Transcription
For me. Find those seats and let's open up those, uh, Bibles to Matthew chapter 7. Matthew chapter 7. If you don't have a Bible with you, we have one for you to borrow. It's one of those black hardback Bibles in front of you. Go ahead and pick that up and borrow it. If you don't have a Bible or you got a really old one, there's a Bible kind of wrapped in white. Go ahead and pick that up. That's our gift to you. Brand new Bible. Take it home with you. It's all yours.
So today, we are continuing a series where we are addressing the current events in our world and the state of our nation by looking at what it means to be a Christian. So we're looking at everything going on, think about this, in the world and in our nation, the division with Israel and Palestine, the great divide between race and politics, the war between the right and left. We're looking at all of that that we're seeing and we're saying, "How do we as Christians respond?" How do we respond? And what we're learning is that we are to respond the way Christ has taught us to. And and that is those instructions of how to sp how to respond are found in Matthew's chapters 5-7. As we look at what we've been looking at, which is the sermon on the mount.
And as we look at the sermon on the mount, we see that Jesus was addressing these massive crowds that were following him at the time. This is one of the first sermons he ever preached, if not the first sermon he ever preached. And he preached it to these massive crowds that came saying, "Either we are following you, Jesus, or we want to follow you." And he got up on this mountainside and he preached to them. And what he said was he addressed the false teachings of Israel's teachers at the time. And then he contrasted that with how they're supposed to be taught. He said, "You've heard it said, but I tell you." meaning false teachers have been teaching you these things, but I tell you this is the proper understanding of it. This is actually how you should live. And so what we're doing is we're looking at that same sermon where Jesus literally divided a crowd with his words. We're taking that and we're using that was following him. And yet he wasn't afraid to say things that would polarize that crowd. He wasn't afraid to say things that would turn people away. He'd claim to be his followers because we've learned that Jesus was less concerned on how many people were following him and more concerned on who was following him. And it's the same today. Jesus doesn't want everyone on team Jesus. He doesn't need that. What he needs is for us to properly live the way he's called us to as Christians so that we shine his light in this world.
And so today, we're going to turn our attention to one of the most important topics we could ever cover. If you're taking notes, here's the title of our message and our topic today. True and false Christians. True and false Christians. There are many people who claim to be Christians, many different types of Christians, but there's only two kinds. True Christians and false Christians. Let me say this. This is this message Jesus is going to, um, give is primarily addressed to believers. People say, "I'm a Christian." He's going to address that. He's going to help you understand if you really are. But let me say this as well that if you are not a Christian, if you're going to make that decision for the first time today to receive Christ, he's going to make it very clear what he is expecting, what he is asking, what a true follower of his looks like. And what Jesus is going to do in this passage is he's going to on one hand address one of the most important topics we could ever talk about when it comes to being a disciple. When it comes to being a disciple, we have to understand that there's a warning about that. He's going to address that warning. But after that, he is Jesus on the other hand is going to address one of the most sobering, one of the most disturbing things he could ever tell us, anyone has ever said in the history of the world. Now, that's his purpose. But he's also going to answer a question that we care about. And that question is, and many Christians ask this question is, "How do I know that I'm really saved?" When people give their lives to Jesus, one of the first things that happens is, "You're going to sin. You're going to mess up." And when that happens, usually what Satan does is he implants this lie that this means you're not saved. So Jesus wants us to be certain how it is that we are saved. And he wants us to be certain that we are saved.
So, let's go to scripture today where we're going to see that. Um, now where we're going to begin reading here, this is right after Jesus just talked about the two paths. Y'all remember this a couple weeks ago. He says there's only two paths in life. A narrow path and a wide path. He says he is the way to that narrow path. He says, "I'm the gate to that narrow path." And we learned that there's only a few people on that and it's a hard life. And that's the path that leads to heaven. Then there's a wide path. Many people are on this way. Many ways you can get on this path. And he says, "Everybody on this path thinks they found life, but they're actually headed to hell." Right after he says that, we're going to pick it up here in verse 15 of Matthew chapter 7. Uh, as I do every week, I want to invite you to join me in standing as we honor the reading of God's word today and everything he's going to do in our lives. Matthew chapter 7, we're going to begin reading here in verse 15. It says this, this is Jesus's words. He says, "Beware of false prophets." Circle those two words, false prophets who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly, underline this, "But inwardly," what are they, church? Help me out. They are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them how? By their what? By their fruits. Circle that word. Fruits. He asked this question. Are grapes gathered from thorn bushes? Somebody say no. Or figs from thistles? Somebody say no. So he says this, underline this. Every healthy tree bears good fruit. But the diseased tree, the unhealthy tree, the bad tree produces bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Verse 19, every tree, underline this, that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will recognize them by their fruits. This is the word of God and all God's people said. Amen. You can go and have a seat today.
