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This sermon is 18 pages long...So be prepared for that!

False Teachings and Boldness.

Christ, this one is for you. You’re still the best I could EVER ask for. I love you, and I’ll glorify your name till the end of my life.

(A lot of what I’ll be teaching here besides what’s in the scriptures will be what I’ve learned to do. Take or leave it, it’s all up to you.)

Hello, everyone! The other day, I found out the COOLEST fact (with the exception of the existence of God). I had heard this before, but I forgot all about it. You might not believe this, but the word “Vader” is a Swedish word that means, “Father”. That took me completely by surprise. My first response to that was, “What? The coolest villain in movie history is named Father? WHAT WERE THEY THINKING??!” So, as I was kinda geeking out about it, I realized something: I can call God “Vader”! After I thought that I was like blaugh . Haha! God is my Vader!

Lol. I actually won’t be calling God that because that seems so…what’s the word? Oh yes, freaky. But I thought about it!

Anyway, time to start.

14. And they had neglected to take bread, and had not more than one loaf with them in the ship. 15. And he charged them saying, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, and of the leaven of Herod. 16. And they reasoned within themselves, saying, We have not bread. 3 17. And Jesus, perceiving this, said to them, Why do you reason that you have no bread? Do you not yet consider or understand? Have you your heart yet blinded? 18. Having eyes, do you not see? and having ears, do you not hear? and do you not remember? 19. When I broke the five thousand men, how many baskets full of fragments did you carry away? They say to him, Twelve. 20. And when [I broke] the seven among four thousand, how many baskets of the remains of the fragments did you carry away? And they said, Seven. 21. And he said to them, How is it that you do not understand?

False teachings come in many forms. It could be people trying to get you to believe that Christ wasn’t the Lord, or they could be trying to teach you that Christ doesn’t love every single person on this planet, or they could be trying to pull you away from the Lord. The World around us is filled with so many religions and idols you can’t count them all. Luckily, the biggest majority of the World’s religious population is followers of Christ. If I remember correctly, there are two billion Christians on the Earth. That’s a third of the population. The Narrow door indeed exists (Luke 13:22-30. He went on his way through towns and villages, teaching, and journeying toward Jerusalem. And some one said to him, "Lord, will those who are saved be few?" And he said to them, "Strive to enter by the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. When once the householder has risen up and shut the door, you will begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, `Lord, open to us.' He will answer you, `I do not know where you come from.' Then you will begin to say, `We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.' But he will say, `I tell you, I do not know where you come from; depart from me, all you workers of iniquity!' There you will weep and gnash your teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God and you yourselves thrust out. And men will come from east and west, and from north and south, and sit at table in the kingdom of God. And behold, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.") for though there are two billion followers, there are still four billion people who aren’t saved (if I’m correct about how many people are in this World). Billions of people are trying to pull the followers of Christ away from the Lord. It’s rough. I mean, I’m a young man who hasn’t had too much life experience, but I know it’s rough. People all around me are trying to get me to give into false teachings. It’s really hard sometimes, because most of those people are people who are influential in my life, like my mom or teacher. But, even so, I’ve learned a few ways to counter their false teachings.

I will divide this sermon into groups like I did with the Different People sermon. Where should I start? How about…false teachings that state that Jesus isn’t the Lord, and that He isn’t the savior?

There are many different sects of Christianity all over the globe. You’ve got your Baptists, your Methodists, your Seventh Day Adventists, Evangelical, Shakers (I’m not sure if they’re still around, however) etc. “I came to cast fire on the earth, and would that it were already kindled! 50 I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how great is my distress until it is accomplished! 51 Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. 52 For from now on in one house there will be five divided, three against two and two against three. 53 They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law (Luke 12:49-53) That whole division thing is right! When I first read that, I must have exclaimed “Holy @#$#!” because it’s so true! There are so many different sects of Christianity out there. (I have a family of 7, and it’s 3 against 4!) I personally don’t get the differences, and why the differences seem to matter to these people. That is why I’m just a follower of Christ. I don’t get into that whole thing. However, whether you’re a Baptist or a Methodist, or a Seventh Day Adventist or whatever, you’re still a follower of Christ. It’s not what sect you’re a part of that matters one bit, it’s that you form a relationship with Jesus/God, and that you accept Christ as your savior.

