If you would, please open your Bibles with me to the Gospel of Matthew. Tonight we'll be looking at the first part of Matthew chapter 23. Now, tonight I have the solemn task of speaking to you about Pharisees and preachers. That is, about false prophets and true prophets. Why solemn? The Apostle writes in Galatians chapter 1, there be some that trouble you and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we or an angel from heaven preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, if any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed. For do I not persuade men or God Or do I seek the pleasure, or do I seek to please men? And then he continues there in the last part of verse 10 of Galatians 1. For if I yet please men, I should not be the servant of Christ. Now, just as the Apostle Paul was faithful to warn God's people against false prophets, well, that's my hope tonight, that I too would be faithful in doing the very same thing. Remember what the Apostle John writes? Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God, because many false prophets are gone out into the world. I pray that as we look at our portion this evening, that the Lord would teach us so that we would be able to identify false prophets and stay away from them. That none of their harmful doctrines would take hold in our minds or trouble our hearts. You see, these evil workers, though they look and sound very religious, nevertheless, their false prophets and their message is a clear and present danger to the souls of anyone who listens to them. Without any fear of contradiction, I tell you plainly, anyone, I don't care who they are, anyone who preaches man's free will, anyone who preaches a person's decision as the deciding factor in salvation, Let me tell you plainly, that person, man or woman, is a false prophet. And anyone who believes their damning lie will most certainly go to hell. And so it's my God-given responsibility to warn you about these people who hate our Lord and his beloved people. Our Lord says of them, they love me not and keep not my word. I'll keep your place there in Matthew 23 and if you would turn to 2nd Timothy chapter 3 with me. Here in 2nd Timothy chapter 3 the Apostle Paul gives us a fit description of false prophets. 2nd Timothy 3 verse 5. How that they have a form of godliness, but notice they deny the power thereof. Now, they do have a form of godliness. They have a form of religion and worship, but they deny the power thereof. They have the form, but not the person. And, you know, they say things like, Christ died for everybody, but now you've got to live a righteous life in order to be saved or in order to keep that salvation. And you've got to make a decision in order for that sacrifice to be made applicable to you. And that, beloved, is denying the power thereof. You see, that's denying the power of the blood of Christ to cleanse us from all sin. So, had Christ cleansed me from all my sins? Or do I have to, you know, start sinning less? Well, God's Word tells us plainly, beloved, in 1 John 1, verse 6, the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin. You see, to condition what makes Christ's blood work on the obedience of the sinner, well, that denies the power of the obedience of the Savior to make his people righteous. You see, we're made righteous by the obedience of Christ, not by our obedience. And so that's what false prophets do. They deny the power of the death of Christ to be all that it takes to satisfy God's justice and save my soul from condemnation. And Paul says, from such turn away. Turn away from them. Don't have fellowship with them. Don't bid them Godspeed. Don't give them place. Don't give them a moment's thought. Remember what our Lord tells us to do with them? We looked at this earlier in Matthew 15. He tells us to let them alone. Let them alone. They be blind leaders of the blind, and if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch. You see, these false prophets take the law and they use it unlawfully. Now, God did give us His law, But the lawful use of that law is for to drive us to Christ, to show us how guilty we are, to show us how desperately we need God's Son, to show us how sinful we are, and to drive us to the Savior. But these blind prophets take the law and they twist it to put burdens on you. And they make the law into something that you can do, giving people the vain idea that somehow by their own imperfect obedience to the law, that somehow God is happy with them. You see, when they teach people that they can keep the law, they put an impossible burden on people, and what they're doing by that is denying the Word of God. You see, they deny our total depravity, and they deny our fall in sin. by teaching people that somehow they can keep the law either holy in part. My friend, that teaching denies our need for Christ. And further, it denies the power of Christ to save us to the uttermost by the sacrifice of Himself. So does Christ need my help? Or is He going to save me to the uttermost all by Himself? If you hear any man or woman teach you that God did all He could And now the rest is up to you. God tells you in his own word, from such turn away. Avoid them at all costs because they're nothing more than evil workers. And what they teach is, I mean, can you think of anything more offensive to God than self-righteousness? A righteousness that we earn by our works, really? An acceptance before God by the ceremonies or traditions of religion? God calls it exactly what it is, filthy rags. And so, beloved, we have to take great care because these false prophets can be pretty subtle about this. Sometimes they're not actually talking about the law of God. Rather, very