Jesus gives us a harsh warning. People back then knew this. But there is a use for a bad tree. A dead tree, an unhealthy tree, a bad tree has a use. And that's that you chop it down. You chop it into these little wood pieces called firewood and you put it in a fire. And in the same way, can you take this sobering reality in for me? Jesus says false believers have a purpose and it's to feed the fires of hell. Wow. That's what he says in his message to us. And how do we recognize the difference between a true Christian and a false Christian? He says, "You'll know them by what?" By what they claim. No, by what they produce, by their what? By their fruit, their actions or their fruit. Now, the overarching subject is the Christian, the true Christian. But there is like a message, a main message, and that is to true and false prophets. A prophet is someone who claims to speak for God. Jesus says that there's true prophets who do speak for him and then there's false prophets who only claim to speak for him. Now, some might wonder, well, I don't know if this really applies to me. Like, I don't, I don't listen to anybody or follow anybody who claims to be a prophet. So, let me put this in a contextual way for us. Here's what we would say today. What the Bible's helping you understand is think about a false prophet in these terms or any prophet. Who do you follow on social media? Who do you listen to? What podcasts do you listen to? What TV shows do you watch? Who is it that you are learning from and seeking to emulate? Whoever that person is, they are your teacher or what the Bible will call your prophet. The problem is Jesus warns that there are true false true prophets and there are false prophets. So, how do we know which one is which?
Well, let's start with this. Let's start with a true Christian or true disciple. They produce good fruit. And Jesus clarified in that teaching two weeks ago what their lives look like. First of all, he clarified they have a narrow way of living. If you're taking notes, this is a person who holds to the teachings of scripture. If it's in the Bible, they do it. If it's in the Bible telling us not to do it, they don't do it. It's a narrow way of living. And people will get upset with you. Why you got to be like that? Why you got to believe like that? Because it's the word of God and it's narrow. There's only one way to believe. I do what the Bible says. And the, and you know what Jesus says? If you live that way, you'll produce fruit, good fruit for God. But Jesus also says that there's, um, not just a narrow way of living, but the people who live in that narrow way of living, they live a hard life. This person's life is hard because not because they make sinful decisions that make their life hard. If that's you, Jesus isn't talking about that. He's talking about those who do what's right, even when it's hard. And you do what's right even if it's going to cause hardships. No matter the cost, you do what God says. Therefore, your life is hard. Lastly, Jesus says, "These people are few. There's not very many of them doing this, and therefore, they are hard to find." How many of y'all know it's hard to find a good church, right? You know what's just as true? It's hard to find a good Christian. It's hard to find a good Christian. A true Christian lives a life that's narrow. It's hard. They live a life that's countercultural to the world. Their wisdom will not please the world. In fact, it'll make the world angry, but it will please God. Their life does not look like the lives of how other people are living, but rather they live how Christ lived.
So, let's now look at a false Christian. But do this for me, okay? Just kind of massage your chest a little bit because everyone's probably got like a hard heart and you're probably like tightened up about that. Just, just loosen yourself up, okay? So you can receive this. So, a bad or false Christian producing bad fruit has this. They have a wide way of living. This kind of person is someone who, yes, believes in the Bible, but they just like to take in what kind of everybody has to say. They prod bad fruit. This person is someone who does not live a hard life where they're always doing what's right no matter the cost. This is someone who lives, get this, an easy life. They desire comfort. They desire ease. They do not do what is right. They do what is easy. They do what feels right in a moment. They do what's convenient. They do what pleases the flesh. They do what brings comfort. They do what brings false security in their life. They think it brings security, but God says it's a false kind of security. They put their trust not in him, but in other things. If you're taking notes, lastly, Jesus says, "These people are many and therefore easy to find." You can follow tons of people like this on social media. You can find tons of podcasts of people who are like this. They are people who make sense to the world. Their life looks like people in the world and how they live. They'll live selfish lives, prideful lives, sinful lives. They'll excuse sin. They talk. They talk, but they do not walk the walk. They live like the world lives.