However, there are sects that do teach false teachings up the nose.

For example: Jehovah’s Witnesses teach that Jesus Christ isn’t the Lord God, that He is a totally separate being, that He didn’t die for all our sins, but instead so that the sin Adam and Eve committed was forgiven, and that Jesus is not to be viewed as a savior. They teach that God made the Universe through Jesus, and that Jesus was God’s first creation. Man, I could go on and on about why that’s wrong. I have a dear friend who’s a Jehovah’s Witness, and he and I have debated our religions so many times it’s hard to count. I remember one time he and his mother were driving me home from school, and we were just having a blast chatting with each other. Until my friend asked me, “Do you understand what Jesus is like and what He did?” I looked at him for a second and said, “I’m not a Jehovah’s Witness, if that’s what you’re asking” His mom told him that now wasn’t the time to discuss that, but she did try and convince me that Jesus wasn’t God (in a respectful way of course) At the time, I didn’t know enough scripture to be able to really defend that Jesus is God, but now that I’ve read so much more of the Bible, I know what to say next time.

People of all other faiths (especially Muslims) have tried to prove that Jesus never said He was God. All I can say to that is yes He did say He was God. There are So many verses that say He was the lord God

Isaiah 45:5
5 I am the LORD, and there is no other;
apart from me there is no God.
I will strengthen you,
though you have not acknowledged me,

This verse tells us that there is only one God, not two or three and twenty five. Jesus cannot be a separate god, for then there would be more than one god.

"My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand.
I and My Father are one" (John 10:27-30)

This verse talks about how the Lord God will come after and save his children, no matter what day it is, and how NOBODY can take them from His hands. Right at the end, it says that Jesus and God are one. If Jesus isn’t the Lord, then somebody else besides the Lord would be saving His Children, which just isn’t true. It all goes back to the fact that there is only one god, and only He can save His children.

1
1 2 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2
He was in the beginning with God.
3
3 All things came to be through him, and without him nothing came to be. What came to be
4
through him was life, and this life was the light of the human race;
5
4 the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

Pretty straight forward, huh? Jesus is the Word, and the Word is God.

13"You call me 'Teacher' and 'Lord,' and rightly so, for that is what I am. 14Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet. 15I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.
Jesus clearly says here that He is the Lord. If He weren’t God, He would be sinning against the Lord by saying that He is the Lord.
Gosh, I can’t find this one verse in the Gospel, but it says, “If you’ve seen me, you’ve seen the Father”. Think about that for a second. Jesus said that if you’ve seen Him, you’ve seen God. What does that mean? That means that if you’ve seen Jesus, you’ve seen the all-powerful creator of the universe. That can’t mean anything else. I’ve tried pointing that out to my friend, but he doesn’t seem to grasp it. I think I know why.
58"I tell you the truth," Jesus answered, "before Abraham was born, I am!"

I am. When did God say this? The Lord told Moses to tell the King of Egypt that he was from I am. In other words, the Lord Jesus told the Jews who He is. He is I am.

Isaiah 49:8-20
This is what the LORD says:
"In the time of my favor I will answer you,
and in the day of salvation I will help you;
I will keep you and will make you
to be a covenant for the people,
to restore the land
and to reassign its desolate inheritances,
9 to say to the captives, 'Come out,'
and to those in darkness, 'Be free!'
"They will feed beside the roads
and find pasture on every barren hill.
10 They will neither hunger nor thirst,
nor will the desert heat or the sun beat upon them.
He who has compassion on them will guide them
and lead them beside springs of water.
11 I will turn all my mountains into roads,
and my highways will be raised up.
12 See, they will come from afar—
some from the north, some from the west,
some from the region of Aswan. [a] "
13 Shout for joy, O heavens;
rejoice, O earth;
burst into song, O mountains!
For the LORD comforts his people
and will have compassion on his afflicted ones.
14 But Zion said, "The LORD has forsaken me,
the Lord has forgotten me."
15 "Can a mother forget the baby at her breast
and have no compassion on the child she has borne?
Though she may forget,
I will not forget you!
16 See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands;
your walls are ever before me.
17 Your sons hasten back,
and those who laid you waste depart from you.
18 Lift up your eyes and look around;
all your sons gather and come to you.
As surely as I live," declares the LORD,
"you will wear them all as ornaments;
you will put them on, like a bride.
19 "Though you were ruined and made desolate
and your land laid waste,
now you will be too small for your people,
and those who devoured you will be far away.
20 The children born during your bereavement
will yet say in your hearing,
'This place is too small for us;
give us more space to live in.'


