 Matthew chapter 7 we're going to be looking this morning at verses 15 through 20 Matthew chapter 7 verses 15 through 20 beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep's clothing But inwardly they are ravenous wolves you will know them by their fruits Do men gather grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles? Even so every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit a good tree Cannot bear bad fruit nor can a bad tree bear good fruit Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire Therefore by their fruits you will know them now the Lord has been speaking to People who have gathered together and what it's called traditionally the Sermon on the Mount and as you know We've been going through this this the gospel of Matthew We arrived at the Sermon on the Mount which begins in chapter 5 and we've been looking at this message that the Lord Jesus Christ has been giving There in this particular location in the north portion of Israel by the Sea of Galilee And as the Lord has been ministering there we saw how that he had given an invitation He had had first stated in verse 24 of chapter 6 that no one can serve two masters for either He will hate the one and love the other or else He will be loyal to the one and despise the other and Jesus had stated you cannot serve God and Mammon and so as he had done that he is now beginning to set the stage for his invitation And I mentioned that to you last time when preaching of the of the gospel is his present There is an invitation and that's what Jesus Christ was doing He was giving an invitation and that's why last time we were together We saw that he gave that invitation in chapter 7 verse 13 when he said enter by the narrow gate And so that was his invitation now It's interesting that Jesus is giving an invitation to enter in and then notice with me then he gives a warning First he gives an invitation as a true prophet Jesus being a true prophet But then he gives a warning concerning false prophets now Why is that it's because when the Lord gives his word and somebody begins to respond to it Immediately the enemy like in a cosmic chest match Will attempt to make a move To undermine the work that God intends to do Jesus speaks later on Concerning how a sore goes out to see the so some see it goes to the wayside Birds come and immediately take that seed before it has an opportunity to germinate the enemy has a way I'm trying to steal the seed so it doesn't produce the the crop that God would have the harvest that God would have In those who would receive what the word of God has to say the enemy has a way of Bringing people into your lives Especially when you were first saved to try and undermine The work that God began through your listening to and reception of the word of God When I first got saved I was 20 years old I went heard the gospel gave my heart to Christ. They told me begin to read the Bible. I'm brand new in the Lord I'm a brand-new Christian 20 years old and I was reading the Bible and all and starting to grow Went on one occasion probably within two no longer than three weeks or so after me Committee by heart to Christ There's a knock on the door at my parents house where I was living at the time I remember going and opening the door and and I kind of startled the people who were standing there because I was a hippie So I had longer hair. I was wearing a Japanese silk robe with a big dragon in the back I was barefooted. I mean that's that's how I went out like that. That's formal wear That was formal wear. That's when you wanted to impress people and So I answered the door That's just a way that I dressed in and as I opened the door There are these two women standing at the door and they're looking at me and I'm smiling back at them How can I help you? I say to them well, we are representatives. We are Christians Representatives of the kingdom of God and we wanted to share with you a little bit about about God in the Bible And he said oh, that's great. That's wonderful. I said I just gave my heart to Jesus Christ just Recently I and I want to talk about him and they said oh and then they said well, we are We are Jehovah's Christian witnesses now. I didn't I Yeah, okay, you know, whatever, you know, you call yourself Christians and this and that let's talk about Jesus and and I still remember them conversing with me and sharing with me and I'm a brand-new believer and At a certain point I I said to them something like You know what you're saying. I don't think I agree with I Said I don't think I agree with that. I said but that's cool, you know, I You know, I didn't know what to say well later on I discovered that these people were members of a cult and they were sharing things that were just not scripturally solid right and so the enemy the enemy has a way of Moving immediately to undermine the work that God wants to do I'm certain that there are people in this room who came to faith in Christ Who within just a short time before you know it you had people sharing with you their faith and the things you Want to do in order to really know God the book you want to read or the place you want to attend or whatever They they come out of the woodworks because Jesus makes it clear that false prophets are Evangelists they come to you is what he says and that's a fact indeed. They do they come out of the woodwork They don't just stand in front of winchels and and and talk to people They they will come to you and they will speak to you and they try to draw you away And so Jesus is making it very clear here that these false prophets are evangelistic they come to you now notice with me that he warns them of false prophets and Instructing them so that they have what is called discernment the ability to judge properly discernment And he wants them to have this discernment You see because if God has a true prophet Satan will attempt to undermine God through a false prophet and so we need to know the difference between Light and darkness and so that's what he would have us to