1. "This morning, we're going to be tackling the two animals, sheep and wolves, and the two trees and two kinds of fruit. So we're going to get a couple of those in there. Then we're going to talk about two kinds of disciples. We're going to talk about two kinds of disciples after State of Sunday, and then the final week, we'll be talking about two builders, two buildings, and two foundations." [00:10:06] (22 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)




2. "There's an underlying implication to this passage of Scripture that implies a level of fruitfulness. And so we're going to get into that as well this morning. Let us begin the dichotomy of wolves and sheep. See, Matthew chapter 7, verse 15, Jesus warns, Beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. Now there's a number of different ways that this first aspect, this idea, can be unpacked. Because the Bible talks about prophecy and prophets, especially in the New Testament, in different ways or manners. So I want us to kind of see that as an understanding that there is a level of those who proclaim and those who are prophetic." [00:13:31] (61 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)




3. "And actually, when we get into the next passage of Scripture, you're going to see the picture of the false believer. Two different sets of believers in our next sermon on this particular topic. But you see passages. You see passages that say things like false teacher, false apostle, false prophets, those who proclaim, and there is also a false believer, and there is a picture of, especially with the context of sheep being described here, that these would be ones that would come into your midst and proclaim something other than the gospel of Jesus Christ. Jesus. Jesus. And begins with this very first word, beware, beware in the Greek, prosikos." [00:14:03] (53 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)




4. "There are different ways that words are used in different imperatives we call tenses and different voicings that mean different things when words are used or when they're proclaimed or when they're written. This passage is written, this word is in the present tense. In other words, he's saying this is not something that is something that is from the past or something that is forward looking. It's actually in the moment in this right now and it's in the act of voicing, which means that it's a current action that has no foreseeable end. Jesus says, beware." [00:15:15] (40 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)




5. "We're through the spheres and the realm of. Social media and Internet presence and YouTube and all of these different things that there are so many voices that claim to be Christian. There are so many voices that come into your device, come into your home through the television, come into your world through email and through social context. And we've just. gotten to where oh well they pastor a church so they're okay oh well they go to such and such a church so they're okay oh they're this beware" [00:17:32] (45 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)




6. "Second Timothy chapter 4 verses 3 and 4 says, For there will come a time when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itchy ears, will heap up for themselves teachers and they will turn their ears away from the truth and be turned aside. The famous my friends, the voices of those who are deceptive." [00:21:02] (24 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)




7. "are going to sound spiritual and godly but yet they will be false and they will not be following the truth and so jesus has given the warning right out of the gate be on guard don't let your guard down pay attention know what's going on because many are going to be deceived by ones whose voices sound spiritual and sound godly and there are many voices today that sound spiritual and sound godly that couldn't be farther from the truth i watch social media regularly not because i want to engage with it but because i need to so that i can pastor a congregation and i see the means i call it mean theology where things sound spiritual things sound right but they have no foundation in the word of god most often they are contrary to the word of god but they sound good you And it definitely connects with our inner emotion of wanting things to be a particular way. Why?" [00:21:47] (65 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)




8. "discernment what is discernment discernment is the sound judgment which makes possible the distinguishing of good from evil and the recognition of god's right way for his people it is necessary for the understanding of spiritual realities we must have discernment" [00:27:11] (28 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)




9. "discernment discernment according to scripture only comes through spiritual maturity let me say that again discernment is only acquired through spiritual growth and maturity Hebrews chapter 5 verses 12 through 14 says for though by this time you ought to be teachers you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of god and you have come to need milk and not solid food by the way in first Corinthians chapter 3 that's one of the ways that Paul describes the carnal versus the mature believer ones who are able to consume the meat of the word of god and understand it and rightly divide it and those who cannot can I tell you for just a moment that spiritual growth and maturity does not equate to age and length of time that you have sat in the pews of a right teaching bible teaching church you could have sat in the pews for 40 years and still not being mature and still being a babe let me finish that passage for everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness for he is a babe but solid food belongs to those who are full age not years but maturity that they have grown in christ they have grown in their knowledge of the word of god you could say it in verse 13 instead of being unskilled in the word of righteousness they are skilled in the word of righteousness they are skilled in the word of righteousness they are skilled in the word of righteousness receiving solid food that is those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil can I tell you this morning maturity only comes through the word of god maturity only comes through the word of god maturity only comes through the word of god matthew 7 john stock famously has said this he said christians i will give you the word of god" [00:27:37] (150 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)




