Well, hello everyone and welcome back. This is our Daily Devotional for Tuesday, October 28th, 2025. And I hope that it finds all of you doing very, very well as we continue to make our way through the Sermon on the Mount. And y'all, we've only got Really, we're going to finish the Sermon on the Mount this week. We've only got a few more days left. And then next week we're doing something entirely different, though it is still going to be focusing on the content of the Gospels. and on the New Testament. I've shared this with some of y'all, but a week from today, well, realize I'm recording this on Monday, the 27th. A week from today, I fly to Israel, and I've had this wonderful opportunity, and I plan to be doing daily devotionals from Israel on-site at different places. Like, for instance, the devotional for next Wednesday, I think, is gonna be from Simon the Tanner's house. You know, where Peter had the rooftop vision kind of thing. But anyway, Lord willing, that's all going to work out. I don't exactly know. I hope that I'll be able to record and all that kind of stuff. But that is at least the plan. And I'm very excited about that. Never been to Israel, but all over the world. Never been to Israel though, so I'm really looking forward to that. But nevertheless, today we are still making our way through Matthew. And let me go ahead and apologize for the quality of my voice. I'm feeling better in some ways, but last night, yeah, not a very cash money experience. So I'm getting there. I'm going to see the doctor today and hopefully maybe get some shots, do something. I don't know, some antibiotics, but anyway. Thank you so much for your kind words and for your prayers. And I will be in church this coming Sunday. I'm leaving right after that. I got to get to Newark, New Jersey. People have expressed concern over the safety aspect of me going to Israel. And what I've said is probably the most dangerous part of the entire trip is me getting from the hotel in Newark back to the airport. After that should be cupcake. But anyway, Lord willing, but Thank you for understanding the state of my voice today. As I said, we're making our way through Matthew chapters five through seven, making our way through Matthew as a whole, but Matthew five through seven, those chapters. contained what is called the Sermon on the Mount. And really that's just Jesus sitting down on the mountainside, talking about all sorts of different things. Like for instance, yesterday we received a paradigm about the straight and the narrow versus the broad. And we talked about the exclusivity of Jesus, how you live in a world that will tell you that there are many ways to God, be a good person, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. That's not what the Bible says. That's not what Jesus says. He says, enter through the narrow gate. And he, of course, is that narrow gate. Now, he switches gears today as we continue along in Matthew chapter 7, and we're picking up in verse 15 to a topic that is sensitive, but to a topic that is really close to heart for me as I observe Christianity unfold in America, around us, and in the West. But let's pray, and then we'll dig in. Our God and our Father, we thank you for this time that you've given to us, and we pray now that you would give us wisdom, and not only now as we're reading your word, but as we go forward, wisdom to see the imposter for who he is, wisdom to understand what your word really says and not to get crapped up in false teaching and false prophets and all this kind of stuff. Instead, let us remember to stay on that narrow path. Let us remember to cling to your word and not the musings of crooks, and charlatans, and heretics, and people that just want money. Father, we can't do this without you, so please guide us by your Holy Spirit, and we pray it all in Jesus' name, amen. All right, y'all, so obviously from my prayer, we're talking about something pretty heavy here. Matthew chapter seven, verse 15, Jesus continues teaching by saying, Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. All right, now y'all, that's just Matthew chapter seven, verse 15. Jesus is really, really, really not pulling any punches here. Think about what he has said about the false prophet, that they come to you looking like a sheep, but actually they are a wolf, and wolves destroy. They want to devour you. There's two aspects to prophecy that we really, really need to be careful of here. Number one is obviously the idea of I'm trying to be as delicate as possible, but at the same time not pull any punches. Here's the thing. Number one, prophecy as a whole is dangerous. John Calvin, Protestant reformer, referred to the Christian walk, this narrow path, as being fraught with peril, because on one side, you've got what he called the abyss. And the abyss is the bottomless pit. If you fall into it, you will keep falling and falling and falling, and you'll never stop. But on the other side of the path is the labyrinth. You know what a labyrinth is? It's like an intricate maze. Think about garden mazes, bushes real high. But you wander into the labyrinth, you never find your way out. That's prophecy in the modern day as a whole described. Because y'all, let me tell you something. I mean, you can Google it, you can look it up on YouTube, and you end up encountering just the craziest and most messed up stuff because the prophecy that exists in the modern day is not biblical prophecy. Let me explain. We believe that the gift of prophecy is still in existence and still powerfully used by the Holy Spirit, but what we believe the gift of prophecy is now is not foretelling. In other words, showing up as a prophet to tell the future. This is going to happen here, and that's what this means over there, etc., etc., etc. You can point to countless examples of that going awry, of false prophets saying, yeah, I keep coming back to it, but I remember it so vividly as a child when they said Mikhail Gorbachev was the Antichrist, because he had the birthmark thing. I really cracked my noggin the other day, and I was thinking, I shouldn't joke about Mikhail Gorbachev. I hit my head on the cabinets. And when you don't have any insulation up there, Yeah, things happen. But anyway, I'm like, yeah, I joke about Mikhail Gorbachev. I'm going to end up