1 00:00:00,800 --> 00:00:03,640 It's great to be here with all of you today to worship God in 2 00:00:03,640 --> 00:00:07,200 spirit and in truth. As Terry brought out in our 3 00:00:07,200 --> 00:00:11,480 introduction before we had our introductory prayer, it's good 4 00:00:11,480 --> 00:00:14,440 to be assembled, it's good to worship, and I've enjoyed so far 5 00:00:14,440 --> 00:00:18,680 worshiping with all of you. I want to talk on a subject 6 00:00:18,680 --> 00:00:22,120 found in the great Sermon on the Mount as we continue our series 7 00:00:22,120 --> 00:00:25,920 and we've now down to Matthew Chapter 7 and verse 16. 8 00:00:25,920 --> 00:00:29,600 When Jesus said these words, He said you will know them by their 9 00:00:29,600 --> 00:00:32,280 fruits. Now you know that I'm all about 10 00:00:32,280 --> 00:00:35,960 context and trying to emphasize the context. 11 00:00:35,960 --> 00:00:40,480 The context of verse 16 goes on the heels of the context of 12 00:00:40,480 --> 00:00:43,720 verse 15. So let's begin in verse #15 13 00:00:44,200 --> 00:00:49,440 Jesus says beware of false prophets who come to you in 14 00:00:49,440 --> 00:00:53,760 sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. 15 00:00:55,120 --> 00:00:58,760 If you go back to Matthew chapter 6, just a just a by way 16 00:00:58,760 --> 00:01:01,920 of introduction and very, very brief review. 17 00:01:02,360 --> 00:01:07,480 In Matthew chapter 6 in about verses 19 through 21, Jesus said 18 00:01:07,480 --> 00:01:10,640 that man, our existence will go beyond this life. 19 00:01:10,640 --> 00:01:13,720 And I don't know about you. I am so thankful that this life 20 00:01:13,720 --> 00:01:18,320 is not it, that our existence will go beyond this life 21 00:01:18,320 --> 00:01:21,240 eternally. Then in Matthew Chapter 7, 22 00:01:21,240 --> 00:01:25,480 verses 13 and 14, Jesus said that that existence or man's 23 00:01:25,480 --> 00:01:28,280 eternal existence, it will be in one of two places. 24 00:01:29,120 --> 00:01:32,400 That's why Jesus emphasized the importance of staying on the 25 00:01:32,400 --> 00:01:36,880 straight path or the narrow path, or as some translations 26 00:01:36,880 --> 00:01:40,040 render it, the difficult path that leads to life. 27 00:01:40,600 --> 00:01:43,680 That's one way. The other way is the easy, easy 28 00:01:43,680 --> 00:01:47,360 path that leads to destruction. OK, remember what we said last 29 00:01:47,360 --> 00:01:50,600 time, We're emphasizing the fact there's only one way and that's 30 00:01:50,680 --> 00:01:53,720 Jesus Christ. As Jesus said himself, no one 31 00:01:53,720 --> 00:01:56,160 comes under the Father except by or through me. 32 00:01:56,160 --> 00:01:59,280 So we got to stay on the path. We are the sheep, He is our 33 00:01:59,280 --> 00:02:01,600 shepherd. And may I just suggest, even 34 00:02:01,600 --> 00:02:05,160 though the Bible says it's difficult and Jesus says few 35 00:02:05,160 --> 00:02:08,199 there be that find it, meaning few people are going to make the 36 00:02:08,199 --> 00:02:12,640 choice to choose the difficult path as opposed to the easy 37 00:02:12,640 --> 00:02:14,520 path. That's understandable in our 38 00:02:14,520 --> 00:02:17,720 life. But as I said at the end of that 39 00:02:17,720 --> 00:02:19,960 lesson, I'm going to say it again by way of encouragement. 40 00:02:21,200 --> 00:02:27,480 There's room on that path for every Christian, provided every 41 00:02:27,480 --> 00:02:32,400 Christian follows the shepherd as one of his sheep in a single 42 00:02:32,400 --> 00:02:36,600 file manner. So Jesus emphasizes, you got to 43 00:02:36,600 --> 00:02:39,720 stay on the path. Now he says this while we're on 44 00:02:39,720 --> 00:02:43,480 the path, we got to be careful. We got to be watchful for what 45 00:02:43,480 --> 00:02:48,080 he calls false prophets because false prophets are going to do 46 00:02:48,080 --> 00:02:52,040 their very best to lead us off the path and away from God. 47 00:02:52,240 --> 00:02:57,480 That's why he emphatically stated beware of false prophets. 48 00:02:58,080 --> 00:03:00,280 Hang on one second. This happened last time. 49 00:03:00,280 --> 00:03:03,000 I think we can fix it. We didn't fix it. 50 00:03:06,520 --> 00:03:11,840 Still didn't fix it. OK, this is scheduled to 51 00:03:12,720 --> 00:03:16,480 restart. OK, hang on. 52 00:03:16,520 --> 00:03:19,640 It's it's this Terry. It's let me try it now. 53 00:03:19,640 --> 00:03:20,640 Hit it. Let's try it now. 54 00:03:22,080 --> 00:03:25,480 There we go. It was trying to back up or 55 00:03:25,480 --> 00:03:27,480 restart or something. So we're good. 56 00:03:28,600 --> 00:03:31,600 That's why Jesus emphatically stated beware of false prophets. 57 00:03:31,600 --> 00:03:35,680 And may I suggest too, false prophets are always a problem 58 00:03:35,680 --> 00:03:37,120 for God's people. And here's why. 59 00:03:38,080 --> 00:03:40,200 And also for the furtherance of the cause of Christ. 60 00:03:40,240 --> 00:03:44,160 And here's why. We know that God sends his 61 00:03:44,280 --> 00:03:48,560 people to preach the truth. He sends preachers out into the 62 00:03:48,560 --> 00:03:50,680 world to preach the truth. And I'm not just talking about 63 00:03:50,680 --> 00:03:52,040 evangelist. I'm talking about every 64 00:03:52,040 --> 00:03:56,160 Christian to preach the truth. But at the very same time, the 65 00:03:56,160 --> 00:04:01,240 devil dispatches his servants to try to pervert or change the 66 00:04:01,240 --> 00:04:02,840 truth. I'm going to make a bold 67 00:04:02,840 --> 00:04:07,040 statement here that's very general and we can really sum up 68 00:04:07,080 --> 00:04:09,320 everything we're going to talk about with this general 69 00:04:09,320 --> 00:04:10,200 statement. Here it is. 70 00:04:10,200 --> 00:04:16,360 Remember this, anything or anyone that teaches anything 71 00:04:16,360 --> 00:04:20,079 that is contradictory to the Word of God, and I'm talking 72 00:04:20,079 --> 00:04:23,120 about the word that has been revealed and confirmed. 73 00:04:23,120 --> 00:04:24,960 It's been established. It's the Bible. 74 00:04:25,200 --> 00:04:27,520 If it contradicts that, it has to be rejected. 75 00:04:28,400 --> 00:04:31,600 If a man preaches something else other than that, he has to be 76 00:04:31,600 --> 00:04:33,400 rejected. I think we can understand that, 77 00:04:33,400 --> 00:04:35,560 right? We got to stick to the standard. 78 00:04:35,560 --> 00:04:37,080 That's the Word of God. But I'm going to give you a 79 00:04:37,080 --> 00:04:39,520 Bible for that. In Galatians chapter 1, 80 00:04:39,520 --> 00:04:41,320 beginning in verse 8, Paul said this. 81 00:04:41,560 --> 00:04:47,280 But even if we or an Angel from heaven preach any other gospel 82 00:04:47,280 --> 00:04:49,480 to you than what we have preached to you, let him be 83 00:04:49,480 --> 00:04:52,760 accursed. As we said before, so say I now 84 00:04:52,760 --> 00:04:56,600 again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what 85 00:04:56,600 --> 00:04:58,920 you have received, let him be accursed. 86 00:04:58,960 --> 00:05:01,960 OK, couple of things here. I thought about this the other 87 00:05:01,960 --> 00:05:03,840 day. Now I am now actually old enough 88 00:05:03,840 --> 00:05:05,640 to make this statement. And I never thought I'd actually 89 00:05:05,640 --> 00:05:10,920 get old enough to make this statement back in my day or back 90 00:05:10,920 --> 00:05:14,920 in my time, or I remember days gone by or things like that. 91 00:05:14,920 --> 00:05:17,440 I never thought I'd actually get old enough to say those words. 92 00:05:17,440 --> 00:05:20,080 I'm now old enough to say those words, and I'm going to use that 93 00:05:20,080 --> 00:05:21,920 with reference to something very specific. 94 00:05:22,400 --> 00:05:26,800 I remember back in my day or as a young person in my life, I 95 00:05:26,800 --> 00:05:31,160 remember this, that people in our society knew something about 96 00:05:31,160 --> 00:05:32,200 the Bible. They did. 97 00:05:33,160 --> 00:05:36,760 It seemed as though their moral fabric was built upon the 98 00:05:36,760 --> 00:05:39,600 establishment or the principles found in the Word of God. 99 00:05:39,600 --> 00:05:42,080 We lived in a different time, a long time ago. 100 00:05:43,200 --> 00:05:46,040 People actually made decisions based upon the word of God. 101 00:05:46,040 --> 00:05:49,640 And I remember this too, that people that didn't even profess 102 00:05:49,640 --> 00:05:52,000 anything knew something about the Bible, even had their 103 00:05:52,120 --> 00:05:55,240 favorite Bible passage and they would quote it from time to 104 00:05:55,240 --> 00:05:58,000 time. There was a time when that was 105 00:05:58,000 --> 00:06:01,120 prevalent in our society, in this country. 