10. "who neglect the bible simply cannot mature because you cannot have one without the other second timothy chapter 3 verses 16 and 17 my kids are learning this verse at home to understand the significance of it all scripture is given by inspiration of god that phrase inspiration of god is a greek term theonustos it literally means god breathed god breathed out the scriptures for a purpose it goes on to say it is profitable for doctrine for reproof for correction for instruction and righteousness that the man of god may be complete thoroughly equipped for every good work you cannot exercise discernment if you do not know the word you cannot exercise discernment if you do not know the word God I think in terms of when you go all the way back to Genesis and in Genesis chapter 3 when the serpent deceived Eda the Eve in the garden has God really said that you will surely die it kind of kind of twisted on what God's Word has said to deceive her when Satan came to tempt Jesus in his temptations after Jesus has spent 40 days in the wilderness fasting and praying Satan used the Word of God twisted to try to get Jesus to succumb to him if you don't know the Word of God you cannot discern this is why there's so much proliferation of false teaching that sounds godly and sounds spiritual but yet is deviated from the Word of God and even contrary to the Word of God and Christians are sitting in pews or watching their devices that are eating that up because" [00:32:13] (131 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)

Amen. Thank you, Janelle, for sharing that with us this morning.

As we get ready to dive into the Word today, I'm excited. I got quite a bit done this last week in terms of getting ready for what's to come.

And so I'm going to invite... What's that? It's not about hiding from you. Okay, I was hiding. But it was a productive hide, okay? It really was.

Ladies, do you want to come help me? And Mr. Butcher, do you want to come help me? As you've got stuff. Do you want to put something in your face? No? Tristan, will you come help me? Cast out notes.

Looking forward to what comes next for us. I'm excited that, you know, sometimes the year just kind of flies by and you just don't think about it. Do you know Advent is right around the corner? Literally. Advent is literally four Sundays away.

And so I am going to do my best. I say that. We all know how that sometimes works. But I am going to do my best to land the plane on the Sermon on the Mount the last Sunday in November. So we've got three more sections left that we want to try to get through.

Next Sunday, November 10th, is Stand Sunday. And every year for Stand Sunday, we come together as a church in partnership with churches all across the nation to stand up for the vulnerable, to stand up for those that are in foster care, to stand up for those who are orphans and fatherless. And so next Sunday, we're going to be doing that.

So we're going to have Back in the Sermon on the Mount this week, then Stand Sunday next week. And the last two Sundays, we'll be landing the plane on the Sermon on the Mount, and that is if I can get through what we need to get through today. Amen? Amen.

So let's read that passage of scripture again together as we talk about this, the second of the dichotomies that we find in the closing section of the Sermon on the Mount, these dichotomies of the kingdom.

The first one we talked about a couple, three weeks ago, because we've had some special messages in the last couple of weeks, but that was the two gates, two ways, two crowds, and two destinations.

This morning, we're going to be tackling the two animals, sheep and wolves, and the two trees and two kinds of fruit. So we're going to get a couple of those in there. Then we're going to talk about two kinds of disciples. We're going to talk about two kinds of disciples after Stand Sunday, and then the final week, we'll be talking about two builders, two buildings, and two foundations.

So this morning, we're picking up 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.”