Now, some of them might say, "Well, you know, pastor, as you're saying this, it's, uh, it's a little disturbing. You know, I'm worried about some people I'm, I'm, I'm around in my life. I'm worried about some people I'm following on social media and so on." But you might want to go, "Yeah, yeah, but you know, it's not that bad because there's some good things they say, too. It's not all bad." Here's what I would say. If it walks like a wolf and it talks like a wolf, it's probably meaning it's time for you to recognize Jesus in his teaching is bringing you and I at a crossroads. And he's warning you and he's warning me that there are only two kinds of Christians. And there are only two kinds of prophets. There's a false and a true one. You see these false prophets Jesus warns us of, he, he calls them a name. He calls them wolves. It's to be a vivid imagery of these salivating wolves coming for you. Because the Bible's very clear, right? We're sheep. That's what the Bible says. We are a sheep and someone is our shepherd. And, and so the question is, who is your shepherd? Because these wolves will come not obviously, but how do they come? They come in sheep's clothing. They come to you in a way not that is obvious. They come to you convincingly. They'll come to you as the answer to your questions in life. They'll claim to meet some of your greatest needs. "I'mma help you get rich quick. I'mma help you with all your problems in your life." In other words, no, they're not easy to spot. In other words, no, you will not view them as a threat. You'll view them as a friend. And whether they know it or not, Jesus says they are sent by Satan to mislead you. False prophets are wolves Satan sends into the world. We are God's sheep. And if you didn't understand anything about sheep or wolves before, you need to today because that's who you are and that's what they are.
And if you did not know, um, a wolf will not attack an entire flock of sheep. You want to know why? Because they're afraid of the shepherd or shepherds. Sometimes there's plural. And so what they'll do is they'll look for a weak sheep, a vulnerable sheep, and they'll pick them off when no one's looking. So what do they look for? So you and I as, as good Christians who are seek seeking to be true Christians, what does it look like to be weak or vulnerable? Well, it's a sheep that has strayed from the flock, meaning you're a Christian who doesn't have a church. If that's you, you're weak and you're vulnerable. You want to know why? Because when a wolf comes, there's nobody around you to go by. Or in other words, that's a wolf. You follow that person on social media. Do you know what they teach? You listen to that pastor. Hey, you live and do life with those people. Do you know what the Bible says? There's no one to tell you these things. No one to warn you. It's a wolf and you have no shepherd to protect you. Most wolves are not afraid of most Christians. But every wolf is afraid of a true shepherd, a true pastor, because they will protect the flock. And hey, here's the thing. If a wolf picks you off and you have a church and a pastor, guess what? The pastor is going to come for you. The pastor is going to reach out to you. If they're a good pastor and they know you, they're going to text you. They're going to call you. I've done that to some of you. It's because I love you. How you doing? Everything okay? Um, that's what they look for. You know what else they look for? They, they look also for sheep that do have a flock but are prone to wander. "I just don't feel like going to church today. I'm just going to wander over here." Or there's someone who they have sheep around them, but every time a sheep tries to tell them, you know, that's not very good what you're doing in your, in your walk with Christ, and they're like, "I don't want to hear that." So, they just kind of like to, you know, wander around and do their thing. And you know, sometimes they like what the pastor has to say, but sometimes they don't like it. And that's when they don't come back for a while. "I don't like the way that one felt for me, so I'm going to leave." If that's you, you're an easy target. You're an easy target because he sees this wolf or Satan himself sees that you are a person who is easy to turn away. You are weak. You are vulnerable.
Listen to what God says about false prophets here in Deuteronomy 13:1. He warns us, "If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or wonder, can you believe this? False prophets can perform signs and wonders and the sign or wonder then he tells you comes to pass. If he tells you, let us go after other gods which you have not known and 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 what?" He is testing you to know whether you love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul. You shall walk, not talk. 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. But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death." That's what they used to do with them in the nation of Israel back then because he's taught rebellion against the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you out of the house of slavery to make you leave the way in which the Lord your God commanded you to walk. Isn't that interesting? Leaving the way meaning that there's a narrow way and there's a, there's a wide way. You shall purge the evil from your midst. Now, if you didn't know, that's the Old Testament. We're in the New Testament. So, we don't kill prophets anymore. But what we do, some of you were like, "I'm going to get him." No. What we need to do instead is to kill that voice out of our life. Purge the evil out of your home. Purge the evil out of your social media or whatever.
