The Test of True Discipleship | Eld Peng Hoe

You're listening to a message to go from acts Church.

We hope this message will light up your day.

We will be teaching from Matthew chapter seven today, and

because of the nature and how I usually teach, I

try to teach chapter by chapter as much as I can.

It may be a lot of things that I might

be covering. Uh, and you may feel a little bit

disjointed here and there. But again, I don't believe there

is any these jointment in God's word because if you

think about it, the scriptures were never written in chapters

and verses. It was actually one long scroll. And as

you read it, yeah, I guess it can look like

in different points are being covered. But this is one sermon,

sermon on the mound, and it has taken me a

few months to just get through chapter five, chapter six,

chapter seven, and there's so many things. No, so chapter five,

what was chapter five highlighting? It was highlighting the correct

needed in the followers of Christ, the be attitudes. That's

where you get blessed? Is this blessed? Is that? Okay?

That is where I remember sharing I don't know whether

I shared it here, but I've been sharing it wherever

I When the character the be attitudes. Chapter six focuses

on our devotion as followers of Christ, how to pray,

how to fast, how to give, how to trust God

more in our lives. So go back read this sermon.

It's a powerful, powerful sermon. This is one portion of

the scripture in the Gospel where it's all rad for

the for three chapters, because it was really the words

of Christ. Jesus was teaching. And I can imagine, you know,

if you're at the crowd back then and listening to

him and he's going on and on. I don't think

it was very long, because I think if you read

chapter five, six, seven, one goal you probably you'll be

done before half an hour. He's done. But he covered

a lot of bases. And so today we are coming

to the emphasis in chapter seven, and it is basically

talking about our relationships with one another and our obedience

to God. Okay, I give you the general team first,

so that as I'm sharing, I will try to tie

as much as possible. But I want you all also

to when we study God's work, put yourself in it.

Put yourself there. It's called meditating on the word. It's

very very important so that it does not just remain

a bunch of words, because sometimes if that is the case,

then there will be no application into our lives. It's

just someone saying something. But I pray that you can

internalize some of these words. Okay, so chapter seven here

we come. It's about doing what is right, true righteousness,

and we know true righteousness is not about performing. Sometimes

we think about doing the right thing, we think about

it's a performance we are we are constantly being assessed

on how well we perform. But if you study God's

work care you realize that the emphasis is always about

a transformation, not so much a performance. It's about a

transform heart that will now love God and love one another.

It's not about pretending or showing ourselves to love God

and love one another. And that is something that we

got to guard ourselves from because that is essentially hypocrisy.

You're acting. That means you're not genuine. But can you

be taught taught to do what is right? Can? And

I mean I can teach You can teach a dog

to do the right thing right, So we can also

end up doing the right thing but not really doing

the right thing at the same time. You know what

I'm saying that means we can end up performing but

not truly acting out of a transform heart and a

transform behavior and a transformed attitude. And so God's values

and ways his actions are consistent. That is the beauty

of the scriptures when we study, when we read about Jesus,

he's consistent because again he is the same yesterday, today,

and forever more. And therefore his followers, the followers of Christ,

the disciples, are actually required to have that inward transformation

so that we will remain consistent in our outward actions.

And it is only when the insight is fully transformed,

and I believe we will one day be fully transformed

into the likeness of Christ. We just need to always

and keep on allowing God to do that new work

in us. Amen. Okay, So Matthew Chapter seven, and again

I warn you it's going to go if it's going

to feel like we are going on different journeys. Okay,

it starts off. We do not judge others. Okay, let's read.

Let's read the scriptures, and I'm going to just break

it down as we go along the way, break it down.

And when you go back when you read the scriptures,

I hope and I pray that you, it will also

come to life for all of you. Okay, Matthew Chapter

seven Versus seven, Chapter seven, verse one. Okay. He says this,

do not judge others. I'm going to read the whole

portion and do not judge. Do not judge others, and

you will not be judge, or you will be treated

as you treat others. The standard you use in judging

is the standard by which you will be judged. And

why worry about a spec in your friend's eye when

you have a long in your own? How can you

think of saying to your friend, let me help you

get rid of that spec in your eye when you

can't see past the long in your own eye. Hypocrit

First get rid of the long in your own eye.

