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Good morning everyone. It's great to be together and under these wonderful, incredible graces

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that our Heavenly Father has given us being His Word and prayer. And today we are going

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to hear some very sobering words from the Lord Jesus. And so, as we approach the Word

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of God this morning, let's come to the Author of Life and ask Him to help us understand

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these words. Would you please pray with me? Lord Jesus, I'm reminded of when you said

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some very sobering words in your ministry and many people couldn't handle what you had

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to say and left. But Lord, there were those that remained because they knew that you have

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the words of eternal life. Lord Jesus, this morning we ask for your ministry. We ask that

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your Spirit would work in our hearts and minds and that we would see beyond a shadow of a

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doubt that you indeed have the words of eternal life. Help us this morning in Jesus' name.

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Amen. So church, since February we've been in the Book of Matthew and particularly since

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April at the feet of Jesus with this famous sermon that He gave called the Sermon on the

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Mount. And Jesus has been explaining to us, His disciples, about what it is to be part

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of the Kingdom of Heaven. Now if you can cast your minds back to the very beginning, Jesus

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started His entire sermon by explaining to us that those who enter the Kingdom of Heaven

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are the poor in spirit. You might also remember that the original hearers of this sermon were

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under the corrupt theology of works-based righteousness. Now if you've never heard that

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phrase before, works-based righteousness, it simply means that they were taught that

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one can enter the Kingdom of Heaven purely by what you do. That's right, it was taught

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that God gave a law and that you are either saved or remain saved, if you were born into

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a Jewish family that is, by your own obedience to the law. Now as you might remember, Jesus

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had a few things to say about that. However, before He dug down and showed what had gone

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so terribly wrong, He was very clear to say that the law was from God and that our obedience

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to the law is vitally important. In fact, in no way, said Jesus, had He come to abolish

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the law or the prophets. No, in fact, He hadn't come to abolish them, but He had come to fulfill

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them. Going on to say that if your righteousness didn't surpass that of the Pharisees and the

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teachers of the law, well you'd certainly not enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Now as you

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might remember, what He meant by all of that was that He had come to give the fullest

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expression of what the law was pointing to. And that wasn't to the outward righteousness

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of people alone, like the Pharisees had taught the people. But the law was given to point

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to the very heart of people, the very thing that motivates us in all we do and say. That's

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what Jesus was hitting on in chapters five through to six. God gave the law, not so that

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people would look at the law and then try to earn a place in the Kingdom. No, it was

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given to expose that there is something drastically wrong with our hearts. In other words, even

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though the outward actions might look pretty good to those around us, the heart might be

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totally and utterly dead towards God. So Jesus explained that God looks at the heart as well

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as the actions and it's as we understand that and look at our lives and judge our motivations

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in light of the law that we quickly see that there is something drastically wrong. That

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we are utterly compromised or as Jesus puts it, poor in spirit. So instead of casting

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the law aside and saying, just do what you want, Jesus actually takes it to a totally

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different level. Casting a new light on the law and in the doing on our understanding

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of why the law was given. It was given to show us that we are poor in spirit so that

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we might not look to our own works for justification before God, but that we might see our utter

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depravity and go to God and plead for his mercy because there is nothing in and of ourselves

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that merits a place in his Holy Kingdom. To put it plainly, the true disciples of Jesus

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hear the word of God, believe the word of God, trust Jesus absolutely with all that

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they are which ultimately leads them to obey the word of God with all that they do. And

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it's those who are doing that which are blessed and are on the narrow way, says Jesus. And

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I want to say something on that because that's what the disciples life is defined by, walking

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on the narrow way. Now you might not have been with us when we looked at the two ways

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to live a few weeks ago, but the point of our Lord was simple. There are two ways to

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live, only two ways, the broad way which is the way of falsehood which leads to death

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or the narrow way which we enter only by Christ, which leads to life and either you're

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on the highway to hell or on the path to life. There is only two ways, only two types of

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people, only two endpoints and what you do now with the words of Jesus determines your