Lord Jesus, we love you this morning. And Lord, I would pray that as we unpack this this morning, that you will speak to our hearts, Lord, that you would transform us into more of your image. Lord, that we would learn from your word, and that your spirit would empower us to walk out the truths that you will present to us from your word today. In Jesus' name, and everybody said, amen, amen.

This morning, in this passage of scripture, we're going to tackle, at least I hope we're going to tackle, three different key aspects out of this passage of scripture.

The first being the dichotomy of wolves and sheep. The second, or at least, should I say, the part of that is discernment, discerning the presence of wolves in the midst of the sheep.

The second aspect that we want to try to unpack today is trees and fruits. How do you tell a good tree from a bad tree? Good fruit and bad fruit. And then the last aspect of that is going to kind of wrap that up together, and that is being fruitful.

There's an underlying implication to this passage of Scripture that implies a level of fruitfulness. And so we're going to get into that as well this morning.

Let us begin with the dichotomy of wolves and sheep. See, Matthew chapter 7, verse 15, Jesus warns, “Beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.”

Now there's a number of different ways that this first aspect, this idea, can be unpacked. Because the Bible talks about prophecy and prophets, especially in the New Testament, in different ways or manners.

So I want us to kind of see that as an understanding that there is a level of those who proclaim and those who are prophetic. And when Jesus begins to say this, he's not trying to delineate a particular thing. Oftentimes we think about, because there were Old Testament prophets, and we think about passages of Scripture like Ephesians chapter 4 or Romans chapter 12, and we want to apply and say, oh, well, he's only talking about a particular group of people.

But the Bible actually talks about this false, this pseudo, in a number of different languages. And actually, when we get into the next passage of Scripture, you're going to see the picture of the false believer. Two different sets of believers in our next sermon on this particular topic.

But you see passages that say things like false teacher, false apostle, false prophets, those who proclaim, and there is also a false believer, and there is a picture of, especially with the context of sheep being described here, that these would be ones that would come into your midst and proclaim something other than the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Jesus begins with this very first word, “beware.” Beware in the Greek, prosikos. It is a word that means something important. It means be alert for, watch out, be on guard.

As we talk about oftentimes in grammar and in the Greek, there are different ways that words are used in different imperatives we call tenses and different voicings that mean different things when words are used or when they're proclaimed or when they're written.

This passage is written, this word is in the present tense. In other words, he's saying this is not something that is from the past or something that is forward looking. It's actually in the moment, in this right now, and it's in the act of voicing, which means that it's a current action that has no foreseeable end.

Jesus says, “beware.” There's this idiom in Christian language that we use. Perhaps maybe you've heard it before. It's called “don't let your guard down.”

“Don't let your guard down” is the idea. But behind this present tense active voicing language, don't get lazy. Don't get relaxed. Don't stop being careful.

This idiom that we have, “don't let your guard down,” actually comes from boxing.

Anybody know anything about boxing in the room? How many of y'all know that there's a big fight coming up on November 15th? I don't watch it, but it's all over the news and all over social media about it. Mike Tyson and the other guy by the name of Jake Paul, they're actually going to have this big boxing event on November 15th.

This idiom that we have actually comes from boxing. It's the idea that you keep your guard up at all times. I practiced yesterday, by the way, so that I could get my boxing illustration.

Y'all maybe remember. Maybe you're old enough to remember a game back in the 80s that was called Rock 'em Sock 'em Robots. Right. Rock 'em Sock 'em Robots. You've got robots that are like this and you've got little thumb controls and one thumb control would throw this jab.

And the whole idea behind it is to have the other guy's guard down like he's going to punch and you get a punch. And don't let your guard down.

You know, I think that we live in a world today, if I could just be candid for a moment, where through the spheres and the realm of social media and Internet presence and YouTube and all of these different things, there are so many voices that claim to be Christian.

There are so many voices that come into your device, come into your home through the television, come into your world through email and through social context. And we've just gotten to where, oh well, they pastor a church so they're okay. Oh well, they go to such and such a church so they're okay. Oh, they're this... beware.