often they will substitute their own religious ceremonies and traditions. I'll give you an example. There's a church that I know of that has the same name as our church. And you can join them, that is, if you agree to be put under their church covenant agreement. Or put another way, if you agree to be put under their law. Paul writes to the Church of God in Galatians 5, Stand fast, therefore, in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. Behold, I, Paul, say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, If you keep that, or you do this to be saved, Christ shall profit you nothing. I don't care what law it is, beloved. Don't let any law, old covenant or church law, enter into your worship or acceptance in Christ. For beloved, you are not under the law, but under grace. I mean, what can you earn by your own obedience to the law, or by your obedience to the ceremonies and traditions of religion? If that's where your hope is found, Well, that's offensive to God because it denies our need for Christ to be all our righteousness. And when that happens, what people are saying is this. In effect, Christ is not enough. Or worse yet, I don't need God's Son to be all my righteousness. What could be more offensive to the Father than that? Self-righteousness says that God wasted His time in sending His Son to this earth to humiliate Himself, to be clothed in human flesh, and then the Father slaughtered Him on Calvary's tree in vain. Paul puts that false premise this way. I like it very much. It's the last part of Galatians 2, verse 21. I do not frustrate the grace of God. For if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain." You see, self-righteousness is saying, I don't need Christ to be everything to me. I have a part in this business of my salvation. And that, my friend, denies everything that the Word of God says about our need of Him. Indeed, it tramples underfoot the holy blood of God's dear Son. And nothing can be more offensive to the Father than that. You see, the sin that will damn a soul to hell is the refusal to believe on Christ, the refusal to trust in Christ as my all and an all. My friend, that's the only sin that damns people to hell. And they don't trust Christ because they think they have a part in salvation. And self-reliance, self-righteousness, is at the heart of every message that sounds out from the lips of every false prophet. In some form or fashion, that's what they're preaching. God did his part, and now it's up to you to do your part. Now, in addition to talking about the ways you can recognize false prophets, I also want to talk to you about the ways you can recognize a true prophet of God, so that we're able to do what the apostles said and try the spirits, whether they are of God. Because John writes, many, not a few, many false prophets are gone out into the world. It's my prayer that the Lord would be pleased to grant His mercy and grace to do just that. To know the difference between a true prophet and a false prophet. To know the difference between a God-sent man, his true prophet, and a false prophet. And remember, this is what our Lord's talking about in Matthew chapter 3. Matthew chapter 23, verse 1. Then spake Jesus to the multitude and to his disciples, saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat. All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do. But do not ye after their works, for they say and do not. In effect, the Lord saying, in a manner of speaking, Whatever the Pharisees tell you to do from the word of God, observe and do that. but don't do as they do. That is, do not ye after their works. Now, it appears the Lord's saying this because scribes and Pharisees don't use the law in the way that God intended. I mean, those self-righteous Pharisees, not only were they going about to establish a righteousness of their own, further, they were teaching others to do the same, saying that the law is a way you can establish your own righteousness in God's sight. to be sure, they're not preaching the true meaning of Scripture. And indeed, when do false prophets ever give you the true meaning of Scripture? Never. And so since they're not giving you the true meaning of Scripture, don't do what they tell you to do. Don't follow their example. I believe that's the true sense of what the Lord's teaching us here. You see, He's given us this contrast between a false prophet and a true prophet of God, so we'll know the difference. Look what he says in verse 4. For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be born, and lay them on men's shoulders, but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers. You see, the false prophet lays heavy burdens of the law upon people. And they do that by focusing everything on the outward conduct of people. Our Lord declares, Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment. You see, the only kind of judgment I know anything about, indeed, righteous judgment, is the gospel of God concerning his son, Jesus Christ, our Lord. But the false prophet, he places burdens on people. Let me give you an example of that. Turn with me to Acts chapter 15. Acts chapter 15. And notice the beloved physician Luke is writing there, but the Holy Spirit wants you to know these are just certain men. These are not God-sent men. These are not true prophets. These are false prophets. Acts 15, verse 1. And certain men which came down from Judea taught the brethren and said, Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved. What a false, burdensome message. Just false. Except you be circumcised, and not just any circumcision, but after the manner of Moses. Except you do this or don't do that, you cannot be saved. Remember what