If you have your copy of God's Word, I would invite your attention to the book of Matthew, chapter number 7. For those who have been here, we have been studying the Sermon on the Mount. We began months ago on what I thought was going to be a very brief study, and then the COVID epidemic slowed some things down, and we weren't able to meet like we wanted to. So anyway, what began as a 16-week study has turned into about a 60-week study. Nonetheless, this is my belief that Christ has been teaching with great clarity what kingdom life is like. And though we are very, very prone to look first at ourselves, and this is a battle for us, to see ourselves first as American citizens, while that is a great privilege to be American, those who are born again should see themselves first and conduct themselves in a way that would honor our king. And I believe that Christ has been making clear, this is what kingdom life looks like. This is the character and the conduct of true born-again believers, of true kingdom citizens, so sharply contrasted to what they had been taught by the scribes, the Pharisees, the religious elders of the day, What they had presented as a life that honored God was completely different than what Christ was now saying, here is what honors the Father. And as he begins to narrow this sermon down, really Jesus has been, you know, it's taken us months to study this, but don't forget, in its immediate context, Christ is simply teaching a sermon. And so as he begins to wind the sermon down, Christ is making clear, here is what kingdom life looks like. And then last week he said, don't be confused. You are on one of two roads. You're on the broad way, the wide gate that leads to destruction, or you're walking the narrow way through that straight gate or difficult or narrow gate that leads to life everlasting. And all of humanity are on So he is warning, I think really last week could be understood like this and really what will be next week as well. Don't deceive yourself. Do not deceive yourself. You are on one of two paths. I've painted kingdom life. Look at your life. Does this represent who you are? If not, you're on the broad way. If you are living the kingdom life, though not perfectly, but you are striving to honor your king, you're walking the narrow way. But now Jesus says, Now don't be deceived, because there are those who will fool you. There are those who will tell you what you want to hear. There are those who will stand in pulpits, who will seem to be good, godly people, who will lie to you, who will mislead you. who will tell you falsehoods. And you need to be careful to make sure you don't deceive yourself, but also that you are not deceived. And so we look at that passage together today. Matthew chapter seven, listen to the words of Christ the King in verse 15, beware the false prophets which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly, They are a ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns or figs of thistles? Even so, every good tree bringeth forth good fruit, but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, or cut down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore, by their fruits ye shall know thee well. Today I speak to you with the thought of beware of wolves. Beware of wolves. Now those of us with age, twisted sense of humor will probably find this real-life story amusing, while others may find it quite repulsive. But Chuck Swindoll said that one time he was invited to this large party at an expensive home near Miami, and the daughter of the family that was hosting the party had recently graduated from one of the most prestigious culinary schools in all of America. And wanting to put her recently acquired skills to the test, this culinary arts graduate wondered if she could trick people into eating dog food And them not know it. And fool them, she did. She opened several cans of dog food, put a dollop on these thin, expensive crackers, then adorned each hors d'oeuvre with pimento, a little bit of bacon, and some slivers of olive. She then placed these appetizers on a silver serving platter and stood back to see how the guest would react. With a sly grin, this young chef watched as her alcohol appetizers quickly disappeared. Though Swindoll claims he never tried them, He stated that one of his friends simply couldn't get enough and kept coming back for more. Once the tasty treats had all been eaten, the secret was shared. And this must have been, obviously, as Wendell said, this was a very, very laid back group. Because instead of being angry, everyone had a good laugh when the young lady told them what they'd been eating. I share that story for this reason. To some degree, this is a perfect illustration of what happens week after week, but in a different setting. Not at a party, but in places of worship. Sunday after Sunday, unsuspecting guests are served that which they should find hideous except tricksters have decorated their disgusting doctrine in such a way that people don't realize what they're actually consuming. These highly skilled professional false prophets adorn the detestable with orthodox words and religious cliches. They disguise their distasteful doctrine by sprinkling in a few random Bible verses and using the name Jesus. These charlatans then serve their unscriptural scraps on a silver platter where it is eagerly consumed by millions who are completely unaware of the foul nature of what they are being fed. Now you may think I am exaggerating, but I am not. Day after day, week after week, thousands, millions of people are being fed rubbish and don't even realize it. If that were not the case, our King would not warn us about false prophets. You need to understand, not everyone who claims