Well, good morning. Let's take our Bibles together, and let's go to the Gospel of Matthew, chapter number 7, please. Matthew, chapter number 7. As we're getting started this morning, I do want to offer an apology to you. It is warm in here, isn't it? Are you feeling that? I came in this morning early, and as soon as I walked in, there wasn't a soul in here, and I thought, it's hot in here. and there's nobody even here yet. We're in some serious trouble. This is a hard time of year to try to regulate these things, and some days it's cold and some days it's warmer, and so I apologize. Here's the good news. You might get a shorter message out of it. I mean, I wouldn't count on it, but there's always a chance that that might happen, because I'm just as warm as you are. In fact, they're probably even hotter than you. I especially feel sorry for you folks in the balcony. We know hot air rises, and I apologize for you, but hopefully we can get through this together. We're in Matthew chapter number 7. and we're gonna begin reading in verse number 15. We'll read down through verse number 20 of Matthew chapter number seven. We're continuing our series in the Sermon on the Mount. We've been in this particular text, beginning in Matthew chapter number five, since mid-May, and have taken a break here and there for some different things, but by and large, this is where we've been. We're getting close to the end, but a few more messages to go. Look with me, if you would, in verse number 15. Jesus is speaking, of course, if you have a red-letter edition of the Bible, you'll find all three of these chapters are in red, speaking and letting us know that they're the words of Christ. He says, Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. You 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 them." The title of the message comes out of the 15th verse. It's the very first phrase that you'll find there, although I've amended it just a little bit. I'll explain to you why I've done that. Jesus says, beware of false prophets. Now, I have changed it just slightly, not changing the words of Christ, but I'm trying to help us to understand exactly what he's saying. So the title of the message this morning is Beware of False Teachers. Beware of false teachers. Let's pray together, and then we'll try to give some explanation of some of the things that are found in our text. Father, thank you for this day. And Lord, thank you for the first day of the week, Lord, the obligation that Christians and believers have to gather and to worship in a local church, and we know there's many, many churches here in this area, some that you can find good teaching and good fruit in, and some where you can find maybe some not so good teaching and maybe even some corrupt fruit. Lord, many of these folks perhaps drove by many churches on their way here. Lord, on their drive this morning, And they're here because, Lord I hope, they're here because they know they're going to hear a Bible message. and that they're going to hear from you. Lord, I am well aware that these people have not come to hear from Peter Folger because no one really cares what I think as far as my opinions are concerned, but we do care what you have to say about this troubled world in which we're living. And so, Lord, give us wisdom, give us direction, give us discernment as we dive into this passage. Lord, would you help us as we try to, Lord, teach it and then make application into our lives, we pray in Jesus' name, amen. When most of us hear the word prophet, we automatically think of the office that is most commonly known in the Old Testament, and that a prophet was someone who had a unique ability, a unique gift to be able to see into the future and to be able to foretell even events that were yet to transpire. I shared with the earlier service this morning of a prophet by the name of Micah. In Micah chapter number five, Micah writes about a coming king, a coming ruler, a coming prince. We know him as Jesus. Micah is writing several hundred years before Jesus is ever born, and yet Micah, being a prophet, has unique insight in which he's able to identify not just that this prince is coming, this ruler is coming, but he even tells us the very city that this young child is going to be born in. hundreds of years before it ever transpires. And to make it even more remarkable is to consider that the parents of this child, the earthly parents of this child, didn't even live in the city in which this child was to be born. And yet, God orchestrated all of the events and God led Joseph and Mary to the very city that Micah spoke of. So, we're familiar with that idea of prophet. And I must tell you that just as Jesus said, beware of false prophets, during his ministry, you must know that there are also false prophets during the Old Testament period of time. In fact, we think of names like Jeremiah and Isaiah and Ezekiel and Daniel and some of the others, and yet I will tell you that during their ministry, during the time in which they were proclaiming, thus saith the Lord, there were people who were saying just the opposite of what they were saying. The man by the name of Jeremiah is known as the weeping prophet. Jeremiah wasn't the weeping prophet because he was sort of an emotional mess or because that sort of just was his makeup. He was a weeping prophet because he had a lot to weep about. He was the author, humanly speaking, of the book of Lamentations, which speaks of just the