Then you will see well enough to deal with a

spec in your friend's eye. Don't waste what is holy

on people who are unholy. Don't throw your pose to pigs.

They will trample the pose, then turn and attack you. Amen.

The Lord best reading of his word, Jesus also got

sense of humor. And actually, imagine again, this is his

words he's preaching. You know, he's talking about the spec

and the log it's supposed to be a a joke

in the Middle East, they will understand what it fully

means about having that log in your eye. And Jesus

uses humor. He also could be a little bit sarcastic,

but I think he meant every word away. No, don't

trow pose to picks. Very very strong words, but important

for us to hear his heart. Uh. And again he

uses the word hippo create. Basically a hippo create. Another

word for hippo create is actually the word actor. It's

a simple word. It's not a bad thing. No, it's

an actor. And back then, how they use the word

hipo created is they usually put on a mask to

pretend to be someone else. That's where the root word

comes from. So you know they have mass and they

go into acting. So hipprocreate basically is someone who is

not being himself, someone who is trying to act to

be someone else. Again, it's not wrong to be an actor.

If any actors here, it's okay. I'm not saying that

you're all hippo creates. In a way, you're just an actor.

You're paid to do it. But as Christians, we are

not called to pretend. We are called to be true actors.

That means that better not just be a movie, better

be a documentary and a reality series of your life. Amen.

So the first question is is judging? What does judging mean?

Because he says do not judge, do not judge or

strong words no, Does this mean that one must never

examine another person? You must never come to a conclusion

about another because that is essentially judging. Is that what

judging is? Do we believe there must be judgment in society?

Do you think there must be judgment in society? Have

you ever thought about this question? Because I believe it

is God's will actually that there is some level of

judgment in society. In Romans chapter thirteen, it's a passage

that we read and we understand, and if you go

and read it, you realize that you say, is this

everyone must submit to governing authorities. Essentially, that's what Romans

Theatin is saying. For all authority comes from God, and

those impositions of authority have been placed there by God.

And so you think about it. The main purpose of

a minister of a state? What do you think the

minister of a state is supposed to do? What do

you think the leaders in a political capacity is supposed

to do. They are supposed to control, they're supposed to restrain,

and they're supposed to punish people who do wrong things

evil to us. You think about it, and it is

quite strange. Actually, if you look at how nations are

being governed, we have slowly switched from justice to welfare. Slowly.

If you study how human history is looking like in

terms of governance human governance, it used to be justice. La.

You know. The government is that you are naught the

pow uh, you're good, you get a reward. Okay, all

well and done. But today we look at states being

more welfare than being or meeting out justice. And it's

strange how this is starting to change now, how we

think primarily of them as the ones who are there

to give us more money, give us more help, give

us more welfare, and make us happy. And that's why

we are constantly not happy with our government because they

don't always do that, because that's not their role and

that is not essentially their function. And then we overlook

the fact that what they are supposed to do is

control evil, to make sure that people don't go around

taking out things when they don't have permission to do so.

They're supposed to be there to maintain some level of

equilibrium in society. And so if God had not appointed

or allowed for governments not appointed and allowed for police,

not appointed and allowed for a justice system where you

actually have a judiciary who's function is to adjudicate, actually

is to judge to a certain extent, society will go bonkers.

You will have anarchy, you will have chaos in society.

And that's why the cabinet ministers are ministers of God

to restrain evil by force. Actually, that is their function,

and they are actually a channel of God's wrath and

anger because God is a just God. He's a God

who is full of justice. But I also believe he's

a merciful God. Yes, And that's where the church ministers

come in. That's where the ministers of God's house comes in,

because both cabinet and church ministers are ordained by God.