So, what do we see the Bible telling us? We see that God says there's a purpose for a false prophet. And you know what that purpose is? To test you. To see if you really love the Lord or not. Do you really love him? Do you really love him with all your heart and all your soul or are you just pretending to? You see, the person who listens to a false prophet is a person who likes to have their ears tickled is what Paul says in his letter to Timothy. There's somebody who likes to hear things that please their flesh. They like to hear people say peace and safety. Meaning not that peace and safety that comes from the Lord and his word, but peace and safety through something else, some false idol. They'll say, "Hey, you can have peace and safety if we get the right president into office, the right governor into office. You can have peace and safety if we get the right party into office. If you get the right boss, then you'll have peace and safety." No, peace and safety comes from the Lord your God who watches over Israel day and night. That's where your peace and safety comes from. And so, they will pray victim those who like idols. You see, many Christians come to church and they don't realize it, but many Christians are like, "Affirm me, not correct me." Many Christians come with a spirit of "Tell me I am right, not show me where I'm wrong." Some Christians, and perhaps this is you, don't come to church saying, "Pastor, tell me what I need to hear." They say, "Pastor, tell me what I want to hear or I'll go find somebody who will." See, if you live this way, here's you got to understand. You're an easy target for wolves, false prophets. Why? Because they'll pick up on you don't love God's word. You don't love his ways. You don't love his truth. If you did, you wouldn't be following them. You love the world, the flesh, worldly wisdom. Here's how it works. Let's break it down. You're digging notes. False prophets pray on a believer or a sheep who does not go to scripture and prayer for their problems, but seeks worldly answers instead. So, here's the thing. If you struggle with worry, lust, anxiety, coveting, greed, depression, whatever, you can't help that. Okay, that's your struggle. But here's what you can help. Do you go to God's word into prayer to solve it, to battle it? If you don't, you're that weak sheep. You're the person who says, "Give me a pill." Uh, you're the person who says, "Give me a new boss. Give me a new state or new city to live in." Everything's the easy answer. Give me a new marriage. Give me something that's easy. Not what does the word say about anxiety and how do I battle against it? Not "I'm going to take this to the Lord in prayer," but "I'm going to go on Google and see how to battle against this."
So, let me say this. The word of God is very clear on what these types of believers are like. Isaiah 30:9. Listen to this. Isaiah says they are a rebellious people who live like this. They have lying children. Children unwilling to hear the instruction of the Lord. Who says to the seers, "Do not see." And to the prophets, "Do not prophesy to us what is right. Speak to us smooth sayings. Prophesy illusions about health and wealth and prosperity." Right? Leave the way, the narrow way. Turn aside from that path. Let us hear no more about the Holy One of Israel. I want to hear more about Jesus and obeying him. Uh, tell me what I want to hear. Jeremiah 5:30 says, "An appalling," this is God speaking about his people. "An appalling and horrible thing has happened in the land. The prophets prophesy falsely and the priests," that would be our pastors today, "rule at their direction. And here's what God says he's sad about. And my people love to have it so. But then here comes the warning. But what will you do when the end comes? You love this now. What are you going to do when I come back for my true church? What are you going to do when you stand before me one day?"