to be a messenger of God truly is. Throughout the Old Testament, numerous false prophets who misled Israel. And in New Testament times, there continues to be a plethora of false prophets who mislead the masses. And in our passage today, Jesus warns His hearers about these false prophets, these wolves in sheep's clothing. Look the part. They may even sound good, but they are not good in sound. And in fact, my dear friends, these false prophets are to be labeled. They're to be avoided. And they are to be considered extremely dangerous. Now, if you've got a church bulletin today, you will have my sermon outlined in it, the points from our sermon. And here it is. We begin first with this demand of Christ. Listen to what he says to those hearers on that hillside. Now, just don't lose the context. Jesus, early in his ministry, been preaching about a year, gathers together this large crowd on the northern shores of the Sea of Galilee. And there he begins to speak these wonderful truths to them. And now he says to them, as he's ending this sermon, beware of false prophets. That is the demand of the king. Listen to what he says. Beware of them. And my understanding is I'm told that that Greek word has with it, beware, has with it the idea to hold back. And if you will think on this, and the understanding is that You are to hold back your mind from these false prophets. You are to guard yourself. You are to be on guard, not only of yourself, but also of your loved ones. You are to constantly be vigilant, looking out for, watching out, and aware that there are false prophets in the world who seek to hurt, harm, and destroy. The idea here is that we hold back our minds. We protect our spiritual thought life. We protect our doctrinal belief from those who are false teachers. We do not tiptoe around them. We do not cuddle their bad theology. We do not make excuses for them. Instead, we avoid them. We label them, and we are to consider them as dangerous. And I realize some of what I'm going to say today is going to make some people mad. I realize that. And anybody who follows my ministry knows I don't a whole lot call people out. I don't name names. I don't do that a whole lot. I just don't. But there is a time and a place for it. The Apostle Paul didn't always name names, but sometimes he did. And today we're going to name some names. And some of you, or those watching online or hearing, may not like it, but that's okay. Jesus, your King, demands that you beware of false prophets. And you need to know who are and who are not false prophets. The only way to know what is false is by knowing what is true. That is, you must saturate your mind with Scripture. You must know the Word of God. You can identify when you're being told what is wrong. None of you need to rely only on the preacher. You need to be students of the Word yourself. R.C. Sproul has said every Christian should be a theologian. You need to know the book. That way you will know if someone is telling you wrong. You need to be aware. Don't let their garbage in your mind. If you study the Word of God and you read after commentators and you read other theologians, you read those types of things, you're not going to agree with everybody that you read after. But just because we disagree with someone on important doctrine but not necessarily vital as far as saving the soul, just because we disagree with someone doesn't make them a false prophet necessarily. We'll talk more about that as we move forward. But I read after people. I'm Baptist, and that's just who I am. We're Baptists. We believe in believers' baptism. We believe when someone confesses Christ, you baptize him. That is, you put him all the way under. That's what we believe. But you also know I have good friends right here in our community who are Presbyterian and have being for many, many years. And we've argued back and forth on how much water it takes to scripturally baptize someone. We've argued those things. And just because we disagree doesn't make them a false prophet or necessarily that we're a false prophet. You can disagree on some things, but there are some things you cannot be wrong about. And if you're wrong on those things, that will identify you as a false prophet. In other words, you need to be careful what you take in. You need to be aware. Be mindful of what you take in, what you read, who you read after. If you have questions, ask me. I'll do my best to answer them. There's a lot of difference, and I hope you're getting this. There is a lot of difference between taking the meat and picking out the bones than rifling through the garbage looking for a tiny little morsel of something. And a lot of that is going to depend on who you're reading after or what you are listening to. John would write, and he would say, Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try or test the spirits whether they are of God, because many, you hear that? Many false prophets are going out into the world. Don't believe them. Instead, beware of them. So that means, Christian, this is where I think we need to get practical with this. As we listen to the demand of our king, and he warns us to hold back, to guard ourselves, to protect our spiritual thoughts and beliefs, that means that there are certain books you shouldn't buy. There are certain people you don't need to be listening to, certain so-called teachers and preachers that you don't need to go to their conferences. You don't need to read their books. You don't need to watch their services. You need to guard yourself. You need to beware of them. Be aware. Some of them are much more readily recognizable than others. As Christians, it should be easy for us to look at someone, and we're not mad, we're prayerful, right? That