You think about it. Church ministers, while they're supposed to

do they are supposed to promote goodbye love. That is

our function, that is our role, to be a channel

of God's grace and mercy. There is a dual function,

but they are both important because you also ask is

there justice in church. Is that judgment within church. If

you read the letters to the Koran Church in First Corinthians,

chapter five, verses twelve on ards, you'll see you know,

he actually says this, you are not to judge outsiders,

but you are to judge those inside the church. That means,

as leaders, there is governance within the church as well,

and you are supposed to be judging them and keeping

them in check. If there is someone who is not

living according to the Gospel, that person should be actually admonish,

trying to help the person change, and it really cannot change. Actually,

the scripture says, then you have to invite him out

of the fellowship. Is actually as strong as that. Of course,

we don't do such things like that today because most

of the time people invite themselves out elsewhere. But back

then they don't talk about changing churches. You know, you're

if you're born there. This is I belong here, ah

and until I get excommunicated. I never heard that term before, right,

but that is what they use to do if really

you keep doing something that's wrong. And so there is

a place for judgment within the church. So what does

this scripture mean when he says do not judge it

means we are not to make ourselves the judge, but

rather we should be the jury. Okay, if you if

you understand legal terms, you think about it. A judge

does something, a jury does something else. What does a

jury do? We don't have We don't have the jury

system here in Malaysia anymore. Some countries they still maintain it.

But what a jury does is to examine, examine, not

to sentence, not to condemn. That is the role of

the judge. So the word judge actually means this to condemn,

to write off, or to sentence to punish, And therefore

judging actually refers to basically a very critical attitude of

always writing people off. And this is not a Christian value.

This is the part that we've got to be careful

not to do writing people off. I meanst we see

somebody like I hear this all day, ever ever come

ever done that before? Basically it means a lowy, this person,

this guy is beyond salvation, beyond redemption. Sometimes we are

like that. Right. It definitely does not mean that we

are never to examine or assess people, because to examine

means that to weigh out, to balance all the facts together.

We got to be able to do that. And this

is the exact reason why Jesus in a few verses

after that, says, beware of false prophets, because even that

statement can sound very judgmental. Beware of false prophets. How

do you determine if a person is a false prophet?

If you say, hey, Jesus, you say, don't judge, why

try judge whether the person is No, he says, don't judge,

don't write people off. But he didn't say don't examine,

don't weigh things out, because that is a very important

faculty that we still have and we still maintain. If

do not judge means are I can't even write reference

letters doctor Daniel? Who can I write reference letters for

people who have worked under him before? Because essentially, what

we are going to be writing down a judgment of

the person's character if we take it too literally. But

when we write reference letters, what we're doing we are

actually weighing out the person's behavior and attitude while the

person was working for us, and then we are making

that known to the next employer. Right, So let's be careful.

That is a clear distinction. How are we to be

careful of false profits? If we are never to examine

and assess another person's life, well we need that, we

need to continue to assess and discern. And so judging

is just this. Judging is the attitude of condemning everyone

and everything too easily. That we must not do that,

we must not practice. It means that you are deciding,

like I say, just now, that someone is beyond redemption.

Sometimes we do that. We go into certain communities, We're like, oh, yeah,

that one cannot safe ready, so I think we just

bypass or the one the laws that say that we

shouldn't touch them, I think we should just let them

be bypassed. That is actually a form of judgment, because

we are saying that people have no hope and we

can't do anything with that person. We are writing the

person or because only God has the right to do

something like that. Only God has the right to be

such a judge. And the reminder and the warning here

is one of the most frightening things that Jesus has

ever said, because he says, with what measure you judge,

you shall be judged very strong words. In other words,

on the day of judgment, when one stands before Jesus

as our judge, all Jesus has to do is playback

a recording of the faults we have found in other people.

And that's going to be challenging because really, the things

that go on in my head about other people sometimes

so I'm ashamed to admit. No, we all like love Ningers.

Ninger never wholesome. Right, it is judgment. Don't write people

off because we will be judged by that standard by

God ourselves. And can any of us actually stand before

God if that is how He's going to judge, because

we all know that we have condemned people in our hearts.

And this is where we've got to be very very careful.

Don't write people off. Instead, help each other to remain

in Christ. Help each other to remain in Christ because

He is still right now, activated and acting as our savior.

He has not come yet his second coming. He will

come as an adjudicator. He will come to judge. But

right now, everyone who has wrong and sin in our lives,

we are crying out for Jesus to come to save us,

and that's what we are supposed to do. We are

responsible to share this good news. We are not responsible

for people's response to the good news. We are responsible

to share it and not decide on who gets to

hear it and who gets not to hear it. Don't

judge in that sense, and let us not decide if

someone does not deserve to hear the gospel, because really

that is a form of hypocrisy. We are just called

to share it, and the truth is everyone should hear

it unless they themselves refuse to listen no matter what. Sometimes, yes,

after people hearing it, I don't want to do anything.

