Called to Guard

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SERIES DESCRIPTION: In this series on 1st and 2nd Peter, Pastor Shawn and Krista highlight how Peter reminds the church that they are CALLED OUT of the darkness. This week, Pastor Shawn explores 2 Peter 2:1–4 as Peter warns believers to be Called Out to Guard — guarding their hearts, homes, and the house of God from false teachers and deceptive ideas.

Altar Instructions: Please come up when I begin the 2nd sub point(Guard the HOUSE…) during point 3 (How to guard…) Be ready for a song

Series | Called Out

Pre-Message Welcome

Grace Place family! It’s awesome to have you here with us today, whether in person or online.

I’m Shawn, and along with my wife, we serve as the Co-Pastors of this incredible church.

At The Grace Place, our mission is clear: we are Caring People, Caring for People.

We pray that you experience God’s care in our time together and in your life.

Spanish Welcome - 2nd Service ONLY!

A nuestra familia de habla hispana .... Bienvenidos… es-pera-mos que usted… y su familia.. se-sien-tan bien a-tend-idos también.

To our Spanish speaking family... welcome, we hope you and your family feels cared for as well.

Before we get into the message today….

Pastor Plug: Water Baptism

Pastor Plug – Water Baptism, Nov. 16

We’ve seen several new salvations recently, and your next step is water baptism!

Baptism doesn’t save you—it’s a public declaration of your faith and a great way to invite friends and family to witness what God’s done in your life.

Be sure to register online—you’ll find short teachings that answer common questions about baptism.

Parents: each child should be able to express their own salvation story and be baptized when they’re ready and willing.

Transition: We’ll we’re in the final week of our series entitled…

Series | Called Out

This series will be on the writings of 1st and 2nd Peter.

You have been called OUT of Darkness… to live in the light of Christ.

Peter has been very strong over his letters to these persecuted churches… Calling them out… over their conduct as beleiver.

Peter challenges believers to live as true witnesses—holy, humble, and growing in faith. But as he closes this letter, his shifts his focus to something plaguing these churches -it’s a serious warning about the deception of false teachers.

Which brings us to our final message in this series. Go ahead and open your Bible to 2 Peter chapter 2—we’ll be reading verses 1–4, which really captures the heart of the entire chapter. It says…

2 Peter 2:1-4

New Living Translation Chapter 2

But there were also false prophets in Israel, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will cleverly teach destructive heresies and even deny the Master who bought them. In this way, they will bring sudden destruction on themselves. 2 Many will follow their evil teaching and shameful immorality. And because of these teachers, the way of truth will be slandered. 3 In their greed they will make up clever lies to get hold of your money. But God condemned them long ago, and their destruction will not be delayed.

4 For God did not spare even the angels who sinned. He threw them into hell, in gloomy pits of darkness, where they are being held until the day of judgment.

Not a lot has changed in the last 2000 years since Jesus.

***Encourage people to listen to the Holy Spirit.

LETS PRAY

Transition: the title of our message today is...

Sermon Title | Called out to GUARD

It’s apparent here that the Leaders of these churches are NOT guarding the flock. They are allowing all types of Destructive teachings INTO the Church - these teachings were we’re not necessarily coming from the leaders of the church.. but the people infiltrating the church. So Peter is warning them about their destructive nature if they DON’T GUARD the Church against these teachings - and people.

I want to point out three things regarding false teachers in hopes to warn us… as Peter warned these churches of his day.

First… lets… talk about

The GAUGE of False Teachers v.1a, Rom 6:1-2,

We see this in beginning of v. 1…

Peter Reminds them of the false teachers in the OT - so they know what to look for.

How do we gauge or measure who is genuinely a false teacher or not?

A false teacher is someone who intentionally twist and perverts the truth of Gods word.

Now some might twist scripture unknowably… through a lack of understanding scripture - I’m not talking about that. I’m talking about intentional twisting to suit their desires.

Eventually they cross the line into teaching Heresy - which is what Peter is addressing here.

What is Heresy? I’ve defined it on the screen for you… A Heresy is..

Heresy: Doctrines or teachings that change the nature of the faith… so fundamentally…. that it no longer can be trusted to be saving faith.