Peter said to them? Why tempt you God to put on a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers know we were able to bear? But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, we shall be saved even as they. What gracious language to remind those believing Jews that neither we nor our fathers could bear this burden of the law. And why are we going to put them then under the burden of the law to other people? I mean, we couldn't bear it and our fathers couldn't bear it either. And in fact, that's what Peter's saying. And if putting these burdens on people isn't bad enough, these false prophets are hypocrites. They don't do what they command other people to do. I mean, think of the burdensome things they command people to do. They say, give till it hurts, or they say, just look at your giving as a seed of faith. Keep planting a seed, and the way you plant seed is by putting more money into their offering plate. And they tell people, the more you give, the more God will bless you. And you'll notice the ones getting rich in that equation are the false prophets. And they command people to be moral. They command people to be pure, to have all this outward self-righteousness. And it's so hard being around people like that, is it not? But you know what's happening behind closed doors will sooner or later be brought to the light of day. and they're the most immoral and corrupt people you can find on God's reed and earth. And we see them caught up in scandal after scandal, stealing people's money, stealing people's sexual innocency, all to spend on their filthy, ungodly appetites. Take, for example, the Roman Catholic Church. They love to make themselves to be the moral pillar of the world, do they not? But what does the Word of God say? This is what the Apostle Paul wrote in 1 Timothy 4. Now the Spirit speaketh expressly that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils, speaking lies and hypocrisy, having their conscience seared with a hot iron. What doctrines of devils? Listen to what Paul writes in verse 4 of 1 Timothy 4. forbidding to marry and commanding to abstain from meats, which God has created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth." Two things the Roman Catholic Church does is forbidding to eat certain meats on Friday and the forbidding of their ministers to marry. And what is the fruit of that, you ask? Just look at the tens of thousands of child abuse cases that they're dealing with. and they put burdens on people and they don't lift a finger to help anybody else, hypocrites, the whole lot of them. So will a true prophet put burdens on you like that? Not for a moment, beloved. You see, the true prophet's aim is to take the burdens off you, to tell you you're free from the law if you trust Christ. You see, the true prophet's one aim is for you to go to Christ and find rest. And beloved, God's preachers practice what they preach. Now, to be sure, we're far from sinless men, but we preach, quit your works and trust Christ. That's our message, is it not? And God's servant knows what he's talking about because he trusts in Christ as his own. Indeed, God sent ministers trusting Christ to be his everything, and he wants you to do the exact same thing, to trust Christ as your all and in all. You see, just as he's tasted the sweetness and the fullness of the free forgiveness of sins he has in Christ, so too he wants you to taste of the sweetness of being set free from the law. And that's the exact opposite, the exact polar opposite of what the false prophet wants. You see, the false prophet's message is a legalistic message, and they're always going about to bind heavy, grievous burdens on people. You see, their false message is all about focusing on the law and a pretended outward obedience to it, and not on the inward true holiness of Christ in you, the hope of glory. No, they just preach an outward, pretended show of it. And the carrot they always hang out in front of people is material blessings. But it's all the outward blessings, you know, that God will give you if you let Him. You know, make your children happy, get your children off drugs, or, you know, make you have a raise at work or have more friends and more influence. You know, they say you'll have it all if you just conform to their outward standard of morality, as if the requirements of the law aren't good enough. You see, they're just like the Pharisees of old in that they have their own commandments and traditions to follow. And the Pharisees of our day are no different. They've got their own traditions and standards that you've got to do. And when you follow those traditions, you'll find that the person that benefits from that is not you, but rather it's the false prophet. My friend, the legalistic message of the false prophet never gives any rest. It's always do, do, do. Never the gospel message of D-O-N-E, done. And they want you to feel bad about yourself so that you'll do more and more. And that's the way they want it. And they'll motivate you by making you feel bad about yourself. Well, the message of God's preacher is not legalistic. In fact, it's the exact opposite. You see, beloved, our message is, as we sing in that hymn we sing, maybe we'll sing it tonight, Free from the Law, O Happy Condition. That hymn, I don't know what it's called. Maybe that's the title. But the stanzas go like this. Free from the Law, O Happy Condition, Jesus hath bled and there is remission. Cursed by the Law and bruised by the Fall, Grace hath redeemed us once for all. You see, our message is you're free from the requirements of the law in Christ, and you're free from worrying about the condemnation of the law in Christ, and that because of what