Should I Feel Bad If I Used To Believe False Teachers?

Can you hear me? >> I can hear you. I can hear you. >> All right. >> I I detect an accent. >> Yeah, I'm British. >> We're going to pray for you. It's okay. It's going to be okay. >> Unfortunately, yeah. >> I'm I'm good. No, no, no, no, no, no. Listen, listen, listen. Whenever you talk to an American I'm going to I'm going to help you out, all right? Where Where do you live? >> Um in Birmingham in the UK. >> Okay, okay. Not Birmingham, Alabama. Okay. So, whenever you talk Whenever you talk to an American all you have to do is talk slow and we will automatically think that you are brilliant. >> Yeah. To be fair, in my defense, I am half German, so I'm not just British. >> I can't Well, I'm >> And half Portuguese, so >> I can't Okay, now you got too much going on with you now. Now Now you got too much going on. >> [laughter] >> What can I do for you, Jacob? >> Um it's a question from my wife, actually. Um >> Okay. >> She She's a bit shy, so >> Okay. >> She She can she speak? Um but she doesn't want to show her face on camera. >> [laughter] >> She can speak. What's her name? >> Yeah. Yeah, her name's Sabrina. >> Sabrina, hi Sabrina. >> Hi. >> You big chicken. Put your face on. >> [laughter] >> No, go go ahead. You can ask She can ask She can ask. It's okay. >> Yeah. Um no, I just wanted to ask your opinion on something that I've experienced. So, um when I became a Christian, I had like a really strong um moment of conversion and I've been all always very um confident in my faith and very uh passionate. Um I've always been in more charismatic circles. >> Mhm. >> And uh this year with everything that happened in the charismatic church, I've come to realize a lot of things that I thought were truly from God were just like people. And before I wouldn't allow myself to question those things because I was like, I don't want to question God if God is speaking. But now I've changed my mind and I've realized, you know, we got to question these things because a lot of things that are happening are not really from God, but that kind of became a loop in my head of questioning everything. And even when I'm reading my Bible, I start questioning everything, even things that I know are true, but it's like my brain got in this loop of questioning everything because so much that I trusted was real wasn't. So, it's a bit strange and I don't really know how to get out of that cycle. I don't know, it's a bit of a difficult question probably, but >> Okay, what what what actually is the question? >> The question is um how do I rebuild my faith knowing that there are things that I believed were true are not, >> Okay. So so >> always questioning everything. Like you know, I'm just skeptical. >> Let me ask you this. You got saved by placing your faith in who? >> In Jesus. >> There you go. So, here's what we Let Let me just put up put on the screen what Paul said. Now, this is Paul before he dies. He says, "I know that after my departure, savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock." Look what he says, "among you." So, uh and from among your own, so these people that come out of you who call themselves Christians, some might be, some might not be, but he says, "and from among your own your own selves men will arise speaking perverse things to draw away the disciples after them." So, here's what we know is going to happen because our Bible says so. People, and by the way, it's not just charismatic people, it's just people, period, are going to say things and do things that are just ungodly. That's why Paul What What was Paul's last words? Do you remember what What was the last words that he was talking about? >> I remember he talked about finishing the race, right? Um >> Before he died Before he dies and he knows he's He knows they're going to cut his head off. He knows that's that's going to happen, and he says the the sixth to the last line, 2 Timothy chapter 4, he's talking about making sure people hold the sound doctrine. And what does he do? He calls out a man named Alexander the Coppersmith. He said he did me much much harm. He resisted our our our message, our teaching. So, Paul is dying or getting ready to die, and that's what's on Paul's mind by the Lord. Why? Because all we have is his word. We all have the Holy Spirit, but you know we don't know We don't know who has the Holy Spirit. We can think someone does. We can think someone has good intentions, but you know what never changes, what we don't have to worry about? His word. So, even Paul, who's full of the Spirit, is is there, and the people from Thessalonica I mean from from Berea go back and they research Paul. We trust, but verify. Let's go back and verify with the scriptures. And Luke records them as being more noble than those of Thessalonica. Well, [snorts] in