In other words — heresy distorts the message of the cross, minimizes the seriousness of sin, misrepresents God’s call to holiness, and denies the need for sanctification in the life of a believer.

I have seen 2 types of false teachers throughout the years… first… in your NOTES… lets address

RELIGIOUS False Teachers

Clay please keep the sub-point up w/ the following statement

What are these teachers like? IN YOUR NOTES….

These teachers love BLACK and WHITE, right and wrong. They make MINOR issues MAJOR.

When they can’t control you… they love to say things like… THE BIBLE SAYS… You better or ELSE.

Will twist the scriptures and masquerade it as the Good News to use for control, minipulation and power. We see lots of Christian leaders being called out for abuse and over reach of spiritual authority all in the name of the bible.

They will conveniently teach scripture - out of context .. they will over emphasize the law and under emphasize the New Cov. of grace.

Religious Legalism can fall under this category when taken overboard and slip into this form of Hearsay.

The Judiazers of the 1st century were known for this… as they pushed the Old Cov ceramonial and rituals onto the followers of Jesus.

Here is the…

The Pastoral Caution: We must be careful when taking the word out on the bleeding edge of the TRUTH and ignore GRACE.

Most of the time these teachers do NOT fall into heresy… but live out on the bleeding edge of it.

Next, lets identify IN YOUR NOTES the…

REBELLIOUS False Teachers

While… The Religious false teachers love the Black and White… right and wrong IN YOUR NOTES

Clay please keep the sub-point up w/ the following statement

These teachers love GREY, they loved… loophole’s and laziness. They make MAJOR issues MINOR.

They are likely to say things like… … loosen up.. the bible doesn’t explicit say we cant (Fill in the blank with your compromise of choice)

They openly rebel against God’s Word, twisting it to excuse their sinful desires.

Rebellious living falls under this category…. when we take our freedoms in Christ overboard… with lawless living… we are in danger of slipping into this form of Hearsay.

This is a huge danger to the message of Christ - easily leading many people right into sin - rather than away from it.

Here is… the Pastoral Caution: We must be careful when taking the Word out on the bleeding edge of GRACE and ignore the TRUTH. We might be slipping into heresy

Paul say’s this this group, “Shall we continue in sin, that grace may about?”

No we should NOT.

Here is the question I believe scripture is inviting us to ask ourselves today…

Question: What religious or rebellious tendencies do I have?

Which way do you tend to lean?

Being near the edges does not make you a FULL BLOWN False teacher… but I do think we should check ourselves.

Transition: the title of our message today is...

Sermon Title | Called out to Guard

So far we have… looked at…

The Gauge False Teachers - we have learned how to identify and recognize them.

Next… I would like to talk about… IN YOUR NOTES

The GOAL of False Teachers v.1b, 2, 14 Jn 10:10, Mk. 3:25

Clay please keep the main point up w/ the following scripture

We see this in the latter part of v. 1 lets look at it on the screen together… it says… “They will cleverly teach destructive heresies.”

This is their goal… they are methodical and clever in how they teach… this is how they lead many people astray.

Doesn’t this sound… just like the way of enemy? Scripture says he is crafty… he cleverly appears to us as ANGEL of light…

Church… did you know the enemy loves to use FALSE TEACHERS to accomplish his plan…

Yea Satan - the enemy of God and his people actually have a plan for us… we see it in John 10:10

John 10:10 NIV

The thief comes only to steal and kill and DESTROY…

False teachers are actual messengers of Satan in the flesh.

Their goal is simple.. IN YOUR NOTES…

The goal of False teachers is to DISTRACT, DIVIDE and DESTROY

Yea… they will do whatever they can to divert your attention.

with clever teachings that SOUND TRUE…

Church - The enemy will use whatever he can to distract, divide and eventually destroy the church.

He will use sickness, world events, and our sins of choice… to get to us.

They are perverted at heart….

In fact lets look at v. 14 on the screen together… later in Ch2 it say’s this of these false teachers…

2 Peter 2:14 NLT They commit adultery with their eyes, and their desire for sin is never satisfied. They lure unstable people into sin,

These teachers look for the weak and wounded - they take advantage of the vulnerable and lead them RIGHT INTO A LIFE OF SIN.