106 00:06:02,240 --> 00:06:05,480 But you know what happened? There came a time when people 107 00:06:05,480 --> 00:06:09,240 got away from the Bible, People departed from the Bible. 108 00:06:09,240 --> 00:06:11,080 And at the end of our lesson, we're going to talk about kind 109 00:06:11,080 --> 00:06:14,200 of when all that stuff kind of happened, but people actually 110 00:06:14,200 --> 00:06:15,720 started to depart from the Bible. 111 00:06:15,720 --> 00:06:18,640 And then you've heard me say this over the years, many times 112 00:06:19,080 --> 00:06:23,360 I said because of those things, we truly live in a Bible 113 00:06:23,360 --> 00:06:26,200 illiterate society because people really don't know the 114 00:06:26,200 --> 00:06:29,160 word of God. OK, I got something to say 115 00:06:29,160 --> 00:06:32,600 that's a little encouraging. Now though, I think the times 116 00:06:32,600 --> 00:06:34,320 are changing. I really do. 117 00:06:34,760 --> 00:06:39,360 And what I've seen in my life, the tide is turning and the 118 00:06:39,360 --> 00:06:42,800 things are changing in life a little bit and people are trying 119 00:06:42,800 --> 00:06:46,800 to get back to the Bible. They are, I know people in my 120 00:06:46,800 --> 00:06:50,040 life, they don't profess anything, but they're studying 121 00:06:50,040 --> 00:06:53,120 the Bible, They're having Bible studies, they're getting 122 00:06:53,120 --> 00:06:56,040 together, They're trying to figure out what God wants for 123 00:06:56,040 --> 00:06:58,200 their life. And they're doing a great thing 124 00:06:58,280 --> 00:07:00,760 by getting back to the Bible. And that's a wonderful thing. 125 00:07:01,240 --> 00:07:02,960 So don't say this, by the way, don't say this. 126 00:07:02,960 --> 00:07:05,240 Please don't ever say this. Don't say this. 127 00:07:06,000 --> 00:07:07,480 Don't say people don't care about the Bible. 128 00:07:07,480 --> 00:07:12,280 It's not true. Times are changing and people 129 00:07:12,280 --> 00:07:15,960 are doing their best or at least making an effort or an attempt 130 00:07:15,960 --> 00:07:19,560 to get back to the Bible. Here's the problem though, to in 131 00:07:19,560 --> 00:07:23,840 order to understand the Bible properly, it has to be with two 132 00:07:23,840 --> 00:07:28,600 things #1 context and #2 application. 133 00:07:29,800 --> 00:07:32,520 And in our life, if we don't understand the context of the 134 00:07:32,520 --> 00:07:38,320 passage, then we can very sadly miss apply the passage and form 135 00:07:38,320 --> 00:07:40,440 beliefs based upon misapplication. 136 00:07:40,520 --> 00:07:42,160 And we can twist it all around. You know what? 137 00:07:42,320 --> 00:07:43,920 That's as bad as not knowing it at all. 138 00:07:44,560 --> 00:07:49,360 OK, so it's got to be about context and application. 139 00:07:49,920 --> 00:07:52,560 Because without proper Bible knowledge, and that's knowledge 140 00:07:52,560 --> 00:07:57,120 that is properly comprehended, understood and applied, we can 141 00:07:57,120 --> 00:08:01,240 be LED astray by amazing events. We can be LED astray by 142 00:08:01,240 --> 00:08:07,000 unexplained phenomena or even emotional encounters, and we can 143 00:08:07,000 --> 00:08:10,800 fall victim to these things as they're called, lying wonders of 144 00:08:10,800 --> 00:08:13,040 false prophets. You know, Jesus warned about 145 00:08:13,040 --> 00:08:16,800 these things. Oh the Lord was brilliant going 146 00:08:16,800 --> 00:08:22,320 back to 803337 years before the destruction of Jerusalem. 147 00:08:22,320 --> 00:08:26,840 In Matthew chapter 24, Jesus said this was going to happen as 148 00:08:26,840 --> 00:08:30,000 one of the remote signs that would happen before AD 70. 149 00:08:30,000 --> 00:08:33,000 And by the way, this is still prevalent today. 150 00:08:33,039 --> 00:08:39,280 OK, notice Matthew 24 verse 24 For false Christ and false 151 00:08:39,280 --> 00:08:42,559 prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to 152 00:08:42,559 --> 00:08:44,159 deceive. But please get this. 153 00:08:44,360 --> 00:08:48,840 Notice these last two words, if possible, last three words, even 154 00:08:49,320 --> 00:08:52,680 the elect. Now we understand that a false 155 00:08:52,680 --> 00:08:56,160 prophet or a false teacher can deceive people that are not 156 00:08:56,160 --> 00:08:57,600 Christians. Absolutely. 157 00:08:58,480 --> 00:09:01,640 But he never stopped to consider that even Jesus said be very 158 00:09:01,640 --> 00:09:04,480 careful going all the way back to 8033. 159 00:09:04,480 --> 00:09:07,800 He spoke these words and he said that these false prophets will 160 00:09:07,800 --> 00:09:11,920 rise and show great signs and great wonders and deceive. 161 00:09:11,920 --> 00:09:15,720 Notice even the elect. Who's that? 162 00:09:16,880 --> 00:09:21,880 Who's the elect? The elect is talking about a 163 00:09:21,880 --> 00:09:25,120 Christian. The elect is talking about one 164 00:09:25,120 --> 00:09:29,040 of God's children. Now people get election all out 165 00:09:29,040 --> 00:09:30,320 of whack today. They really do. 166 00:09:30,320 --> 00:09:32,840 Let me just explain what it does not mean very briefly. 167 00:09:33,640 --> 00:09:37,760 It does not mean, as Calvinistic teaching says, that God 168 00:09:37,760 --> 00:09:40,920 predetermines or pre selects individuals to be saved. 169 00:09:40,920 --> 00:09:44,160 In other words, divine election that is unconditional, that is 170 00:09:44,160 --> 00:09:46,200 unscriptural. In other words, God picked this 171 00:09:46,200 --> 00:09:49,880 guy, you're in, this guy you're out, and if God chose you, 172 00:09:49,880 --> 00:09:52,120 there's nothing you can do. It doesn't make any difference 173 00:09:52,120 --> 00:09:53,240 at all. You're in. 174 00:09:53,480 --> 00:09:56,120 And if God didn't choose you, it doesn't matter how bad you want 175 00:09:56,120 --> 00:09:59,200 in, you can't get in. I'm so grateful that that is not 176 00:09:59,200 --> 00:10:03,880 scriptural and that is not true. We believe in divine election. 177 00:10:03,880 --> 00:10:07,120 We just believe in conditional divine election, and the 178 00:10:07,120 --> 00:10:10,320 condition is our obedience. What did Jesus say? 179 00:10:10,480 --> 00:10:13,600 He said you go to the streets and the lanes and the hedges and 180 00:10:13,600 --> 00:10:16,600 you bid anyone that will come. And what's the criteria? 181 00:10:17,680 --> 00:10:22,560 All that will, anybody that will, can come to Christ. 182 00:10:24,720 --> 00:10:28,200 Remember in Acts chapter 2 when the gospel was being preached 183 00:10:28,200 --> 00:10:31,520 for the very first time with the opportunity to respond to it, 184 00:10:32,520 --> 00:10:35,680 they said you, you, you crucified Jesus, the one that 185 00:10:35,680 --> 00:10:38,280 God made Lord in Christ. They said, what do we do? 186 00:10:38,680 --> 00:10:41,480 They said repent and be baptized everyone of you in the name of 187 00:10:41,600 --> 00:10:44,480 Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you will receive 188 00:10:44,480 --> 00:10:47,520 the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is unto you and 189 00:10:47,520 --> 00:10:51,400 to your children and to all that are far off, even as many as the 190 00:10:51,400 --> 00:10:54,120 Lord our God shall call later on in the chapter. 191 00:10:54,120 --> 00:10:57,000 Do you remember what Peter said and the apostle said they said 192 00:10:57,000 --> 00:11:02,920 this save yourself. That is conditional election 193 00:11:03,520 --> 00:11:06,200 based on obedience. In other words, obey the gospel 194 00:11:06,200 --> 00:11:10,840 and live a Christian life. Save yourself and the blood of 195 00:11:10,840 --> 00:11:13,600 Christ washes our sins away. You know Paul talked about some 196 00:11:13,600 --> 00:11:16,240 of these signs as well in Second Thessalonians chapter 2 and 197 00:11:16,240 --> 00:11:18,920 verse 9. He said the coming of the 198 00:11:18,920 --> 00:11:23,280 lawless 1 is according to the working of Satan with all power 199 00:11:23,280 --> 00:11:27,200 signs and lying wonders. Just remember, please get this 200 00:11:27,600 --> 00:11:34,520 the test for truth has to be based upon doctrine and not 201 00:11:34,520 --> 00:11:37,040 experience, OK? What's doctrine? 