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eternity. But Jesus says, not everybody believes that message or will promote that truth even

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though they really might seem to be part of the people of God. And we have to be aware

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of this church so we don't get deceived or pulled away from the narrow path. That's why

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Jesus speaks these incredibly sobering words to his people this morning. If you have your

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Bibles, let's look at verse 15. Watch out for false prophets, they come to you in sheep's

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clothing but inwardly they're ferocious wolves. What is Jesus saying here exactly? It's pretty

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straightforward. He's saying that we must be on guard and be aware that not everyone

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who comes to us in the name of Jesus really is of God. I want to explain what I mean by

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that. As I've already pointed out this morning, there is only one way that leads to life and

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that is the narrow way, the narrow path that we enter by the narrow gate and that is Jesus

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Christ. However, we must be aware that there will be those who claim to be telling us how

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to walk on the narrow way yet are actually out to lead us further and further down the

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highway to hell. They're ferocious wolves, says Jesus. Now you might be here this morning

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and thinking to yourself, how can that be? How could people be like that? How could we

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be so deceived by them? Church, it's right there in our text, verse 15. These people

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look, talk, act, smell and even look like us. That's what Jesus is getting at with this

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sheep's clothing language. He's the shepherd, we are his sheep, his flock yet not everyone

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who bleeps and ba-ba-do-ba-ba's truly is a sheep but actually an enemy of the sheep,

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a wolf. In other words, not everyone in the visible church who confesses Christ and teaches

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on behalf of God is truly part of his people, though they very much look the part. Sobering

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stuff, would you agree? There's a few observations that I want you to have a think about as the

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people of God. First, we are not to go on a wild goose chase and go heresy hunting.

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This isn't Jesus telling us to take up the sport of witch hunting. That's not the point

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of what he's driving here. We have to remember how Jesus started this whole section of his

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sermon in chapter seven. We're all a work in progress. Sometimes we make mistakes, say

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things we don't mean, get things wrong and we are to help and correct one another in

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the Lord with an attitude of love and humility. We must never be quick to pull the heresy

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card on a brother or sister when there's been a genuine mistake or blunder and there's repentance.

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However, in saying that, this is a solemn warning that not everyone we come across in

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the church, even Bible teachers, are actually a brother or sister in the Lord. And though

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they might look like they know our shepherd, look like they have a personal relationship

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with him and even claim to speak the things that he said, they're actually wolves who

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have come to invade the flock and tear it apart by trying to lead God's people off the

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narrow way. So Jesus says, my people, don't be ignorant of the schemes of the enemy. Not

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one who claims to speak on behalf of God is really of him. Which leads me to my second

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observation and it's this, Jesus warns that these people are ferocious. When I was younger

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and looking for a room to rent, a friend of mine had a room and he told me that he was

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going to be out for the day and that I could go and check the room out at his place. So

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when I got there, I jumped the back fence to go and have a look around the house. However,

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what my friend failed to mention was that he owned a huge German shepherd, which just

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so happened to be waiting around the corner of the house. Without a word of a lie, it's

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the closest I've ever come to meeting an early death. I still don't quite remember how I

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was able to jump the fence that fateful day, though I was still left with horrible claw

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marks on my back and legs. That dog was ferocious. It was out to kill me. I still slightly jump

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when I knock on someone's front door and hear a large animal come bounding over. It goes

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without saying, I am a massive fan of beware of dog signs. Jesus is doing something for

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us here. He's saying, beware of dogs, of false prophets, false teachers who come in the name

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of God because like wolves, they're ferocious, meaning they're untamed, savage and brutal

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beasts. And there are all these things because they lead the flock of God astray. And that

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is such a ferocious thing to do, to lead God's people astray because where does it all end

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up? It all ends up in spiritual ruin and disaster, in death, says Jesus. Remember brothers and

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sisters, Jesus doesn't say the ignorant get off scot-free. No, he says the blind lead

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the blind and they both fall in a ditch. It is a ferocious thing to do, to come into the

