Jude, in your pew Bible, it will be toward the end of the Bible, the epistle before Revelation, the last book of the New Testament. I have spoken to you since I got back from vacation on a few areas here concerning supposed men of God who teach damnable heresies without fear of the judgment of God. And I use those two words, you'll remember, in two messages, without fear. And that is found in the 12th verse where it says, these are spots in your feasts of charity or love when they feast with you. In other words, they're there and sometimes, unless you have good spiritual discernment, you will not notice it. Now, all Christians do not have good discernment. I would wish they did. But the amount of discernment you have is in direct proportion to the amount of study you do. May I say that again? Study to make thyself a servant well approved to God. Your amount of discernment will be directly proportioned to the amount of your knowledge of the Word of God and what you should look for. For instance, you should be able to go into a church and one message discern whether the man in the pulpit is a preacher of the gospel of Jesus Christ. If in his message somehow he doesn't mention the blood of Christ or salvation, he will have surely mentioned it in his prayer. Now this would be simple discernment, but there are discernment areas which are more learning of the things of God is a necessity. And I dread to say that some born again Christians, it always rather amazes me when I hear about some schism in a church or some division, you know, where the church breaks up into two And it's supposed to have been a very good church and the people there, real Christians. And then to hear that one group left and went to some church that doesn't preach the gospel. Well, now you see, this shows absolutely no discernment, no discernment. And I think that here it's very, very important. You do not forsake the preaching of the gospel of Christ because some church got divided. You make sure that you discern that where you go, you also find the preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ. In other words, people do not go to church because it's the nearest to their home. How many people have you heard say, you go to the, you know, we know in visitation, see, because we have our regular visitation nights, and when we go out, we'll hear so many people say, you know, well, where do you go to church or where do the children go to Sunday school? Well, I send my children down to the corner because it's the closest. And we say, the closest what? Well, it's the closest building. It's the closest church. And then, of course, if we question further, do you know what they preach there? Well, no, really, I don't. I only get there probably Easter and Christmas. Can you imagine this? I mean, this is how you choose a church. I've said to some people, do you know that in some churches communism is very deeply endorsed? and that there are many churches in the world council and preachers who are well-known card-carrying communists. Does not Paul say that Satan's emissaries are garbed as the angels of light? So discernment is a very important thing. And when we read here that these are spots in your feasts of love when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear. The only person who really fears God's judgment is the soul that is on their way to Jesus Christ or the one who knows Jesus Christ. The worldling has little fear of God's judgment since they don't believe in God. If you say, you talk to someone, they say, well, I don't believe the Bible. Well, then they don't believe in God's judgment. They don't believe that there's going to be any judgment. So it's without fear. So that many preachers in pulpits today do not acknowledge Christ as Savior and Lord, and in their pulpits are merely, as I said in my reading of the Scriptures, preaching a way of morality. Now, I suppose there's more talk about morality today than anything else, isn't there? Even I notice the television programs now, they say, are turning for the children to a little more moral character programs. However, they don't want you to stay up too late. You might get something that's not so moral. But they're trying their best to have some code since one of the congressional members has declared war on much of the pornography. But I'd have to say that there is a lack of fear of judgment in the world today, and I have spoken on without fear to you at quite some length. And then it says, clouds they are without water, carried about of winds, trees whose fruit withereth without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots. Now, this then is spelling out some of the characteristics of these men, which we have not discussed. The false prophet, if I might say, finds himself acted upon by a power superior to himself. And not discerning who that power is, he believes it is of God. But the power is of Satan. It's very important to discern that. That's why Paul says, are not Satan's emissary God, as angels of light? Two great spiritual powers in the universe that we must never forget. And of course, once you