202 00:11:37,480 --> 00:11:42,120 What is it? In Second Timothy 316 and 17, 203 00:11:42,760 --> 00:11:47,640 Paul tells us what doctrine is. All Scripture is given by 204 00:11:47,640 --> 00:11:50,840 inspiration of God. And then he said, and it's 205 00:11:50,840 --> 00:11:53,640 profitable for doctrine. I said that because I want to 206 00:11:53,640 --> 00:11:56,120 talk about the word itself. There's two Greek words for 207 00:11:56,120 --> 00:11:59,760 doctrine. OK, Number one Greek word is the 208 00:11:59,760 --> 00:12:02,480 word that means simple teaching, OK. 209 00:12:02,960 --> 00:12:06,840 But in Second Timothy chapter 3, verses 16 and 17, when it's 210 00:12:06,840 --> 00:12:09,360 talking about the scriptures, all scripture given by 211 00:12:09,360 --> 00:12:12,600 inspiration of God, it's talking about a different Greek word. 212 00:12:12,760 --> 00:12:16,960 That Greek word actually means that which is authorized to be 213 00:12:16,960 --> 00:12:21,120 taught. So what is authorized to be 214 00:12:21,120 --> 00:12:26,200 taught? All Scripture in context and 215 00:12:26,200 --> 00:12:29,040 application. So truth has to be based upon 216 00:12:29,040 --> 00:12:34,040 doctrine and not experience. Because the problem with all of 217 00:12:34,040 --> 00:12:37,320 that, our senses can be deceived into thinking that we're safe. 218 00:12:37,480 --> 00:12:42,640 But in reality, as Jesus says, there are wolves among us, there 219 00:12:42,640 --> 00:12:46,520 are wolves around us. OK, the New Testament actually 220 00:12:46,520 --> 00:12:49,000 constantly warned against false prophets. 221 00:12:49,680 --> 00:12:53,280 Paul warned the Ephesians that savage wolves would enter the 222 00:12:53,280 --> 00:12:56,680 flock. Acts 20 and verse 29 For I know 223 00:12:56,680 --> 00:12:59,560 this, that after my departure, savage wolves will come in among 224 00:12:59,560 --> 00:13:02,440 you, not sparing the flock. Notice a few other passages. 225 00:13:02,600 --> 00:13:05,760 Galatians one and seven. He warned the Galatians of those 226 00:13:05,760 --> 00:13:08,480 that would pervert the gospel of Christ. 227 00:13:09,840 --> 00:13:12,840 He said in Romans chapter 16 that he told those at Rome to 228 00:13:12,840 --> 00:13:16,600 mark those that cause division and offense among them. 229 00:13:17,520 --> 00:13:21,160 John said that false prophets have gone out into the world. 230 00:13:21,160 --> 00:13:24,120 Many false prophets have gone out into the world. 231 00:13:24,240 --> 00:13:29,880 OK, my point is this apostasy and error folks is not only 232 00:13:29,880 --> 00:13:36,440 possible, but apostasy and error is also extremely probable 233 00:13:37,560 --> 00:13:45,880 because of false teachers. That's why Paul said this Second 234 00:13:45,880 --> 00:13:48,360 Timothy 2 and verse 2, and the things which you have heard from 235 00:13:48,360 --> 00:13:52,120 me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will 236 00:13:52,120 --> 00:13:54,440 be able to teach others also. What's the criteria for 237 00:13:54,440 --> 00:13:57,360 preaching the Word of God? What's the criteria for teaching 238 00:13:57,360 --> 00:14:01,680 the Word of God? Here it is faithful men who are 239 00:14:01,680 --> 00:14:04,440 able to teach. That means the faithful part 240 00:14:04,440 --> 00:14:07,560 that deals with your life and able to teach, deals with 241 00:14:07,560 --> 00:14:10,880 knowledge that is properly comprehended, understood and 242 00:14:10,880 --> 00:14:15,600 applied and able to be taught. OK, what did Jesus say in verse 243 00:14:15,680 --> 00:14:17,320 15 though? He says beware of false 244 00:14:17,320 --> 00:14:18,480 prophets. And then I want to look at this 245 00:14:18,480 --> 00:14:21,320 phrase right here. He said they come to you in 246 00:14:21,320 --> 00:14:24,760 sheep's clothing. First of all, please understand 247 00:14:25,120 --> 00:14:28,880 it's about deceit and it's about imitation. 248 00:14:30,440 --> 00:14:36,280 It's opposition by imitation. The subtleness, by the way, of 249 00:14:36,280 --> 00:14:39,760 these prophets or false prophets is seen by the fact that they 250 00:14:39,760 --> 00:14:42,080 wear sheep's clothing. And there's actually two 251 00:14:42,320 --> 00:14:44,880 different interpretations about wearing sheep's clothing. 252 00:14:44,960 --> 00:14:47,520 OK, who's doing the imitating? Remember what I said? 253 00:14:47,520 --> 00:14:50,200 It's opposition and it's imitation. 254 00:14:50,760 --> 00:14:54,160 OK, So what is it? Well, first of all, it could be 255 00:14:54,160 --> 00:14:56,440 one thing. It could be, as some scholars 256 00:14:56,440 --> 00:15:02,680 say, that the imitation is a man that is imitating the sheep. 257 00:15:04,120 --> 00:15:07,080 In other words, somebody that is among us, even any Christian 258 00:15:07,080 --> 00:15:10,080 that is among us, that is imitating the sheep. 259 00:15:10,840 --> 00:15:13,320 On the outside they they appear pious. 260 00:15:13,800 --> 00:15:16,680 On the outside they appear to be one way, but inside they're not. 261 00:15:16,680 --> 00:15:19,880 They have ulterior motives, as one scholar put it this way. 262 00:15:20,160 --> 00:15:23,760 Inconspicuously they mingle with the sheep, taking note of the 263 00:15:23,760 --> 00:15:26,000 young, the weak and the discontent. 264 00:15:26,280 --> 00:15:29,880 They faint piety as they commune at the table and give lip 265 00:15:29,880 --> 00:15:32,480 service of the shepherd. Even though they're woolish 266 00:15:32,480 --> 00:15:36,240 soft, their hearts are hard. Few suspect they are ferocious 267 00:15:36,240 --> 00:15:40,200 beasts, waiting for spring from cloaks of deceit and hungrily 268 00:15:40,560 --> 00:15:45,880 devour. OK, do you remember very 269 00:15:45,880 --> 00:15:49,160 important here, Remember when Jesus gave the parable of the 270 00:15:49,160 --> 00:15:50,760 sower? And then right after that he 271 00:15:50,760 --> 00:15:54,600 gave the parable of the tares? When he gave the parable the 272 00:15:54,600 --> 00:15:58,280 sower, he talked about a farmer that takes seed in his hand and 273 00:15:58,280 --> 00:16:00,160 broadcast the seed out on the soil. 274 00:16:00,400 --> 00:16:04,720 And he said that seed will fall into one of four kinds of soil. 275 00:16:05,240 --> 00:16:09,960 Only one's any good, The one that produces 30 fold, 60 fold, 276 00:16:10,160 --> 00:16:11,920 100 fold. OK, that's the good soil. 277 00:16:11,920 --> 00:16:14,760 You know what the soil represents the heart, right? 278 00:16:14,760 --> 00:16:17,480 We know that. But then in the very next 279 00:16:17,480 --> 00:16:20,640 parable, Jesus says, let me tell you another story about the 280 00:16:20,640 --> 00:16:23,520 tares. And he said while the man went 281 00:16:23,520 --> 00:16:26,080 out and did everything right, he prepared the soil right. 282 00:16:27,040 --> 00:16:30,200 He planted the good seed in the soil, and here comes wheat. 283 00:16:30,360 --> 00:16:33,040 But then the man goes home and he sleeps. 284 00:16:34,800 --> 00:16:38,320 You know why he slept? He went home and he slept. 285 00:16:38,480 --> 00:16:41,520 The sleep that Solomon talks about, the sleep of a working 286 00:16:41,520 --> 00:16:44,200 man, He did everything right. And then he goes home and he 287 00:16:44,200 --> 00:16:46,320 sleeps right. Then what happens? 288 00:16:47,640 --> 00:16:52,520 He said the enemy comes and he sows tares in the same field. 289 00:16:53,400 --> 00:16:56,120 And tares, by the way, are noxious weed seeds. 290 00:16:56,920 --> 00:16:59,280 And when they come up, they look like they're good. 291 00:16:59,280 --> 00:17:00,920 They look like they're innocent. They look like they're like 292 00:17:00,920 --> 00:17:03,320 everything else. They look like the wheat, right? 293 00:17:04,480 --> 00:17:09,359 But in time they're not. Jesus says the enemy does that, 294 00:17:09,359 --> 00:17:13,040 and then he says who the enemy is, and that's the devil. 295 00:17:14,800 --> 00:17:18,000 Now I'll tell you this. It's true that the devil can use 296 00:17:18,000 --> 00:17:21,400 tares out in the world because the Bible says the field is the 297 00:17:21,400 --> 00:17:22,880 world. I get that, and that is true. 298 00:17:24,800 --> 00:17:28,319 But it can also be true that the tares are actually among God's 299 00:17:28,319 --> 00:17:31,840 people. And when that happens, remember, 300 00:17:32,120 --> 00:17:35,000 these are sheep that pluck the ones that are on the outskirts. 