looking like him when I start healing from this. But anyway, I remember that from being a kid. And of course, they were wrong. Of course, they were wrong. But I remember such certainty about it. And all these books come out. And it's like, oh, very clearly, Magog is Russia, and all this kind of stuff. You know, it's fascinating to me that the United States is never the bad guy. when it comes to people interpreting the book of Revelation. People sometimes ask me, where do you see the US fitting? And I'm like, well, I don't know if I do, but if I had to venture a guess, we're not the good guys, given how things are rolling right now. But nevertheless, y'all, prophecy is either a maze that you wander into and you never work your way out of it, or it's a hole that you fall into and you never stop falling. Avoid the whole prophecy subject, but especially watch out for false prophets. As I was saying, we don't believe in foretelling the future. We believe that the gift of prophecy exists in foretelling the word of God. Because y'all, prophecy is complete. We have the entirety of God's word given to us. There is no longer any need for prophecy. And so that gift has been transformed into telling forth, not foretelling, but telling forth. the truth of God's word. And if you got a preacher, your preacher ought to have the gift of prophecy to tell forth the truth of God's word. And I believe God has blessed me with that gift, but I'm not here to tell you the future. But anyway, getting back to the whole false prophet thing, not only do you need to be wary of prophecy, just as a general rule of thumb, especially be aware of those who come claiming to be prophets. But look at what Jesus just told you about these people, that they wear sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. In other words, they might look right, they might sound right, but I'm telling you, if you're dealing with somebody that claims to know the future, that claims to have the ability to prophesy as one of the prophets of old, that individual is a false prophet, okay? It's fascinating to me how prophecy, it ebbs and flows. It seems like when major world events are going on, it really, really, really picks up. Fascinatingly enough, there's a ceasefire in Israel where I'm gonna be in a week's time. A lot of those guys have quieted down. I don't buy that stuff and I would not tell you to do this, but I personally try to stay up to date on the latest prophecy stuff that's swirling out there because so many people ask me questions and I don't want to be caught flat-footed. It's kind of like, you know, to use competitor language, if you own a corporation, you need to know what your competitor is producing. so that you can address the needs of your client, et cetera, et cetera. I try to do that. I view that as being a responsible pastor to know about some of this garbage that's swirling out there. Well, there were so many that believed this war between Israel and Palestine would bring about fill in the blank, and that's the fulfillment of this verse in Daniel. And now that that stuff has cooled down and the ceasefire is holding, those guys kind of have shut up. It's fascinating to me that people want to be modern-day prophets, but they don't want to apply the Old Testament principles of Testing prophets, you know what? Those are number one if a prophet shows up and he says something wrong you get to kill him These modern-day prophets definitely don't want to follow that standard, okay? And equally something they do not want to follow is, in the Old Testament, if a prophet showed up and was looking for money, you also got to kill him, because there was no such thing as prophecy for hire. There was no such thing as pay to play when it came to receiving a word from God. And the modern-day prophets out there, number one, they're wrong. The time or it's like the psychics that used to be on TV. They're so broadly general that what they say they're never gonna be wrong because it's never committal but They're wrong all the time. And the second thing is you want to talk about people that are looking for money? The reason that they're called wolves here I think is because wolves consume and Jesus doesn't really get into the money aspect of it here But y'all know how it goes You know how it goes, whether it's Kenny Copeland or Hagee or one of these guys, it's always the same, these supposed prophets. Hagee doesn't, I don't think Hagee calls himself a prophet, but the books that he's writing, I have books on my shelves that the world should end in 90 times up to this point. over blood moons alone, Israel, you know, that kind of thing. But now that I'm sick, I can pull off a Hagia a little bit better, Israel kind of thing. But anyway, y'all, you know how the story goes. These false prophets that are on television today, they're looking to make a buck, always. And it's always the same message that your life stinks because you limit God. They say things like, you're not claiming God's promises in your life, or you're not living up to your full potential by trusting God. And so you need to trust in the Lord. And the best way for you to trust in the Lord is not just in your mind, it's practically speaking. Trust God where it hurts. Trust God in the most difficult ways, in the most difficult places. And what could be more difficult than financial problems? If you need money, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. Somebody a long time ago gave me a prayer cloth that they jokingly called, and I'm glad they did, because it's like, oh, you shouldn't make fun of that. Well, the prayer cloth that they gave me didn't go to somebody who might fall into that garbage and actually believe it's true, but it had write your name and how much money you need on a little sticker on the prayer cloth. And that person went on to get mailer after mailer of asking for donations, because the story is always the same. It's you need to trust in the Lord. If you don't want your life to stink, you need to trust in God. And the best way for you to trust God is practically with your finances. And so you should give your money to the Lord. And well, I'm his representative. And so you should send your money to me. And y'all, I mean, it is just unbelievable how much money these guys rake in. Whether