So, what does a false prophet look like? How do we spot them? Well, scripture says this, "False prophets, if you did not know this, hear from false spirits, that would be demons, and teach false doctrines." 1 Timothy 4:1 says, "Now the Spirit, meaning the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of the living God, expressly says that in later times, some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons." So, you see, people sometimes get into a bad church with bad teaching and they get kind of stuck there or you're listening to that one pastor and, and whether they're in the church or listening online, they're like, "Well, some of the stuff he says isn't very great and I don't know how I felt about that, but you know, I do feel good about these things." Or I hang out with these group of friends. I, a lot of things they say are bad and wrong and I shouldn't do it. But there are some things that make me feel good. And, and here's the thing. What you got to understand when you're around demonic spirits, there are certain feelings you will feel. And sometimes it feels good. But this is why the Bible says that we are to test the spirits because not everything that feels good actually is good. And not everything you hear that makes you feel good is actually good for you. The Holy Spirit warns us that in the last times, the later times, that's our times. By the way, some people, they will not be devoted to God. Who will they be devoted to? Demons. Demons. False spirits. Second Peter chapter 2:1, Peter says the same thing, but here's what he says. He says, you know how they're going to do it? He describes they're going to do it through your greed. They're going to appeal to people who say, "Teach me the health and wealth gospel that God wants me to get rich and all this good stuff and have great health and never have problems." They will get, they will pray on those who want to hear about that or want to hear about, "Hey, I don't want to hear the hard messages. I don't want to hear about how I'm not supposed to get drunk and I'm not supposed to abuse food and sex." I don't want to hear that and if I hear that, I'm going to go to another church because I don't want to hear about that. Why? Because these false prophets are not going to talk about that. Because they want you to abuse those things and stay in sin so that they can use you and get your money.
Let's break it down really precisely now. There are actually three kinds of prophets. There's a heretic, if you're taking notes. Firstly, this is a person, and many of us, you probably have this person in your life. Um, could be a boss or a family member or a podcaster or whatever. This is someone who openly rejects God's word. They tell, they're not trying to tell you they're a Christian. They're not trying to tell you God's word. They openly reject it. They do not claim to be a Christian. If you have a voice like that, a prophet like that in your life, they are a false prophet. They are a heretic. They are not teaching you the word of God. They are teaching you worldly wisdom, something else. You need to get them out of your life, at least from the perspective of following their teaching, doing what they say. Um, apostate is the second kind of false prophet. This is someone who once believed God's word but has turned away and now seeks to turn others away. This, this is someone who says, you know, "I used to be a Christian. I used to be, but now I'm not." Or they, they say like, you know, "I used to believe all the Bible, but now I don't." It's an apostate. It's someone who has wandered from the truth. And then thirdly, lastly, it's the false prophet that the Bible calls a deceiver, a false shepherd. This is the worst because this person claims to believe God's word and they teach a lot of things that agree with God's word, but they use God's word to build trust with people and then take advantage of it. Their teaching is really hard to see how it's false because they sneak it in really subtly. They say all the right things to please their critics while they keep pushing a demonic agenda.
One of the most famous and horrific examples of this was a false prophet by the name of Jim Jones. Anybody heard of Jim Jones? The False People's Temple Christian Church from South America. Jim Jones grew up in, uh, the US. He would, he actually was born in Indiana and he would fall, fall under the profile of a deceiver. The worst kind of false prophet. Probably the most disturbing part of his cult was that he had over 900 members and most of them grew up in a Christian home of some kind. And they actually thought he convinced them that they were living a higher form of Christianity. But one day, the church dissolved overnight when Jones felt that his cult had been threatened by a US congressman, uh, who had visited his little kind of village/church and saw all the sketchy stuff going on. And so he actually had his members kill that congressman. He panicked going, "Okay, we're going to be uncovered now for sure." So he had over 900 of his members commit suicide by drinking a gl a grape flavored drink mixed with cyanide. This is where the saying comes from. "Don't drink the Kool-Aid." You ever heard that before? It comes from this. Now, there were, I, I read this. I didn't know this before. There were actually some people who tried to resist. He shot those people dead or he, uh, force injected it into their body. In a book called "Deceived" by Mel White, he explains how so many were misled. Get this. Jim Jones knew how to inspire hope. That is hope in himself. He was committed to people in need. He counseled prisoners and juvenile delinquents. Are you listening to this? He started a job placement center. He opened rest homes and homes for the mentally handicapped. He had a health clinic. He organized a vocational training center. He provided free legal aid. He founded a community center. He preached about God. Do you notice who he's going after? The weak and vulnerable sheep. Did you catch that? He even claimed to cast out demons, do miracles, and heal. But on the other hand, we find all the marks of a false prophet. He promoted himself. And he did this through the use of celebrities. Very common identifier of a false prophet. He'll use celebrities. He'll bring them on a stage or say they're part of his church to push his stage bigger. Is a vehicle for false prophets to gain credibility. He manipulated the press. He wanted certain favorable stories. He was big on playing the press, he called it. And he used the language and the forms of faith to gain his power.