idea of a lament or a complaint or a great level or great deal of grief. And what was he weeping about? Well, the Bible tells us. Jeremiah was a prophet in which the the nation of Judah was taken into captivity, they were rounded up, and the city of Jerusalem literally became a desolate, it became empty without any inhabitants, and the city was burned with fire. And you think for just a moment of the city that you live in and the nation that you love, disregarding even the spiritual side of things, and you would be brokenhearted too if your city was leveled and destroyed, and the inhabitants of your city were taken captive. That's where Jeremiah lived. Jeremiah was under great pressure by the political authorities to prophesy to the people a positive message. They put great pressure on him, even imprisoning him and putting him in a dungeon in which he sunk into a miry pit. And they said, you, you need to prophesy a good message. You need to encourage the people. Of course, Jeremiah, being a God called prophet, said, I can only tell you what God has said. And he refused, he refused to give a positive message just because the people wanted it. Now if God wanted to give a positive message, Jeremiah was all about giving a positive message, but God hasn't spoken that. Jeremiah wrote, in Jeremiah 29, you're familiar with this passage of scripture, but he wrote a letter to those in exile in Babylon, and he said this, he said, I want you to settle down there, you're gonna be there for a while. I want you to buy homes and I want you to plant gardens. I want you to marry your sons and your daughters. I want you just to kind of get settled in in Babylon because you're going to be there for a while." While Jeremiah was prophesying that message, there were two prophets, I'm going to identify them here in just a moment, who were saying just the opposite. They were preaching a much more encouraging message, a much more convenient message to the people. They were saying things like this. Oh, this captivity is not going to be that long. You'll be home before you know it. Don't get too comfortable there because God's going to bring you back to the land. God's going to do this. Jeremiah addresses them in chapter 29, verses 20 and 21. Where he says, these words, Hear ye therefore the word of the Lord, all ye of the captivity, whom I have sent from Jerusalem to Babylon. Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, of Ahab, that's the first prophet, the son of Calah, and of Zedekiah, the son of Messiah. which prophesy a lie unto you in my name. Behold, I will deliver them into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar, king of Babylon, and he shall slay them before your eyes." So I want you to know something. Just as Jesus stood during his earthly ministry and said, beware of false prophets, you should know that there have always been false prophets. There have always been false teachers, those who have stood and said, here's what God is saying, when God has never said any such thing whatsoever. You should be aware that this is not a new thing, that this is as old as the world is, and you should be able to identify who is a false teacher, who is a false prophet. By the time we arrive at Christ's ministry, and during his day, the Old Testament, ministry of prophet or the ability to foretell future events is basically nearing its expiration date. The completion of the book that you and I hold in our hands, the Word of God, would completely eliminate the need for prophets who could or would be able to foretell the future. I won't take the time to quote it, but in Revelation 22, verses 18 and 19, the Apostle John is signing off. Really, the Holy Spirit is signing off. And he essentially says, listen, don't add to what is found in this book and don't remove from what is found in this book. In other words, there's no future revelation here. What I want you to know I have given you, it's contained in these pages. Don't look for something else. I've given you everything that I want you to have. I've given you everything that you need to hear. It is found between the pages of Genesis chapter number one and Revelation chapter number 22. And so this idea of someone standing and telling you, hey, God told me something that he hasn't told anybody else. I want you to know something that's silly, that doesn't exist anymore. God has told everyone who will read his book what he wants them to know. And we must understand that. So it is quite unlikely that Christ is primarily warning of false prophets who sort of carried on in the idea of the prophets of the Old Testament. Because again, that was coming to an end. Instead, I believe that contextually it is accurate to say that Christ is warning his followers of false or we might say pseudo teachers. We're talking about people who perhaps are unregenerate. Maybe they're not called by God. Many of them would be Bible denying men or women who would wish, listen, who would desire to lead Christ's followers and his church in a spiritual manner. But there are people, listen, there are people that pastor churches today and that minister in God's name today who have no business ministering in God's name. They have no business preaching God's word because they do not know the God that they're preaching about. They do not know Him. They do not have a personal relationship with Him. They are not growing in His grace and growing in His word. And Christ warns, Christ warns us of these