Beware. Second Peter chapter two gives us a picture of what this might look like. He says this: “But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them and bring on themselves swift destruction.”

Now watch this: “And many will follow their destructive ways because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed.”

Many will follow their destructive ways because of whom? Because of these false teachers, false prophets, false apostles. Jesus even says there will be false Christs who are misleading, false believers, because of whom many will follow and the way of truth.

Do you see how this is linked to our last message? The last message, two ways, two gates, two people, and two destinations. That particular passage that was the verses before this described language that actually was how the believers that followed after Christ were described. They were described as the way because they were following God's way, Christ's way that was described, the way.

And Peter says that the way of truth will be blasphemed because of these who are leading many away.

Jeremiah chapter 5, God said, “The prophets prophesied falsely and the priests rule by their own power, and my people love to have it so.”

Second Timothy chapter 4, verses 3 and 4 says, “For there will come a time when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itchy ears, will heap up for themselves teachers and they will turn their ears away from the truth and be turned aside.”

My friends, the voices of those who are deceptive are going to sound spiritual and godly, but yet they will be false and they will not be following the truth.

And so Jesus has given the warning right out of the gate: be on guard. Don't let your guard down. Pay attention. Know what's going on because many are going to be deceived by ones whose voices sound spiritual and sound godly.

And there are many voices today that sound spiritual and sound godly that couldn't be farther from the truth. I watch social media regularly, not because I want to engage with it, but because I need to so that I can pastor a congregation.

And I see the means, I call it mean theology, where things sound spiritual, things sound right, but they have no foundation in the word of God. Most often they are contrary to the word of God, but they sound good.

And it definitely connects with our inner emotion of wanting things to be a particular way. Why? Because we have a propensity to want to have our itchy ears tickled.

And we keep up for ourselves teachers, people that we will follow, who ultimately will lead us to destruction. Are y'all with me so far?

There is this picture Jesus used: “Beware of false prophets that will come to you in sheep's clothing.”

Now, in the animal sphere, right? There's some stuff out there online that gives you the resources, you know, animal size type thing. And there's a picture floating around out there so that you can get the contrast of a wolf standing next to an Alaskan husky.

Anybody ever seen an Alaskan husky? Ever seen what a wolf looks like standing next to an Alaskan husky? Their head and shoulders are bigger than an Alaskan husky even.

Now, anybody ever seen the size of a sheep? We have some right down the road here. You probably drive by them every Sunday as you're coming to church. A sheep looks distinctive. A wolf looks distinctive.

These ones will come in the appearance of sheep. They will come looking like they are spiritual and they are godly and they are following the Lord. But yet inwardly, inwardly, they are ravenous wolves.

This is a picture of this duality that serves as a reminder to us that we must have discernment. We must have discernment.

Let me give you real quick some other pictures of what the scriptures say about these. Paul, the apostle, as he was leaving Ephesus, speaks to the elders in the church at Ephesus, and he says this. He says, “I know that after my departure, fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock, and from your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things to draw away the disciples after them.”

What's he saying? Pay attention to the flock. Pay attention to those that you are overseers of because from in the midst of them will arise those who will seek to twist things and draw them away.

Second Corinthians chapter 11, verses 13 through 15: “For such are false apostles, deceitful workers transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works.”

Deceitful workers disguising themselves sounds a lot like wolves in sheep's clothing. Amen?

Pretty significant that Paul adds there, “And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.” It is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness.

They are in your midst. They are in the midst of the church at large. There are ones who believe and speak things that sound godly and things that sound spiritual that are contrary to the word of God.

You begin to think about the language that is used, that the way of truth would be blasphemed, that they would lead the disciples to destruction.

There is a way of destruction, and there is a way of giving to righteousness, and there are those who want to draw you away from the true path.