Throughout the Bible, the Lord tell us He is the only one who can save us. God said that only salvation is through Him. So, if Jesus said this: John 12:44-50
44Then Jesus cried out, "When a man believes in me, he does not believe in me only, but in the one who sent me. 45When he looks at me, he sees the one who sent me. 46I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.
47"As for the person who hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge him. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save it. 48There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; that very word which I spoke will condemn him at the last day. 49For I did not speak of my own accord, but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and how to say it. 50I know that his command leads to eternal life. So whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say."
and not be the Father, then He would be saying that He can save God’s people. Only the Lord can save His people. Jesus is the Lord.

Man oh man, I could go on and on about this. As always, however, I have a time limit, so I’ll sum up this section.

Think about this for a moment. The Jews had Jesus killed because He was saying things that were blasphemy in their eyes. (31Again the Jews picked up stones to stone him, 32but Jesus said to them, "I have shown you many great miracles from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?"
33"We are not stoning you for any of these," replied the Jews, "but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God." John 10:31-33) It wasn’t because of the many miracles He did, but because He said that He was God. If they had thought Him to be a prophet (Which a few of them did), they wouldn’t have threatened to kill Him, and later actually kill Him (But He came back three days later! Take that, death!) Jesus had said He was the Lord, and He is the Lord.

Not believing in Christ brings death and eternal separation from God. Those who don’t believe Christ is their savior are not saved. It’s a sad truth, but no less the truth. That is why we are to be the light of the World, and to be bold for God.

I often wonder what makes somebody who knows Christ was alive and Devine shy away from the fact that He is God. I’m a thinker. I spend hours thinking up things (story ideas, sermons, the meanings to things, etc.) and I’ve come to the conclusion that they shy away from the fact that Jesus is the Lord because they haven’t accepted Him to be their savior, hence, they don’t have the Holy Spirit. Christ told us He’d send a helper when He left us to rejoin His Father, and that helper is the Holy Spirit. He is there to help us with our walk, and He does a fine good job of it. I ignore the Holy Spirit sometimes, which I’m working on not doing, but without him, I wouldn’t understand a thing about Christ. I wouldn’t be able to do some things I can do now were it not for Him.

Now it’s time to go on about the boldness we need. I am not a bold person, at least, not without the Holy Spirit. But even so, I will learn to be bold enough to tell my friend that he’s going down the wrong path. It will require lots of training, and getting past the possibility that my friend will not want to be my friend if I try and show him the path. It’s a very real truth. My friend could hate me for wanting to bring him to our Savior. I don’t want to lose my friend. He’s very dear to me. But even so, what means more, our friendship, or his and his family’s salvation?

If you have somebody in your life that is devoid of the Holy Spirit, and can’t accept Christ as their savior, ask God to give you the boldness needed to be the light that leads them to God. I know the fears there. I pray all the time about that. It’s hard. It truly is. But I will learn someday that the Lord’s will is hard, and that might mean personal sacrifices. I hope that you will (if you haven’t already) pray for the Lord’s Boldness.

I love my Bible. It’s called Extreme Teen Bible(it’s a New Century Translation) and throughout the Bible, it gives you these side notes called “On the Edge” where they explain what a verse means. Haha, without those, I would be like gonk while trying to read the Bible. Well, they also have ways listed on how you can help the Lord. At the beginning of "Colossians", it gives you a list of ways to decide whether or not something is heresy.
1.) Does this way of thinking honor Christ as the one true God?