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flock of Jesus Christ and teach the sheep error to lead them off the narrow way. Some

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of you here this morning might still bear claw marks from such ferocious teachers, which

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means third, truth is so vitally important to our Lord. Now I say that because our Lord

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wouldn't waste his time if getting his truth, believing his truth and practicing his truth

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wasn't vitally important. That's why he's telling us be on guard against those who distort

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what he's revealed, which means church what we believe and practice really matters in

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the scheme of things. If it didn't, if ignorance of the gospel, heresy or other so-called faiths

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were pleasing to our father, then Jesus, he just wouldn't warn us. God's revelation and

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the truth it reveals has always mattered to our God. There has only been one way and that

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is Jesus. However, as we read through the pages of the Bible, there has always been

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people who have claimed to speak on behalf of God, who have come into the flock to try

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to devour it and take it off course. That's the warning in all of this. God has revealed

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the truth to the world. He's done it through his prophets and apostles and ultimately in

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the Lord Jesus Christ and he has what he wants us to have in our Bibles. Yet we must be aware

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some will try to take those wonderful revealed truths and teach them in a false way as to

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lead us to ruin. And because he cares for us, because Jesus loves us, he says, beware

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of dogs. So how do we identify these ferocious beasts? Jesus tells us, buy their fruit, you

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will recognise them. Verse 16, buy their fruit. Our Lord goes on to explain what he means

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by that. Do people pick grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles? Likewise, every

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good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad

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fruit and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is

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cut down, thrown into the fire. Thus by their fruit, you recognise them. It's interesting

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what's happening here. Jesus has changed metaphor, hasn't he? I want you to notice that he's

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changed from sheep to wolves to trees and fruit. From the sheep's clothing, which a

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wolf can wear to the fruit, which a tree must bear. And this is so incredibly comforting.

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And I say that because although we may indeed mistake a wolf for a sheep, well, you can't

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mistake a tree with its fruit. In other words, from a certain perspective, false proclaimers

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can look like the real deal. And yes, even their fruit may appear genuine for a time,

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but their real nature can't be hidden forever. Sooner or later, that wolf that lies under

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that cute fluffy woolly jumper will be seen for who they are. And Jesus says the day of

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judgment will finalise the difference with fire. Thus Jesus repeats his initial phrase

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to drive home what we are to look for, and that is the fruit of all those who claim that

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they speak on behalf of God. So what Jesus wants us to see here is that the type of tree

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will determine the type of fruit that you can expect. Now one of the things that Jesus's

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original audience knew very well was that grapes grew on grapevines. That's even a no-brainer

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for us, right? However, in the ancient world, they didn't use to put grapevines on those

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wire things like you see at Margaret River. They grew them on the ground, and so from

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afar, they kind of looked like thorn bushes. They had fruit. The thorn bushes had little

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berries. It was only when you got close that you could tell the difference in the character

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of the tree. And that goes for the thistle bush as well, whose flower from a distance

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could be mistaken for a fig. Or that to say, anyone could tell the difference what you

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had picked come dinner time. It's as the old saying goes, it might be good from afar,

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but it's far from good. So we might ask here, what on earth is this fruit that we're meant

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to be looking for? Well, I'm going to give you three different things for your consideration.

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But three different angles of this fruit that we need to look for in those who claim to

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be speaking on behalf of God. First of all, there's the fruits of their doctrine. When

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we talk about sin, we instantly think in moral terms. But God also hates theological sin,

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which is when someone purposely takes what God has said and twists it to itch the word,

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to itch the ears of people's ears. So we have to ask when we hear the word proclaimed, is

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it in accordance with this revealed truth? Is it sound doctrine, which is to be received

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and believed as the church has worked it out through the years? In other words, is it orthodox

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or are they claiming to reveal some new truth, which no one has ever heard before? We must

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be very, very, very careful when a new teaching is presented to the church. In the 16th century,

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the reformers were accused of this very thing by the church in Rome. However, using the

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word of God, they defended themselves by showing that their teaching was not an introduction

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of something new, but the recovery of something old, namely the original gospel of Christ

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and his apostles. It was actually from God's very word that they showed that many teachers

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in the church through the years had taken the church off course and into error with

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its traditions. Hence why the reformers would cry out, cling to the word of God, because

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it's as you cling to God's truth that you can recognise what is right, what is wrong.