The significance to this is the fact that we must have discernment. Discernment is the sound judgment which makes possible the distinguishing of good from evil and the recognition of God's right way for his people.

It is necessary for the understanding of spiritual realities. We must have discernment.

Discernment, according to scripture, only comes through spiritual maturity. Let me say that again: discernment is only acquired through spiritual growth and maturity.

Hebrews chapter 5, verses 12 through 14 says, “For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food.”

By the way, in First Corinthians chapter 3, that's one of the ways that Paul describes the carnal versus the mature believer—ones who are able to consume the meat of the word of God and understand it and rightly divide it, and those who cannot.

Can I tell you for just a moment that spiritual growth and maturity does not equate to age and length of time that you have sat in the pews of a right teaching Bible teaching church?

You could have sat in the pews for 40 years and still not be mature and still be a babe. Let me finish that passage: “For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, not years, but maturity, that they have grown in Christ, they have grown in their knowledge of the word of God.”

You could say it in verse 13: instead of being unskilled in the word of righteousness, they are skilled in the word of righteousness.

They are skilled in the word of righteousness, receiving solid food. That is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.

Can I tell you this morning? Maturity only comes through the word of God. Maturity only comes through the word of God. Maturity only comes through the word of God.

Matthew 7, John Stott famously has said this: “Christians who neglect the Bible simply cannot mature because you cannot have one without the other.”

Second Timothy chapter 3, verses 16 and 17: “All scripture is given by inspiration of God.” That phrase “inspiration of God” is a Greek term, theonustos. It literally means God breathed. God breathed out the scriptures for a purpose.

It goes on to say it is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

You cannot exercise discernment if you do not know the word. You cannot exercise discernment if you do not know the word.

I think in terms of when you go all the way back to Genesis, and in Genesis chapter 3, when the serpent deceived Eve in the garden, “Has God really said that you will surely die?” It kind of twisted on what God's Word has said to deceive her.

When Satan came to tempt Jesus in his temptations after Jesus had spent 40 days in the wilderness fasting and praying, Satan used the Word of God twisted to try to get Jesus to succumb to him.

If you don't know the Word of God, you cannot discern. This is why there's so much proliferation of false teaching that sounds godly and sounds spiritual but yet is deviated from the Word of God and even contrary to the Word of God.

And Christians are sitting in pews or watching their devices that are eating that up because the enemy of discernment.

Many know John 3:16, but they don't know John 3:17 through 21. And they have the picture of where God so loved the world, but they don't have the picture of where God did not send his son into the world to condemn it. For the world stands condemned already.

But it's the next passage because we have taken sound bites of scripture without studying what the word of God actually says.

Oh my, oh my, know the word of God. If we are going to combat those who come in sheep's clothing sounding like sheep, looking like sheep, but yet they're ravenous wolves on the inside.

Church, now is not the time to not begin the word of God. Church, now is not the time to not be together in groups like Sunday school and Wednesday night Bible study when the word of God is unfolded in context and the word of God is taught in a manner that you can learn it and grow to maturity.

It takes you studying the word of God on your own, and it takes you studying the word of God together with other believers because the Bible says in Proverbs chapter 27 and verse 17, “Iron sharpens iron, and so one man sharpens the countenance of his friend.” That is working the scriptures out together.

Are you hearing me this morning? In a day whenever there is such easy access to falsehood, you regularly...

Pastor Juan Sanchez, pastor of High Point Baptist Church, says this: “One of the most important ways we protect the church from wolves is to identify the sheep.”

In other words, knowing the sheep. Jesus said in verse 17 and verse 20, “You will know them by their fruit.”

You know true sheep by their fruit. You know, there's an interesting thing. There's a tree that is found in the United States, specifically in Florida, as even as it migrates on up. By the way, y'all don't eat from this tree when you get down to Florida. Okay? I'm just, just wanted to throw that out there.