get your mind cleared of all the debris, you know, of having Satan in a red suit with horns and a pitchfork, you'll understand a little bit more. But as long as you have that picture of Satan, you'll never understand the great conflict of the ages is between God and Satan, who was his chosen one and was to be the crown prince, sort of, not his born son. but the chosen angelic cherub who is to be ruler of the great angelic creation, Lucifer. And he fell that he might take the worship to himself from God, made that he would never die. He's not a man. Angels don't die. And so a great war developed in the heavens. Oh, we shouldn't have a job, such a job discerning this. Wars on earth are so common. You know, people say to me, why are there wars? There are wars and rumors of wars until the very end. Isn't it strange that men who see all the kind of conflicts around them can't discern that there is a heavier conflict in the spiritual sphere than ever could be on earth? And it's for the souls of men. that man is the pawn, and two great powers are vying for that. There's a God of this world, there's Jesus called Satan. And I just would remind you of this, if you don't believe in Satan, you don't need redemption. Because Jesus Christ was tempted of Satan and tells us that sin came into the world through Satan. So if there's no Satan and no spiritual powers of darkness, then you don't have to worry about sin. The great mystery of sin, who can ever fathom it? Can you fathom your own soul? Do you really like to look at yourself for what you are? Do you like to ever look and don't you cry out sometime, how can I be this human being with such thoughts running through my mind? Did you ever think how they happen? Paul, did not he put it well? to do good is with me, but the power to do it I don't have," talking about himself. Oh, wretched man that I am, this is Paul, who shall deliver me from this body of my death? He saw himself, he knew himself. And every one of us, truthfully, we don't have to hide our faces or anything. We know that in our lives, imaginations pass through our hearts and our thought life that are inconceivable to us. We dread the man within us. And yet this is the tremendous effect of Satan's winning a victory over Adam and Eve. And then sin, as it says in the scripture, sin came into the world by one man, and so death passed upon all men, for that all are sinners, because you stem from sinners. All of mankind stem from sinners. And so, beloved, here we stand, and here we have the battle. And do you think Satan is going to leave the church alone? Do you think Satan is going to leave pulpits occupied by dynamic men of great power? This is but a building. We call it a sanctuary. I'm glad that I believe that this building is more of a sanctuary than most of all the buildings on Long Island, for I believe that your hearts have been converted to Christ by and large, and I thank God for that. You make it a sanctuary. You make it a holy place only when you walk in here. It's an empty building otherwise, but do you think Satan is going to keep his hands off the church? He keeps his hands off the world. He's God of this world, God of this world. And so he doesn't bother with the world, but he wars upon the church, and in the church he would place his emissaries. In the church, let me read to you a portion so that you understand what I mean here. And because these emissaries are going to have certain qualities, they're going, and I'm going to discuss these with you over the next few weeks, they're going to be, and there are some glorious things for us to see here, I hope you're all here, because, you know, we look at a phrase and we pass it. You know, I learned years ago, well, let's see, I'm saved now, 25 years, my 25th anniversary. and I feel 25. All right? Because that new birth, that's when I began to live. You know, they used to say, of course, you young people don't realize this, but there was a book written when I was rather young that life begins at 40. I understand that's changed now. Life begins around 50 or 60. But I want to tell you, life begins when you are born again. That's when it begins. Because that's life. The other is death. God says you are dead in trespasses and sins. And when you find Christ as your Savior, He says, now are ye alive in Jesus Christ. You see? That's the changeover. Life comes in. where death abides. And we're translated out of the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of his dear son, out of the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light. And that light is celestial and eternal. It shall never change for me. Light will always be my portion. When they take me through the valley of the shadow of death, it will be just a shadow. And if Jesus tarries, my breath will stop, but I will not be in that body, I want to assure you. If I'm pastor of this church still at that time and the Lord Jesus has not come, my coffin will be right out here. But I want you to know that as I stand here, I won't be there. I will be absent from the body and present with the Lord. That will be the old house. That's all. Just