God would work, but it's easy to look at someone and say, that's a false prophet, that's a false doctor, someone who's teaching Buddhism, that is a false, it's easy to identify, or Islam. It should be easily, readily recognizable that they are false prophets promoting a false religion. But there are others that are not as easily recognizable, but yet are just as dangerous. I warn you, with Mormonism, of Jehovah's Witness. Listen to me, I'm sitting in a parking lot, going to go visit someone in a hospital several months ago, obviously prior to COVID. And a lady walks up, hands me a handful of literature. Sitting in a parking lot, just getting ready to go in. And when you look at it, it looked good. Until you read a little bit more, and then I began to see what I was reading. There are certain cults that are really good at using Christian language. You need to beware. You need to be aware. You need to guard what you take in. Don't be so arrogant as to think, oh, I'll never. You may. You need to be aware of them. Many disguise their dangerous doctrine just like this woman did in my opening illustration. They don't realize what they're actually consuming until it's already been taken in. But then, at the risk of making some folk mad, and as my mama used to say, you can like it, lump it, skip it, or jump it, but nonetheless, among those who are recognized as evangelical, you need to be aware. You need to be aware. You need to be leery. You need to hold your mind back from such teachers as TD Jakes. as Joyce Minor. You say, well, she writes such a good book. Well, you do what you want to do. I'll just tell you what the king said. The king said, be aware. Are you going to listen to him, or are you going to listen to what your emotions say? You be aware of Joel Osten. I don't care how big this church is. I'd rather preach to the 25 of y'all, to the 25,000, if I had to say what he says to get them. I'm going to get into this in just a minute, but I want you to be thankful. These father's prophets, it is not always what they say. It's what they don't say. You better hold on to that. Kenneth Copeland, father's prophet, Peter Rutten, Benny Heenan, Paula White, Now, go on, get mad at me. That's all right. I don't feel good. I'm going to go home and go to bed. Y'all do whatever you want with it. But our chief spiritual advisor to the president is a false prophet. Now, that's a fact. And when the king says, beware of them, he doesn't mean see how close you can get to that rattlesnake without getting bit. He means be on guard. Hold yourself back from them. I don't understand people who want to get down and see if they can pet a copperhead on the top of his head and then surprise when they get bit. Listen to this exhortation from Romans 16 where Paul writes in verse 17, he says, Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offenses contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned and avoid them. Now that goes within the church, but it also applies to outside of the church. Now listen, Memorial Heights. Listen to this. I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offenses contrary to the doctrine which you have learned, and avoid them. Again, that's the writing of scripture. That's not my opinion. For they that are such, that is, these who drift off into heresy and promote it, listen, serve not our Lord Jesus Christ but their own belly, their own appetites. Listen, listen, and by good words and fair speeches, deceive the hearts of the simple. And I'm just telling you, there are those And I'm not just picking on Joel Osteen. We've got them right here in our community who deceive the hearts of the simple by smooth words and fair speeches. They draw a big crowd. People love them. They ooh and ah. And your king says, beware of false prophets. That is the demand. What is then the definition? How does Jesus describe them? They're false. The Greek word there for false. The underlying Greek word, if you look at it, you can see our English word pseudo. Pseudo from their pseudo prophets. They're fake. They're not real. They've not been called by God. They were not led by God to teach the things that they are teaching. You need to understand that these pseudo-prophets, they're not new. They've been around for centuries. Go back in the Old Testament time period. Israel had their false prophets. And here's the sad thing, is when Israel turned away from God, they would listen to the false prophets and not to God's true prophets. And not only did the prophets prophesy wrongly and falsely, listen to this indictment. The Word of God says, and the people love to have it so. They said things like, the people said, prophesy unto us smooth things. Things that are easily digestible. Things that make me feel good about me. Prophesy, teach. Proclaim those things that make me feel better about me. I'm not suggesting we should do this now, but in the Old Testament, if a prophet was discovered to be a false prophet, he was to be stolen, he was to be killed. I'm not saying under our New Testament economy we should do that, but I am going to say you shouldn't be cuddling up to them, seeing how close that you can get to them. They're not to be trusted. Their doctrine is to be questioned. These charlatans, and that's what they are. These charlatans, these false prophets will take everything you have and leave you spiritually bankrupt. Now, inarguably, Jesus is clearly addressing the bad theology and the bad behavior of the religious elders of his day. So, now get this. What Jesus said was not popular. It wasn't popular then, it wouldn't be popular now. But he was warning the people, don't listen to the bad theology of the scribes, Pharisees, Sadducees. Don't listen to it. Don't be deceived