types of preachers and these types of teachers. Isn't it interesting that Christ had just finished warning, or speaking of two roads, two gates, and two eventual outcomes. We talked about that the last time that we were in Matthew chapter seven. He spoke of the broad gate that leads to destruction. He spoke of the narrow gate that leads to life eternal. Here, he continues the same concept of offering two types, where he speaks of two teachers, or two preachers. Can I say that I think it's important for us to acknowledge as we get started this morning that due to sin and its curse, there is always going to be that which is true and that which is false. Some of the most challenging elements in life is trying to discern between that which is true and that which is false. I live in a small community not far from here, four miles from here, and it's election season. We'll vote on Tuesday. And in my community, we're voting for mayor, we're voting for some city council members, we're voting for some school board members. And I must tell you that living in that community, I get daily bombarded by literature. And in that literature, they're not just propping up the person who's running for the specific office, but they're also trashing the other person that they're running against. There's four candidates in my town, but really only two of them are viable candidates. The other two, I don't think really they have much of a chance. I have a few followers, but there's two primary. I know one of them personally, the other one I don't know as well. But it's interesting to me that as I receive this literature, both people are saying the same thing. They're saying, I'm the right one, he or she is the wrong one. He's a liar. She doesn't do what she's supposed to do. She'll tell you one thing and she'll do something else. And she turns around and she says the exact same thing about him. And I'm sitting here going, my head is spinning because you're both saying the same thing. Which one's right and which one's wrong? I really don't know. We find that in the political realm. How about in the media? turn on your television to get some news, which is always a bad idea. Just don't even watch the stuff, it's a mess. You do know, you do know, right, that it's all based on ratings, and if we would just all turn it off, they'd all go to wherever they need to go, right? They'd lose their jobs. I almost got myself in trouble there, didn't I? I don't know. You guys need to stop laughing so I can move on, all right? The news, all of them have a slant, don't they? They're reporting, they're telling you what happened, but they're adding their opinion to it. They're seeing it from their bias. And for every left-leaning, for every left-leaning outlet, there's a right-leaning outlet. And can I just tell you something that fake news is not just something that is just on the left and it's not just something that's on the right, it's everywhere. Fake news is everywhere. And we as the people, we don't know who to trust. We don't know who to believe. We don't know who's telling us the truth and who's telling us a lie. How about in the realm of medicine? How about in the realm of science? How about in the realm of journalism? I mean, the list could go on and on, but we're living in a world in which we don't know who we can trust, or how about this, maybe we don't know who we can trust the most. In other words, I know everybody's kind of giving it to me from their slant or from their angle, and so I just have to pick like the least bad one to choose from. You know, it's like we talk about political season and we talk about the less of two evils, Like they're both garbage candidates, but I gotta cast a vote for somebody. And so I'm gonna choose the garbage candidate that stinks the least. And that's the world that we're living in. I mean, you chuckle and you laugh, but we all know that's the truth. that we're all flawed, and everyone that is pumping, trying to pump information into us, trying to give us truth, every last individual is flawed, and they have a slant, and they have an idea. They're wanting you to lean in and see things the way that they see them. Okay, I tell you that you should know this, that the most important area of discernment that you will ever exercise is in the area that Christ addresses here in our text. Because I can go to the polls on Tuesday and I can cast a vote for a guy that I think is the better candidate and find out later on, I made a wrong choice. But you know what I can do? I can four years later, I can kind of vote him out or her out. I can buy into a certain media story and believe it a certain way only to find out, realize later, wait a minute, more information has come out. It didn't happen the way that they said it happened. And I can change my mind on that. Can I tell you this? Those things, listen, those things affect us physically, but they also affect us just temporarily. What Jesus is reminding us of today is the fact that who you allow to influence you spiritually is not only gonna affect you physically, but it's gonna affect you spiritually. And it's not gonna just affect you in this life, but it's going to have eternal ramifications for you and for your family. So I want us to consider two specific primary thoughts that Jesus, I think, is trying to convey in this passage of scripture, and will be done this morning. Notice number one, I think what he's trying to tell us is this, Satan is a master