2.) Does this way of faith require anything more than faith to be righteous?

3.) Does this way of thinking help me be more obedient to Christ or less?

That’s something I keep in mind wherever I go. Especially when I’m with my friend.

Acckk…two more sections to write.

Ok, what next? I think I’ll cover the simplest section next.

Over the years, there have been people who have tried to make Christ seem as if He hated certain people. Today, a lot of Christians are all about bashing on gay people and trying to make them hated and basically destroyed by the world. Some groups in the Southern United States like the Ku Klux Clan try to make it seem like the Lord hates those who aren’t white. Some Christians think that people who aren’t saved should be killed off (Especially in the Feudal era). All of those examples are false teachings made by people influenced by the devil rather than the Lord.

John 3:16
16"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,[a] that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

The World is made up of all people. All people means all people, regardless of background, gender, ethnicity, age, looks, sexuality, religion, etc. Now, only followers of Christ are forgiven for their sins and saved, but that doesn’t change the fact that Christ died for the World. Christ said that He loves everyone, and since Christ is the Lord God, His words will last forever. So, remember, if somebody tries to convince you that God is hateful towards anyone, or that a certain group of people isn’t saved even if they believe in the Word, or anything along those lines, remember that God loves EVERYONE. Don’t let Satan convince you otherwise.

It's time for more on Boldness. I know a Christian who totally hates homosexuals, and she will openly say it. I cannot force her under any circumstance (nor would I force her) to love them. But I can influence her to love them by showing her why Christ loves everyone. Now, that may mean that she hates me, but it doesn't matter. The Lord's love and glory come first (of course, I don't always think that way, but I try) We cannot force anyone to do anything, but we can influence them. I ask you to pray that the Lord gives you the influence to show those who are consumed by Satan's evil hatred to show love instead.

One last section and I’ve got an hour left before I have to go to bed? Will I make it? I’ll take bets! blaugh

Do any of you ever watch The Simpsons? I do. I mean, I used to watch it. The newer episodes are getting totally lame, but the older episodes are comic gold. They once made an episode where this cult group called the Movementarians came into Spring Field in order to try and convince the Christians that they were following the wrong faith. What they did was brainwash the people of Spring Field, take all of their things, and give them easy answers. Well, this cult promised a new planet for anyone who gives everything they have to the “Leader”. Well of course, the “Leader” was only a con artist, and he got all the riches of the people by giving them false hope. In the end, the “Leader” gets discovered for what he truly is, and he is taken down by Cletus, the Slap Jawed Yokel.

I don’t know why I brought that up exactly, but I know there was a point to it! ninja

Well, as you know, there are thousands of religions out there. It gets pretty hectic when people try and convince you your religion is wrong. You’ve got people who don’t believe in God, or they don’t believe in only one God, or they believe that Jesus wasn’t the Christ, etc. The list goes on. It gets pretty hectic. I once wondered which religion was correct. I thought about it, looked into various religions, and I know without a doubt that Christian is the right religion. I love Christ, I have felt His undying love and peace, seen miracles thanks to simple prayers and I have heard the voice of God spiritually (not bragging, just giving you reasons why I know Christianity is correct) more so than that, I have put my faith into it, and I have gotten SO much better. Infinitely better. Things I couldn’t do before, I can do now (like love everyone). Sure, life has gotten rougher, but that doesn’t mean it hasn’t gotten SO much better (You know what, it seems like everything is against us, but we're not failures. We have faith, we have courage, and we're not to back off. We're going to keep on believing."
(Paraphrase of 2 Cor. 4:8-9)

I know that Christianity it truth. But does that mean I haven’t been tempted to try out other religions? No. I have looked into other religions, but none of them have been correct (and none of them will be correct). Not a single one beside the one we follow.

Sometimes, at least for me, it takes a little bit of evidence to really realize the truth behind Christianity. I don’t mean evidence like God doing something awesome right in front of you (though, that’s always cool blaugh ) when I say that.