301 00:17:36,720 --> 00:17:38,080 Chris Reed's not here this morning. 302 00:17:38,080 --> 00:17:40,480 They had a accident. Somebody drove into the side of 303 00:17:40,480 --> 00:17:42,280 their house and the police are there and he's got to make a 304 00:17:42,600 --> 00:17:44,240 report and all that. That's where Chris is today. 305 00:17:44,240 --> 00:17:46,760 But in a Bible study we're having this last week, he, he 306 00:17:46,760 --> 00:17:48,640 was we're talking about the wolves and the sheep. 307 00:17:48,640 --> 00:17:51,640 And he said, yeah, Frankie said, you ever noticed that wolves 308 00:17:51,640 --> 00:17:55,160 never go into the pack? They never go into the pack 309 00:17:55,160 --> 00:17:56,960 where everybody's strong. They just pluck the ones that 310 00:17:56,960 --> 00:17:58,480 are on the outside. And I said, brother, that'll 311 00:17:58,480 --> 00:18:02,920 preach plucks, the weak ones that are on the sidelines or on 312 00:18:02,920 --> 00:18:07,920 the outskirts, the ones that are struggling, those that imitate 313 00:18:07,920 --> 00:18:12,680 the sheep can do just that. Jesus calls them sheep, wolves 314 00:18:12,680 --> 00:18:14,160 in sheep's clothing. But there's a second 315 00:18:14,160 --> 00:18:19,560 interpretation and that is that the those that are impersonating 316 00:18:19,560 --> 00:18:21,720 here are not impersonating the sheep, they're impersonating the 317 00:18:21,720 --> 00:18:23,080 shepherd. I don't mean the Good Shepherd. 318 00:18:23,080 --> 00:18:26,280 I don't mean Jesus. I mean, preachers in the Old 319 00:18:26,280 --> 00:18:30,600 Testament, shepherds traditionally wore sheepskin 320 00:18:31,160 --> 00:18:33,800 that had their skin on the outside and the fleece on the 321 00:18:33,800 --> 00:18:36,960 inside, and that was to distinguish them from other men. 322 00:18:37,320 --> 00:18:41,200 Elijah, for example, wore a type of hairy mantle. 323 00:18:41,360 --> 00:18:46,440 In First Kings 19 and 13, John the Baptizer wore a garment of 324 00:18:46,440 --> 00:18:49,600 camel's hair. So they can be identified as 325 00:18:49,600 --> 00:18:53,880 prophets and be identified in their plain, coarse attire. 326 00:18:54,800 --> 00:18:57,840 Zechariah, another example, by the way, alluded to the type of 327 00:18:57,840 --> 00:19:01,480 dress when you spoke about those who put on a hairy robe in order 328 00:19:01,480 --> 00:19:04,400 to deceive. Zechariah. 13 verses four and 329 00:19:04,400 --> 00:19:06,880 five. OK, according to this 330 00:19:06,880 --> 00:19:11,640 interpretation, the Lord is not talking about necessarily sheep. 331 00:19:11,760 --> 00:19:15,480 He's talking about shepherds. And please understand, not all 332 00:19:15,480 --> 00:19:18,760 men that call themselves from God are really from God. 333 00:19:21,000 --> 00:19:24,160 Just because you call yourself from God or a man of God does 334 00:19:24,160 --> 00:19:28,440 not mean that you are. This illustration depicts a 335 00:19:28,440 --> 00:19:33,680 false preacher, a false teacher who pretends perhaps to care for 336 00:19:33,680 --> 00:19:36,480 the sheep. He may learn their names and 337 00:19:36,480 --> 00:19:39,000 even do things in a superficial fashion to them. 338 00:19:39,000 --> 00:19:42,200 But here's the problem. There's no concern. 339 00:19:42,200 --> 00:19:45,520 He doesn't sacrifice for them, He sacrifices the sheep. 340 00:19:46,120 --> 00:19:50,360 Notice how in Matthew 7 and verse 15 in this passage, they 341 00:19:50,360 --> 00:19:53,680 come in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous 342 00:19:53,880 --> 00:19:56,280 wolves. The word ravenous, by the way, 343 00:19:56,400 --> 00:20:00,640 conveys greed. The same root word is translated 344 00:20:00,640 --> 00:20:04,760 in other passages in the Bible, like the word extortioner. 345 00:20:05,480 --> 00:20:07,840 Do you remember in Luke chapter 18? 346 00:20:09,160 --> 00:20:12,360 In Luke chapter 18, when that man was praying to God, remember 347 00:20:12,360 --> 00:20:14,080 that he's praying thus with himself. 348 00:20:14,200 --> 00:20:17,000 It was the Pharisee and the tax collector member, and they 349 00:20:17,000 --> 00:20:18,800 prayed. I'm not going to go into that 350 00:20:18,800 --> 00:20:20,200 story, but remember what he said. 351 00:20:21,080 --> 00:20:24,480 He talked about this word right here, the word that's considered 352 00:20:24,480 --> 00:20:27,240 ravenous. It conveys greed and it means 353 00:20:27,240 --> 00:20:30,560 extortioner and it means that in Luke chapter 18 and verse 11, 354 00:20:30,840 --> 00:20:33,440 the Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself. 355 00:20:33,720 --> 00:20:37,600 God, I thank you that I'm not like other men, extortioners, 356 00:20:37,840 --> 00:20:43,040 unjust adulterers, or even this tax collector, OK? 357 00:20:43,880 --> 00:20:48,960 The idea is this that the false teacher or false prophet will be 358 00:20:48,960 --> 00:20:53,760 greedy, will be power hungry, self-centered, who are 359 00:20:53,760 --> 00:20:55,760 interested only in personal gain. 360 00:20:55,760 --> 00:20:56,920 They give you a Bible for that though. 361 00:20:57,000 --> 00:20:58,800 First Timothy chapter 6 and verse 5. 362 00:20:59,280 --> 00:21:02,320 Useless wranglings of men, of corrupt minds and destitute of 363 00:21:02,320 --> 00:21:06,560 truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain 364 00:21:06,880 --> 00:21:12,160 from such, withdraw yourself. Have you ever known or heard of 365 00:21:12,160 --> 00:21:16,600 a preacher that made a lot of money? 366 00:21:18,840 --> 00:21:20,720 Chris pointed out a couple of them last Sunday. 367 00:21:23,120 --> 00:21:30,160 Preachers on TV, false people doing fake miracles on TV, and 368 00:21:30,160 --> 00:21:32,840 people are sending them all kinds of money. 369 00:21:33,440 --> 00:21:35,520 They're getting wealthy beyond belief. 370 00:21:37,480 --> 00:21:40,280 That's a false shepherd sacrificing the sheep. 371 00:21:40,280 --> 00:21:41,840 My dad used to say this from the pulpit. 372 00:21:42,640 --> 00:21:45,880 He used to quote this song, this old country song, and it says 373 00:21:46,040 --> 00:21:50,960 there are some preachers on TV with a suit and a tie and a 374 00:21:50,960 --> 00:21:54,080 vest. They want you to give their 375 00:21:54,080 --> 00:21:56,800 money to the Lord, your money to the Lord, but they give you 376 00:21:56,800 --> 00:22:00,480 their address. Now all of your donations are 377 00:22:00,480 --> 00:22:02,880 completely tax free. And then it says God bless you 378 00:22:02,920 --> 00:22:05,840 all. But most of all, send your 379 00:22:05,840 --> 00:22:08,920 money. There's a lot of people that are 380 00:22:09,800 --> 00:22:14,280 reaping the benefit of good, honest people that think they're 381 00:22:14,280 --> 00:22:18,040 doing good by sending them money and they're becoming extremely 382 00:22:18,040 --> 00:22:20,880 wealthy. They are men like Paul told 383 00:22:20,880 --> 00:22:25,080 Timothy that suppose that godliness is a means of gain. 384 00:22:25,680 --> 00:22:29,520 OK. In verses 13 and 14, like I said 385 00:22:29,520 --> 00:22:32,240 in my introduction, Jesus says stay on the path. 386 00:22:32,560 --> 00:22:35,280 And while we're on the path, we got to be aware of false 387 00:22:35,440 --> 00:22:38,040 teachers and false prophets. How are we going to know who 388 00:22:38,040 --> 00:22:39,880 they are? Jesus says you're going to know 389 00:22:39,880 --> 00:22:44,000 who they are right there by their fruits. 390 00:22:46,160 --> 00:22:51,640 You know, I realized that sometimes it takes a while to 391 00:22:51,640 --> 00:22:54,520 really know what somebody really is. 392 00:22:54,520 --> 00:22:58,640 Have you ever known that? Have you ever known that 393 00:22:59,000 --> 00:23:01,200 sometimes people fooled you for a while? 