His Perfect Love

Guest (Male): False teaching abounds in the world as we know it, but Pastor Matt says there's something you can do as a safeguard against it.

Matt VanderVen: So what is the best way to guard yourself? Again, if I asked you just to remember one thing, what's the best way to guard yourself against falsehood of false teachers and it's simply to know the truth, to become biblically literate. The easiest way to spot an imitation is to study and general or the real thing. Any believer who correctly handles the word of truth and who makes a careful study of the Bible can identify false doctrine.

Guest (Male): A warm welcome to you. This is his perfect love with our pastor and teacher Matt Vanderveen. We'll be covering Revelation chapter 6 and verses 5 through 8 today. You're probably somewhat familiar with the State of the Union address given by the president each year. Well, you might think of today's message as a State of the Church address. As we examine the church as a whole worldwide, it's clear there are some big problems, but not without a solution. Here's Pastor Matt with a message recently delivered at Calvary Chapel Harrisburg, West Shore.

Matt VanderVen: This is back in July 6, 2022. Here we are 3 years later in 2025, not a full 3 years, 2 and 2 years and something. Fewer in US now see the Bible as the literal word of God. If you scroll down, there's a graph in here. It's it it's astounding. Most of the church isn't aware of this. We're so we're so spoiled. We're so spoiled by Jesus because we have the word of God and we're in the word of God and we do this every week. We read line by line and verse by verse. We think this is normal.

Unless you're new to this church or unless you've been to another church visiting recently, you have no idea that other churches don't actually read the Bible anymore. They go in, they might talk about topics, they might talk about things that are neat and whatever. But last time I checked, I went to a smorgasbord or I went to a buffet. They had meat over here, they had desserts, they had all kinds of things and guess what? Where did I gravitate towards? The vegetables or the meat and the desserts? According to the data, only 20% of all churches today have congregants that actually believe the Bible is literal.

That means one out of every five churches you drive by is actually teaching the word and believes that the word of God is God breathed and literal. Is it again, remember I talked about studying your enemy? He's done a great job at stealing the foundation. He's even used public policy, social gospels, and all kinds of things to make people ashamed. One of the best ways you can have your debates, your discussions is to bring out your Bible and to quote scripture. Most people when they're doing a debate, even in Christian circles, sometimes no no no, put that away.

Let's just talk about the data. Let's look at what we see. Why do I have to undermine the word of God? You took the Bibles out of schools. You've taken prayer out of schools. You know, I love our teachers that work in the public schools that are I call them like our undercover agents. There are Bible undercover agents. They're in there with the word of God. They're being faithful, they're teaching the word and they're getting people saved, but they're undercover agents because all of the propaganda and all the things that and we have many people that, you know, have families that go to the public and the things they've told us, you know, furry, I mean just all kinds of things between the school It's one of the reason we started a school here so that we knew the word of God would be taught because just because you have a school and you call it a Christian school doesn't mean the kids are actually getting the word of God memorizing it and you know, I've said it before, our kindergartners can get up here and say all 66 books of the Bible.

Our first and second graders can can tell you and write sentences, our third, fourth or paragraphs. I mean, you know, by high school they're writing inter testamental I mean, this is not a game because the whole point is to create a biblical illiteracy so you willingly just walk into the pit that in right to the pit of hell and not even knowing that you're walking contrary to God. This is the great deception. This is the great deception and it's been going on for 20 plus years, 30 years. And like I said, now the data is beginning to show it.

It's literally coming and saying, oh by the way, and and this again 2 and 1/2 3 years ago, they're saying they expect that to be halved in the next 5 years. So here we are 2 and 1/2 years into the 5 years already, which means that was 20% in 2022. Forgive me when the screen was up. So that means today here we are 2 and 1/2 year that means technically we're probably closer to 15%. And again, we're so spoiled because we come to a church where we expect you you all expect when you walk in here, pastor better open the word of God and he better read the word of God cuz you don't need anymore man's wisdom.

Amen? So you know already, you already put me on notice and we're all on notice for the Lord because we want to hear these things. But please understand that there's a lot of places that well, 80% of them don't do that. 80% of the churches worldwide do not do what we do and read the Bible. And don't you think this is normal? Because it's all we know. We just thought this is normal. Read the word of God, spend time with Jesus. I mean, church, did you realize that even what we do with churches today, like the programs and all the nonsense that goes on in churches, I'm I'm sorry, I'm going to call it like it is.

It it's it's not Acts 2:42. It's it's not turning around and going to the word of God, the apostles doctrine. It it's not focused on prayer, it's not fellowship like like-minded believers coming together, building each other up and encouraging each other, right? It it it's not breaking bread and eating together so that we grow together because we, as the Old Testament would show us, when we eat, we share one in all accord. Do you realize that the tech on the church has been going on for hundreds of years? I I think God for the the great reformation.