That's why the scriptures actually say, then don't keep throwing

buls to swine because it will be like an activity

that is completely futile. But don't stop. Don't think that

all just because I don't like this person's face. Don't

need share and move on just because I think this

one will reject me or I can't deal with rejection. Okay,

move on. Don't share unless they have said I don't

want to have anything to do with this. So this

is the first test of true discipleship. Do we practice

humility and humble ourselves to share and witness God's goodness?

That's essentially what we are doing. No, if again, you

want to put in terms of a legal setting, we

are sitting on the witness dot, and we are testifying

of how good God has been in our lives. That

is us functioning as a witness telling people around us

that God is good. And I want you to know

that He is good, and that is important for us

to do. All. Are we hypocrates who go around just

being glad that we are safe and not wanting to

share with others. We've got to be very careful how

we live our lives. Amen. Okay, if we desire to

follow Jesus, if we are willing to express our desire,

the next part tells us this, He is willing to

grant us the deseas of our hearts. Because many are times,

you know, even a statement like do not judge, it's

hard to actually do how to live our lives not judging,

because we are very critical people. We are just human beings.

If you know, I think Bustard has used this example. No,

I give you a blank shit, a white shit, peo

and nice, and I just put one small black dot

in the middle. All our focus and all our attention

will be on the black dot. It will not be

on the white because again, we are naturally critical. And

I pray that we continue to desire to follow Jesus,

because if Jesus was critical and all he saw was

our fault, we won't be here today. We won't be

here today. That's the reality of it. And so he

goes on to say this verse seven, keep on asking

and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on

seeking and you're fine. Keep on knocking and the door

will be open to you again. I'm just reading it chronologically.

For everyone who asks receives, everyone who seeks fines, and

to everyone who knocks, the door will be open. You parents,

if your children ask for a loaf of brain, do

you give them a stone instead? Or if they ask

for a fish, do you give them a snake? Of

course not so. If you sinfle people know how to

give good gifts to your heaven, to your children, how

much more will your heavenly father give good gifts to

those who ask him? And the principle here is simple.

We've got to keep persisting in prayer. There's nothing else

for me to add to this. Persist in prayer. The

literal transition, the translation of it is, I've shared this before.

It is basically, go on asking and you receive. You

have to put on the go on, go on asking

them is don't ask one time, only go on seeking

and you were fine. Go on knocking and you will

be open to you. Well, the problem with a lot

of us is we ask one time, no answer, we

move on. We knock one time, no one opened the door,

We move on. We sought once and found nothing, and

then we move on elsewhere. But that is not what

the scripture here is saying. Because the scripture here is

actually written in a continuous sence. The verb is continuous.

That means we have to carry on doing it. Luke eighteen,

we read the parable of the persistent widow. Anyone remembered

that parable? Simple parable? There was this judge. He was

asleep in his house, and then came this widow, and

she was persistent because she was knocking at his door,

just knocking and knocking and knocking, continuously, banging on his

front door until he sort of drove him crazy. And

then he eventually he went down and he acceded, He

gave in to her requests. If an unjust judge responded

to the persistence of a widow, how much more do

you think a generous God will respond to those who

go on asking? God responded to persistent nagging. Actually, if

you think about it, that's how I would like to

look at my prayer life. It's okay, I know, I'm honestly.

I write down prayers one and I pray until something happens.

If nothing happens for twenty years, then that thing is

still on the prayer list, and we keep praying. We

keep praying. Why stop keep nagging on God and saying, God,

I'm believing for you, I'm believing for the salvation of

my family members. Yes, that person was so difficult, the

person I grew up with. I mean, it's the same. No,

I always share this story about my dad. I always

thought my dad would be the last person on earth

to actually respond to the Gospel because he was just

a hard man, a hard man, and you talk to

him anything about Christianity, it triggers him. He just becomes

angry until a point of time. I also, like Mota Cow,

I came to this point of my life that you

can all be safely life or the salvation in this

world as well. Can I help you? But I'm glad.

I'm glad that the Lord reminded me don't ever stop praying,

because yeah, I think after twenty years of prayer. He

eventually gave his life to Christ uh and we rejoice

in that. But remember persistent prayer. It's so important if you, then,

being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children.

How much more will your father, who is in heaven

give good gifts to those who not ask him one time,

but those who ask him and carry on asking him.