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In other words, according to Lord Jesus Christ, false proclaimers, they will come. And it

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doesn't matter how sincere they are, it doesn't matter how apparently successful they are,

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they will be condemned if they don't speak in accordance with what God has revealed to

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his saints once and for all. Second, they'll be the fruit of their life. Now this is to

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do with their character, because it's as I said before, the true disciples of Jesus

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hear the word of God, believe the word of God, trust Jesus absolutely with all that

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they are, which ultimately leads them to obey the word of God in all that they do. To put

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it plainly, if someone speaks the word of truth, look at their life. Will they be a

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perfect person? Absolutely not. We talked about this last week when we ordained Andy,

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our deacon, and we looked at the qualifications. So when they do fall into error, when they

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do make mistakes, and people will make mistakes, the God-given humility in them will cause

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them to repent with where they've gone wrong and cling to Christ as their all. That's

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what God causes his true children to do. He grows the fruit of the Spirit in the elect.

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We see this in Galatians 5. So we might say here the fruit of the tree is directly referring

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to the condition of all of our lives before God, yet we can take comfort in this. The

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false teacher will eventually show that they have no fruit of the Spirit because they don't

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privately believe what they publicly proclaim. Third, and this is for your consideration,

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what is the fruit of their fruit? What do I mean by that? Quite simply, what is the

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fruit of the life of their hearers and their followers? That's not to say that the teacher

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is responsible for the salvation of those that might listen to them. No, what I'm referring

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to here is those who are influenced by that person's teaching. What is the effect that

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it's having on them and that church? Are they hearing the word proclaimed which promotes

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godliness and holiness or are they being encouraged to take what Jesus says with a pinch of salt,

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to second guess the word of God, to live in any which way that they want because God is

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a God of love and he doesn't do all that Old Testament stuff anymore.

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Well Grace Church, we really have to be aware of these things because this is happening

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in real time. I met with a pastor this week who's grieving because his denomination is

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compromising on such vital issues like God's definition of marriage, of what is a man and

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what is a woman and even on the protection of a little baby's life in the womb of its

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mum. He's grieving because he's seeing the fruit of teachers who see the word of God

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as man's definition of God and not God defining himself to man. And because they are so grievously

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compromised, they're teaching people such incredible error in the name of Jesus and

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he knows, he knows that if people eat and drink the fruit of that poison, well we know

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the end result. Church, if we are to know the counterfeit, we must first understand the

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genuine. Let's take an everyday example of that. We see them do it in banks. To see and

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recognise fake money, bankers spend their lives studying the real thing. And so I want

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to put it out to you, do you know your Bible? Do you know your Bible? Have you studied the

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word of God? Do you love the word of God? Do you know why Grace Christian Church holds

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to the creeds and confessions? Well I want to challenge you this morning, make it your

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business to study the truth, to know the truth, to love the truth. The God of the universe

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has revealed himself through his word. And so as his children, let's get equipped, let's

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get grounded in the things that he's given us. Because there are people who will challenge

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you to eat their fruit and to leave the narrow way. There's a very real and present danger.

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That's why Jesus says, twice by their fruit you'll know them. By their fruit they might

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look the part, they might sound the part, they might even make you feel great about

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yourself. But is it in line with what God has revealed? Are they living what they're

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preaching? What is the fruit of their hearers? Brothers and sisters, if someone is following

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Christ, if someone knows Christ and loves him, they will bear fruit. They will always

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bear fruit. It might not be visible straight away, but they always will bear fruit because

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the spirit always bears fruit in his people. The way of Christ's people is always fruitful.