I think God for Luther, I think God for for Zwingli, I think God for Calvin, I think God for all these men in the 1500s and 1400s that stood up and said right? Faith alone, scripture alone. But friends, they stopped short. They stopped short when it came to eschatology or what we know as end time events. And what I mean by that is there wasn't a whole time where they sat and said, you know what? Revelation, Daniel, passages like that should be taking literal. No, we're going to allegorize those things. Much of the Catholic Church believes in an allegorical teaching of Revelation.

It's not real. These events aren't going to happen. The way it's it's kind of imagery. And this is what I mean when I'm saying we are a remnant of dispensationalists. Some of you are saying I don't even what do you call me? What did you just say? Is that fighting words? Dispensationalism. It's it's it's a theology, an underpinning if you will. It's an administration, a system, or a management. Paul actually uses the word. But dispensationalism has two primary distinctives. First one, a consistent literal interpretation of scripture, especially Bible prophecy. Second, a view of the uniqueness of Israel as separate from the church.

No replacement theology in God's program. Very important. Classical dispensationalism identifies seven dispensations in God's plan for immunity. Just just bear with me before we get to it's just really important we go through this because again, we're I I have no presumption about what I know, what you know, what we've been through, what churches you've been. I don't know if you recognize that this is all been in God's plan and work and Satan is working so diligent. I mean, we've you think about churches today, they're transient like an open door that's constantly revolving. People come, people go.

Well, I like this. I didn't like this. I do It's not a social club. It's not a social club. It's not meant to be a place where we all come in and we kind of go right? We're not supposed to do that. We come in here because Ephesians 4 tells us what a church was created to do, equip saints for what? The work of the ministry so the edifying, which is the building up, he said until who comes? Jesus, the perfecting of the saints. We don't get to define something that we don't own. We didn't create this institution of a church.

It began when God brought in the age or what we call the dispensation of grace. Some of you look at me and go, what did you just say? What did you call me again? There's been six major dispensations throughout church history if if you allow me. And and why I am bringing this up is just because I'm very concerned with these last days that so many are falling away because they don't believe in a literal Bible and an interpretation of the word of God anymore and we have taken it for granted too long. And people are going and like I said, if 80% of the churches aren't there aren't doing this, then we're watching people do what?

Fall away. The Bible teaches very clear in Revelation 20 that there's a thousand years. I believe Jesus means a thousand years. It's a millennial reign of Christ. He's not using imagery or like kind of like a thousand years. No, I believe it'll be a thousand years to the day cuz Jesus Christ is always right. I certainly believe that there's times where scripture does use certainly, you know, pictures and things like that and I even believe those figurative sayings or things actually have literal meanings behind those too that he uses for us. But but the reason this is important is because the literal interpretation keeps us from misapplying scripture.

It also makes us aware of the scripture and the things that are happening and what it does is it doesn't allow us to be lulled into a false security, a falling away. There are Christians walking around forgetting that judgment and punishment's coming. They're very comfortable. They're very temporal minded, not eternally focused. And they're not thinking about the end of evil and the wickedness and the promises that God has established for Israel and the things that are going to lead to a theocracy again as God's plan. When we move away from a literal end times prophecy, we we get a careless water down understanding of God's plan and purpose.

Without imminency, expecting God's return at any time, the expectation of judgment, it leads humans again to a careless life forgetting that we are in a battle. Spiritual warfare is real. There's principalities and powers. It leads to a cold heart. It leads to lawlessness. And is any of this sounding familiar? A falling away of the Christian. It opens the door to man's wisdom, humanism, intellectualism, and all other kinds of heresies and false teachings. This is the reason that the last days Christ predicted himself that will many will come false messiahs and teachers. And Paul introduced us to this whole idea of of dispensation.

Some people say, well, that's a man-made concept. Read your Bible, read the Greek, right? It's on economy and it's actually in Ephesians chapter 3 verses 2 through 5. You can turn there right now in your Bible and see that word yourself. We didn't create that word. God created that word and he gave us the understanding economy which is G 3622 in the Greek. It means to have an economy or a method of time and age, something like that if I can oversimplify it. It's a period of time. As a matter of fact, if you read in Ephesians 3 2 through 5 when you get to verse 5, he specifically says other ages.

He's clarifying it for us. He's giving us understanding. So there's been multiple dispensations. If you just give me a few more minutes, I'll go through it. The dispensation of innocence. That was the very first one. That all happened when God worked face to face with his highest creation made in his own image. After the fall, Adam and Eve, mankind was no longer innocent. God appealed to humans to live consciously, to do the right thing. Did you know that your Bible tells you in Genesis chapter 5 that after Adam and Eve there came Seth and every child after Seth was born in the image of Adam, man, the adamic nature.