do. You see fake prophets will present themselves as Genuine and the unsuspecting unequipped can be deceived Paul when he was writing to the Corinthians in 2nd Corinthians in chapter 11 Verses 13 through 15 speaking of them said it like this. He said these people are false apostles They have fooled you by disguising themselves as apostles of Christ But I'm not surprised even Satan can disguise himself as an angel of light So it is no wonder his servants can also do it by pretending to be godly ministers in the end They will get every bit of punishment their wicked deeds deserve so their Jehovah's Christian Witnesses or their their church of God Latter-day Saints Church of God Jesus Church of Jesus Christ Latter-day Saints that they they will give you the impression that they know The Lord they even used Jesus's name in in the title of their their their cult, but in reality they're false prophets Now when you read your Bible you discover that false prophets false teachers were not something new in the history of Israel Israel had a relationship with the true God and because Israel did Satan moved to undermine their relationship with him and that's because Satan's greatest desire is to keep people away from God and To keep them in spiritual bondage in the Old Testament false religions arose and The false prophets wielded tremendous influence They intended to influence people to worship the gods that the false prophets presented to Israel So God calls them out He tells his people that these false prophets are misleading them. They're drawing them away in Jeremiah 23 verse 32 an Old Testament book with an Old Testament prophet whom God inspired to write these words in Jeremiah 23 32 The Lord says behold I am against those who prophesy false dreams as the Lord and tell them and Cause my people to err by their lies and by the recklessness Yet I didn't send them or command them Therefore they shall not profit this people at all says the Lord they tell lies they lead my people to err I didn't send them. I'm not inspiring them They're not going to profit you at all You see all the way when God began to speak to Moses and was giving him what is called the law God gave instructions to Moses concerning those who would try to seduce Israel In the Old Testament book of Deuteronomy the fifth book of the Old Testament In Deuteronomy chapter 13 verses 1 through 4 God said if there arises among you a prophet or a Dreamer of dreams and he gives you a sign or a wonder and The sign or the wonder comes to pass of which he spoke to you Saying let us go after other gods which you have not known. Let us serve them You shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams for the Lord your God is Testing you to know whether you love the Lord your God with all your heart with all your soul You shall walk after the Lord your God and fear him and keep his commandments and obey his voice And you shall serve him and hold fast to him And so God says there will be false people who will arise they'll even have dreams visions prophetic utterances He said this is all giving you an opportunity to demonstrate the reality of your faith If they say to you follow after a God that you have not known Even if what they're saying has come true Even if it appears to be coming true even do not follow after them Israel had been warned But Israel developed a habit of listening to false prophets, you know the message of the false prophet normally is extremely appealing The false prophets very often will say things that that people want to hear they're they're saying things that people would like to hear Isaiah chapter 30 verses 9 and 10 the Lord says this is a rebellious people Lying children Children who will not hear the law of the Lord who say to the seers do not see to the prophets Do not prophesy to us right things Speak to us smooth things prophesy to seats We prefer what you're saying over what the Bible actually teaches Say something to me that smooth say something that makes me feel good about myself Say something I already agree with In Jeremiah 5 30 and 31 it says a horrible and shocking thing has happened in the land The prophets prophesy lies The priests rule by their own authority and my people Love it that way Often false prophets and false teachers will appeal to what the people are inclined to believe already In the New Testament false prophets and false teachers seek to turn us away from Jesus Christ And the basic message of the false teacher is that Jesus is really not that important now They'll refer to him In certain ways, but they always reduce him They'll say things like well. He's a good man, or he's a great teacher Sometimes they'll even say Jesus Christ of course. He's a prophet They always will say glowing things about them. They don't necessarily attack him not directly most of the time They just add things and reduce him when I was in the army. I met a guy who was a Christian scientist And so I thought a Christian scientist was a guy who studied science. I Didn't know that it was a religion So he said oh, I'm a Christian scientist. I said really I said You know that's interesting. So you like science and he says no he says that's not a Christian scientist is And I discovered later on that a Christian scientist Teaches that Jesus embodied what is called the divinity of God But that Jesus Christ himself was not God. They always reduce Jesus Mormons will teach that Jesus and Satan are spirit brothers and sons of God Jehovah's Witnesses will say that Jesus is Michael the archangel who and they say he is the first creation of God But you speak to somebody who's a member of Islam Islam rejects Jesus as God in the flesh. They do not believe he is the son of God They reject his crucifixion his resurrection and they reject his atonement Now obviously that's not what the Bible says concerning the Lord Jesus Christ Billy Graham once wrote Buddha never claimed to be God Moses never claimed to be Jehovah Muhammad never claimed to be Allah Yet Jesus Christ claimed to be the true and living