You know, it says Greg and Treva are Florida folks. And this tree is prominently found in Florida, although it is migrating.

Y'all know how species kind of migrates and gets around? This particular tree is called the Manchineel tree. Manchineel tree. Its fruit looks just like an apple, just like an apple. Its fruit even tastes sweet, but it is deadly toxic.

Its nickname is the death apple tree. It is so deadly toxic that you don't just have to eat the fruit in order for you to be affected by its toxins. You can stand underneath this tree during a rainstorm, and what comes off of the tree, the drops and the raindrops that drop down on you will poison you.

You can become poisoned and be sick. There's a Florida news agency that says that this tree is the most deadly tree that you can find in the state of Florida in a news report. Toxic and deadly.

I think whenever I think about this recently, and it's almost become a thing to where you just don't, it's just become normal, the number of spiritual leaders and pastors that have fallen from grace.

Recently, within the last couple of months, there's one who is very prominent in Baptist circles and in Reformed circles that has fallen from grace and was caught and found out he'd been having a five-year-long affair. He was a seminary professor and pastor and conference speaker and writer.

And I went through and looked at my library, and I got ten books that were written by him. Death apple. Living one way outside of the spotlight and living another in the spotlight while deceiving others. Death apples.

You shall know them by their fruits.

Galatians chapter 5 and verse 22 and 23 describes, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering.”

That phrase long-suffering is much more significant than just patience. You might have a translation that says patient, but long-suffering actually implies that I am willing to walk out and bear this fruit, even in suffering, whenever it is not good.

Doesn't feel good, doesn't feel right, but I'm willing to fight through this to bear the fruit of God in my life. Long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such, there is no law.

In Philippians chapter 1, verses 9 through 11, it says, “And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment, that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ, being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God.”

And I'll give a little sidebar here: starting in January, we're going to be unpacking Philippians as a book verse by verse through the sermons to live Christ-like, studying out Paul's letter while he was in chains but had joy. That's where we're going in January, so be excited with me about that.

The good fruit that a good tree should bear that we should be able to know one another by and know one another for is described in the scripture. They are actions and words and attitudes that reflect the spirit of God and genuine faith.

Those are behaviors rooted in love, rooted in patience, long-suffering, rooted in humility, and rooted in righteousness as seen in Galatians 5:22-23 and Philippians 1:9-11.

Bad fruit then also refers to behaviors and outcomes that arise from a corrupt or false spiritual foundation. That fruit can be seen as selfishness, hypocrisy, manipulation, deceit, and works that lead others away from the truth and righteousness.

That fruit, too, is described in Galatians chapter 5, verses 19 through 21, right before we see the fruit of the Spirit.

Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions. That word contentions means divisions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like, of which I tell you beforehand, just as I told you in times past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Second Timothy chapter 3, verses 1 through 5: “But know this, in the last days perilous times will come, for men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away.”

There are bad trees and there are good trees. There is bad fruit and there is good fruit.

Warning, and it should be heard loudly this morning: get your guard up. Everything that comes through your eyes, through every form of media, every Bible commentary, every book, every teaching, every meme, every believer that sits beside you that tells you something, you need to compare it with the word of God in context so that a verse can't be plucked out like Satan did and pull a verse out and try to get Jesus to throw himself down so that the word of God cannot be twisted and plucked out to deceive you like Eve was deceived on it. Amen?

So if there are good trees and there is good fruit, and if there are bad trees and if there is bad fruit, and the way that we shall discern or know the difference is by fruit inspection, you will know them by their fruit.

Then we have an obligation as believers to do so, to bear fruit. Oh, somebody ought to say amen right there.

We have an obligation as believers to have our roots down deep in the word of God so that we are nourished unto maturity. Because guess what? I have bought and planted fruit trees.

Anybody in the room ever done that? And you can sit back. I mean, I'm telling you, you plant that fruit tree and I want some fruit next year.