You mean to tell me we've been told our whole lives before we were saved that we too were born in the image of Christ when Genesis 5 specifically says no, you're not. Which is why Jesus Christ in transaction on the cross was more than just yes, our sins were forgiven past, present and future. But do you know what else happened on the cross? You and I were given access to a new nature. No longer are we the under the adamic nature. I can see there's some some Please hold your finger. Turn to Genesis 5. But these things are really important we understand, especially in these last days when people are going to be asking you all for hope and you're going to be able to give them the hope cuz God Jesus Christ gave it to you.

Genesis 5, look at verse 1. This is the book of the genealogy of Adam. In the day that God created man, he made him in the likeness of God. Do you see that? In the day he created man, he created them male and female and blessed them, right? That's Genesis 1 26 1 27 if you remember originally. He blessed them and called the man kind in the day they were created. And Adam lived 130 years and got a son in his own what's it say there? Please look at that with me. What say but got a man in his own what?

Likeness and after his image. Does everybody see that? And after that point, every human being born has been born into the adamic nature of Seth or his own likeness and image. How many of you you know, I don't want to raise a hand. How many of us knew that? Doesn't that explain everything now while we were born into sin and why we needed Jesus Christ? And Romans 6 now says we don't have to sin anymore. Well, now it makes all the sense in the world because sin in us has been conquered, defeated. When we sin, we now sin of our own choice.

No long does no longer does our nature betray us. Our emotions betray us, but our nature does not. There was a spiritual transaction that took place at Calvary. It was more. I mean, I I think we we Yes, Jesus died for our sins past yes. But there is so much more theologically that when we get to heaven, I believe Jesus will unfold for us that what I did for you is this this this and that and it was all tied to God sending his only begotten son that whoever should love him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

You see his gospel is true and trustworthy. Well, as I mentioned, that was dispensation of innocence. Then then came the second dispensation was was consciousness, the soul and spirit aspect. And that lasted for about 1,600 years till God couldn't tolerate sin no more. And what did he do? He huffed and he No, sorry. No, what did God do? God turned around and he brought a flood that did a world destroyed the world, right? A worldwide flood and all but eight persons, right? Remnant continued um his sovereign plan. Then what came after that? The dispensation of human government.

Do you remember Kings, Chronicles? What happened? Humans, Israel said, you know what? We want to be like the surrounding nations. No longer do we want a king uh that is a ocracy God that way. We want a human king which entered the dispensation of human government, right? Civil authority was established, governed society. But again, what did man do? You know the book of Judges. We don't even need to get that far. How about we just go to Genesis 11 4. What happened there? The tower of Babel. So what did man do? Man rebelled and built a tower because he was going to be like God.

And after that came another dispensation, dispensation of promise. He created the nation of Israel from Abraham and his descendants. And and and then after that, after God had created the Hebrew people, he gave them the law and Moses, right? And that was called the dispensation of the and you probably can figure this one out, the law, right? And God's people constantly broke the commandments, but the law was finally filled in who? Jesus Christ. And the Lord established for you and I, we're going to celebrate it at communion, actually part of communion. We are in the dispensation of grace.

God's unmerited favor that finally allow his chosen people believing Jews and Gentiles to have everlasting fellowship with him. Grace is the sixth dispensation and it's part of that grace you and I have been given a stewardship, the church today. And I don't even hear this talked about anymore. Used to be talked about back from the reformers and throughout human history, but it's I don't know. People don't talk about things anymore, history that way. The church, all believers are ministers of their spiritual fruit and ministers to establish a holy nation. The period, when did those begin?

It's been from Pentecost, Acts chapter 2. It will conclude at the rapture, 1 Thessalonians 4 13 through 18. So it's been going on 2,000 plus years and counting. What's the responsibility we have to be perfected by sanctification? Jesus does that, to love one another and to exhibit ever increasing godliness. There is no reason that Christians should be infighting. There there is no infighting for Christians. There's no We can maybe disagree, but we ought to love each other. We ought to be able to be in each other's presence. We don't fight that way. That that is unbiblical.

It is not based on a biblical foundation. But today what happens? We humans, people disagree and taking my toys. Do we not see how it's it's unbiblical? Like it's literally right here. He says it in 1 Thessalonians 4 3. He says it in 2 John 1 5. Failure. What is the failure of the church today? A lack of maturity, worldliness. So many churches falling into apostasy. Again, we saw it a few years after Paul planted Galatia. And the judgment, God gives them over to their own blindness, apostasy and false doctrine. But grace. Forgiveness of sins through Christ Jesus.