God Buddha simply said I am a teacher in search of the truth Jesus said I am the truth Confucius said I never claimed to be holy Jesus said which of you convicts me of sin Muhammad said unless God throws his cloak over me. I have no hope Jesus said unless you believe in me you will die in your sins They will always reduce Christ But the Bible always shows us who he truly is When you study your scriptures early in the history of the church there were false teachers who began to arise and they would Reduce Jesus Christ and because that was happening Paul wrote several letters and some of the letters that he wrote were specifically Dealing with the things that were creeping in one of the letters that he wrote was to the church of Colossi and in Colossians Chapter 2 verses 8 and 9 he said this he said don't let anyone lead you astray with empty philosophy and high-sounding Nonsense that comes from human thinking and from the evil powers of this world and not from Christ For in Christ the fullness of God lives in a human body Jesus Christ is God in the flesh and So false teachers may say glowing things about him. Oh, he's a good man He is a a prophet. He's a great teacher But good men who are prophetic teachers do not lie The fact that Jesus is not if Jesus were not what he says he is Then he wouldn't be speaking the truth and if he's not speaking the truth. Why would I follow someone like that? Jesus Christ is God in the flesh and the Word of God makes it very clear And so Jesus is now warning people concerning the false teachers and false prophets that they will encounter Once they commit themselves to him and so in 1st 15 with that in mind Jesus says that beware of false prophets notice who come to you in sheep's clothing Now false prophets have the appearance of being genuine During the time of Christ and in the Old Testament those who are prophetic or prophets Often were identifiable by the way that they dressed they sometimes wore what would be called uncomfortable and very plain clothing If you look in for example the Old Testament book of Zechariah 13 verse 4 It says on that day every prophet will be ashamed of his prophetic vision He will not put on a prophet's garment of hair in order to deceive a prophet's garment of hair They were identifiable by the way they dressed Speaking of the prophet Elijah in 2nd Kings 1 verse 8 That verse tells us that the prophet Elijah wore a garment of hair in the New Testament. You had John the Baptist He wore clothing that identified him as a prophet Matthew chapter 2 verse 4 says John himself with clothes in camels hair Now when Jesus was pointing out that John was true he mentioned the way he dressed In Matthew 11 verse 8, what did you go out to see a man clothed in soft garments? You see prophets would wear clothing that identified them as prophets Also shepherds or garments that were made of wool So he's saying false prophets appear to be the real thing They don't necessarily deceive the people by impersonating sheep alone They deceive them by not only impersonating sheep, but also by impersonating shepherds They have the appearance of a shepherd They will carry the the huge family Bible. They'll have the huge fish around their neck They have the appearance and people think they're the real thing they impersonate not only do they impersonate sheep But they also impersonate shepherds when a shepherd is amongst the sheep. It's interesting I didn't know this I was just recently this was taught to me and I thought how interesting so I'll share it with you Because I thought it was interesting as they brought it forth When a shepherd is amongst the sheep The shepherd because he's amongst the sheep actually picks up the smell of a sheep Now I've never been a shepherd in that capacity But that that's true I mean they're amongst the sheep and they're there with them quite often and and as they're there amongst the sheep the Sheep will rub against them sometimes they pick up the sheep and carry them and they're spending a lot of time with them and they actually pick the smell of the sheep and A false teacher can actually have that kind of we'll say sheep odor about him He seems like he's the real thing in other words. He smells like the real thing. They dress like like a real Minister in the sense of they have that outer appearance and and people will look at them and say well this person indeed knows the Lord He carries a Bible. He's got a nick-thus. He has bumper stickers. He goes to a particular church They can appear Christian. They'll speak concerning Jesus Christ. They'll speak concerning the Bible. They'll talk about salvation They talk about the spirit. They speak about love But they're deceivers and Jesus says they're dangerous and destructive as raven as wolves false prophets appear genuine But in reality they are destructive Again, some of the things that they say makes sense to the innocent Person that they're speaking to and they will come to you to deceive So you need to know the truth So you can identify them But our church first began. I had a small office about 80 square feet in a small office complex on B Street and in Ontario and I Can remember it was a holiday Something like maybe it was the Thanksgiving or something I forget what day But it was a holiday and I had a key to get into this small complex I had a small office on the left side So you would step in and the first office to the left was my office There were three offices on that left side and I'll wait and then three offices on the right side And I went in there while Marie was doing some preparation for Thanksgiving I believe it was and I went in there to do some work and as I was there I was the only person in the office complex and I can remember hearing the door open that led into the Isleway and Then directly across from me. I heard somebody trying the door trying to open the door And I knew that I was the only person in that complex and that eventually that person was going to come to my door I knew that so I was kind of seated there My desk