by it. This is not what God truly said. This is not what honors God. Don't be fooled by that. And I say to you, Christians, don't be fooled. You can quite easily get someone in that looks good and sounds good, and they may even sprinkle a little scripture in what they say. They could be lying to you. Just like the religious elders led Israel wrong, we have false prophets today. The king is saying, I've warned you over and over again in this sermon, King Jesus is saying, In this, what we term, the Sermon on the Mount, I've told you, ye have heard it hath been said, but I say unto you. How many six times he said that in this sermon? You've heard this, but it's not true. And I'm telling you, Christian, you need to learn. We'll get there in a minute. You need to be a discerning listener. When it comes to what pleases God, don't deceive yourself and don't be deceived. You cannot. You cannot earn your way to heaven by the works of your hands. There are people who are going to tell you that. They'll talk greats. They'll turn right around and say you've got to work your way to heaven. There's only one way to heaven and that's through faith and the finished work of Jesus Christ and Him alone. That's it. Jesus said make sure you're on the right road, but also make sure you're listening to the right people when you're on the right road. That's His definition of them. They are false. They are pseudo-prophets. But then here's the deception of them. Notice this, verse 15, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. They don't come in the door prowling and growling. False prophets don't come in the door and say, I'm a false prophet and I'm here to tear you apart and split the church to devour you. That's not what they do. They look good. They sound good. They got on church clothes. They maybe even carry a Bible. They claim God's calling on their life. They look like a sheep. They are covered in wool, but inwardly they are wolves. That's their deceptive nature. I'm going to go as far as saying not all false prophets even realize they're false prophets. Some of them probably believe they're doing what's right, but that doesn't make it true. Sincerity is not enough. It must be a true calling from God or a true teaching from God. They come in covered in wool, just like a sheep. They appear to be meek and mild, but they're wolves. They don't come in the door of the Sighing across their chest, it says here it did. They don't go around telling everybody, now don't listen to me. I don't know what I'm talking about. I'm going to tell you. That's not what they do. They sound good. They look good. And that shouldn't surprise us. And I'll tell you why. Look at 2 Corinthians with me in chapter number 11. 2 Corinthians chapter number 11. I'm going to tell you why. Some of you know what I'm about to say here, and you should. 2 Corinthians 11 verse 13 says, for such, and you can go back and read who these such are, but for time's sake, for such are false apostles, pseudo-apostles. They are deceitful workers. transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And that word transforming, you're going to see it again three times in these verses we're going to read, has the idea of masquerading. Pretending to be. And no marvel, or don't be surprised, verse 14, for Satan himself is transformed or masquerade as an angel of life. Satan himself can put on a pretty dress and fool people. He certainly fooled Adam and Eve in the garden. 2 Corinthians 11 verse 15 says, Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers, do you see that from the text? Satan has his ministers. God has his. Christ has his, the Holy Spirit has his ministers, but guess who else has his ministers? Our arch enemy Satan, the devil. His ministers. Don't be surprised, Satan can do this and it's no marveling, no great thing if his ministers also masquerade or be transformed as the ministers of righteousness. So listen to me, friend. These false prophets can look real good and even sound real good, but they could be ministers of darkness. They dress like sheep. They look like sheep. You don't see veins. You don't see claws of blood dripping off of them. They're popular. They're successful. They have large followings. They have groupies. They have huge social media accounts. Everybody loves them, but it is very possible that they are just a false prophet. What does Jesus say the danger is about them? They are ravening wolves. That is, they seek to destroy and devour. They are not in it for your good. I delivered mail. I delivered U.S. mail for many years. I've seen it. I've seen how these charlatans, these folks who promote the prosperity gospel, I've seen how they prey on people. They prowl and they target the weak, those who are elderly or sick or hurting who are grasping for hope. I've delivered the mail to people and in these envelopes there would be such ridiculous holy towels and holy water. It's going to bring this huge blessing if you just send them money. They're false prophets. They're charlatans. They don't care about you. They care about their bank account. They're about driving the nicest cars and flying in private jets. Don't be fooled by them. But it doesn't necessarily have to be someone that big. It could be someone much more local. They're dangerous. Again, I want to read this to you. 2 Peter chapter 2 says, there were false prophets among the people, even as there should be false teachers among you. who privately shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious ways. I'm going to turn over here because I want to read this to you. You want to see how dangerous that they can be? You want to turn to Acts 20. I'm going to turn and read there. Acts chapter number 20. I want you to see this. Paul