He's done for us, His people. So our message is this. Come to Christ and rest. Come to Christ and take that heavy burden off. The Savior said, if you're weary, come unto me. My yoke is easy and my burden is light. Come to me and I'll give you rest. Beloved, if somebody isn't giving you rest in the message that they're preaching, something's wrong, is it not? And why is that? Well, simply this, because it's not matching what the Savior said. Now, though both the true prophet and the false prophet both want you to feel bad about yourself, But here's the thing of it. Their motivations are completely different. You see, the false prophet wants you to feel bad so that you'll do more, while the true prophet of God wants you to feel bad so that you'll quit trusting yourself and trust Christ. Finding your joy, peace, and rest only and ever in Him. You see, their motives are completely different. Remember the message of the false prophet is all focused on the outward appearance. Back in our portion, Matthew 23 verse 5. But all their works they do for to be seen of men. They make broad their phylacteries and enlarge the borders of their garments. Notice, all they have is this showy religious clothing. And they want everybody to see how religious they are. You see, they just want to make a show in the flesh by focusing on how many people they have or how big their budget is. And they make a big show of praying in public. And we see that in our country, you know, National Day of Prayer. And further, they make a big show of avoiding certain places because they believe it will defile them. And people miss the fact that it's all just a big show in the flesh, so everyone will know how religious they are. You see, they want people to think they're on a higher spiritual plane, so people will be impressed with them. And if people are impressed by them, they'll let them tell them what to do and how to do it. Now, the reason they focus on the outward is because that's the only thing they know anything about. You see, they don't talk about an inward work of grace because they haven't experienced it themselves. I believe our Lord perfectly summed it up when He spoke to them, saying, and remember, He's speaking to false prophets when He said this. He said, The Father Himself which hath sent me hath borne witness of me. But you false prophets have neither heard His voice at any time, nor seen His shape. and ye have not his word abiding in you. For whom he hath sent, him ye believe not. Search the scriptures, for in them ye think ye have eternal life, and they are they which testify of me, and ye will not come to me that ye might have life." You see, they couldn't preach him because they hadn't heard his voice, nor for that matter believed on him that they might have life. False prophets can't tell you what they don't know any more than return to where they've never been. You see, these false prophets can't tell you about an inward work of grace because they haven't experienced it themselves. But God's preacher focuses on an inward work of grace. Salvation, beloved, is a heart work. That's why God's sent man is not trying to get you to do something, because he knows this is an inward work of grace that only God himself can do. I love the way our Lord put it, don't you? If you're believing on God's Son this evening, that's by the work of God. Our Lord said, this is the work of God, to believe on the one God sent. And I promise you this, when there's a work of grace in the heart, the outward will take care of itself. Now after there's an inward perfect work of grace in the heart, the outward will still not be perfect. And God's trophies of grace show us that, do they not? I mean, just look at David or Peter. You see, beloved, our salvation is not lost when the outward goes wrong, because salvation is an inward work of the heart. If we make a mess of things, and we will, we can cry before the Lord in prayer, Lord, be merciful to me, a sinner. I love you, help me. Or like the man said, Lord, I believe, help my unbelief. And we see Peter doing the very same thing, do we not? He said, Lord, you know I love you. You know I love you. Now, my friends might not be able to see that right now, but Lord, you do because you look on the heart. My friend, this business of salvation is a heart work, and that's why the Lord looks upon the heart. You see, God's preacher knows what he's talking about. He's practicing what he's preaching. He needs that inward work of grace just as much as you do. That's why he preaches it to you. And he knows you need it just as much as he does. He doesn't have any pretense of being better than anybody else. And he knows that he too is a sinner, the chief among them. And so he knows by experience that he has no higher spiritual claim before God than, be merciful to me, the sinner. And yes, God's called him to preach. Yes, God's gifted him to preach. But that doesn't make him any better than you. where he knows that all he is is one beggar telling another beggar where he found bread. We're both beggars. And the gospel message is the bread, and that's the difference, is it not? Now, here's the fourth thing. The message and the actions of the false prophet all seek recognition for the flesh. Verse 6. And they love the uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues, and greetings in the markets, and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi." Now, false prophets and the people in false religion, all they focus on is an outward show of religion. And when you're focusing on that, you want recognition for it. You see, they want high-sounding religious titles because they want people to be impressed with them. You see, beloved, God's