was fading facing my door So I'm waiting for the door someone to knock on the door it was interesting because I heard him go to every door and then he came on my side where I was and then I hear a knock on the door and I said who's there and The door swings open, but only about five or six inches it was kind of odd and So as the door swung open I see a hand that comes in just the hand Comes in to the to the room and I'm looking at this hand and it's got little finger puppets It is like the little teeny like little teeny hats on his fingers with eyes and nose and smiles And the hand comes in and I said Can I give you a hand? No, I said How can I help you and then one of the fingers starts talking to me And he's talking he's talking to with a high voice You know, and I'm just I saw I'm just kind of hanging out, you know, I'm like, you know, you know I'm you know, that's where that saying talk to the hand came from. I guess I know but I I Start talking to the hand and as he's talking to me. I finally said, you know, I said hand Why don't you bring the rest of your body in and So the guy comes into the room and and he says hi, I'm from the Holy Spirit Association and I'm going through The area ask him for donations for the work that we're doing in our ministry and I said, oh, so you're in a ministry He goes, yes, the Holy Spirit Association and I said listen I'm familiar with the churches in this area and I've never heard of that particular title Holy Spirit Association Who are you associated with and who do you really where do you come from? You're not from this area it goes. Oh, I'm from Los Angeles He said they just bring us in and then we just go to door and we solicit funds for our ministries And so I began to speak to him and before you know it I find out he's from what was called the Mooney's he was a Mooney and so he was a member of a cult and so they will go out and they will go through Office complexes in the whole nine yards to a try to bring you to believe whatever it is what brand of religion they're selling for them the Unification Church believed that Sun Young Moon whom they called Reverend Sun Young Moon They believe that he actually completed the work that Jesus failed to do They believe that Jesus failed to actually marry a woman who could produce perfect children and Sun Young Moon had done that Was part of their theology at that time and there he is speaking to me trying to share with me So they come out and they'll speak about Christ. They'll say good things about always a good man He's a prophet. He's a teacher, but they change him They always reduce him to something less than what he really is and so Jesus is speaking concerning that and he's speaking about these imposters You see the bottom line is they will look you right in the eyes They will say things that they believe but they are totally wrong Not only do they deceive themselves, but they go out of the way to bring deceit to other people in Second Timothy chapter 3 verse 13 and verse 14 Paul said evil people and imposters will flourish They will go on deceiving others and they themselves will be deceived But you must remain faithful to the things you have been taught You know they are true for you know you can trust those who taught you Now why would Jesus refer to them as ravenous wolves again? Remember in Israel wolves were the most common enemy of sheep and were deadly to them They look like They talk like and in every way appear to be a true prophet and Since they do How will you know them? Well, Jesus in verse 16 says you will know them by their fruits Do men gather grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles? You see the one who is speaking for God is to be judged by his life as well as his words His life should adorn the gospel his words should never contradict its message Fruit trees can be beautiful when used for landscaping If you go there are some places they sell a particular a particular particular orange I I've tasted this particular fruit of this particular orange tree. It's really an ornamental tree Because the fruit in and of itself if you pick the fruit and you begin to try to eat it it is it's a very bitter fruit and They use this particular orange really for marmalade and things like that But it's really not something that you can go to a tree and pick it and eat the fruit So you have ornamental trees But this is speaking about a fruit tree and a fruit tree has a primary purpose It's intended to produce fruit that is edible and a false teacher and the true teacher is to be judged by The fruit that it produces not just how it looks, but the fruit that is produced When Paul was speaking concerning the fruit of the Spirit Do you see the fruit of the Spirit really ought to be something that is so evident in the life of the teacher? if you want to be If you want to be protected you have to be careful not to just like the person speaking to you They have a great personality They're very winsome They're kind of person that you enjoy and and they make you laugh and they do all of those things But you have to be careful because personality can deceive You can wear a mask and you can pretend to be a certain thing or you may be very sincere at what you're deceived at yourself And you're so deceived at what you believe you can actually be a great salesman for deceit rather than truth So you have to look for other things in them and Jesus said you have to look for the fruit So you look in Galatians chapter 5 and and you see in verse 22 that Paul begins to speak They're concerning fruit and he speaks of the fruit of love and as a result of you really have the love of God You have also peace and you have long suffering You have you have kindness and goodness you have you have faithfulness and gentleness you have Self-control this is the fruit of the Spirit and this is something that is evidence in in the life of a true teacher When John the Baptist was speaking about this life that had fruit he he warned in Matthew 3 8 He warned the people and he said bear