I want some fruit next year. You know, you don't get no fruit off that tree that you planted this year, next year. And you don't get none the year after that. And you don't get none the year after that. And then the year after that, you might get one little apple, you might get one little pear, you might get one little peach because the roots have to establish themselves and then be nourished.

And that nourishment begins to cause the tree to mature because an immature tree can't bear fruit.

Us as believers, in order for us to be able to know, we have to be fruit inspectors, which means that we have to be striving after spiritual growth and maturity so that we can bear fruit. Amen?

Bearing fruit requires that we abide. In John chapter 8, verses 30 through 31, Jesus speaks to believers and he gives them this distinction.

As he spoke these words, many believed in him. Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed in him, “If you abide in my word, you are my disciples indeed.”

Jesus uses this word abide here. It's one of my favorites. It's this Greek word “mino.” This Greek word “mino.” He also uses that word “mathetes” for disciple.

How many of y'all guys remember from our teaching that we had the first Sunday going into 2024 where we talked about true disciples? Jiggle the handle. Ring a bell? Jiggle the handle.

This word that Jesus uses here, “alephos,” for indeed, it means indeed. In other words, if you really want to be a true disciple, if you really want to be the real deal and bear much fruit, you need to abide in Jesus and in his word.

Abide is that word. It means to remain with, to stay with. It means to lodge together. Its broader meaning refers to dwelling, living, or lodging.

In the natural sense, this word's used to describe a person who dwells with another. In other words, if you're going to abide in the word of God and abide in Christ and dwell with, and he is going to provide for you in nourishment.

In other words, if you're going to abide in the word of God and abide in Christ and dwell with, and he is going to provide for you in nourishment and in maturing you so that you can bear fruit, you need to respond to the word of God by respectfully submitting in obedience to the one who is providing that nourishment and that maturity for you.

Amen.

In the gospel of John, this is described in chapter 15. It is described in this manner.

Beginning in verse 1, and I won't read all of it: “I am the vine, and you are the branches. He who abides,” again, this word “mino,” “he who abides in me and I in him bears much fruit, for without me you can do nothing.”

Abiding in his word. This particular word is used in this first 10 verses of John chapter 15 nine times.

In verses 4 and verse 8, he describes specifically fruitfulness. In verse 4, “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.”

Verse 8, “By this my Father is glorified, by what? This language, because here's the comma and here's the answer. By this, my Father is glorified that you bear much fruit. So you will be my disciples.”

Juan Sanchez, pastor of High Point Baptist Church, I say again, the most important ways we protect the church from wolves is to identify the sheep.

And the only way to identify the sheep according to scripture is to be fruit inspectors. And the only way for us to be able to inspect your fruit and for you to be able to inspect our fruit is for us to be rooted in Christ.

There's nothing to inspect. How do we identify sheep? By inspecting their fruit. Therefore, we must bear fruit. Amen?

So I'm going to close with this. What fruit are you bearing today?

What fruit are you bearing today? If someone was to walk up to you on the street, would they be able to know by your fruit that you belong to Jesus?

There may be people sitting in the pews next to you. What fruit are you bearing? Do the people sitting next to you know? Can they tell from the fruit of your life that you are a sheep and not a wolf?

Would you stand with me this morning? Ladies, would you come and give us a benediction song as we close?

This morning we should be challenged by this. We should be challenged by this in a number of fashions.

The first way we should really be challenged is beware. This is present tense, active. Don't relax. Don't let your guard down. Don't assume because it came from somebody you know or somebody that was recommended by somebody you know that it is truth.

Because there are those who are deceiving the body of Christ today. Don't let that be you.

Don't let the path that you end up on, the wide path versus the narrow path, be decided because you chose to believe something somebody said that sounded godly and sounded spiritual but was a deviation from God's truth.

Get into the word of God. Get in Bible study with other believers and know and learn the word of God so that you can discern and bear much fruit. Amen. Amen.