it's Kenny Copeland buying a new jet or the pastor the other day, the prophet that parks his Bentley in the church sanctuary. Y'all, it makes Christianity just look like a big joke. And that portion of Christianity, if it weren't so sad, you would view it as a joke. I mean, the world mocks these things, as they should, and so should you. In righteous indignation and anger, call this garbage what it is. And Jesus tells you about them. Verse 16, he says, by their fruit, you will recognize them. Side note. Remember how chapter 7 started, do not judge or you too will be judged. The worldly understanding of this is, oh, no, no, you can't ever say anything about anybody, et cetera, et cetera. How does that match with what Jesus is saying here? You're required to judge. You just, remember, you're not to judge motives and you're not to pronounce sentence, but calling something, calling sin a sin, You're supposed to do that. And furthermore, you're supposed to judge people by their fruit. By their fruit, you will recognize them. The people pick grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles. Like every good tree bears good fruit, or likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. Good tree cannot bear bad fruit, but a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. What Jesus is doing here is saying, look at the person. He's claiming to be a prophet. Look at what is going on in that individual's life. A good tree, a bad tree can't bear good fruit. A good tree can't bear bad fruit. Verse 19, every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus by their fruit, you will recognize them. Now y'all, Do you get the analogy that Jesus is using here, the metaphor, that if you're not producing fruit, you'll be thrown into the fire? Realize he's talking about those that take the mantle of profit upon themselves. And Jesus makes it very clear. And I get this question all the time. Yeah, but you know, they get some things wrong, but think about how many good things have been done with their ministry. And you know, people have come to the Lord through Stephen Furtick and through John Hagee and through Kenny Copeland. And take your pick of whether it's Benny Hinn, a faith healer, or one of these guys doing prophecy. Y'all, this is not about my opinion. Jesus says that every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. And what he's primarily talking about here is false prophets. In other words, you don't get to build some multi-million dollar corporation and then call it a ministry, and you don't get to rip people off in order to amass this ungodly amount of wealth and take advantage of people who are giving to you. not really given to the Lord, they're given to you, and you say that you're the Lord's representative, and meanwhile, you're peddling this garbage out here, you're not preaching the word, you don't get to do that and get a pass. And y'all, it's not because of a curse or something like that, but the false prophet that believes he can prophesy the future, the false prophet that is just in this for gain, the false prophet that takes advantage of the people, there's room for Jesus in that. You don't need Jesus. if you're all these other things for all these other people. So, initially, your devotional application is, if you are into prophecy stuff, get out. Stop. turn the TV off, click off of that website, get off of YouTube, do not buy into that stuff. It does not honor God, and it makes a mockery out of Christianity. Just bottom line stuff, stay away. Almost exclusively, I would tell you, stay away from the TV preachers. The ones that are in it for gain. There are a few notable exceptions. Like every time I went down to stay with my grandparents over the summer, I'd watch Charles Stanley on Sunday mornings. And I know Charles Stanley isn't a perfect man, but he's got legitimate teaching. There are some examples, but y'all For every one or two that are on TV that are actually good, there are just multitudes of others that are tragically bad. Stay away from that garbage. And if you're not, at least do what Jesus is saying here. It's better to just stay away from it. Judge the tree by its fruit. Judge the tree by its fruit. And remember why they're doing what they're doing. It's not to help you, it's to harm you. It's to consume you like a wolf consumes one of the flock. Beware those wolves. Let's pray. Our God and our Father, we thank you for your word, for how clear it is, for how straightforward it is. And we pray that you would intervene. We don't desire that these false teachers be thrown into the fire. What a wonderful thing it would be if these men come to know you. But in the meantime, I pray for everybody that watches this, help them to stay away from that garbage that is just infecting so many and is so wrong. Father, to that end, please be at work in your visible church. There is so much falsehood out there. What we need is Jesus Christ. We need revival. So please be at work in our midst. And we pray it all in Jesus name. Amen. Well, I'd like to thank you all for being a part of this time. Hey, my voice held out, that's good news. Lord Willem will be back tomorrow morning at six o'clock, and speaking of tomorrow, tomorrow night, starting at six o'clock p.m., not the devotional at six a.m., six p.m., 12 hours later, we're going to start eating. And I don't, I can't remember what it is. I think it might be soup and sandwich week, but y'all, if you say, oh, soup, we ain't talking about Campbell's here. And no, we're not talking about more people show up, we'll just pour some water in the soup. That's not what we're talking about either. It's going to be fantastic. I have no idea what dessert will be, but I know that'll be great too. We're gonna continue by talking about the Apostles' Creed, and particularly that phrase, descended into hell. What does that mean? Why do we not have it in our Apostles' Creed at Old Providence? Will we add it back in, et cetera, et cetera. We're going to be talking about that and our order of worship even more. But we'd love to have you. We've got something for youth group. We've got our kids choir. They're doing their thing. So make plans to be with us tomorrow night. Until then, I hope you all have a very pleasant Tuesday or whatever day it happens to be. Take care.