fruit worthy of repentance So a genuine teacher is going to have a repentant lifestyle not that he just repented that one time and got saved and and never repents again A believer's life and for some of you this might be important to remember a believer's life is a lifetime of Repentance, it's a daily repentance God. I have failed in and thought word indeed forgive me a sinner If a man says I have no sin he he's he's not speaking the truth We all every day Will fail in one way or another it's a lifestyle of repentance and And a genuine teacher has a repentant humility you see that in them When Paul was writing in Romans chapter 6 verse 22 he said having been set free from sin having become slaves of God You have your fruit to holiness and The end everlasting life a Repentance a holiness the love of God. These are things that are evidence in a true teacher Any person speaking God's message evidence is good fruit in their attitude as well as their action You see abiding in Christ produces evidence Evidence of salvation Jesus said in John 15 4 and 5 abide in me and I in you as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine Neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine you are the branches He who abides in me and I in him bears much fruit for without me you can do nothing So every good tree in verse 17 every good tree bears good fruit But a bad tree bears bad fruit and So there's the fruit of their life This is the nature and condition of the tree Revealed no matter how healthy the tree appears if it's unhealthy it can only produce bad fruit now What are the fruits that can reveal? Them to be false. I want to give you a few things to contrast The fruit of a false teacher with that of the true First thing you're going to see about a false teacher number one Is a false teacher will add or subtract from the message of the gospel They're going to tell you things like you need to buy my book. You need my study guide In order to really know the truth They're going to say things to you like the Bible is not enough That's what the Mormons will tell you they'll say the book of Mormon is a companion to the Bible They'll say you need the doctrines and covenants. You need the pearl of great price Jehovah's Witnesses will give you the watchtower Publishing that they have they'll give to you the variety of things that they have that is published from their their Headquarters and that all the Jehovah's Witnesses distribute they will not have you study the word of God by itself Many years ago now, and I was in my early 20s, and I had gotten out of the military my mom had met somebody who was a Jehovah's Witness who had come to the door and had spoken to my mom and my mom was a new Christian as I and My mom wanted me to meet this woman and so I was going to school at that time And I came home from class the woman was at the house and I remember meeting her She was a a Mexican woman spoke fluent Spanish because As we were speaking she was speaking about Spanish and I said, you know I would really love to learn Spanish and and we were speaking to one another and she says oh, I can teach you that I said really so she made herself very available to me She said but you know what I'd like to do. I'd like to teach you the Bible in Spanish I'll teach you the Bible in Spanish. I said really And I said she said but we're going to need to use The Jehovah's Witness literature that I have so we can do Bible studies together I said, why don't we just read the gospel of John together? Why don't we just go through the gospel of John verse by verse chapter by chapter? See what John has to say about Jesus. Oh, no, she tells me I can't do that And I said, why can't you because we're not allowed to read the Bible without our helps See the Jehovah's Witnesses believe that their publication has taken the place of the Holy Spirit They believe that it's their teachings that are actually Going to bring you into truth and enlightenment the founder of the Jehovah's Witnesses said that If you just read the Bible without the Jehovah's Witnesses helps that in a year of just reading the Bible without their helps You will go back into darkness The point he was making is you'll be set free and walk into the light Because you've gotten away from their their public publications because false prophets will always either add to or subtract from the gospel message They often Will offer to you what might be called a new revelation They find it attractive and it attracts an audience But Paul said it like this in 2nd Timothy 4 verses 3 and 4 He said the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine Instead to suit their own desires. They will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths And that time is now When you go into a bible study, there are a lot of people who don't have a desire to really know what the scripture says They want to be entertained And so they'll go places that will have the sound the light the smoke They'll have all the excitement the enthusiasm the sweating preacher in the whole nine yards And and oh, yeah, I really got a lot out of it today. Well, what did he teach on? I don't know, but man, I'm enthusiastic about jesus And that's kind of what happens. I mean this big movement, you know, we got to have the greatest music I love music by the way. I love to worship the lord and song of course But I've spoken to people who's whole the church's whole emphasis Is is their bands and the kind of music that they have and and I've said to them Listen, you know if if somebody comes to your door and they don't know the lord What are you going to do bring your tambourine out and start seeing to him my god is an awesome god I mean, how are you going to reach him for christ? How's that going to happen if you don't know scripture? If you don't know the word of god, how's that going to happen? Well, we just bring him and they they get into the flow without the gospel without the word without the preaching of the cross There's no way they can get saved without jesus