394 00:23:03,080 --> 00:23:05,080 There are people that thought, man, you really thought this was 395 00:23:05,080 --> 00:23:09,720 one kind of a person. But in time, and here's the 396 00:23:09,720 --> 00:23:13,160 phrase that we often use, in time, people see their true 397 00:23:13,160 --> 00:23:16,120 colors. You know why that is? 398 00:23:17,000 --> 00:23:22,160 Because sometimes determining a person's fruit is to wait until 399 00:23:22,160 --> 00:23:24,440 the fruit is manifested. In other words, you got the 400 00:23:24,440 --> 00:23:26,160 tree. Is a tree any good? 401 00:23:26,280 --> 00:23:27,840 I don't know. You got to wait till the fruit 402 00:23:27,840 --> 00:23:32,760 grows and then you'll know. And Jesus says by their fruits 403 00:23:33,320 --> 00:23:35,680 you will know them. One scholar said it this way. 404 00:23:36,200 --> 00:23:39,840 Deception is temporary. Wolves may wear wool for a 405 00:23:39,840 --> 00:23:43,720 while, but because they're not sheep, eventually their coats 406 00:23:43,720 --> 00:23:48,760 will wear thin or RIP, and their ugly forms will then protrude. 407 00:23:48,800 --> 00:23:53,040 OK, the Lord's switching now the analogy to fruit to help us 408 00:23:53,040 --> 00:23:56,560 better understand. And the point is this, we got to 409 00:23:56,560 --> 00:24:00,560 be able to inspect the fruit. The real test of a prophet is 410 00:24:00,560 --> 00:24:03,880 not how flashy they dressed is, not what a good speaker they 411 00:24:03,880 --> 00:24:06,880 are, not how popular they are. Because I tell you this too, you 412 00:24:06,880 --> 00:24:11,240 can even be a person that speaks the truth and still lead people 413 00:24:11,240 --> 00:24:14,080 astray because your life is not what it should be. 414 00:24:16,760 --> 00:24:21,800 May I just say this? I'm going to do everything that 415 00:24:21,800 --> 00:24:28,280 I possibly can to preach the word of God, as I always say in 416 00:24:28,280 --> 00:24:32,360 context and application. And I'm going to always do my 417 00:24:32,360 --> 00:24:34,920 best to give book, chapter, and verse for what I believe. 418 00:24:37,280 --> 00:24:44,120 And all of that's great to do. But if my life is not conducive 419 00:24:45,080 --> 00:24:49,080 to the life that a preacher should be, don't follow me. 420 00:24:50,760 --> 00:24:55,360 Do not follow me. It's important to follow those 421 00:24:55,440 --> 00:24:58,560 who are following Christ. And by the way, that's how we 422 00:24:58,560 --> 00:25:01,960 imitate Christ. We do so by following their 423 00:25:01,960 --> 00:25:05,040 example. Chris pointed out last Sunday 424 00:25:05,120 --> 00:25:06,520 we're never going to be perfect like Jesus. 425 00:25:06,520 --> 00:25:08,920 He's absolutely right. We cannot imitate perfection. 426 00:25:09,000 --> 00:25:11,800 That's true. But when the Bible tells us to 427 00:25:11,800 --> 00:25:15,920 be imitators of Christ or imitators of me, Paul says as I 428 00:25:15,920 --> 00:25:18,360 imitate Christ, it means this. Follow my example. 429 00:25:19,400 --> 00:25:21,040 So we need to follow the Lord's example. 430 00:25:21,040 --> 00:25:22,560 If I'm not doing that, don't follow me. 431 00:25:24,640 --> 00:25:26,400 First Timothy chapter 4 and verse 12. 432 00:25:26,640 --> 00:25:29,000 Let no one despise your youth. This is what Paul said to 433 00:25:29,000 --> 00:25:31,400 Timothy. But be an example to the 434 00:25:31,400 --> 00:25:34,400 believers. Notice in Word, in conduct, in 435 00:25:34,400 --> 00:25:38,040 love, in spirit, in faith and in purity. 436 00:25:38,240 --> 00:25:40,760 That's what's necessary. That's what's needed in our 437 00:25:40,760 --> 00:25:43,760 life. So the true test of genuine 438 00:25:43,760 --> 00:25:45,800 prophets is the good fruit that they bear. 439 00:25:46,800 --> 00:25:52,320 If a person is morally upright, if they shed abroad the love of 440 00:25:52,320 --> 00:25:56,400 Christ, if they are #3 spiritually minded and all of 441 00:25:56,400 --> 00:26:00,560 that, and this, and have words and works in accordance with 442 00:26:00,560 --> 00:26:04,760 God's will, then guess what? We can follow them. 443 00:26:05,480 --> 00:26:09,760 If, on the other hand, a man spreads dissension or has 444 00:26:09,840 --> 00:26:13,880 unrepentant sin, is carnally minded, follows after his own 445 00:26:13,880 --> 00:26:16,920 lust, and teaches false doctrine, he must be branded a 446 00:26:16,920 --> 00:26:19,480 false prophet. He must be rejected. 447 00:26:20,080 --> 00:26:22,520 Romans chapters 16 and 17, Paul says. 448 00:26:22,520 --> 00:26:26,800 Now I urge you, brethren, note those who cause divisions and 449 00:26:26,800 --> 00:26:29,600 offenses contrary to the doctrine which you have learned 450 00:26:30,360 --> 00:26:32,480 and avoid them. OK? 451 00:26:34,320 --> 00:26:37,640 You know the apostle Paul foretold of those who would do 452 00:26:37,640 --> 00:26:40,680 just that in a very familiar passage, and it's found in 453 00:26:40,680 --> 00:26:42,600 Second Timothy chapter 3 and verse one. 454 00:26:43,440 --> 00:26:47,640 Want to spend a little time on this Second Timothy chapter 3 455 00:26:47,640 --> 00:26:51,200 and verse 1? He said, But know this, that in 456 00:26:51,200 --> 00:26:55,360 the last days, perilous times will come. 457 00:26:55,920 --> 00:26:57,400 Talk about last days for just a moment. 458 00:26:58,960 --> 00:27:01,800 Last days does not mean the last few days of life. 459 00:27:03,200 --> 00:27:05,760 And it doesn't mean, you see, look at the signs. 460 00:27:06,000 --> 00:27:07,680 We're in the last days. There's only a few left. 461 00:27:07,680 --> 00:27:08,800 The Lord's coming back real soon. 462 00:27:08,800 --> 00:27:09,920 That's not what that means either. 463 00:27:11,200 --> 00:27:15,240 Last days here in this passage means last dispensation of time. 464 00:27:15,880 --> 00:27:18,720 And the word dispensation, by the way, means spiritual 465 00:27:18,720 --> 00:27:22,120 arrangement, right? We've been under three. 466 00:27:22,840 --> 00:27:25,720 Number one, there was the patriarchal age where God dealt 467 00:27:25,720 --> 00:27:28,000 with the heads of families. It was the family arrangement. 468 00:27:28,200 --> 00:27:31,720 God would deal with the heads of families and part His will, and 469 00:27:31,720 --> 00:27:34,640 then the heads of families would pass down that will to those 470 00:27:34,640 --> 00:27:37,280 that were under or beneath them or subordinate to them. 471 00:27:38,200 --> 00:27:41,080 Then came the Mosaic age where God dealt with the nation. 472 00:27:41,080 --> 00:27:43,560 It was the national arrangement. Glad we're not under that 473 00:27:43,560 --> 00:27:45,920 anymore. The Bible says in the book of 474 00:27:45,920 --> 00:27:49,120 Colossians that Jesus took that old law and he nailed it to the 475 00:27:49,120 --> 00:27:52,400 cross, and we no longer are under the old law of Moses. 476 00:27:52,400 --> 00:27:55,400 Great stuff, right? Well, guess what? 477 00:27:55,600 --> 00:27:58,200 There's a third spiritual arrangement and that's the one 478 00:27:58,200 --> 00:28:01,760 that we are in now, and it's the one called the Last Days. 479 00:28:01,920 --> 00:28:04,120 It is the Christian dispensation. 480 00:28:04,240 --> 00:28:09,200 It began in AD 33 on the day of Pentecost when the church was 481 00:28:09,200 --> 00:28:14,480 born and Christianity began and we are in the last days. 482 00:28:14,600 --> 00:28:17,920 It started then. We're in the last days now and 483 00:28:17,920 --> 00:28:20,480 we will be in the last days until Jesus comes back. 484 00:28:20,640 --> 00:28:23,080 That is the last days. So what was Paul telling 485 00:28:23,080 --> 00:28:25,960 Timothy? Paul was telling Timothy that in 486 00:28:25,960 --> 00:28:29,960 this last dispensation or in the Christian dispensation, guess 487 00:28:29,960 --> 00:28:35,040 what's going to happen. Perilous times will come here at 488 00:28:35,040 --> 00:28:39,200 the word perilous means. It means dangerous, it means 489 00:28:39,200 --> 00:28:43,600 difficult, and it can also be translated as savage. 490 00:28:44,800 --> 00:28:48,160 That's pretty brutal, isn't it? Savage times will come. 491 00:28:49,400 --> 00:28:54,240 The word times, though, means epics or movements. 492 00:28:55,960 --> 00:28:59,680 You've heard me say this before. I'm not preaching an old sermon 493 00:28:59,680 --> 00:29:02,800 here. You've heard me say this before. 494 00:29:02,800 --> 00:29:07,360 I'll say it again. When dangerous movements come in 495 00:29:07,360 --> 00:29:11,360 among us, one of the great dangers about it is those 496 00:29:11,360 --> 00:29:15,720 movements don't come and leave. Those movements come and they 497 00:29:15,720 --> 00:29:19,000 stay. They come and stay. 498 00:29:21,040 --> 00:29:23,760 In fact, Paul said it would in Second Timothy chapter 3 and 499 00:29:23,760 --> 00:29:26,280 verse 13. But evil men and imposters will 500 00:29:26,280 --> 00:29:29,960 grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. 