So what do we see? We see that false prophets are more than wrong. They're dangerous. To sit under the teaching of someone who is a either a heretic or an apostate or deceiver is literally to expose your mind to them and therefore begin to pervert your thinking and align your path with theirs. That would be the wide path that leads to destruction and hell. Understand this. When you start listening to them for as much as some of us do, you're going to now listen to the demons that they listen to. You will believe what they believe. You'll be afraid of what they're afraid of. You'll believe the conspiracies they believe. And you'll be paranoid about what they're paranoid about. This is why Paul warns us in Romans chapter 10:17, and truly God warns us through Paul, "Faith comes by hearing." What you're listening to will become your faith. So to listen to an influencer to open your mind to them and eventually produce the bad fruit that they're producing. Now, one time, a few times, this probably won't change your life too much. But let's be honest, some of you, you have a crush obsession. Some of you are like a faithful zealot to that certain person that you listen to or watch. And here's what's crazy. Can we be honest about this? You crave that video they put out or videos or reels or podcasts more than you crave the word of God. You, you oops, forgot to read the Bible again, but you never forget to watch or listen to them. What does this prove? This proves the falseness of their teachings. Because if they were a true teacher, you know how you know you sat on a good teacher, you're always going to want to read the word of God more. They, they increase your appetite for the word of God and wanting to read it.
Jesus warns in John chapter 8 verse 43. He's warning the false teachers of Israel, but it's a warning to anybody who's who's following false teachers. He says, "Why do you not understand what I say? It's because you cannot bear to hear my word. You are of your father, the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires." He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth. Because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character. For he is a liar and the father of lies. But because I tell you the truth, you do not believe me." Skip down to verse 47. He says, "Whoever is of God hears the words of God." The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.
Let's now go to the second passage in Matthew 7. I told you we're going to read. This is a second warning followed by a second application. These are the words I warned you are some of the most solemn, disturbing words you'll ever hear. Psalm 7:21 Jesus says, "Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven. But the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven on that day," verse 22, "how many church? Many, many will say to me, Lord, Lord, did we not," circle that, "prophesy in your name? And," circle this, "cast out demons in your name? And," circle this, "do many mighty works in your name? Did we not do all that stuff?" And then I will declare to them, "I never knew you. Depart from me, you workers of lawlessness." is when you hear this, any true believer should be disturbed and any true believer should stop and examine their lives because how disturbing is it to know that God can use you. We can say and do all the right things and yet not be saved.
So what does this solemn warning mean so we don't get confused? Well, Jesus exposes two lies that take people to hell and one truth that gets people to heaven. Number lie number one is this. If you're taking notes, people believe this lie. Believing the right things will get you into heaven. So many people believe this. "I, I know he's Lord. I know Jesus is Lord." Tell my kids all the time. I tell them, "The Lord, the Lord, the Lord, the Lord, the Lord." And Jesus says that doesn't save you. Your kids don't need to see you talk, talk. They need to see you walk, walk. They want to see the kingdom of heaven through you. Not the talk, talk, talk, talk, talk. So we are warned that talking about Jesus as Lord, admitting that he is Lord does nothing. Even the demons believe he's Lord and they shudder at the sound of his name. That does not save you. But there is a second lie many believe and that's this. Doing good things gets you into heaven. Some might say, "Oh, no, no, pastor. I don't, I don't just believe he's Lord. I also got some good works along with that." Well, the warning here is good works don't save you. The first warning was against self-deception. The second warning is no good stuff doesn't save you. Notice what they say is the reason why I should be in there is, "Remember what I did for you, Lord. Did I not cast out demons in your name? Did I not prophesy in your name? Did I not perform mighty works in your name?" Can I say it like this today that some people will go to heaven one day and they'll say, "What? I'm not going in. I was an elder at the church. My husband was a pastor. I gave money to the church. I led people to believe in you. I literally prayed the sinner's prayer with people and they're in there because of me. I gave money. I did all these things." And, and he says, "None of those will get you into heaven." None of those will get you into heaven.
What is the truth then? The truth is this. Meaning what you believe gets you into heaven. It's not about what you say you believe. It's about whether you mean what you say. Here's the equation that Jesus is is presenting. Real faith equals good fruit. Good fruit equals you know you're going to heaven. Notice that doesn't say real faith plus good fruit. Meaning we're not saying believe in Jesus's death and resurrection then do good stuff and then you're going to heaven. That's not what we're saying. That's not what Jesus is saying. He's saying if you really have me, your life will show it. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit. A bad tree cannot produce good fruit. So if you have real faith, you really have Jesus and he will only produce that good fruit and therefore you will know you're going to heaven.