I believe this is why we see so many wounded Christians deconstructing the teach Jesus right out of their world view.

This is why…

Some will fight tooth and nail to excuse sexual sin by saying - Sex is beautiful as long as its consensual and not hurting anyone… they will explain away the biblical prohibition of things like LGBTQ sex… or pre-marital sex… to make themselves feel better.

Friends, we are all BORN with a propensity to sin - don’t let these false teachers placate your sinful nature.

They will call evil good and good evil - and many will be deceived.

Friends don’t get caught on these slippery slops falling into these false teachings.

The problem is this… The Enemy knows the same thing that Jesus declared in

Mark 3:25… he knows that…

A house divided against itself… will not stand.

Church… once the enemy gets his cleaver little foot in the door… division creeps in between you and God’s Word… and through you… it enter’s the church.

Scripture warns that many…

Will have a FORM of godliness… but actually lack the transforming POWER of the Holy Spirit in their life.

Church...

LETS NOT trade FALSE-Teachings for a powerless life void of the Holy Spirit.

Here is the question I believe scripture is inviting us to ask ourselves today…

Question: What is the enemy using to get a foothold in my life?

Transition: the title of our message today is...

Sermon Title | Called out to Guard

We have learned how to GUAGE false teachers…

We have recognized the GOAL of false teachers…

Now its our turn… lets get practical…. IN YOUR NOTES

How to GUARD yourself against False Teachers 2 Pet. 3:17

Church - it is our responsibility as people of God to guard - to protect ourselves from FALSE TEACHERS.

In the close of Peter’s 2nd letter to these Churches he say’s in Ch 3, v. 17

Clay please keep the main point up w/ the following scripture

2 Peter 3:17 NIV

Therefore, dear friends, since you have been forewarned, be ON YOUR GUARD so that you may not be carried away by the error of the lawless and fall from your secure position.

I do believe there is a point that heresy can walk someone right down the road of losing their secure position in Christ… and the faith they profess is not longer saving faith becuase its NOT founded in the TRUTH and GRACE of Gods Word.

I don’t believe in fear mongering people that sinned last night into believing they lose their salvation every time they sin. But we should be very concerned if we are living a rebellious - lawless life…

Peter is saying WAKE UP!

Take responsibility to guard your life against false teachings and ideas…

Guarding our life is NOT rocket science, its NOT COMPLICATED but it is HARD - becuase the enemy will give you ever excuse to avoid what I am about to tell you.

How do we guard ourselves… First… IN YOUR NOTES

We guard our HEARTS by staying in Scripture(Heb 4:12)

We are responsible for the health of our own hearts.

Reading the word is like taking the car through a car wash…

It will wash over your mind, and set it right.

I spend time in the word nearly EVERY morning, not to get a sermon.. but to wash my mind, will and emotions with the word of God. I trust it to do its job in me (It’s not about a feeling - its NOT always about me UNDERSTANDING everything I read - its about TRUSTING the word to do it sjob in me.

Hebrews 4:12 NIV

For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

The division and confusion that enters into our lives through False teachers

The word of God sets us right BACK on CHRIST… It washes our minds

What else should we guard… next… IN YOUR NOTES

We guard our HOMES by staying in Church Heb 10:15

Friends, when you drift from the house of God… you USUALLY Drift from God.

Marriages begin to drift

Your Kids begin to drift,

If your single… your friendships begin to drift and you find yourself with friends who don’t share a common faith in Christ.

This is a call to dig into the House of God - to guard yourself against the drift.

Youtube Preachers, and ONLINE church are a convince for those UNABLE to be here in PERSON - its NOT a subsitute for relationships with the body of Christ.

Paul was challenging the church of this very thing in Hebrews 10:25… lets look at it on the screen together… it says

Hebrews 10:25 NIV

not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

How do we guard ourselves… next… IN YOUR NOTES

We guard the HOUSE by staying on Christ (Heb 12:1-2)

Let’s keep the main thing the main thing.

Keep major things major, and minor things minor

I once talked to a very respected church member who told me, “You know - I have NOT always agreed with every decision our pastors have made - but they never knew it. Becuase… at the end of the day… I know they are the ones praying, and seeking God and I trust that. It’s their position to provide the vision and ours to support it.