I have found a few ways to find evidence in the truth of Jesus, simply by studying history. As I’ve told you guys, I am a history buff. I can’t stop studying history, both the good and bad parts of it. I particularly love ancient history, like the Roman Empire, The Greeks, the Jews (especially now since I’m Christian) the Phoenicians, etc. All of history is interesting to me.

Anyway, something always sticks out when you study history. It’s like a stick in your eye. You can’t miss it. Looking back at history, you always see cultures and civilizations that were once high and mighty get completely obliterated. All of these civilizations worshipped Idols like you wouldn’t believe. Ancient Egypt worshipped idols like the Son God Ra, and it had a pretty large empire for its time. But it was taken over and conquered several times (by Alexander the Great and by the Romans) and its idols were destroyed. The ancient Greeks contributed so much to modern day culture, and were once a strong military force (My gosh, the Spartans were probably some of the strongest, toughest, and greatest trained soldiers EVER). They worshipped Idol Gods like Posiden, yet Alexander of Macedonia also conquered them, then later they were conquered by the Romans (because the Romans were a huge power back then.) Then Alexander the Great’s empire, which spanned from Macedonia to near India, was conquered after Alexander died of unknown reasons (I’m guessing because of God’s wrath). The Romans then took over everything. They had a HUGE Empire (Most of Europe, parts of Africa [Including Egypt] and parts of Asia), and they were the most powerful military force for a long time! They defeated Hannibal, who had nearly taken Rome, and fully recovered from it! They were no laughing matter! Yet, they worship Greece’s idols, and you know what happened? They suffered a humiliating defeat. They were taken down like the other idol-worshipping empires!

All of these strong idol-worshipping empires were forgotten (until recently). Now, I am not celebrating the deaths of many people, but this really shows me that God exists. I hope that the Lord has taken care of those who were killed off in these empires, and hopefully saved many of them before they were taken out. But wait, there’s more.

Itsy-bitsy Israel, a nation of little military strength, has survived ALL of it. It’s religion, Judaism, and later Christianity, have survived for THOUSANDS of years! My gosh, you look at the history of Israel and see how many times other STRONG Empires have tried to take it over (a few of them succeeded, like The Romans) and failed is just astounding. On the map, Israel is a puny little place! Yet, despite that, its people have survived horrors, and God’s love has never changed. The people of Israel are God’s people, and as He promised, they have been taken care of since the beginning of time! Jesus, our Lord and Savior, has saved SO MANY since He came to Earth the first time. I mean, though the early Christians had been victimized by so many other nations and Idol religions, it’s survived and grown to be the largest religion out there. Nero, the Fifth Roman Emperor, persecuted and murdered Christians to try and stop Christ’s love. He fed people to lions! Yet, even so, Christians held onto their faith, simply because they KNEW and KNOW it’s truth. The love of God and the Holy Spirit have made sure that Christ is remembered for His ultimate sacrifice. It’s not like Christians had powerful armies, yet even so, they have survived COUNTLESS attacks by the Devil. The Lord’s promise to never forsake you or leave you is true. That’s why the whole World knows of Him (Even if they don't believe He's the savior, he is known by all people), and that’s why 2 billion follow Him.

It goes on. The Bible is the most historically accurate book in the World. It’s not only the Lord’s love letter to you, but it’s also God’s history lesson. Think about this. The only surviving ancient religion (besides Buddhism) is Judaism. All the others have died off because they’re not truth. Later, Christ came around, and His love hasn’t died. There are so many people who feel His love and know He’s there, and they take great joy in knowing that. I do. It’s survived, because as the Lord said, His word will never become void. Everything God said would happen has happened, or is going to happen, like the second coming of Jesus. It’s all true! It’s all true! The Bible all makes sense. It explains why we’re so different from animals, why certain empires fell big time, why the World is in such a bad state (not all of it, praise the Lord) and how to beat Satan down whenever he comes at you like a roaring lion. It all works! I’ve seen horribly wicked people change their ways by simply accepting Christ. I’ve seen myself change in ways I just love! It goes on once again. It explains how we came about, and why people have survived. It explains our loving Father. People have Worshipped the Lord since the beginning of time, and they were the ones to have survived.