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And his people will always remain faithful because of the work of the Holy Spirit in

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their lives. So Jesus says, my people, be careful, beware of wolves. But simultaneously

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he encourages us that we have something to look for. He's given us a way for us to discern

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those who would speak on God's behalf if they are leading us on the narrow way or attempting

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to get us on the highway to hell. Now, before we look at what else Jesus has to say to us

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this morning, I want to address the elephant in the room. And that's my own position as

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teaching elder and pastor. Church, this is why the Bible talks about

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eldership in plural, because the truth is too important to be entrusted into the hands

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of one person. That is why we hold to the plurality of eldership. And I thank God for

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the way that he set that up with such mutual accountability because we want to protect

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the people of God from false teaching. Brothers and sisters, I will have to give an account

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for the words that I have taught you. The Lord's blood purchased people, that's who

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you are. And so if I should speak out of line with the Word of God, I want to have brothers

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who would point that out and help me to see where I've gone wrong. So I might repent because

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this is serious eternal business that we are involved in.

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Your elders are committed to protect the flock from false teaching. No one is above the Word

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of God and no one is above the accountability that he has set up in his church. Incredibly

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sobering stuff. We must be aware of the wolves so that we're not deceived by their ferocious

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intent. But our Lord teaches us about another deception, one that's just as deadly. And

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that's a deception that can be in and of ourselves. Read with me in verses 21 through to 23.

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Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the

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one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day,

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Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and drive out demons and perform many miracles?

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Then I'll tell them plainly, I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers. Incredibly,

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sobering words. Only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven will enter

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it. Now we began our time this morning by pointing out the erroneous doctrine of workspace

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righteousness that the Pharisees promoted. So we mustn't take this as Jesus saying that

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you are saved by your own obedience to the law. We know that that's not what he's saying

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because of what chapters five and six went on to show us. So what is Jesus saying here?

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Well, he's saying that we must take care that our verbal profession of faith is accompanied

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by practical obedience in our lives. I'll say that again. Jesus is saying that we must

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take care that our verbal profession of faith is accompanied by practical obedience in our

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lives. I want to be very careful here because it's at this point that some can take the

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gospel and twist it into something that it's not. So I'm going to be very careful here.

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We do not earn our salvation by our works, but our salvation is accompanied by works.

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We do not earn our salvation by works, but our salvation is always accompanied by works.

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What do I mean by that? Well, it goes back to the fruit language that Jesus has used

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throughout this passage this morning. Church, if there is a profession of faith in Jesus,

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yet the fruit doesn't match the tree, then there is something altogether wrong. We've

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applied it to the proclaimers of God's word, but this is now being applied to all of us

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in this room. Not everyone who says, Lord, Lord, which is a verbal and public profession

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of trust and faith in Jesus will enter the kingdom of heaven. Why? Because some deny

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God privately in their lives by rejecting what he's told us to do. My dear brothers

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and sisters, this is frightening stuff to think that we can confess Jesus in such a

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public, orthodox way, yet not possess God's saving love. And Jesus even says that there

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will be people that are phenomenal miracle workers, that they'll point to those things

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as evidence that God was really with them. But what does Jesus say? I never knew you.

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I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers. All this to say, Jesus is pointing out that

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there will be people that will genuinely look like disciples, but because their lives did

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not reflect the reality of the grace of the gospel, they will be rejected. It's a terrifying

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thing to think about this morning. But church, my goal isn't actually to confuse you in any

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sense, nor is it to frighten you. My goal is to invite and urge all of us, and I want

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you to hear that, all of us, including me, to consider the words of our Lord this morning.

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I can't think of anything more seriously to consider more seriously this morning. These

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are the words of our Lord to us, his disciples. And he's saying we must take care that our

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verbal profession of faith is accompanied by practical obedience in our lives. False

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teachers won't teach you that. They'll lean one way or the other. They'll say it's all

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grace and that you need no obedience, while others will give you a message that it's all

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by what you do and God kind of tax it on the end. And that's what I want us to consider

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here. The connection between our profession of faith and our obedience with our lives

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because they have to go together. You see, salvation is always by grace. It's all by

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grace. We are saved by grace through faith. We've seen that through the weeks in the Sermon

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on the Mount. There is no works that we can do to earn our place in the kingdom of heaven.