counterfeiter. Satan, the devil, is a master counterfeiter. Now look in verse number 15. Beware of false prophets. which come to you in sheafs clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. I think you should know that the Bible reveals and the Bible teaches us throughout scripture that Satan, the devil, Lucifer, however you want to refer to him this morning, but that he has a unique ability, number one, to disguise himself. Now, let's just be frank, today for many people is a day of disguise. I don't mean in a general sense, I mean the fact that it's October 31st, it's Halloween. And by the way, the church is still meeting tonight, so I hope that, I think you should be back. I think what we're doing here is more important than what's being done there. And if you bought candy to hand it out, just bring it here, give it to your pastor, he'll eat it all for you, okay? Be in church tonight. But today's a day of disguise. And it's a, for small children, it's a silly little thing. Put a mask on, put a costume on and go to somebody's door and ring the doorbell and ask for candy. I'm not here promoting that, I'm just simply saying that's what today is sort of known as. Halloween, October 31st, is a day in which people disguise themselves. And it's interesting to me that the first point we come to, that the Lord providentially leads us to in our study, on Halloween day is this, is this, that Satan is a master counterfeiter and that he has an ability to disguise himself so that you don't recognize him for who he really is. And you say, prove that to me. The Apostle Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 11, 14, he says, and no marvel, for Satan himself is transformed. He is disguised. He puts the costume on. He is transformed into an angel of light. So Paul writes that Satan has the ability to disguise it, to put on the costume, to put on the disguise of being an angel of light, though, listen, there is nothing but darkness that is found in the devil. He is able to appear. He is able to present himself to you and to me and to every man as an angel of light, though he is nothing but darkness. He's able to do that. Paul writes that. Here's what I find fascinating. I find that not only does Satan, is he a master at disguising himself, but he is also, I believe he is uniquely gifted to make things that are not good and are not helpful to us, to make those things appear to be good and helpful to us. You say, well explain what you mean. Well, I've been in ministry now for 20 years, and in those 20 years, I have watched as people who sat where you're sitting today, and who served in some of the same capacities that many of you serve in today, and I have watched as they have drifted, and some of them have more than just drifted, but they have plunged headlong into a wicked lifestyle. And here's what is mind-boggling to me. In times in which they're confronted and the pastor sits down and meets with them, They have, sometimes they have the audacity to say, I believe that I'm following the Lord in this. I believe that God is leading me in this direction. You say, what are you talking about? I'm talking about men who have literally have left their wives and their children and their families. for someone who is not their wife and that person has the audacity to sit down and to look at their pastor and say, I believe God is leading me to do this. I want you to know something, God will never lead you to do that, never. And if God's not leading you to do it, who has convinced you that that's good? I think we ought to ask ourselves that question. And I think if we have a brain and we have common sense, There's only one other alternative, and that is the devil. And I want you to know something. Those people are as convinced as I am about what I say is true, not because I say it's true, but because I find in the Bible, they are convinced. Now, who has blinded them? Satan. He's a master counterfeiter. He is able to make himself appear as an angel of light, and he is able to take wicked and evil things that we know are not good and not helpful, and he is able to make them appear to us as if these things are good and these things are right for us. Can I say that this is why, this is why this book is so very important. We cannot, listen, we cannot, we cannot live life based on our feelings. We cannot live life based on our emotions, based on our needs in that moment or our wants. The moment we begin to do that, we are in trouble. We must live our lives and make our decisions based on the facts and on the truth of this book. This book is our guide. Notice secondly, we see his attempt to deceive the sheep. So not only is he able to disguise himself, but he also makes an attempt to deceive the sheep. Satan attempts to deceive the sheep by introducing wolves into the flock through disguise. We find that in verse 15. If the angel of darkness can appear to be an angel of light, listen, then it is not inconceivable to think that he could take a wolf and disguise him as a lamb. and plan him among the flock. Christ warned of this in our text, and Paul warned of it too in 2 Corinthians 11 verse 13 and verse 15. Paul uses Satan's ability to disguise himself as the proof that false teachers would attempt and be capable of doing the same. Now why is this problematic? Here's why it's a problem, because of the intentions of wolves. That's why it's a big deal. You see, a wolf is not only not just a lamb, but a wolf is the greatest enemy