christ's word They need the word of god Because you may not enjoy the music, but you better get into the word Because it's the word that sets you free And paul said the day's coming and indeed we are in that day The day is coming when they will no longer put up with healthy teaching They will heap unto the south's teachers having itching ears. They will voluntarily turn aside from the truth and turn unto fables Voluntarily is how that is reading. They will turn away so that they can be entertained A genuine teacher does not change the message They will teach the bible to the best of their ability Out of a love and a fear for god and a love for god's people In proverbs 30 verses 5 and 6 every word of god is pure He is a shield to those who put their trust in him Do not add to his words unless he rebuke you and you be found a liar It's the truth that sets you free And the minister who is a true minister knows he has been entrusted with the message Paul's spoken of that in this way in 1 Thessalonians 2 3 and 4 He said the appeal we make does not spring from error or impure motives Nor are we trying to trick you on the contrary We speak as men approved by god to be entrusted with the gospel We are not trying to please men, but god who tests our hearts We're not going to give you he said a message that tickles your ear to make you keep coming back Because you'll like what you're getting we will give you the whole counsel of god A genuine teacher will not change the message Truth is what sets you free and that's why verse by verse teaching is the best method A second thing false prophets draw disciples after themselves A false teacher is busy building an empire They establish their own name recognition They want the fame and admiration of men Paul said it like this in acts 20 verse 30 From your own number Men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away Disciples after themselves we used to call it spiritual scalps They want to have people following after them Their way of thinking But a true minister will point people to jesus christ And they do not seek to be known themselves They want people to be like jesus. That's why in john 3 verse 30 we read he must increase i must decrease That's why paul in glacians 4 19 would say my little children of whom i travail and birth again until christ is formed in you A true minister points people to jesus Third false prophets are greedy for money and they use people for personal gain In titus chapter 1 verses 10 and 11 There are many rebellious people mere talkers and deceivers especially those of the circumcision group They must be silenced because they're ruining whole households by teaching things they ought not to teach and that for the sake of dishonest gain They like to make money off of you Years ago many years ago now i was teaching a series. It's when we were in ontario high schools So it's been a number of years I was doing a series And i began to quote some of the better known teachers at that time who were Who were polluting the gospel with error and i quoted a particular man And when i quoted him i didn't know this But a member of his church was in church services that day And so Some while later i was teaching at the calvary chapel bible college. It was in twin peaks at the time And a guy walks up to me and says to me pastor i want you to know i go to your church And i said oh well great he says i feel called by god To to become a minister a pastor i said great great i had never met him And he introduced himself to me and all and he said let me tell you how i got here I said okay He said i went to your church And you were giving a study And you quoted this particular teacher He goes i went to his church And when you quoted him i got angry at you He says i live in pamona, but i was driving to his church And uh as i would drive to his church, you know i was doing that for some time He goes and now you said something about my pastor and it got me very angry And so you gave the the uh teaching and And the citation so i wrote it down. He says i have all of his tapes at home And i went i found that tape that you quoted It was called a cassette tape for the younger ones they used to have something called cassettes He said i got the cassette tape and i played it And he said i waited until it got to that point that you quoted and you quoted it accurately So he said i'm gonna come and i'm gonna prove him wrong. He said so i went the next week And you did it again you quoted him a second time and it got me angry I went home and i pulled that tape out and i played it again and you cited it correctly He did say what you said he said he goes i started coming to your fellowship so i could find you wrong As long as i could he said and i realized he said i've been making a mistake in listening to this teaching So he said so i'm coming to this bible college because i feel called by god His name is ron arbaugh and he's a pastor of calvary travel san antonio texas He went and planted a church years ago and god is moving in that particular church And it's because the truth will set you free and this particular guy was teaching error and the error needed to be exposed Because there were people who were being Drawn away by it and their lives are being destroyed So i didn't say these things about frederick kc price some of you are wondering who I didn't say things about him because i didn't like the man I was taking his teachings and saying be careful for this its error And it indeed it was and the truth does set you free You see a lot of times People will preach messages Not because it honors the lord But because it lines the pocket not that frederick kc price was doing that by the way I should very greatly say that's not what i'm saying But i will say and you know this i'm not speaking to a group of people who don't know this There are many ministers who have used the gospel to line their pockets. There's no doubt about that I don't know any minister who needs 65 million dollars for an airplane I don't know any 50 maybe 65 