speaking to the elders at Ephesus here. Paul spent three years laboring in Ephesus, three years teaching, three years preaching. And now as he's going to Rome, he stops, he visits with the elders of Ephesus, and listen to what he says to them in Acts chapter number 20. He says in verse 26, Acts 20, 26, wherefore I take you to record this day, I am pure from to all the counsel of God. Notice this. Take heed therefore unto yourselves. Be careful. Guard. And to all the flock over which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God which he purchased with his own blood. Now notice verse 29. For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. That's how dangerous they are. Don't be surprised where they come from. Also, verse 30, also, memorial highness, also of your own selves shall men arise speaking perverse things to draw away disciples after them. Hear and heed that warning. They're dangerous. They're deadly. They're destructive. And your king is warning you about these false prophets. But then from the danger to how we should use discernment or how we distinguish them. And we find that in verse number 16 through 20, where this phrase is used over, you shall know them by their fruits. You want to know. Here's how you identify a false prophet. One, you have to saturate yourself with scripture. You need to know what is right. But then you also need to be aware. You need to look at the fruits. You will identify them. You can identify or distinguish or discern whether they are right and good and true or they are bad, evil, and false by their fruits. By their fruits. Now, my family, all of my family history, my family of farmers, my dad grew up sharecropping a lot of farmers in my family. I know very little about farming. I know a little, but very little. And sometimes, though, if I'm looking at a tree, I can't tell, is that an apple tree or is that a peach tree? You ever have trouble identifying that? You may look at it and say, is that an oak tree or is that a pecan tree? You want to know how you know? You see what fruit it produces. I don't have any trouble identifying an apple tree when I see apples hanging off of its branches. And in like manner, Jesus is using a very simple illustration and saying, you're going to know the false prophets by the fruit they produce. It'll either be good fruit or it'll be rotten fruit. Listen, that has to do with their character and their work, their language, what they say, what they teach. Pay attention. When you hear these false prophets, or when someone comes claiming to speak in God's behalf, pay attention. Listen. I want Memorial Heights Baptist Church, I want you to be a discerning people. I'm a preacher, so I'm critical of preachers. I confess that. Sometimes overly critical of preachers. And I've sat through sermons, and the preacher got done. I've heard people say, man, that was a good sermon. And I think. You must be crazy. Did you hear what I just heard? That was not a discernment. The man never preached the Bible. He might have said a lot about the Bible, but he never preached the Bible. So I want you to be a discerning people. I want you to know. I want you to look at the fruit. Pay attention to what they do. What is their lifestyle? What is their conduct? What is their character like? But then more than that, pay attention to what is said and what is not sin. I cannot emphasize this to you enough. You can grow a great big ministry and use words like Jesus, God, Bible, Holy Spirit, holiness. You can use those things and grow a big ministry. I'm going to tell you something you won't from many of these very respected pulpits. You won't hear the word wrath. You won't hear justice, judgment. You will not hear them speak of God's fury. You hear words like mistake, error, but you don't hear sin. You don't hear words like depravity. You don't hear words like iniquity. You don't hear the word repentance. I have listened to what would be termed to be successful ministers in our own community. I've listened to them, and I've listened to them several times, and I've not heard the gospel clearly presented from them yet. I'm not going to say they're all not Christians. I'm just going to say I'm weary of them. You can get up and spend 20 minutes talking about something and not communicate the gospel? What do you call that? Just because somebody sprinkles a little something on top doesn't mean you're not eating dog food. Do you understand that? Listen to this. The simple language of Jesus is, is that you'll know them by their fruits. If you walk under a pecan tree, you're not going to find peaches growing on its branches. If you walk up under an apple tree, you're not going to find oranges there. You're going to know them by their fruits. And when it is sampled, there have been times I'm sure that you picked up a piece of fruit, it looked good, then you take a bite and it was rotten or terrible. That happened to me yesterday. We had a bag of shelled pecans yesterday and I grabbed a few of them and I ate and I must have got a, Grace said, you must have ate a worm. And I said, I owe nothing. Because it was so bitter. I mean, it was so bitter that I ate it. I had to get rid of that nasty taste. Listen, you'll know whether it's good or bad, whether it's right and holy and true, or whether it's evil. I know, I know we like to be, you know, some of us like to be cushy, cushy, middle ground, lovey-dovey. But the King says, beware of them. You'll know them by their fruits. And if you want to know the danger of them, look at their destination. And that's my final thought. What is their destination? Verse 19, every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is cut down and cast into the fire. Their destination is damnation. That's their eating. And our king is saying, listen to this, don't let these false prophets drag you to hell right along with them. Is that plain enough? Don't let them drag you to hell right along with them. Just because they told you what you want to do. I'm going to give one more reference again and I'm going to quit in a minute. You want to turn, you can. I'm going to read from 2 Timothy chapter 4. 