that a lamb has. A wolf is there to devour and destroy the flock. And so when the wolf makes its way among the sheep, you don't have a problem just because, well, these are sheep and that's a wolf, and since they're not the same, they probably shouldn't be together. No, you have a problem because the wolf is the greatest enemy that a lamb has. That wolf is not there just to kind of stick out, just to make everybody uncomfortable. That wolf is there to destroy and to devour the flock of God. So Christ sends out a strong warning to his followers. who are part of his church to beware, to pay attention, to be cautious about. Here's what's interesting, you know, it did not take a long time at all for this to become a real problem in the local church. We see in the church at Ephesus, very quickly, I don't have time to spend a lot of time here, but number one, if you're following in your outline, you see the church at Ephesus, that Paul plants the church at Ephesus during his third missionary journey. That takes place Acts 19 verses 1 to 20 and Acts 20 and verse number 31. And he spent three years there. That was unusual for him to spend three years in one place, but he did. And Paul left Ephesus for Europe to travel to some other places to plant some more churches, win some more people to Christ, check on some other churches that he'd already planted. And he was gone for about a year, so now we're four years into the church at Ephesus. And Paul is traveling back to Jerusalem, and he meets with the elders of this church in a place called Miletus. And he does so for the purpose of saying to them, we're never going to see each other again, and I have some things I want to share with you. And we learn of what he shared with that church in Acts chapter 20 and verses 28 to 30, and I want to read it to you. In fact, why don't we just turn there, Acts chapter 20, if you would, verses 28 through 30. And you'll turn there, and that'll give me a chance to grab a drink of water, which would be helpful. Bible says in verse number 28 of Acts chapter number 20, again, Paul is speaking to the leaders of the church at Ephesus. Take heed, therefore, unto yourselves and to all the flock over which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God which he hath purchased with his own blood. For I know this, That's a pretty strong statement, isn't it? Paul's not saying, I think that this might happen. This is a real possibility. No, no, Paul says, I know this. What does he know? That after my departing, after I leave, shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them. That's four years into the church's existence. The church is four years old. Paul says, I'm leaving and I'm never coming back. And here's what I know. I know that when I leave, the devil is going to set his sights on this church. And he is going to send not just wolves, he's going to send grievous wolves. And they're going to come in here and they're going to feast on and try to devour and destroy the flock. And then he takes it a step further in verse number 30, and he says, also of your own selves shall men arise. Among you, there might even be someone who stands up and he says something that he ought not to say, and he draws away disciples after him. I tell you that three years later, Paul writes the book of Ephesians, so now the church is seven years old. And you read that book, and you'll consider that it seems like already the wolves have entered, and there is a war going on in that church. Listen to what he writes in Ephesians 4 in verse number 3. He says, That word endeavoring, the whole phrase just carries with the idea that it's a struggle, it is a battle, that we're warring with one another. There's wars going on in this local church there in Ephesus. He goes on to say in verse number 14 that we be henceforth no more children tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine by the slight of men and cunning craftiness whereby they lie and wait to deceive. That's what wolves do. Wolves don't announce their presence, they hide. They take on the disguise of a sheep. They lurk, they stalk their prey. And the apostle Paul says, I want you to know something, that there are some people in this church that need to get a hold of this, because there's people that are there that are teaching you the false doctrine, and they're lying in wait, trying to deceive you, trying to destroy you, trying to devour you. I give you the example of the churches of Galatia, number two. Paul made two visits to the region of Galatia. We've learned of that in Acts 16 and Acts 18. While he was there, souls were saved, and the natural outgrowth of that was the planting of churches. Paul would write to them shortly after his time there, and he was astounded. He was astounded how quickly the wolves had come in and some had been deceived. So he says in Galatians 1, verses six to eight, I marvel, I'm amazed, I'm astounded that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel, which is not another. but 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. So here's what you need to know. You need to know that Satan is a master counterfeiter. And listen, he longs to do his greatest work in the local church, to come in here, and to plant wolves among the sheep, among the flock of God, who will seek to devour and to destroy those of us who long to follow Christ. And so Christ shares with us in verse number 15 of the wolves that want to come in, and he reminds us