no But that's the bottom line they do it for the sake of dishonest gain Now true shepherds receive voluntary support, but they do not take financial advantage of those who give In galatians 6 verse 6 paul instructs the church let him who has taught the word Share in all good things with him who teaches in 2nd corinthians 2 17 Paul said we are not as so many Paddling the word of god But as of sincerity but as from god we speak in the sight of god in christ In 2nd corinthians 12 14 i am ready to visit you for the third time And i will not be a burden to you because what i want is not your possessions, but you After all children should not have to save up for their parents, but parents for their children I think that i have parents in this room. They're kind of like this and You know if you spoke to one of my kids, it's a truth It's a truth You know, I don't expect them to take care of me God Interested me to care for them So if i take my children out for dinner say we go to You know Hamburger place sells 12 cent hamburgers. I don't make them I don't make them pay My children my children find it difficult to give me anything because i'm their father I'm just not the kind of man who says you owe me You buy me a meal. I spent enough money on you as you grew up buy me a sandwich I don't do that with my kids. I never have never will I'm the hardest person in the family for you to give anything to because I feel this my responsibility to give to you Now they try to give to me and I appreciate it But there were years when my kids would say daddy, what do you want for christmas? And I would say the same thing. I'd say you can't afford what I want And what you're gonna give me i'm gonna give you money to buy anyways, so buy me something cheap But it's a fact isn't it? I mean the the children are not supposed to save up for the parents The parents are supposed to take care of the kids and that's the attitude that a true shepherd should have A fourth thing a false prophet has no love for god or god's children In john chapter 10 verses 12 and 13. Jesus said it like this The hired hand is not the shepherd who owns the sheep So when he sees a wolf coming he abandons the sheep and runs away The wolf attacks the flock and scatters it the man runs away because he's a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep They don't care They don't care about the sheep at all And so if something happens, they're not there for them. They don't care about them But on the other hand a true shepherd lays his life down For the sheep And john 10 verse 11. Jesus said it like this. He said I am the good shepherd the good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep Every genuine shepherd has scars on his hands from the attacks of wolves Every genuine shepherd if you look closely at the wrists if you look closely at their hands They have scars all of us do From the attacks and the times That I in ministry and by the way, I don't say this to elevate myself I could say it about so many of my friends But I'd prefer getting the glory not them, but as I speak But as I speak honestly with you In my years of experience in the years that I've ministered I began to minister the word of god In september of 1973 as the age of 23 I've been teaching the word of gods since 1973 And I can tell you that over the years I have And my friends have a have been attacked in ways That we didn't believe Was even possible Because though the sheep are not necessarily dangerous They do bite And they do nip And they do tear And they do harm They do And every every shepherd has endured some of the painful times with the sheep But every shepherd has gone to bat for them against wolves And every one of us every one of us Everyone that I know And I can name men that you respect and love highly starting with pastor chuck and just moving on down the line Everyone that I know Has wounds on their arms from taking the attacks That wolves have given all of us have all of us have gotten in front A sheep that has been hurt All of us have and we have put our bodies online from And many times the sheep that was being injured It's turned around to bite and to leave the shepherd. I have had that happen so many times I don't say that with anger I have pain over it because it's sad to see But that's a fact. A true shepherd will lay his life down for the sheep That's what shepherds do and who is the truest shepherd? Jesus Christ And he said a hireling sees the wolf come and he flees He said I am the good shepherd. I lay my life down You can tell the difference between a true shepherd and the false by what he does when danger comes The false does not care A fifth thing false prophets have disciples Who make the gospel look bad by their bad living In second peter chapter two verses one and two Peter says there were also false prophets among the people Just as there will be false teachers among you they will secretly introduce destructive heresies Even denying the sovereign lord who bought them bringing swift destruction on themselves Many will follow their shameful ways and will bring the way of truth Into disrepute So they bring shame to the gospel But true shepherds desire the sheep to be like Jesus They want the gospel to be admired and that's why paul would say in first Corinthians four verse two It is required in stewards that one be found faithful and six False prophets change jesus from the son of god the second person of the trinity and the savior John said in first john four verses one through three beloved Do not believe every spirit but test the spirits whether they are of god Because many false prophets have gone out into the world By this you know the spirit of god Every spirit that confesses that jesus christ has come in the flesh is of god And every spirit that does not confess that jesus christ has come in the flesh is not of god This is the spirit of the antichrist which you have heard was coming and is now already in the world But a genuine teacher preaches jesus christ as the only savior of the world god