People today, believer or unbeliever, all swear to God. It’s funny to me. You have this Atheist dude who is trying to get somebody else to believe what he’s, so he says, “I swear to God,” or, “I swear to Christ!” Of course, he doesn’t believe what he’s saying; yet he still feels like if he swears to the Lord, he is being truthful. I don’t know about you, but that cracks me up. They know He’s there. They just deny it thanks the devil and his tricks.

Haha I could go on. And, I will.

4Jesus answered: "Watch out that no one deceives you. 5For many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am the Christ,[a]' and will deceive many. 6You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. 7Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8All these are the beginning of birth pains.
9"Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. 10At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, 11and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. 12Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, 13but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. 14And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. Matthew 24:6-15.


Jesus told us to prepare for false teachings. As you know, there have been several people out there who have tried to make themselves better than God/Jesus. I don’t mean to sound like an intolerant jerkwad, but Mohammed was that way, for example. I really don’t mean to openly attack and destroy other’s religions, but I feel that I must use Mohammed as an example. He said he was better than Christ, and he started his own religion that many millions follow. When Christ said many people would be tricked, He wasn’t kidding!

I love Muslims. I think that a vast majority of them are peace loving and are trying to find the Word, even though they are blinded at the moment. But, even so, I know that the Muslim religion is wrong, again, simply through faith and history.

Mohammed had one day thought of God when he was in his adult years, and because of that he thought he was Devine. Before that day, he hadn’t ever thought himself to be any more than a man.

It goes on. The Muslim religion is based off Judaism. Mohammed said that he was the one who was prophesized to be like Jesus. Yet, he was forgetting very key things when he said that.

14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you [a] a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. [c] 15 He will eat curds and honey when he knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right. Isaiah 7:14-15

Mohammed was not born of a virgin. He was born the regular human way. Also, since he was not born of the Holy Spirit, he thought himself a man until his adult years, while Jesus knew who He was right from the start.

Mohammed never did any miracles, while Christ did MANY. Do I need to go on about that?

13 See, my servant will act wisely [a] ;
he will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted.
14 Just as there were many who were appalled at him —
his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any man
and his form marred beyond human likeness—
15 so will he sprinkle many nations, [c]
and kings will shut their mouths because of him.
For what they were not told, they will see,
and what they have not heard, they will understand.
Isaiah 52:13-15
1 Who has believed our message
and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?
2 He grew up before him like a tender shoot,
and like a root out of dry ground.
He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
3 He was despised and rejected by men,
a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering.
Like one from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
4 Surely he took up our infirmities
and carried our sorrows,
yet we considered him stricken by God,
smitten by him, and afflicted.
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was upon him,
and by his wounds we are healed.
6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to his own way;
and the LORD has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
7 He was oppressed and afflicted,
yet he did not open his mouth;
he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
and as a sheep before her shearers is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.
8 By oppression [a] and judgment he was taken away.
And who can speak of his descendants?
For he was cut off from the land of the living;
for the transgression of my people he was stricken.
9 He was assigned a grave with the wicked,
and with the rich in his death,
though he had done no violence,
nor was any deceit in his mouth.
10 Yet it was the LORD's will to crush him and cause him to suffer,
and though the LORD makes [c] his life a guilt offering,
he will see his offspring and prolong his days,
and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand.
11 After the suffering of his soul,
he will see the light of life [d] and be satisfied [e] ;
by his knowledge [f] my righteous servant will justify many,
and he will bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, [g]
and he will divide the spoils with the strong, [h]
because he poured out his life unto death,
and was numbered with the transgressors.
For he bore the sin of many,
and made intercession for the transgressors.
Isaiah 53:1-12

Jesus went through EXACTLY this. He was beaten, hated, and killed off. But all while doing this, He saved us of our sins, and He did become GREATLY loved in the end. Mohammed, however, didn’t die such a horrific death. He was not martyred. Hence, he did not take the Lord’s sufferings like Jesus did.