the house I dwell in. But the Holy Spirit will have made my spirit alive. in Jesus Christ, and you can't contain an incorruptible spirit in a corruptible body. And so, we're to recognize, because of Satan's great warfare upon the church, that the church will be filled with preachers who are not what they should be. I could talk to you about the parable of the mustard seed, and because this parable deals with this. This parable of the mustard seed in Matthew 13 has to do with that whole situation that it grew into a great tree, speaking of the church, it's always speaking of the church, and the fowls of the air settled therein, and fowl is always a sign of evil. And the tree, the symbol of the church, but the mustard seed never grows into a tree, but God says it grew into a tree. It was an abnormality. It was a monstrosity. It's just a bush. But it grew into this gigantic organization, a tree, and the fowls of the air, he says in Matthew 13, did rest therein. Speaking of evil and the men who would be the preachers of the Word of God. And so I'm going to have much to say on the description of those that we just read a little bit of. It has more to say. They're twice dead, plucked up by the roots, raging waves of the sea. foaming out their own shame, wandering stars to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever. God deliver us from such. What a sad life we'd be leading to be delivered unto darkness forever. Conscious darkness. Can't think of anything worse. Conscious darkness forever. How wonderful that we've been translated into the kingdom of light, into the kingdom of his dear son. But let me read the portion and speak to you for just a few minutes, and then as you go home, ask you to determine in your heart that you'll be here every week as I talk of some of these things very important in the church today. May I say this? The church today has tremendous problems, beloved, and there is slumbering in the church of God And many a time when a pulpit is emptied, Satan gets one of his emissaries into that pulpit. Tragic to say, because those who have the tremendous, tremendous responsibility of finding a man of God will go and listen to one message. You never will know a man by one message. You must know a man by the reputation of years that he has stood in a pulpit and cried out the great and the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ. Little care is used sometimes in choosing a pastor for a church that may be a marvelous church. But let me read this portion to you in 2 Corinthians 11, 13th to 15th verse. I'll just go over it quickly. The Holy Spirit by Paul has something to say here. Satan beguiles people into becoming his emissaries because We do not discern that they are emissaries because somehow we've associated with the fact that those who are demonic-controlled or satanic-controlled will sometimes evidence it so clearly. They will not. They will be garbed as angels of light. Jesus said, men will come in Matthew 24, I think it is, or 25. He says, and men will come with lying wonders and deceits, and if it were possible, they will even deceive the very elect of God. Oh, how careful we have to be. Listen to these words. The Holy Spirit speaks by Paul, such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. Notice, and no marvel, for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore, it is no great thing if his ministers also shall be transformed as the ministers of righteousness, whose end shall be according to their works. Now, this is an amazing thing. Remember, he's speaking here of the emissaries of Satan. He says, I want you to notice their end is going to be according to their works. You know that by works of righteousness, no man can be saved. Then why will they be judged by their works? Because where no true faith exists, the only thing you have to bring to God is dead works from a dead heart, bound for a Christless eternity. So all there is, is works. Nothing else. And he will judge them for their works. Luke says, or Jude says of these, they are without fear. Clouds, they are without water. Now may I say this, clouds without water. Look at the earth, beloved. Well, this summer we didn't have a problem, did we? We got rain. But you know how it is when the earth is parched and dry and there's nothing? And oh, how the sky is watched for clouds, especially, I suppose, the farmer looking for some sign of rain, looking toward heaven. and hoping that something will come along to refresh the earth. A refreshing rain. Have you ever walked in the rain? I haven't done it so much in my later years, frankly, but I can remember. I don't know if young people do that anymore, but I can remember as a young fellow walking out in the fields in the rain and loving the rain beating on my face. Ever done that? Oh, I'm sure you have. There's something wonderful about it. You're all alone. And you just want to walk and let that rain beat on your face. Refreshing. Wonderful. You kind of cover the rest of your body. Maybe you got boots on and a slicker of some sort. Do they call them slickers anymore? I don't know what they call