You see the dispensation of grace is often been referred to as the church age. It's It's during this era that Jesus is building his church. Grace is God's benevolence to the undeserving. Grace is the rule of life for the church and through the church, God's grace is extended to a whole world. The gospel, right? Jesus Christ is taken to the ends of the earth. It's grace that saved us. Ephesians 2. It supports us. Romans 5. It teaches us. Titus chapter 2. It disciplines us. 1 Corinthians 11 and Hebrews 12. With the Holy Spirit indwelling his church, we're able to walk with the Lord and live as he intends.

And because of that, friends, while this isn't heaven yet, we get a little taste of heaven through the spirit of God in us and through us corporately. But that begins, you know, why I mentioned this whole topical jumping off here this morning. And that was the warning of false teaching. False teaching is really anything contrary to the scriptures, a false gospel or even the opinion that someone elevates to the prominence of word of God's word. That by definition is always been called idolatry. False teachers are dangerous. They're deceptive operators. They use smooth speech, seductive ways.

They're very convincing. And Jesus warned us that false Christ and false prophets will come and they're even going to try to deceive even God's elect, he said. Matthew 24 23. So what is the best way to guard yourself? Again, if I asked you just to remember one thing, what's the best way to guard yourself against falsehood of false teachers and it's simply to know the truth, to become biblically literate. The easiest way to spot an imitation is to study and the general or the real thing. Any believer who correctly handles the word of truth and who makes a careful study of the Bible can identify false doctrine.

Did you also know that in December I showed you some of those charts and graphs? In December Bible sales rose at a time of all time high right now. What is that telling you? We see a decline in people attending churches and wanting to have authority, accountability, and responsibility. And yet we see people wanting to read the Bible, but with no one there to interpret it or teach them or help them or hold them accountable. Well, everybody likes that because like I said, left to myself, if I went to a smorgasbord, I'm going right to the meat or let's be true, I'm going to the cheesecake.

I'm heading right to the cheesecake. And I think most humans, if we're being honest with ourselves, we do the same thing. So many times it's it's not this. It's all of this every day, all the time, constantly washing our minds in the word of God that helps us to understand when we do get off work conviction. And so often you all in these last days, you're going to become an enemy. Do you know why? Because of Christ's conviction and the conviction of the Holy Spirit, you're going to get blamed for it because you're standing in the place of truth.

You're giving the scriptures and people don't want to hear that anymore. Haven't you heard that lately? Christians are the largest perpetrators of hate crime. Other countries want to make it law. Canada want to make a And Texas was it like 7 8 years ago, the judge there who was trying to overstep bounds wanted to take all the sermons, the pastor's sermons and have them submitted so they could make sure there wasn't hate speech in it. As though somehow we control Just read the word. Just read the word. Let the Lord do the convincing. Let the word the word of God never returns void.

Being a Berean, studying the Bible and judging all teaching by what scripture says, identify the character of the teacher. Does the character align with the scriptures? And based on character and doctrine, can you identify it matches the fragrance and the fingerprints of Jesus? Yes, you can. And that's why there's no coincidence. Satan wants to destroy our faith in Jesus, the trustworthiness of his word. And just as I've stated, these things are going to happen. It's literal. We looked just at a number of these things. So I have one question for you before communion here this morning.

Is everyone here rapture ready? Are you rapture ready?

Guest (Male): We'll leave you to think that over. The way we get rapture ready is by placing our trust in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of our sins. You're listening to Pastor Matt Vanderveen on his perfect love. You can hear the study from Revelation again when you visit hisperfectlove.org. That's his perfectlove.org. We've expanded our podcast too. Look for us on oneplace.com and most of the major podcast platforms. The Calvary Chapel Harrisburg mobile app is another great way to listen to Pastor Matt's messages shortly after they're delivered. We can help you get started when you visit hisperfectlove.org. We're thankful for the listeners that come alongside of us with their prayers and financial support.

If you're interested in supporting this radio ministry, there's a place to do that at hisperfectlove.org. Together we can reach people with the love and truth of God in these last days. Pastor Matt loves to hear from his listeners. Even just a quick hello telling him where you hear the program and how you're blessed by it means a lot. Email us there at the website hisperfectlove.org. And whether you live in or around Mechanicsburg, PA or we'll be visiting the area soon, we'd love to have you join us for a service at Calvary Chapel Harrisburg, West Shore.

Sunday morning services begin at 8:30 and 10:30. We have a midweek service too, Wednesdays at 7 p.m. You'll find us at 28 North Locust Point Road in Mechanicsburg, PA. Go to cc harrisburg.org for more information.

Matt VanderVen: His perfect love is brought to you by Calvary Chapel Harrisburg, West Shore.