501 00:29:30,160 --> 00:29:31,720 It will get worse. OK? 502 00:29:32,800 --> 00:29:35,000 I have a sermon. It's very old. 503 00:29:35,240 --> 00:29:37,480 I preached it so many times throughout the country. 504 00:29:37,480 --> 00:29:38,800 I don't preach anymore. Got tired of it. 505 00:29:38,800 --> 00:29:40,760 I got several like that. They're just, I'm just shelving 506 00:29:40,760 --> 00:29:43,840 those, you know. But you've heard it and it's 507 00:29:43,840 --> 00:29:45,880 been years. And it was on Five reasons to 508 00:29:45,880 --> 00:29:48,800 Preach the Word. And in that sermon, you remember 509 00:29:48,800 --> 00:29:50,880 what I did. If you remember that sermon, I 510 00:29:50,880 --> 00:29:54,440 go back and I talk about all the dangerous seasons or dangerous 511 00:29:54,480 --> 00:29:57,480 epics or dangerous movements that go all the way back to the 512 00:29:57,480 --> 00:30:00,120 4th century. I'm not going to do that today, 513 00:30:01,200 --> 00:30:03,560 but I thought something might be interesting to all of us. 514 00:30:04,560 --> 00:30:07,840 What about 5 movements? Only 5? 515 00:30:07,920 --> 00:30:10,520 I'm eliminate a lot of that information and just talk about 516 00:30:10,520 --> 00:30:13,280 5. What about 5 movements that have 517 00:30:13,280 --> 00:30:16,240 come in in your lifetime? And when I say your lifetime, 518 00:30:16,240 --> 00:30:19,680 I'm talking about older folks and I'm talking about those that 519 00:30:19,680 --> 00:30:24,280 are maybe intermediate folks. The problem is, every one of 520 00:30:24,280 --> 00:30:29,480 these movements that came in a long time ago, they still exist, 521 00:30:30,360 --> 00:30:33,440 and the lives of our young people have to deal with these 522 00:30:33,440 --> 00:30:35,840 very same movements. They did not come and go, they 523 00:30:35,840 --> 00:30:38,120 came and they stayed. Let me suggest these to you. 524 00:30:38,320 --> 00:30:41,560 You might remember this. This was the generation, first 525 00:30:41,560 --> 00:30:46,800 of all, before me, and it was in the 1950s, and it was the 526 00:30:46,800 --> 00:30:49,680 doctrine of acumenism. What's that? 527 00:30:49,880 --> 00:30:53,960 Acumenism, The doctrine of acumenism actually was this 528 00:30:53,960 --> 00:30:56,440 theory right here. Hey, I got an idea. 529 00:30:57,280 --> 00:30:59,880 Let's not divide over doctrine. Doesn't really matter, right? 530 00:31:01,560 --> 00:31:03,640 We just talked about doctrine, how important doctrine was, 531 00:31:03,640 --> 00:31:07,280 right? In the 50s, all of a sudden it 532 00:31:07,280 --> 00:31:09,320 came up. Let's not divide over doctrine. 533 00:31:09,320 --> 00:31:10,480 Fact. What we're going to do is we're 534 00:31:10,480 --> 00:31:14,080 going to get sentimental. And sentimentality became the 535 00:31:14,080 --> 00:31:15,640 issue. And they brought in what was 536 00:31:15,640 --> 00:31:19,120 known as the Jesus ethic. You know what the Jesus ethic 537 00:31:19,120 --> 00:31:20,520 is? Here it is. 538 00:31:21,880 --> 00:31:24,120 Jesus is nice. Is Jesus nice? 539 00:31:24,120 --> 00:31:25,920 Oh, yes, he's nice. Died for your sins. 540 00:31:27,480 --> 00:31:30,960 Oh yeah, he's nice. But the Jesus Jesus ethics said 541 00:31:30,960 --> 00:31:34,600 this because Jesus is nice. Let's remove all the negative 542 00:31:34,600 --> 00:31:37,880 stuff in the Bible, all the judgment, all the retribution. 543 00:31:37,960 --> 00:31:40,360 Let's get rid of all of that. You know what the end result of 544 00:31:40,360 --> 00:31:43,040 that was? The lack of discernment and the 545 00:31:43,040 --> 00:31:46,760 lack of understanding began in the 1950s. 546 00:31:46,760 --> 00:31:48,600 You know what? It still exists today. 547 00:31:49,280 --> 00:31:52,000 How about this? How about the era where I was 548 00:31:52,000 --> 00:31:53,360 born? How about this? 549 00:31:53,640 --> 00:31:56,760 How about the 60s? It came the dangerous movement 550 00:31:56,760 --> 00:32:00,800 of experientialism, where truth comes from intuition, truth 551 00:32:00,800 --> 00:32:03,160 comes from experience. And do you know what happened? 552 00:32:03,400 --> 00:32:05,000 I said I was going to get back to this. 553 00:32:06,240 --> 00:32:11,040 People left the Word of God as a standard for what they believed. 554 00:32:12,440 --> 00:32:14,680 You know what else happened? Let's Fast forward. 555 00:32:15,520 --> 00:32:17,280 Oh, there's a lot of other things I could talk about, but 556 00:32:17,280 --> 00:32:19,520 I'm talking about the prevalent ones that still exist today. 557 00:32:19,640 --> 00:32:22,920 How about this? How about the years where I was 558 00:32:22,920 --> 00:32:27,040 in high school and I was in college, the age of big hair? 559 00:32:27,240 --> 00:32:30,320 How about the 80s? Subjectivism. 560 00:32:31,720 --> 00:32:33,800 Subjectivism kicked in in the 80s. 561 00:32:33,800 --> 00:32:37,120 You know what happened? That's when psychology, by the 562 00:32:37,120 --> 00:32:38,560 way, captured the religious world. 563 00:32:38,560 --> 00:32:41,200 You know what man said? We need man based religion. 564 00:32:41,600 --> 00:32:45,040 We need needs based religion. In other words, we're going to 565 00:32:45,040 --> 00:32:48,280 find out what really is good for our own personal comfort and 566 00:32:48,280 --> 00:32:50,200 personal comfort became the issue. 567 00:32:51,480 --> 00:32:54,160 See where this is leading. How about the years? 568 00:32:54,160 --> 00:32:58,080 Where are they? The 10 year period in that 569 00:32:58,080 --> 00:33:02,080 period where my kids were born? How about the 90s about this? 570 00:33:02,080 --> 00:33:05,880 You know, what happened in the 90s came pragmatism. 571 00:33:06,640 --> 00:33:10,320 You know, pragmatism is appropriate means for preaching 572 00:33:10,320 --> 00:33:12,000 the gospel are determined by the people. 573 00:33:13,120 --> 00:33:15,120 All you got to do is give them a survey. 574 00:33:15,120 --> 00:33:17,640 They'll tell you exactly what you want they want and give them 575 00:33:17,640 --> 00:33:21,960 exactly what they want. Wow, you know what else happened 576 00:33:21,960 --> 00:33:24,560 in the 90s? Syncretism. 577 00:33:25,800 --> 00:33:28,920 Syncretism basically is a, is a very fancy word. 578 00:33:28,920 --> 00:33:31,160 You know what it means? It means this. 579 00:33:31,160 --> 00:33:34,880 It is the doctrine that all religions, no matter where they 580 00:33:34,880 --> 00:33:38,520 came from, all religions that are monotheistic are going to 581 00:33:38,520 --> 00:33:41,040 heaven. And by the way, monotheistic 582 00:33:41,040 --> 00:33:44,840 means you recognize only one God, doesn't matter who that God 583 00:33:44,840 --> 00:33:47,040 is, even though we all know there's only one Jehovah God in 584 00:33:47,040 --> 00:33:51,080 heaven. But if a person recognizes only 585 00:33:51,080 --> 00:33:54,440 one God, whatever idle God that is, if it's only one, he's 586 00:33:54,440 --> 00:33:56,600 monotheistic. And there come a belief in the 587 00:33:56,600 --> 00:33:59,280 90s that if you're monotheistic, you're going to heaven because 588 00:33:59,280 --> 00:34:01,520 you worship only one God. And a guy actually wrote a book 589 00:34:01,520 --> 00:34:04,000 about it. He wrote a book that he took a 590 00:34:04,000 --> 00:34:06,880 trip to heaven. I don't want to be rude or 591 00:34:08,199 --> 00:34:10,159 sarcastic, but yeah, he was tripping, all right. 592 00:34:12,360 --> 00:34:16,360 He said he took a trip to heaven and when he was there, you've 593 00:34:16,360 --> 00:34:21,679 heard me say this years ago, he found Confucius, he found 594 00:34:21,679 --> 00:34:26,600 Buddha, he found Muhammad. He looked around and he found 595 00:34:26,920 --> 00:34:31,280 Orthodox Jews that had rejected Jesus. 596 00:34:31,320 --> 00:34:36,719 Even though Jesus said, even though Jesus said I am the way, 597 00:34:37,360 --> 00:34:39,840 the truth and the life, no one comes under the Father except 598 00:34:39,840 --> 00:34:42,440 through me. This guy says Orthodox Jews that 599 00:34:42,440 --> 00:34:44,120 rejected Jesus were there too. You know what else he said? 600 00:34:44,120 --> 00:34:49,320 Were there atheists? Atheists. 601 00:34:50,719 --> 00:34:53,800 But then he clarified it. He said atheists that were 602 00:34:53,800 --> 00:34:56,000 seeking truth. Here was his rationale. 