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We are all together compromised. The law reveals that. And thus, if we can't earn a spot in

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the kingdom, it must be by grace that we are saved. We've seen it by the law. We are shown

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that we are poor in spirit. But then by grace, we are invited by Jesus to confess our sin

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to our Father in heaven. And it's as we do that, as we go to God in that position of

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humility through Christ, we will be blessed. It is all by grace. But in saying that, obedience

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to God's word will be the fruit of a changed life. Church, hear me loud and clear this

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morning. The Bible teaches that we are saved by grace alone, through faith, through grace

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alone, through faith alone, by Christ alone. But that supernatural grace that is shown

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will always lead Christ's flock to love our God and his narrow path above the world's

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wide way. That's what the Spirit of God does in his people. He reveals Christ as our true

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shepherd and the saviour of his sheep and will follow him where he leads, doing what

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he commands because his commands aren't burdensome to us. And so true faith is always accompanied

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by a change of life that follows and strives to obey our God with all that we are. Will

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we get it perfect? No. But this is the wonder and love and mercy and grace of our God. We

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can come to him time and time and time and time and time again. Forgive us of our sin.

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In Christ the beloved, we are forgiven. Before we pray, I just want to end by saying this.

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Jesus is the saviour and the lord of his people. He can save because he is God. He has in himself

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the power to save. He can save because he is a man and bears as a substitute for humanity

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the punishment due to us. He can save because after he died for our sins, he rose showing

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that he has power over the last enemy, death. And so hear this this morning. Jesus will

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save anyone who has done anything who comes to him. However, it's got to be on his terms.

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What are they? First, we need to admit our need for salvation. Second, we must confess

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and trust him as our saviour. Third, we must follow him as a lord. This turning from the

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broad and wide way requires us to lay aside the old life that seems so very safe, so very

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much under our control. Church, we're being reminded of something here this morning and

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it's this. Jesus saves us all by grace. By grace, in and of ourselves, we cannot save

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ourselves. But that said, if we come before Jesus, trusting in our own works, no matter

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how amazing they might seem to us or even to other people, we will find on that day

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when we meet him face to face, we have nothing. So if you would say, yes, I'm looking at my

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own righteousness, my own works to justify myself before God, then today is the day to

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turn to Jesus. It's never too late. It's never too late to come to a saviour who delights

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in saving sinners. You may have been in church for 10 minutes or 10 years, but hear this.

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We have a shepherd who delights in saving his precious sheep. So as we end, I want to

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ask you this morning to reflect. And if you see it, if you see a mere verbal profession,

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confess it to our heavenly father and ask him to help you look to Christ and that through

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the spirit, you might walk on the narrow way. Might these words of our Lord Jesus be a comfort

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to you this morning? Ask and it will be given to you. Seek and you will find. Knock and

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the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives the one who seeks finds

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and the one who knocks, the door will be opened. Which of you, if a son asks for bread, will

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give him a stone or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake. If you then, though

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you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your

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father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him. Ask him church. Let's pray. Father,

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we thank you for your word. We thank you for the Lord Jesus Christ. And we thank you for

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the spirit who is at work in and among your people. Father, we ask that you would change

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our lives. Father, we would ask that you would help us to turn from the way that we are going.

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Father, would you keep us on the narrow way? God, I ask that this pulpit would be protected

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from false teachers. Father, would you please protect your people from the wolves? Would

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you give us discernment? But Lord, would you please also give us a great love and a leading

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of the spirit in how to deal with these things? We ask Father, that we wouldn't drift today

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and put our minds on our works, but that you by your spirit would cause our minds, our

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eyes to be lifted to heaven to the Lord Jesus Christ. Keep us for the sake of Jesus and

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for your glory. Amen.