them. Scotch mist now, I guess, or something like that. I don't know. London fog. Boy, the names. Scotch mist, London fog. Well, you know, that refreshment that comes in, and God says that these men, they're clouds without rain. And what a terrible discouragement that is. You're looking, it's parched and dry, and you're looking for rain, you're looking for refreshment, and nothing comes, and the clouds, they're there, but no rain, no refreshment, they give nothing. And this is what God says of those who have words to speak, but no power. Rain, clouds, but no rain. Now, you know, it makes me think of the Indian rainmaker. You know, they're going to make rain, or the man, you know, with the divining rod, who's going to go and find water down in some well someplace. Or today, as we have the airplanes sprinkling salt on the clouds, so that they'll produce rain, or maybe to dispel it, or to do something with it. But I want to say this, this isn't the kind of rain God's speaking about. He's speaking about that man who brings forth the water of life. That's it. He says, these are clouds without rain, no water. That's the kind of man, that's what he's saying. That's what he calls him. He makes no mistake. He says, clouds without rain, no water. They look like it. Oh, there he comes, you know, all the appearance, got on the vestments, got on the collar. Got on the cross, got on everything. Lot of cloud, but no water. No water. Isn't it beautiful how God describes it? No water. Do you remember the woman at the well? Jesus comes to her and says, give me a drink of water. And she looks at him and she says, the Jews have no dealings with us Samaritans. Segregation. The Jews have no dealings with us Samaritans. He looked at her and he said to her, woman, if thou knewest who it was that asked thee for a drink, thou would ask of him water, and he would give thee the water of life. unto life eternal. Isn't that glorious? Clouds without rain. Oh, that we might have discernment. Let me ask you, do you have that discernment? Beloved, do you know when you go into a church or fellowship or you hear a message or something, whether it's clouds and no water, no water of life, no power of the Holy Spirit in the message, no Christ of Calvary, None of that which can convert the heart, none of that which can take a sinner, cleanse away his sin, and make him a free man. Ah, that's what the preacher is to do. He is to so preach the gospel of Christ, the doctrines of our Lord, as Paul says continually to Timothy, know the doctrine. Preach it. Paul says, I would know nothing among you save Christ and Him crucified. Why? Because unless I know that and what it means, the death of Christ, I am absolutely nothing. Tinkling cymbals and sounding words, as the scripture says, have no power. And not a soul comes to know Christ as personal Savior. Clouds, no water. water of life. Have you met them? How many of you this summer went to a church, you were on vacation, you wanted to be faithful to God, you look around the community where you are on vacation, you pick a church, it might say Baptist, and you say, praise the Lord, we found a Baptist church. Isn't it good we don't get to heaven because of Baptist, huh? there's just faith in Jesus, person of Christ, and you go in, you know, and you think, isn't it wonderful here? We've found a vacation spot, and we've found a Baptist church, and you go in, and you listen, and if you'll remember this, it won't be difficult for you. You know, if you said it to the pastor going out, he'd probably say, must be flip clouds without water. Where is that? What is he talking about? Clouds without water. no water of life. And I don't care whether it's Baptist, or Presbyterian, or Lutheran, or Methodist, or what it is. You don't judge that building by the name on the front. You judge that place by the man in the pulpit, and the power of the Spirit of God, and whether it brings life to a human soul. And then everyone in that congregation can determine in their own hearts whether they're redeemed or not. And every single one here this morning knows whether you've been redeemed in the blood of Jesus Christ. You know it, you have not one doubt about it. Why? Because Hebrews tells us our consciences have been sprinkled with the blood of Jesus and there's no more consciousness of sin. Forgotten. in the deeper most parts of the sea, so have I removed thy sin from thee." And when I say that, every heart makes a response. Either you know Him, whom to know aright is life eternal, and you have heard the Word of God. Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. I've often thought of that wonderful verse, And I thought of how marvelously God put it there. Isn't it amazing that while a great portion of the earth is illiterate and cannot read, they can speak and they can hear? You may not be able to read a word, but thy hearing and thy capacity to speak as such hear the Word of God and be saved. Do you discern that this morning? Are you discerners? Have you received Christ? Do you know Christ? Mother, Father, can I speak any more intimately to you than I am? Remember, God describes men. I love his description. You haven't heard a word yet, but it's just that they're clouds without water, no water of life. Remember in Revelation where Jesus says that we're to come to him. and receives the water of life, and I will give it to you freely." And have you really received Christ as your personal Savior? Not a matter of being a Baptist, Presbyterian, Methodist, doesn't matter. Catholic, have you known, do you know Jesus as your personal Savior? Every single mind, even down to the quite young, I'm not going to say how young, I can't tell. All I know is I've seen children, very young, take Christ as their Savior and know it and mean it, and it really is the beginning. Others I have seen that it has not been so. But that word is very clear. Do you love Jesus Christ as your Savior? Do you know Him? And is the apostle that you heard it from one who really preaches the Word of God in all the power of the Holy Spirit? And do you discern it? Is Franklin Avenue just a handy church to go to? Or is Franklin Avenue a disseminator of the gospel of Jesus Christ, which is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believes, to the Jew and to the Gentile? Do you know him this morning? Mother, Father, boy or girl, can I get any closer to you than this? Do you know Christ? Have you discerned this? Have you? Have you confessed him? He says, whosoever shall confess me before men, I'll confess before my Father in heaven. Do you really know him? Are you satisfied with a coffin and a grave at the end that means nothing but darkness? eternal darkness, conscious darkness, not in that body, in that grave, but in a place prepared for Satan and his angels, not for you. God never wanted you to go there. He wants you home with Him. Or do you know that when death comes, it will be absent from the body, present with the Lord, and with loved ones gone on to be with Christ? Let us pray. Now, Father, Your Word is tremendous. Satan has a great power. Satan has the power, lying wonders, deceiver. He has the power to shut ears. He has the power to shut eyes. He has the power to stop souls from hearing. We remember Jesus said, and then Satan cometh along after the seed has been planted and he plucketh it away lest they believe and be saved. Now Father, I'm praying that Satan will not be able to pluck any seed of redemption sown in our heart this morning, but that the Holy Spirit will nurture it and that the very rain Glorious rain, the water of life, may be poured upon that seed, that it may be nurtured and come forth in salvation and fruit unto God. Touch every heart. It may be that someone is here without Christ. And Lord, I close with a simple invitation, no having to come forward. but just from the heart itself, between you and God, every eye closed, no one looking around, no invitation to come forward and to shake my hand. You put your hand in the hand of God, that's what I'm asking. But maybe you'd like to say, Pastor, I discern gospel preaching, which is unto salvation, and this morning I want Christ in my heart, and here's my hand. Just pray for me, Pastor. Just pray for me. Anyone? Just put your hand up. Say, Pastor, pray for me. Just quickly. Anyone at all? Just put your hand up, just so I see it, and then take it down. Anyone? Quickly. Hand up. Pastor, pray for me. I discern the difference. Anyone? Just as I close. Yes, I see your hand. Mother, Father, see your hand. Praise God. Praise the Lord. Anyone else to join these two? So quickly raise their hand. Have you ever done it? Have you ever said, here's my hand, Pastor. I really confess Christ as my Savior. Never done it before, but I want to do it now. I'm glad for the kind of invitation you're giving, that it's between me and God. Anyone put your hand up. Say, Pastor, pray for me. Pray for me. Anyone else? Quickly. If God's spoken to your heart, oh, don't hesitate. Don't let Satan pluck away that seed. Here's a mother and a father, found Christ. Not of the same family, found Christ. Anyone else, quickly, hand up. Don't leave this church without Jesus as Savior. Anyone at all, quickly, and then I close. One moment. Are you saying, oh, if I had the courage, well, beloved, let Jesus take that hand up for you. That's it, just let him take it up. Quickly, quickly, son, quickly, daughter, father, mother. Now, Father, we thank Thee for these two who have raised their hands for Jesus Christ this morning, and we pray that You'd wonderfully bless them touch their spirits, Lord, their growth and grace in the knowledge of Christ will be proportionate to their study of the word of God and their coming to the Lord's house and feasting upon the things of Christ. We pray that they may be taught wondrous things by the Holy Spirit, which has now come to abide in their breast. Oh, it won't be a feeling, but the word of God will begin to shine. and will begin to say things to their hearts that they never, never understood before. May they read that glorious gospel of John, telling all about thy precious son, his life and his death, and what it means to us. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.