603 00:34:56,679 --> 00:35:01,560 Since God is ultimate truth, and the atheist was actually in some 604 00:35:01,560 --> 00:35:05,280 way seeking truth, then in a roundabout way, because God is 605 00:35:05,280 --> 00:35:09,240 ultimate truth and he was looking for truth, therefore in 606 00:35:09,240 --> 00:35:10,680 a roundabout way he was seeking God. 607 00:35:10,680 --> 00:35:13,200 Therefore he was monotheistic, therefore he is in heaven. 608 00:35:15,320 --> 00:35:22,240 Come on now, one final thing. Notice how they all flowed 609 00:35:22,240 --> 00:35:25,440 together as a result, one from the other dangerous movements. 610 00:35:26,480 --> 00:35:29,520 It all began with saying let's not worry about doctrine, let's 611 00:35:29,520 --> 00:35:32,640 get sentimental. Let's let's cast aside judgment 612 00:35:32,640 --> 00:35:35,040 and retribution. Let's just cast aside doctrine. 613 00:35:35,520 --> 00:35:39,640 It led to finding truth by way of experiences and intuition. 614 00:35:39,640 --> 00:35:41,960 Bible went right out the window. What did it do? 615 00:35:41,960 --> 00:35:46,280 It led to subjectivism, where psychology took over and capture 616 00:35:46,280 --> 00:35:50,000 the religious world and man only cared about himself and his own 617 00:35:50,000 --> 00:35:52,560 personal comfort. What that lead to, hey, by the 618 00:35:52,560 --> 00:35:54,480 way, let's just tell people what they want. 619 00:35:54,960 --> 00:35:56,760 Let's give them exactly what they want to hear. 620 00:35:58,280 --> 00:36:02,040 What does all that lead to? It doesn't matter what you do, 621 00:36:02,880 --> 00:36:04,400 everybody's going to heaven anyway. 622 00:36:06,240 --> 00:36:09,680 See where they lead. See where they lead. 623 00:36:10,920 --> 00:36:12,920 Dangerous movements don't come and leave. 624 00:36:14,520 --> 00:36:16,240 Dangerous movements come and they stay. 625 00:36:19,440 --> 00:36:23,760 Paul summed it up like this about folks that are involved in 626 00:36:23,760 --> 00:36:27,960 dangerous movements, beginning in verse five of Second Timothy 627 00:36:27,960 --> 00:36:35,800 3, having a form of godliness, but denying its power, and from 628 00:36:35,800 --> 00:36:39,760 such people turn away. For of this sort are those who 629 00:36:39,760 --> 00:36:42,880 creep into households and make captives of gullible women, 630 00:36:43,680 --> 00:36:47,000 loaded down with sins, LED away by various lusts, always 631 00:36:47,000 --> 00:36:49,800 learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. 632 00:36:50,440 --> 00:36:54,600 Now, as Janice and Jambreeze rejected, resisted Moses, so do 633 00:36:54,600 --> 00:36:59,400 these also resist the truth. Men of corrupt minds disapproved 634 00:36:59,600 --> 00:37:03,800 concerning the faith. And by the way, because of all 635 00:37:03,800 --> 00:37:08,280 those reasons, because of all of those dangerous movements that 636 00:37:08,280 --> 00:37:12,120 Paul said was going to happen. Yeah, in their lifetime, 637 00:37:12,240 --> 00:37:17,560 beginning with the 4th century, and in our lifetime too, he said 638 00:37:17,560 --> 00:37:22,720 preach the Word. I know that we say that a lot. 639 00:37:22,720 --> 00:37:26,920 Oh, we got to preach the Word. Yeah, we do, but don't just mean 640 00:37:26,920 --> 00:37:31,160 that in a general sense. Preach doctrine, which is that 641 00:37:31,160 --> 00:37:32,720 which is authorized to be taught. 642 00:37:32,720 --> 00:37:34,640 How you going to do it? You're going to teach it in 643 00:37:34,640 --> 00:37:39,520 context and application so that we don't miss apply what the 644 00:37:39,520 --> 00:37:43,320 Word of God says. Paul says preach the Word, be 645 00:37:43,320 --> 00:37:45,080 ready in season and out of season. 646 00:37:45,080 --> 00:37:48,320 That means this, preach the Word when it's convenient and preach 647 00:37:48,320 --> 00:37:52,400 the Word when it's inconvenient. Then he says, reprove, rebuke 648 00:37:52,400 --> 00:37:54,600 and exhort with all long-suffering and teaching. 649 00:37:54,680 --> 00:37:57,400 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, 650 00:37:57,600 --> 00:38:00,120 but according to their own desires, because they have 651 00:38:00,120 --> 00:38:02,200 itching ears. They will heap up for themselves 652 00:38:02,200 --> 00:38:05,560 teachers and they will turn their ears away from the truth 653 00:38:06,080 --> 00:38:08,280 and be turned aside. The fables, You know what, those 654 00:38:08,280 --> 00:38:10,640 are some really harsh words and I'm so glad I didn't come up 655 00:38:10,640 --> 00:38:13,120 with those, man, I'm glad about that. 656 00:38:13,120 --> 00:38:15,280 All I got to do is just read it because somebody else said that 657 00:38:15,280 --> 00:38:18,160 divinely inspired by the Holy Spirit, it was the apostle Paul. 658 00:38:19,680 --> 00:38:23,440 I'm glad I didn't say that. OK, so when you go back to our 659 00:38:23,440 --> 00:38:28,200 text now, Jesus said you'll know them by your fruits, and then he 660 00:38:28,200 --> 00:38:33,000 said this. Even so, every good tree bears 661 00:38:33,000 --> 00:38:37,400 good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 662 00:38:38,040 --> 00:38:41,840 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear 663 00:38:41,840 --> 00:38:44,160 good fruit. Every tree that does not bear 664 00:38:44,160 --> 00:38:46,200 good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 665 00:38:46,200 --> 00:38:50,080 I want to make a point about what we are, OK? 666 00:38:51,160 --> 00:38:55,320 The Bible says Jesus says that a good tree is going to bear good 667 00:38:55,320 --> 00:38:59,480 fruit and a bad tree is going to bear bad fruit. 668 00:39:01,240 --> 00:39:06,920 OK, I have a saying that I've said for years, you've heard it, 669 00:39:07,440 --> 00:39:11,800 and that is we are what we are. I remember when our kids, my 670 00:39:11,800 --> 00:39:12,960 kids were little. I'd say if you don't like the 671 00:39:12,960 --> 00:39:14,560 reality, change the reality. But we are what we are. 672 00:39:14,800 --> 00:39:19,120 You are what you are. You can't separate your behavior 673 00:39:19,120 --> 00:39:20,880 from what you are. You can change what you are. 674 00:39:20,880 --> 00:39:21,960 You can't. Everybody can. 675 00:39:21,960 --> 00:39:23,480 It's wonderful to change what you are. 676 00:39:23,640 --> 00:39:25,360 And that's the beauty of being a Christian. 677 00:39:25,520 --> 00:39:27,680 If you're going down the wrong path and you're a certain person 678 00:39:27,680 --> 00:39:30,160 from days gone by, you don't have to be that person for the 679 00:39:30,160 --> 00:39:31,440 rest of your life. You can change. 680 00:39:33,080 --> 00:39:35,480 Paul did. Paul changed. 681 00:39:36,280 --> 00:39:40,080 Everybody can change. But make no mistake about it, we 682 00:39:40,080 --> 00:39:44,480 are what we are at the time. And Jesus says a good tree is 683 00:39:44,480 --> 00:39:46,360 going to bear good fruit and a bad tree is going to bear bad 684 00:39:46,360 --> 00:39:49,640 fruit. Give you a little example. 685 00:39:50,960 --> 00:39:51,920 There was a guy that used to live. 686 00:39:51,920 --> 00:39:54,640 We, I have great, we have T and I, we have great neighbors now. 687 00:39:54,640 --> 00:39:57,160 We really do. We had a guy behind us that was 688 00:39:57,160 --> 00:40:01,520 a real creep. This guy, I don't know what it 689 00:40:01,520 --> 00:40:05,600 was. I don't know why, but he seemed 690 00:40:05,600 --> 00:40:08,600 to take pleasure in yelling at women and children. 691 00:40:11,120 --> 00:40:14,040 And I have no respect for that. None of us do. 692 00:40:16,240 --> 00:40:18,560 And one day he was ball. He balled out Tina and then 693 00:40:18,560 --> 00:40:20,360 balled out my kids over something that I did and I 694 00:40:20,360 --> 00:40:22,920 wasn't even there. I'll tell you what I did. 695 00:40:22,920 --> 00:40:25,200 I hit some of those foam golf balls over the fence on accident 696 00:40:25,200 --> 00:40:26,600 and he got in his backyard and he got mad. 697 00:40:27,760 --> 00:40:30,080 He made him so mad that he came over and he starts yelling at 698 00:40:30,080 --> 00:40:32,040 Tina. He starts yelling at my kids. 699 00:40:34,720 --> 00:40:38,600 Awful. The same guy had a tree that was 700 00:40:38,600 --> 00:40:44,040 growing over our fence and we I talked to him and he said, yeah. 701 00:40:44,160 --> 00:40:46,280 He said, I'll if you want to have it removed, go ahead. 