preacher is not interested in any recognition for the flesh. By God's grace, I am what I am. And I can honestly tell you that I'm not seeking my own in this ministry. Rather, I'm seeking it for you. You see, I want all of you to know the double, the double His people have received at the Lord's hand. The double, what am I talking about? a full and complete pardon of all your sins, and a perfect righteousness you have nothing to do with, that makes you fully and completely accepted in God's sight. Justification, sanctification. Substitution, satisfaction. Double. Isn't that what we read about in Isaiah chapter 40? I love that first part of Isaiah chapter 40, don't you? I've heard some poor souls go to seminary and they're instructed to interpret God's Word in the historical grammatical context. Well, I'm so thankful I didn't go to any of their schools. I'm thankful he sent me to his school. What are the scriptures about, beloved? You know. He tells us. He says, these are they which testify of me. And look what it says in Isaiah chapter 40. This is the mark of every true prophet of God. They're sent to comfort God's people. It says there, comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem. Speak to the heart of God's elect, God's chosen people, a people out of the world from every tribe, people, tongue, and nation. and cry unto her, cry unto the Lord's Bride, His Church, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned, for she hath received of the Lord's hand double for all her sins." Our brother was leading us in that hymn, that chorus from Top Lady. Don't you love that stanza? It says there, see if I can bring it to mind, the water and the blood be the double cure. Save from wrath and make me pure." What's that talking about, Gary? The blood and righteousness of Christ. It's not just the blood, beloved, it's His righteousness. If someone, all they hear about is the blood, And they don't hear about His righteousness, they just heard a half a gospel, which is no gospel at all. He's a full and complete Savior. And by His doing and dying, we're complete in Him, beloved. But that's my ardent prayer. That's my motivation behind this pulpit, that God would be pleased to comfort you in the double we received of the Lord's hand for all our sins and iniquities. I can say with the Apostle Paul, I lie not. I say the truth in Christ. And somebody would be mistaken if they said, oh, that's a bold preacher. No, I just hear him. I just hear his voice. And by God's grace, I am what I am. And this is, beloved, the one aim for God's preacher and for those who listen to him. is not that we be seen of men or get recognition from them. Instead, it's that we be seen of God and Christ. You see, beloved, my one aim for myself and for you is that we win Christ and be found in Him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ. That's the goal of this ministry, to glorify God, to tell the truth about who God is and how He saves sinners, and as a consequence, to see God's elect saved and for them to come to Christ and keep coming to Christ. and that because you're in Him and He's in you. You see, I'm not interested in trying to talk somebody into a decision. My friend, I want God to save you and for God to keep you in Christ so that we're seen not in the flesh but ever so blessedly in Him that loved us and washed us of our sins in His own blood. Now, I touched on this a moment ago. False prophets seek to rule over the lives of people. Back to our portion. Verse 8 says, Be ye not, verse 8 of Matthew 23, be not ye called rabbi, for one is your master, even Christ, and all ye are brethren. And call no man your father upon the earth, for one is your father which is in heaven. Neither be ye called masters, for one is your master, even Christ." Now, since the false prophet is concerned exclusively with the outward, they have ways of checking up on people and enforcing their traditions and their focus on the outward, if I could put it that way. I remember hearing about a Reformed church in Mexico And the pastor saw some open beer cans in a Facebook post from some of the young people of the group he pastors. And you know what he did? He suspended them from the worship music team. Can you imagine? Just some... I mean, they're not drunk. It's just an open beer can. Well, what about their sins? What about their iniquities? You see, that man just concerned himself with appearances. But as our Lord said, judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment. And like I said earlier, beloved, the only righteous judgment I know anything about happened on the cross of Calvary. How that our heavenly father made his dear son to be sent for us who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. You see, God's preacher's not interested in running your life. I mean, I have enough to do with my own without telling you how to do things. Beloved, I have no interest in trying to herd goats or get goats to act like sheep. You see, my goal is not to get people to act a certain way. My desire is to preach Christ and to preach him over and over again so the Holy Spirit will apply that to your heart. that God the Spirit will give you a love for Christ and faith in Him. And from what I read in this book, the way God is pleased to do that is through the preaching of Christ. And that's both my pleasure and privilege. I get to preach Christ. And, I mean, I don't need to give you a whole litany of the law of God. You already have it written on your heart. You know right from wrong. Indeed, you're born into this world with the law of God in your heart. You already know you ought not lie, that you're not to steal, that you're not to kill. You already know that. And