again that Satan is a master counterfeiter. But no, secondly, we see that Christ gives counsel on how to avoid counterfeiters. Christ gives counsel on how to avoid counterfeiters, verses 16 to 20, and I must hurry, but notice, first of all, what does he tell us to do? He says, number one, examine the fruit. Examine the fruit. Jesus recommends that if you want to truly know someone, examine the fruit of their life. He does not ask us to observe how they dress, to listen to how they talk. He does not direct us to any other metric, listen, because these things can be easily disguised. They can be easily disguised. Remember, remember, the wolf dresses like a lamb. You know, the wolf doesn't come into the flock and start growling. He comes into the flock and he starts, I won't even try to do it, but whatever lambs do, he makes that sound, you know? He disguises himself. So we cannot just look at the outward appearance of something and say, oh yeah, he dresses nice and he sounds like he's saying the right things, therefore I suppose it's okay, I suppose we can follow him. No, no, listen, instead Jesus urges us to consider the fruit that is growing in that individual's life. What fruit, now let me ask you this question, what fruit do you suppose Christ is referring to here? I'm afraid for far too often we have labeled certain things fruit that are not necessarily fruit. Now they may be good things, but it's not necessarily fruit. In other words, the fruit of a man's life is not what he wears to church on Sunday. That's not the fruit of a man's life, no. I still think we ought to dress nice when we come to church. And I think everyone here, you came to church and you thought to yourself, this is what I'm comfortable wearing, and so I'm just glad you're here. I'm just really thrilled that you came. Doesn't matter to me how you look, so long as it's not ridiculously inappropriate or immodest or embarrassing. I'm just thrilled you're here. Listen, the fruit of a man is not that he wears a suit on Sunday. The fruit of a woman is not that she wears a nice dress on Sunday. That's not the fruit, that's silly. The fruit of a man is not that he knows how to say the right thing. Because you know as well as I do that there are certain people that when they get around a certain crowd, they talk one way. And when they get around another crowd, they talk another way. So it is indeed possible for me to stand here on a Sunday morning and to talk spiritual, and Monday through Saturday for me to talk filthy and perverse and vulgar and inappropriate. I can do that. I could, and so could you. And so could any other person that you're around. Can I say this? It's important to understand that the fruit is not the largest church in town. You know, sometimes we're drawn to that. Oh, well, they got a lot of people, they must be doing something right. Well, you know, a lot of people go to lots of different things. Doesn't always make it right. Doesn't always make it good and doesn't always make it acceptable. Did you know that people can be manipulated? They can be. You know, people can have their emotions be played on them. So what is the fruit that Christ is talking about here? Can I tell you that a great principle, a key principle of Bible hermeneutics, which is just a fancy word of just talking about Bible interpretation, is to compare Scripture with Scripture. Here's what I find fascinating. The Bible was written over a period of 1,500 years by 40 different authors, and yet it is a book with a unified theme and message. That's almost impossible. Almost impossible. If we were to gather 40 people from the Cleveland Baptist Church and put you in a room and tell you all to write three chapters on something, who knows what we'd come up with. It would be interesting, wouldn't it? You'd maybe talk about something from your life or you'd talk about a hobby that you have. But 40 different authors, 1,500 years, and all of them, listen, all of them essentially preach Christ to us. That's amazing. This book is about Jesus. So when Jesus stands and he says, by their fruits ye shall know them, we have to ask ourselves the question, well what kind of fruit is he talking about? I believe, I believe with every fiber of my being that the fruit Christ is referring to is the fruit of the Holy Spirit, as given in Galatians 5, 22 and 23. For some of you that maybe are newer to all of this, let me just share with you what the fruit of the Spirit is. It is love. joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance. Paul summarizes the fruit of the Spirit this way. He says, for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth. So you might be wondering, okay, what does the fruit of the Spirit look like? It looks like goodness, it looks like righteousness, and it looks like truth. That's what it is. It's love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness. So here's what I think you really need to consider. I think before you choose a spiritual leader, someone who's going to teach you and lead you spiritually, I personally think you ought to spend some time with them. I think you ought to get to know them. I think you ought to watch them closely and observe them. It's amazing, we live in an evangelical Christianity that is enamored with, again, celebrity pastors and guys that preach on television to millions of people. And here's the problem, is they may be saying some good things, but you don't know them. You don't know whether they're