Thessalonica, remember what happens in when Paul writes his letter to the first and second Thessalonians? Paul is having to re-encourage them. The people from Berea, though, in in Acts 17, they're going back and check. Sometimes people can get kind of tossed back and forth by as as as the writer says, by every wind of doctrine, because they're not paying attention to true doctrine. So, a person can seem genuine and sincere, but the word is the one thing that never changes. I've been in that position to where I I thought that these people were were By the way, I came out of a charismatic background as well. Where um I felt let down because the person either actions and certainly their understanding of the word didn't line up. Nothing to be ashamed about that. That happens That happens. That That's just part of the growth process. As a matter of fact, >> had a similar thing. I had a similar thing as well. >> Yeah, see that that's a good thing. >> I was from a different movement as well. I I was in like the independent fundamental Baptist King James only like you know, the really [clears throat] like I used to listen to people like Steven Anderson to like and and it I'm ashamed to say that now, but it's because I was deceived in in a lot of ways and like thankfully God brought me out of that. >> There's no reason to to feel ashamed. There's no reason to feel ashamed from coming out of that movement or from a charismatic movement or and I mean charismatic hyper-charismatic movement. Um most of my most of my Christian friends are Pentecostal charismatic. They're not that far off. Um or there's nothing to be ashamed about coming out of Mormonism or or anything else. There's nothing to be ashamed about that. That's a good thing. That's a virtue. That's something that we can all clap cuz we all had to in the in most cases not all, but in most case many cases had to shed some bad teaching, some bad understanding. But that just all that means is I've been growing. That just means you've been growing. That means she's been growing. That's all That's all it means. That's a good thing. Don't ever be ashamed of that. Wear it like a badge of honor. Hey, listen, I was this, but what it says is and what it shows is you have focused on the word. That's more important. Paul says all scripture. Let me put it on the screen. All scripture is God breathed. It didn't say that Paul is God breathed or God inspired. It's not that John is God inspired or Peter, but the scriptures are. But why? Because these are the things that are God breathed. The word God inspired is is they are they are new style, which is God breathed. That's what's That's the important part, not the people, not Paul. That's why Paul says, "If if we or I or any angel preaches a different gospel, let that person be accursed." Because it's the word that matters. That's why he says, "Don't go beyond or exceed what is written." From the Old Testament to the New Testament, God has always been after what? Keeping his word. And what's the first thing that Satan did in the garden? Attack the word. Did God really say this? So, you didn't go through anything that everyone else didn't go through or isn't going to go through. We all are going to have to either we dealt with that growing up, we either dealt with it as we became a believer, or you're going to deal with it later in life. Every Christian is going to have to deal with having to figure out what's real and what's not. And the only way that you can tell what's real is by going to the word. So, you have absolutely nothing absolutely nothing to be ashamed of or bothered by. You You did a good thing. Peter says we should grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord. So, that's what we're growing in. Not somebody on on on on a platform waving their hand and folks falling out and frothing at the mouth and falling over. No, that's not That's not how we grow. As a matter of fact, all of those signs and wonders, the only the purpose for those is for people to see and know that Jesus is God, that he is that he died for our sins, and that we may have salvation. That's what he says in John 20. These things were written The few that were written were written so that we may know him and have life. But now that you have them, guess what you don't need. You don't need those signs. Now, does that mean that those signs won't come? I'm not saying that, but they don't need to come. I don't If I never see a sign, if I never see a miracle, I'm saved. My faith won't change. If you are dependent upon seeing signs and miracles and wonders, then I'm going to question your salvation. So, I think you I think you are you are an an a great example or you are exemplary in your commitment to the Lord and his word versus someone else's movement. I think that's a wonderful thing.