. What is that promise? Eternal life. So as to the past, the things that were heard from the beginning would include all that list of the we knows that I just covered, the you knows and the we knows. And those truths have been taught from the beginning of your Christian walk. As to the present, if those things abide in you, meaning if you hold fast to these truths, if in faith you persist against all forms of Antichrist in believing what God's word tells you is true, then you will remain. You will abide in the Son and in the Father. And as to the future, you will receive the benefits of the promise. You will gain eternal life. It is guaranteed. It is better than set in stone. It is more sure than anything you have ever been promised in your whole life. Now, just in conclusion, some of you, depending on how long you've known me, I've been involved in what are known as adventure races with my brother. And these crazy things that they're like 12 hours long, and you do all kinds of different events. And in one of these, he and I did in Colorado. And it involved a water event. So there's mountain biking. There's a lot of times a ropes event and this and that. Anyway, this particular one had a water event. Usually it's kayaking. This particular one is the first time ever. I had never even heard of it until we participated in this thing. And it was riverboarding. So basically, if you don't know what a river board is, it essentially is very similar to like a bookie board, but bigger, longer, and it has handles on it, on the front. So you lay on it, and you hang on to it, and you can go down the river. Sounds like a lot of fun. So we got to that portion of the race. In fact, the river was cold enough. We had to throw, we had wetsuits. We put wetsuits on, and we got in the water. And I don't know anything about classes of rapids. This river was out of control. There were people in kayaks wearing full protective gear, helmets and everything, and that are in things that are designed to go under the water and back pop back up and everything, that were sitting on the side just watching people get into this river and hang on to these river boards and get just thrown down the river. And there are people that I had done enough of these races. My brother and I, when we would do these, we're amateurs. We only do it to, as we like to say, we do it to complete, not to compete. We're just doing this to have fun and just say we did it and finish it. We're not doing it really for time or anything. There are professionals there that do this stuff constantly, like they travel the world, they do all kinds of races and crazy stuff, eco-challenges and that. They were leaving the river, okay? They were getting off and they were picking up their boards and walking the two miles or whatever it was to the next point. They were like, no, absolutely not. We did not do this. So we're going over rocks. We can't possibly steer in any way. There is no control. We have no control over any of it. And I can tell you, I can picture it right now, that there was a boulder that was coming up out of the top of the river at least 12 to 15 feet up high. It just comes from under the water, however deep it is, to up above the water. And because the water is rushing so hard, it's creating a vortex, a water vortex at this boulder. And I am white knuckling this board and trying with every ounce of my power and kicking and everything to not head for this thing. No chance. This thing, it's tractor beam, whatever, it just The river sent me straight at it. And I thought, okay, this is how it ends. This is it. And I wanted to abandon the board because it felt like the board, you know, I'm half floating because I'm hanging on to the board. And I kind of wanted to abandon the board because that's what I thought, well, maybe I can. And I didn't. And instead, I doubled down to the point of, I mean, when I say white knuckling, I am not exaggerating. I mean, I had a hold of that thing for dear life. And sure enough, it threw me straight at this boulder and sucked me under the water down. I have no idea how deep that thing, because of the force of the water. Good news, I made it. But anyway, on the other side of it, it spit me out. and then I was off and on my way, and everything was okay. After that, nothing really mattered after that. So, that's a rather dramatic story, all of it true, but a rather dramatic story to say this. This is what came to my mind as I looked at this truth, and the promise of the truth, that in my little analogy here, God's truth is that river board, and that at the moment When I was filled with the greatest fear and I wanted to let go and abandon the board, to just try to make it all on my own. Praise God, I didn't. I probably would have drowned. Instead, I got that thing. And because of the nature of the buoyancy of the board and the physics and everything else, that thing's actually the very thing that kept me, kept me, you know, from dying. So, and that's really what, when we look at this warning, we can be aware, we shouldn't be surprised when we hear it and when it happens. but we also cannot possibly consider for even a split second we cannot doubt the deity of Christ and what that means and that ultimately that means life. and it means eternal life. It is a promise that we can take to the very grave. Even if I get swallowed up by the next river, praise God, if I stay true to the truth of Christ being divine, I will be there with him for an eternity. To him belongs the courage. So may we heed the warning. and take courage in the promise. Pray with me, please. Thank you, Lord. Thank you for your word. Thank you that you go out of your way to, thousands of years later, still give us the warning. You give us the warning. We don't have to be surprised. And then you tell us, Lord, to take courage, that we know the truth. We have the truth. We are anointed. We're set apart. We're yours. We have the promise of eternal life. May, Lord, we always be true and faithful Lord, may we white-knuckle the truths of your holy scripture, Lord. In Jesus' name, amen.