Now to be clear, clarify please. Jesus is not talking about perfection. We will sin. The Bible's clear several places after we have Christ, we're going to sin. He's not talking about perfection. You know what he's talking about? He's talking about faithfulness. Not are you perfect, but are you faithful? It's like if you're in a sport. I'm coaching a couple sports, right? A couple, uh, my boys teams, my two boys have football teams. I'm coaching them. God bless these kids, man. Some of them are so terrible, but they show up to practice every week. Now, one of my boys teams is so good. Okay, they both practice the same amount. Here's what I'm trying to say. This team keeps messing up no matter how much they practice. This team keeps practicing, but they're doing really good. What's my point? Well, the point says, "I'm not asking either one to be perfect. I'm asking them to be faithful. Show up to practice. You're going to make mistakes, and that's okay. I just ask for the effort, the faithfulness." That's what God asks for you. Not perfection, but faithfulness. See, some of us think this, "I got bad stuff in my life, but if I do some good stuff, that'll outweigh the bad stuff, right?" Jesus says, "No, you're not." And if you live like that, you're not going to heaven. A true Christian hates their sin. It's not that you're perfect. It's that you hate it when you sin and you repent from it. That's the key. It's repentance from it. Not "I'm going to do good stuff and keep doing bad stuff." That's what Jim Jones, "Oh, I'm just going to do all this good stuff and it doesn't matter all the bad stuff I'm doing." That's a false prophet. That is a false believer that "I'll do enough good to outweigh the bad." No, it's "I'm gonna, I'm gonna trust in Jesus. He'll produce good fruit and when I sin and mess up, I'm going to repent."
Let me say it like this. I'll give you an example, a visual of what I'm talking about here. Um, I love my kids. I have, my wife and I are blessed with amazing, godly children. Really, they are. But I'll tell you a funny story about my oldest, Jonah. He's a teenager now. Anybody ever had a teenager or have one right now? Anybody? Okay, so you know this, at the teenage age, it is so hard to get them out of bed. Okay, so it's like my wife is doing it all the time, only a couple days a week in my home. And it's like, "Okay, Jonah, get out of bed. Okay, Jonah, get out of bed." By the third time, I'm tired of it. So, you know what I do a lot of times? I'll go, I'll say this. I'll be in the kitchen. I'll say, "Jonah, to the table in five, four." All of a sudden, I hear boom boom boom boom boom boom. He's coming. Two, one. And all of a sudden, he's at the table. What am I trying to say? Many Christians think this is what Jesus is going to do for you before he comes back for the church. Five, four, three, last chance. Two. He's not going to do that. He's just going to come for the church and he will leave you behind if you're not at your fault. There's no countdown. There's no last chance. The warning is right now. The warning is right now. What will you do in the end? If the Holy Spirit is moving in your heart to say, "My life does not please God," then you need to repent. And I want to give you an opportunity to do that. Um, we're going to do things a little different today. Normally, I, I kind of pray and do a benediction. What we're going to do instead today is in a moment, I'm going to, uh, pray. And after that prayer is over, those of you who the Holy Spirit is not moving in your heart that this is you, you're not living for him. If that's not you, I want to ask you to stand and leave walking out those doors in what I want to call a discipline of silence. Meaning, you're going to leave quietly in respect for the people who are staying and what God's doing in their life. But if you stay, you're saying, "Chris, God's working in my heart. God's telling me my life is not pleasing to him." And if that's you, as you stay back, myself and the prayer team are going to come find you. Just stay right there in your seat. We're going to come find you. We're going to lay a hand on you and pray for you. Or if it's you and your spouse or your significant other, we're going to pray for both of you. So, we're going to bow our heads and pray. And then I'm going to dismiss those who God's not, uh, speaking to your heart. And the rest of us are going to stay in a. And let me say this. Sorry. Let me say this. If you stay, I want to be clear. You're not saying I'm not. And I'm not saying you're not saved. What you're saying is I need to repent. To be very clear, if anything, you're saying "I am saved." Because the mark of a true Christian is what? We hear the voice of our shepherd. And what do we do, church? We hear and obey. Let's pray.