in the flesh And a genuine teacher guards the gospel and teaches it faithfully In Galatians one eight and nine paul said it like this They said even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preach to you Let him be eternally condemned As we've already said so now I say again If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted let him be eternally condemned Jesus christ is a word made flesh. He ransomed us poured out his blood. He died was buried and resurrected 1st timothy 316 says without controversy great is the mystery of godliness God was manifest in the flesh justified in the spirit seen by angels preached among the Gentiles believed on in the world Received up in glory and a true teacher will preach there is Salvation nor is there salvation in any other for there is no other name under heaven given among men By which we must be saved in a world that is calling on preachers To water down the gospel To make god lower and man higher To tickle the ears of those who come to church because they want large congregations and a large cash flow There seems to be An ebbing of the sincere preacher And seems to be a highlighting of the insincere What we are called by god to do As ministers of the gospel Is to preach the truth Regardless of whether anybody likes it or not And I can stand before god and I stand before this congregation Without an arrogance purfuly it doesn't come off that way And I will tell you I stand before god to him. I give an account. I'm not going to tickle your ears I'll teach you the truth as the word of god states that that's what we've been called to do And that's what a true shepherd shall do We will lay our lives down for our flocks. We will tell you the truth Even if it hurts you because that's the only way for you to be healed And I do that until the day I close my eyes and I see jesus christ and he says well done That's what we're called to do. I love my church. I'm going to be honest with you now again sounds like I'm I get I get real sensitive about that. I don't want to do I'm just trying to be honest and open with you. I don't want to be Lifting my so I forgive me if it sounds this way, but I'll tell you this People don't know this and some of you some of you will know it Some of you do because you've been with us for a long time, but I'll tell you this I loved my children and I love my children and I love my grandchildren with all of my heart Anybody who knows me know that's true. You know that's true. I love my babies and I love my grand babies And I love my the children that have married my children like my own. I love them But they know one thing and they can tell you this is the truth They will tell you this if you asked them they will tell you this If you want truth ask my father, he will tell you the truth. I don't sugarcoat it never have never will I love my babies and I will tell them the truth because I'm their daddy And you need to hear truth from somebody and I've always told them the truth If they ask me I will tell them and there are times when I told them when they didn't ask me Because that's what that's what somebody does when they love you And I love my congregation Very similarly to how I love my family I love you guys I will tell you the truth because god has called me to do that I guarantee you that until I go to be with jesus christ if you come to this particular church There's one thing you'll know that man up there fears god and I don't fear you I will tell you the truth because you need it so that it'll set you free You know, I I didn't go into the ministry to be popular I went into the ministry because I believe it. I believe that jesus christ is the son of god I believe he died on the cross for me. I believe he poured out his blood to wash me of my sin I believe that he was buried and on the third day he rose from the dead I believe he ascended from the grave that he went to heaven and he's coming back for those of us who are waiting him And I will preach that that's the gospel and that's who we worship Jesus christ god in the flesh the son of god the savior of the world And that's what he says a true teacher is to do and finally the false teacher is going to be judged Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire therefore by their fruits You will know them false teachers are thrown into the fire of judgment Jesus said in john 15 6 anyone who parts from me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers Such branches are gathered into a pile to be burned They are judged severely because they deceive people and the people were left left lost and therefore they are judged severely Jesus said whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were drowned in the depth of the sea These false teachers are standing up saying that god has ordained homosexual marriage will stand before god to give an account of that But this man will teach you the truth. It's man and it's woman before god That's what it is and I won't perform any homosexual marriage I don't care what the world says And these guys who told denominations are yielding to that But i'll tell you this I have a lot of friends a lot of friends calvary chapel pastors And we've all said the same thing to god be true To god be true in these last days in these last days as backwards as we look And people say oh you guys are intellectual hillbillies. You guys are you guys are just irrational judgmental You know biblical red necks. Well, you want to know something? I stand before the lord ultimately and I want to hear these words from him. Well done my good and faithful servant That's what matters. That's what matters and it has to be god's word Somebody says you hate people. No, I hate sin And I hate what it does to people it destroys them It separates them from god and they end up in judgment But jesus christ came to destroy the destroyer He came to give us a life and that more abundantly I keep my eyes on him, but we need to teach the truth because again the truth is what sets you free May we embrace the truth today