2 Timothy chapter 4. I'm not interested in an eschatological debate. That is, an argument over the end times. I think we're living in the last day. I think we should be looking for Christ to come. That's what I believe. You want someone to scratch your ears and tell you what you want to hear, you can find it. But you're probably not going to find it here. I'm not trying to be mean, but I'm trying to be candid with you. 2 Timothy chapter 4. Verse 3, for the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine. Now, if you think that we're living in the end times, the last days, you need to understand that we're living in that day and time period where people won't endure sound doctrine. Some people, and that word endure just means they're not going to put up with it. They don't want to hear it. Have we not been a witness to this right here in our own small town? We've seen it. They will not endure sound doctrine, but after their own lust, that is their own desire, They will gather, or heap to themselves, teachers having itchy ears. They want someone to scratch their itchy ears. They want someone to tell them what they're going to hear. And listen, if that's what you want, somebody's going to provide it for you. Verse 4, and they shall turn away their ears from the truth. Shall we turn unto faith? We're living in a time period. I think we need to be looking for a return to Christ. People won't endorse that much. We're living in that time period. Jesus said in Matthew 24 that there will be many false prophets in the last days. If you want someone to tell you what you want to hear, you can find it. But listen to me. It may be somebody that is leading you down the broad way through the wide gate that leads to destruction. There's a reason why the Hebrew writer, when he's talking about the elders of the local church, that he says, considering the end of their lifestyle. That is, follow those who have committed themselves to following Christ. The writer, whoever the writer of Hebrews is, says, listen, consider those who have a care over your soul, and follow their example as they follow Christ. Because they're trying to lead you in the right way. as opposed to those that will tell you what you want to hear and make you feel good about yourself, but are leading you to a path of destruction. And our King is saying, be careful who you listen to. Now listen, not everybody that disagrees with us on theological matters is a false prophet. Not everyone who has a successful ministry is necessarily a false prophet. And I'm not perfect. I've been wrong. And I'm sure I'll continue to be wrong and I'll change in some things. However, there are some fundamentals of faith that must be adhered to. Virgin birth. The perfect, righteous life of Jesus Christ. His substitutionary death. His atonement at Calvary. His resurrection. These are fundamentals of faith that can never be compromised. There is one gospel, only one, by which people can be saved. These are the truth. And if people listen. I like what an old preacher, Sam Wilson, used to say. He used to say, half a lie would get me a whole spanking. And a half of a lie would give me a whole spanky when I was growing up. And a half of a lie is just as dangerous. In fact, if nothing more so, beware of false prophets. Beware of wolves in sheep's clothes. We're not perfect, but listen to me, there is one perfect prophet. And his name is Jesus of Nazareth. And he always and completely preached that which pleased the Father. Moses wrote about Him thousands of years ago and says, there'll be another prophet rise up. There'll be like me but greater than me. And He came and His name is Jesus Christ. He's the perfect prophet, priest, and king. Do you know Him? And the power of His resurrection? Listen, follow Him. He'll never mislead you. He'll never teach you wrong. He'll never tell you wrong. He's the perfect and the only. perfect prophet. While I strive to preach the whole counsel of God, I'm not perfect, but He is. He is. My friends, my hearers today, don't be fooled. If you don't like name calling, I don't really like it either, but sometimes it's just necessary. But don't be fooled. Beware a false prophet. Make sure, if I may circle back around, Make sure that you are not being fed alcohol or drugs. Make sure what you're being fed is on meat of the Word of God. There are things that may look good, it may even be palatable, but it may lead to eternal death. God bless you, thank you for coming today, and I appreciate you for listening to the warning of Christ, and beware of false prophets. I'm going to say this and I'm going to be done. In this sermon, you're going to get this textbook. Closing of this sermon, Jesus is painting everybody in the corner. He's painting everybody in the same corner. And that is you're either right with God or you're not. You're either born again or you're not. You're on the right road or not. You're either following truth or you're following lies. You either have a sure foundation, you're either a doer or you're not. This is what Christ has said. And he is closing this sermon by urging us to examine ourselves. I close today by urging you to examine yourself. Are you on the right road? Are you listening to the right voices? And then as we will learn in a few weeks, do you have a sure foundation that will stand the storms?