The writer of Heb. say’s it perfectly… KEEP YOUR EYES on FIXED on JESUS.

Thats exactly what this man was doing… he was fixing his eyes on JESUS -

Don’t let yourself get distracted…. derailed and eventually destroyed

We guard our ATMOSPHERE by staying in the Spirit(Eph. 6:18)

There is a spiritual war out there

We need to be attuned to it and we do it by engaginging in SPIRITUAL warfair through PRAYER.

Ephesians 6:18 NIV

And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.

We believe as a Pentecostal church that Scripture encourages us in places like 1st Cor. 12, 13, 14 to pray in the spirit which scripture describes as praying in tongues… is for our benefit and strengthening -

This is how we guard our response to the atmosphere… by staying in the sprit.

Scripture talk about Praying with words we do not understand

Today is NOT about giving a full explanation on Praying in the Spirit

We usually have an 8 week class every year to teach you about our life with the Holy Spirit and what it means to be a person aquated with ALL that the Holy Spirit has to offer us.

But today is about REMIND beleivers who have received this gift to use it.

We don’t need to add our antics or bravado to it… don’t waist that gift, use it… take time daily to pray in the spirit.

Here is the question I believe scripture is inviting us to ask ourselves today…

Question: What ways do I need to guard myself?

Maybe you need to renew a commitment to one of these 4 things today.

Transition: As I close today….

So today… if you do NOT know Jesus as your Lord and Savior today is your day…

Salvation Altar Call

I believe Jesus is here today, and He wants to save you. Salvation simply means to deliver or to free. It’s not just about delivering you…

It’s about believing

Believing in Jesus means trusting what He say’s—about sin, and eternal punishment, thats the bad news.

The good news is this… that His death on the cross paid the penalty for our sins, making us right with God.

Ephesians 2:8 reminds us: “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.” Salvation requires two things:

1. God’s Grace—His undeserved gift of forgiveness and life because of His love for you.

2. Faith—placing your trust in Him for salvation.

If you’ve never asked Jesus to save you, today is your day. If you’d like ask him… , raise your hand.

I want to invite you to Repeat a prayer after me

· There is nothing magical in this prayer.. it simply is a way of declaring to Jesus what has taken place in your heart.

Here is how I would like to end the service for everyone else….

Call to Action Altar Call

We’re going to end the service with A question as we do nearly every week.

ALL ACROSS THE ROOM – HAS THE HOLY SPIRIT spoken to you in anyway today?

Going Deeper

Read: 2 Peter 2

What religious or rebellious tendencies do I have? v.1a

What is the enemy using to get a foothold in my life? v. 1b, 2, 14

What ways do I need to guard myself? (2 Peter 3:17)

What might the Holy Spirit be saying to you in light of this teaching?

How might the Holy Spirit want to transform you in light of this teaching?

What actions might the Holy Spirit want to take in light of this teaching?

Tongues & Interpretation

1. To STRENGTHEN the Church (1 Cor14:5)

For prophecy is greater than SPEAKING in TONGUES, unless someone interprets what you are saying so that the whole church will be STRENGTHENED.

Believers, God has operated through this gift today to strengthen you today. Let your faith be strengthened and know that God is in control and using supernatural measures to speak to us.

2. Is a SIGN for unbelievers. (1Cor. 14: 21a, 22)

1 Corinthians 14:21–22 (ESV)

In the Law it is written, “By people of strange tongues and by the lips of foreigners will I speak to this people, and even then they will not listen to me, says the Lord.” Thus tongues are a sign not for believers but for unbelievers, while prophecy is a sign not for unbelievers but for believers.

22 -  So you see that speaking in tongues is a SIGN, not for believers, but for UNBELIEVERS.

The Bible explains to us God has chosen to use this gift to be a sign for you. A sign for what? It is a sign of his realness for those of you who have been doubting or questioning the existence of God. He wants you to know he is REAL and he wants to bring you spiritual life and health. If you're in here today and you don't know Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior... he wants you to know he has gone to great lengths to show you his love today. (Great opportunity for a salvation altar call if it fits).