Last and not least, Mohammed wasn’t resurrected like Christ was. When Mohammed died, he was dead. He didn’t come back. Christ, however, came back to us three days later, and showed himself to His followers. Roman texts speak of Jesus’ miracles, and His resurrection. Because of this, it has been proven that Jesus Christ is the Lord.

The reason I brought all that up was to show you ways that I have learned to combat the teachings false prophets teach. I hope that helps you whenever a follower of another religion confronts you.

That actually brings me to my next point.

You know how God said He would punish false saviors? That’s true. What the Lord will do to them is between Him and the False Saviors. However, remember that the Lord loves ALL of His Children, no matter what. Remember that He wants us to save His Children of other religions. Do not hate or prosecute non-believers. Do not wish them harm or think it’s ok if they die. In my opinion, it’s actually more ok for a believer to die than a non-believer. Why? Because when the believer dies, he/she will meet Jesus in Heaven, while a non-believer (whether they’re Muslim, Atheist, whatever) will only meet death. Now, I’m not saying I would want either to die, and if I had to choose, I wouldn’t. But the point is in my personal belief; you should treat those who don’t believe like they were treasures. Why, because they need to be taken care of so that they can start believing and be saved. Of course, that applies for believers as well, but even more so for non-believers. I hope that doesn’t sound…bad, but that’s just what I think. I especially hope that people aren’t now thinking, “You stupid boy you! I’m gonna smack ya! Right through the internet!”

Instead of showing hatred to unbelievers, fight for the Lord. Show non-believers Christ’s love, so that they can make the decision to be saved!

Love for Enemies

43"You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor[h] and hate your enemy.' 44But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? 48Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Of course, don’t think we’re going to show Christ’s love 24/7. We’re not perfect, and we will do things that might do more harm than good from time to time.

All…most….done…with….sermon! It’s taken me three full nights to write this! gonk

Now I remember why I brought up the Simpsons. It was to warn you of cults that are out to get your money. I beg you not to fall victim to these. They will try and pull you from the Lord.

Ok….This sermon is getting way too long. It’s 18 pages!

I’ll end off by asking you to show love and kindness to those who are stuck in the traps of false teachings. I ask you to please show Christ’s love, not Satan’s hatred. I ask you to please realize that though followers of other religions are wrong and trying to pull you away from the Lord, that they are not neccesarily being wicked, for their intentions are good even though they are wrong. I ask you to always stay with Christ, and to never fall from Him, for He loves you SO much!

You guys all rule. I hope that this did somebody some good…especially since it took so long to write!!!

James the Nerdy

Father in Heaven,
I thank you for your love and mercy, and your inability to forsake us. I thank you for defending us from false teachings, and for bringing your children back to you through us. You rule! Please forgive us of our sins, and lift us up as we praise you. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

P.S

And I have another prayer request. If you're willing, please pray that Gini feels better soon. She has caught the flu (I think) and I know she doesn't want that anymore. Please pray that God heals her soon.

I love your sermons, bro! Humorous, yet you get the point across quite clearly.

I'm starting to see more and more people claiming things that are false teachings. I don't like it, and there isn't much I can do. Scientology, for one, scares me! gonk I'm glad you get along well with your teacher, though.

I was gonna say more, but I forgot what it was. neutral If I need to, I'll come back and edit. 3nodding

Thank you all smile I hope that the Lord has done good for you through this sermon. heart

Holy moly! That's what I was missing! I was missing the verses about the Holy Spirit talking through you. Something was driving me crazy, because I couldn't firgure out what I was missing. Thank you, Poem-chan, big sis.

Yes, I will definitely do that. God's got all the plans down. I just got to let him do them! sweatdrop

I spoke with my mom about this, and chances are I'm leaving the school. please, keep praying for me while this happens.

I was praying in my head. I understand where my teacher is coming from, but if I feel I need to pray 9in my head for a minute) I'm gonna.

You are forgiven as always, bro. I'd never hold that against you, but it's better for you to apologize as you have, so that you can grow. *nods*

Either way, how is this school thing going? I'm glad you pray in class! Our Nation wasn't founded on potato chips! (though you wouldn't know by looking at some people ninja )