growing the fruit of the Spirit. And Jesus says, if you're going to really know what a man is, you have to be able to examine the fruit. Examine the fruit of their life. Are they growing things like love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance? What a trick the devil has played on us. by convincing us that fruit is the way someone dresses, or the way someone talks, or how many people they win to Christ, or the size of their ministry and work. Listen, the fruit that should be examined is the fruit that the Holy Spirit alone grows in the lives of those who've been redeemed by the precious blood of Jesus. So he says examine the fruit. Notice, secondly, he says consider the tree. Verses 17 and 18. Trees bear their own fruit, don't they? If you happen upon an apple tree, well then you have a tree that bears apples. If you happen upon a tree bearing pears, well then you found a pear tree. So it is spiritually. If you come upon a tree that bears evil fruit, then you know that's a corrupt tree. Whereas if you see the evidence of good fruit, you can safely assume that it is a good tree. This is why it is good that the fruit is not merely one's words or appearance, because sometimes even a bad man can speak a word of truth. or do something good or positive. Matthew Henry put it this way, he said, an apple may be stuck, or a bunch of grapes may hang upon a thorn, so may a good truth, a good word or action be found in a bad man, but you may be sure it never grew there. Number three, how are you gonna keep from counterfeiters destroying you? Number three, consider the end. Consider the end. You examine the fruit, you consider the tree, now you consider the end. Look at verse number 19. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down and cast into the fire. I ask this question, what is the end for those who feast on the fruit of a corrupt tree? You say, why is this a big deal? Because if you allow someone to be your spiritual leader who is a corrupt tree, who's bringing forth evil fruit, You know what's going to happen in your life, don't you? You, too, are going to be sick spiritually. You're going to be weak. You're going to be out of sorts. You're going to be headed for death and destruction. The Bible says in Proverbs 13, 20, He that walketh with wise men shall be wise, but a companion of fools shall be destroyed. What's the end result for the tree that is corrupt and incapable of producing good fruit? According to Jesus' words in verse number 19, it's cut down and it's burned up with fire. Finally, what is the end result for those who feast on the fruit of a good tree? The answer is this, it's life. It's life, it's growth, it's development. It's the fruit of the Spirit, not just in the person who's leading you, but in you as well. God is able to take these things and to grow them. The Bible says in Proverbs 13, 20, he that walketh with a wise man shall be wise. Psalm 119, 63 says, I am a companion of all them that fear thee, and of them that keep thy precepts. Finally, this morning, I think Jesus says make an informed decision. You see that in verse 20? He says, wherefore, because of all that I've said, by their fruits ye shall know them. A man will be known by his fruit. Wise men will look for the fruit of the Spirit and will follow those who exhibit growth in these areas. Listen, there's no such thing as a teacher who's perfect. What you ought to be looking for is a teacher who's growing, who's developing, who's maturing, who God is doing something. And by the way, can I say this applies to every teacher and leader in this church? You say, well, you're sort of preaching a message about yourself and the standard that you need to be held to, and that's true. But God, I also think it needs to be held to every teacher that teaches little boys and teaches little girls and teaches teenagers and teaches adults. We have classes throughout this building on Wednesday night. Every person who stands behind one of those stands and opens a Bible, they need to be growing. They need to be producing the fruit of the Spirit. They need to be a good tree that produces good fruit. The devil wants to deceive you into following a counterfeit. You should know that. Not only does he want to do it, but he looks just like the real thing. So how do we navigate a world like that? You're looking at it right here. This is it. This is the book. This is the book that will open your eyes to help you discern what is real and what is false. Hey, if you're anything like me, you're a little frustrated, because I don't know what to believe. I mean, this politician, he says he's a good candidate, and she's a liar, and she says she's a good candidate, he's a liar. This news station says this political candidate, he's the best thing that's ever happened, and this one says it's the worst. My head's spinning. I really can't give you a whole lot of counsel when it comes to that, but here's what I can do. I can help you make wise decisions that will affect you and your family and your life, not just in the here and now, but in the days to come. I don't have anything in me, but I can point you to a book that gives us all the answers. Jesus says in this book, beware of false teachers. Know what that means? That means be very cautious, be very careful about. I don't know who's a false teacher, he's not a, examine the fruit, consider the tree, consider the end, and make an informed decision. Our heads are bowed and our eyes are closed.