702 00:40:46,280 --> 00:40:49,000 So I hire a guy to cut the tree. The guy's there to cut the tree. 703 00:40:49,200 --> 00:40:51,120 He starts yelling at the guy and runs him off. 704 00:40:53,600 --> 00:40:57,800 So I cut the tree myself. And about two days later his 705 00:40:57,800 --> 00:40:59,440 wife comes over and knocks on the door. 706 00:40:59,440 --> 00:41:03,400 And, you know, wonderful person, the wife. 707 00:41:04,760 --> 00:41:09,960 And she comes over and she says, oh, please excuse my husband. 708 00:41:09,960 --> 00:41:12,960 He's really a wonderful man. I said, no, he's not. 709 00:41:14,360 --> 00:41:18,680 You are what you are. If you don't like the reality, 710 00:41:18,680 --> 00:41:20,720 change the reality. But you are what you are. 711 00:41:20,720 --> 00:41:24,760 He repeatedly does what he does. You can't change that unless you 712 00:41:24,760 --> 00:41:27,560 change that. You are what you are. 713 00:41:29,000 --> 00:41:32,640 You know what Jesus says. By their fruits you shall know 714 00:41:32,640 --> 00:41:35,160 them. We are what we are. 715 00:41:35,800 --> 00:41:39,560 That's how we're going to know. Jesus sums it up like this. 716 00:41:40,400 --> 00:41:42,200 By their fruits you will know them. 717 00:41:42,200 --> 00:41:46,720 This concluding passage in this section is a is words of comfort 718 00:41:46,840 --> 00:41:51,600 and it's also words of warning. God doesn't leave us to wonder 719 00:41:51,600 --> 00:41:53,240 about teachers that come our way. 720 00:41:53,240 --> 00:41:55,640 He gives us the key. What do we got to do? 721 00:41:57,720 --> 00:42:01,920 We got to inspect the fruit and listen carefully to the words. 722 00:42:02,560 --> 00:42:07,280 Simple as that. OK, in conclusion, this morning, 723 00:42:08,560 --> 00:42:13,040 a false teacher. What is a description of a false 724 00:42:13,040 --> 00:42:14,640 teacher? I'm going to give you one verse, 725 00:42:15,320 --> 00:42:18,360 Romans 16 and 18. For those who are such do not 726 00:42:18,360 --> 00:42:22,720 serve the Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly, and by smooth 727 00:42:22,720 --> 00:42:25,560 words and flattering speech deceive their heart, The hearts 728 00:42:25,920 --> 00:42:28,160 of the simple. These are those that we have to 729 00:42:28,160 --> 00:42:31,200 avoid. A trusted and true teacher, one 730 00:42:31,200 --> 00:42:33,800 that we can follow and have confidence in. 731 00:42:34,440 --> 00:42:37,280 Paul said this about Timothy in Second Timothy chapter 3 and 732 00:42:37,280 --> 00:42:38,880 verse 10. He said, but you have carefully 733 00:42:38,880 --> 00:42:43,600 followed my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, 734 00:42:43,840 --> 00:42:46,640 long-suffering, love and perseverance. 735 00:42:50,400 --> 00:42:53,960 Like Paul says, follow me as I follow Christ. 736 00:42:53,960 --> 00:42:56,080 And that's exactly what Timothy did. 737 00:42:56,600 --> 00:43:02,880 OK, in summary, what do we learn today? 738 00:43:02,880 --> 00:43:04,080 We got to learn to stay on the path. 739 00:43:05,520 --> 00:43:09,360 We got to learn to avoid and be careful about false teachers and 740 00:43:09,360 --> 00:43:11,880 false prophets because they're going to try to pluck us off and 741 00:43:11,880 --> 00:43:15,440 lead us astray. They lead us astray when they do 742 00:43:15,440 --> 00:43:18,360 so by their lives that they live or by the words that they speak, 743 00:43:18,360 --> 00:43:21,360 or both. So we know them by their fruits. 744 00:43:21,520 --> 00:43:25,800 So we must be inspectors of that and listen to their words 745 00:43:25,800 --> 00:43:29,640 closely. And one final thing, it's 746 00:43:29,640 --> 00:43:32,080 imperative that we have a knowledge of the Word of God so 747 00:43:32,080 --> 00:43:36,000 we can know the difference because often times there's 748 00:43:36,000 --> 00:43:38,880 wonderful people that are being LED astray because they know 749 00:43:38,880 --> 00:43:40,160 that there are voids in their life. 750 00:43:40,280 --> 00:43:41,840 There's empty places in their life. 751 00:43:41,840 --> 00:43:45,480 They know that. But in the absence of the Word 752 00:43:45,480 --> 00:43:47,840 of God, because they don't know any different, they're being 753 00:43:47,840 --> 00:43:49,960 offered dangerous substitutes that don't help. 754 00:43:51,520 --> 00:43:54,400 So we got to do our part to preach the Word and be 755 00:43:54,400 --> 00:43:56,640 strengthened by the Word of God and stick to it. 756 00:43:56,640 --> 00:43:58,120 Thus saith the Lord and all that we do. 757 00:43:58,120 --> 00:44:01,280 I'm finished this morning. Thank you for your kind 758 00:44:01,280 --> 00:44:02,800 listening. I hope something was said that 759 00:44:02,800 --> 00:44:06,640 was encouraging and edifying and helpful to you in some way. 760 00:44:07,520 --> 00:44:09,880 We never close a time when we teach from the Word of God 761 00:44:09,880 --> 00:44:12,520 without extending an invitation. It's the greatest invitation in 762 00:44:12,520 --> 00:44:15,600 all the world. It's the invitation that'll put 763 00:44:15,600 --> 00:44:19,520 a person on the path that Jesus talked about in Matthew Chapter 764 00:44:19,520 --> 00:44:23,280 7, verses 13 and 14, and that's to become a child of God. 765 00:44:23,280 --> 00:44:26,080 That's to become a Christian. The steps of obedience are 766 00:44:26,080 --> 00:44:27,400 simple. First you got to hear the word 767 00:44:27,400 --> 00:44:30,000 of God. Romans 10/17 So faith comes by 768 00:44:30,000 --> 00:44:32,480 hearing, and hearing by the word of God. 769 00:44:33,240 --> 00:44:35,640 After you hear the word of God, you have a choice to make. 770 00:44:36,000 --> 00:44:37,200 You got to believe with all your heart. 771 00:44:37,200 --> 00:44:39,920 Hebrews 11 and 6. Without faith it's impossible to 772 00:44:39,920 --> 00:44:43,720 please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and 773 00:44:43,720 --> 00:44:46,720 that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. 774 00:44:47,760 --> 00:44:50,040 Then what we got to repent of our sins. 775 00:44:50,040 --> 00:44:52,280 All that means is this I got to change my ways. 776 00:44:52,520 --> 00:44:53,680 I've been going to One Direction. 777 00:44:53,680 --> 00:44:56,320 I got to change my direction starts off with a change of 778 00:44:56,320 --> 00:44:59,640 mind, which is your heart leads to a change of life and the best 779 00:44:59,640 --> 00:45:02,280 part is it'll lead to a change of relationship with the Lord. 780 00:45:02,560 --> 00:45:05,200 Repent of our sins. Truly, these times of ignorance 781 00:45:05,200 --> 00:45:08,760 got overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent. 782 00:45:09,040 --> 00:45:11,040 And then if we're willing to do that, we're willing to say the 783 00:45:11,040 --> 00:45:14,560 greatest thing we will ever say and confess Jesus Christ as the 784 00:45:14,560 --> 00:45:17,600 Son of God. Acts 837 then feel upset if you 785 00:45:17,600 --> 00:45:18,800 believe with all your heart, you may. 786 00:45:19,320 --> 00:45:23,080 And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the 787 00:45:23,080 --> 00:45:26,160 Son of God. Upon taking these steps, now 788 00:45:26,680 --> 00:45:29,920 there's one act. It's the act of salvation. 789 00:45:29,920 --> 00:45:32,600 It's the point of salvation. It's the time you contact the 790 00:45:32,600 --> 00:45:34,760 blood of Jesus. This is the point that you're 791 00:45:34,760 --> 00:45:37,280 saved. You got to be baptized for the 792 00:45:37,280 --> 00:45:40,720 remission of your sins. Mark 1616, He who believes and 793 00:45:40,720 --> 00:45:44,960 is baptized will be saved, but he who does not believe will be 794 00:45:44,960 --> 00:45:47,160 condemned. If you've never taken these 795 00:45:47,160 --> 00:45:49,640 steps of obedience, we would love to assist you in doing that 796 00:45:49,640 --> 00:45:51,760 today. We're ready and willing to help 797 00:45:51,760 --> 00:45:53,640 you in that. Maybe you have taken those 798 00:45:53,640 --> 00:45:54,920 steps. Maybe there's something in your 799 00:45:54,920 --> 00:45:56,440 life that is not what it should be. 800 00:45:56,720 --> 00:45:58,120 Then just repent of those things. 801 00:45:58,120 --> 00:46:00,640 Confess those things. We'll pray with you and for you, 802 00:46:00,640 --> 00:46:01,960 and God will forgive and restore.