so I don't need to give you the law. And should the Lord give you a love for Christ, His dear Son, and give you faith in Him, everything will be just fine. That's what I want for you. And that's what I want for me, to know Him who's taking care of everything for us, His people. A false prophet does not seek, if I could put it that way, to humbly serve God's people. Rather, they just want people to serve themselves. Notice verse 11 in our portion. Our Lord instructs us here in verse 11. But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant. Would you be the greatest in the kingdom of God? Would you be the greatest of service? Verse 12. And whosoever shall exalt himself... Verse 12 of Matthew 23. And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased, and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted. You just don't see any humility in false prophets. And that's so hard to do if you're just seeking the outward. If you're just seeking recognition, well, good luck in humbly serving people. You see, if you're seeking recognition for the outward and seeking recognition and benefits for the flesh, it's hard to be humble. I'd say impossible. I mean, it's hard to seek fleshly recognition and be humble at the same time. But here's the thing. God's preachers are not like that. Now, to be sure, God's pastors Yes, they're leaders in the Church, and it's given to them to both lead and to rule in the Church on earth, but don't be mistaken into thinking that that involves telling everybody what to do and how to do it. Now, that's how you do it in business, with all the various levels of leadership, roles, and such you find in running a company. That's what you have to do in a business. You've got to tell people what to do, when to do it, and where to do it. But God's church is not like that, beloved. We're not running a business here. We're not running a business. You see, leading in God's church is done by being a servant. Do you want to be a leader in God's church? And remember, there's not just one. There's not just one leader in a local church. This is not my church. This is not my church. This is God's church. And so if you want to be a leader in God's church, what does our Lord teach us? Wash one another's feet. Look for a way to be a blessing to one another. Help out and help one another serving the Lord and serving God's people in love. You see, that's the greatest. That's being a servant. It's just feeding the sheep. I heard this very good illustration. I'd like to borrow it. I thought it was a very fitting description of God's servants. And beloved, we're all in this ministry. I like what it says in Before I give you that illustration, it says in 2 Corinthians 4, verse 1. I like very much what the Apostle Paul writes here. He writes to God's beloved people, Therefore, seeing we have this ministry, it's not my ministry, it's not your ministry, it's this ministry. Indeed, it's His ministry. It's the Lord's ministry. Seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not, but have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness nor handling the word of God deceitfully, but by manifestation of the truth, commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God. But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost. in whom the God of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake." And then verse 6, For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts to give the light, the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. Now, when we think about a servant, maybe you can think about an old farmhand, you know, that's on a ranch, and he gets up early in the morning to go out and feed the animals. And I suppose that farm hand is on the lowest rung of the ranch. You know, he has to get up before dawn to feed the horses and the cows and all the livestock of the farm. And it's pretty humbling work, is it not? I mean, he's not getting much of any recognition or praise for what he's doing. And that's a fitting picture of the leader in God's church. He's just a servant feeding the sheep of his master. I'm just the ender shepherd of our great shepherd, the good shepherd of the sheep who gave his life for them. Now the pastor is unquestionably the leader, but let's remember how that leadership is described by the Apostle Peter in 1 Peter chapter 5. He writes there, "'Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly, not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind, neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being in samples to the flock.'" You see, God's preacher will humble himself to preach Christ to you and get out of the way, if we could put it that way. It doesn't matter all that much to me if you remember my name or my words, as long as you know Christ's name and remember His words. Beloved, God's preachers are not interested in running your life. They just want to preach Christ to you and leave you alone with God. If you belong to God, if you belong to God, He will reveal himself to you, and God's servant will humble himself to be right alongside you, not above you, but alongside you with Christ, knowing that preaching Christ is the way to apply God's grace to your heart. The aim and goal of God's preacher in the work of this ministry, beloved, is to glorify God by telling the truth about who God is and how God saves sinners. And as a result, see God's elect saved and both come to Christ and stay in Christ by God's grace. Beloved, the only difference between the two, a true prophet of God and a false prophet, is the same difference between a believer and an unbeliever. And that's God's electing, distinguishing, saving, and keeping grace in Christ. Amen.