So this is where I want to encourage all of us.

Continue to be that first in your prayer. Amen. And

then now he moves on again, moving on back. Then

I read the scriptures. Don't think that they are hatings

or no haters one no, he there's no foods this

on now, this is our Bible. Got hated there? Now

the next heater is the Golden Rule. Verse twelve is

the Golden Rule. But he moved on from knocking, seeking

and austraight away. Do to others whatever you would like

them to do to you. This is the essence of

all that is taught in the law and the prophets.

I'm not sure I'm trying to imagine how Jesus was

presenting this sermon by I don't think he paused. I

don't think he say okay, talk a new chapter, new

head the norm. I think he just went on. He

just went on. And I thank god for people who

had no books back then, because they wrote all these

things down, and hallelujah. Today we have the scriptures with us.

By nature, we think negatively about our responsibility to one another.

That's usually how we think. We always think about this

when we think about some one else. I've never done

anyone no harm. It's always in a negative. I've never

done anyone any harm in their lives. So it's usually

the negative. But here it's actually in the positive. It's

not so much don't do what you don't wish others

to do to you. The reality is the Lord is

actually interested in what we have done that is good,

not what we have not done, which we like to emphasize.

I didn't do this person anything. What this person come

and hurt me, I didn't do anything wrong with him.

You know, we always think in the negative, but the

Lord actually wants us to think about the good that

we have done to others, and that is always in

the positive positive. Love your neighbor as yourself, And this

is the law and what the Prophet's taught. Love your

neighbor as yourself. It is always in the positive. If

we are not cares, we will naturally think about ourselves.

I have not done anyone any harm. But if we

allow God's rules to operate in our lives, then we

realize that Jesus is actually teaching us to look beyond

ourselves and to care for others. Do something for others,

not about yourself, but do something for others. And these

commands sums up how God wants us to treat people,

not based on our personal likes or dislikes. It is

based on what is loving and right. That means his

focused on what the right thing to do, is not

so much what your preference is. And I think it's

an important thing. Again when we think about it, what

is he teaching don't put ourselves first because it is

very very selfish in basa, it's easier to understand it

says young and punting. Don't prioritize yourself. There's no selfish

the words selfish in basa. I don't think that's such thing.

If there is, someone tell me it's just don't prioritize yourself.

It has to be sort of mentioned in the whole statement. Amen,

And so continue to focus on what is loving and right.

That is the golden rule. Essentially. Amen, Now we look

at the mystics that we can make. See I told

you we are going like woh, by the way the

Lord thought is it feels so truncated, but it's not

because it all adds up to something. Now, let's look

at some of the mystics we can make in discipleship.

All this is talking about discipleship because Jesus is actually preaching.

He's preaching to the people. He's telling them, Look, this

is the way to live in my kingdom. This is

how I want my subjects to live their lives. And

so it is very important for us to understand. And

now as we draw to an end of the Sermon

on the Mound, there is a series of warnings and

also and appeal to make the right choices. Okay, I

will explain it. Okay, because Jesus now starts to preach

about a few things. But essentially you will see him

talking about two roads, two trees, and two houses. Okay,

two roads, two trees, two houses. Let's start verse thirteen

of chapter seven. He says this, you can enter God's

kingdom only through the narrow gate, the highway to Hell

is broad, and its gate is wide for the many

who choose that way. But the gateway to life is

very narrow, and the road is difficult, and only a

few ever find it. This is the two roads that

he's talking about. Now, he goes on to talk about

the two trees. Beware of false prophets who come These

guys as harmless sheep, but are really vicious wolves. You

can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the

way they act. Can you pick grapes from torn bushes,

of fixed from teasels. A good tree produces good fruit,

and a bad tree produces bad fruit. A good tree

can't produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can't produce

good fruit. So every tree that does not produce good

fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire. Yes,

just as you can identify a tree by its fruit,

so you can identify people by their actions. Not everyone

who calls out to me, Lord Lord, will enter the

Kingdom of heaven. Only those who actually do the will

of my father in Heaven will enter. On judgment day,

many will say to me, Lord Lord, we prophesied in

your name, and cast out demons in your name, and

perform Many miracles in your name. But I will reply,

I never knew you. Get away from me, you who

break God's laws. And then now he talks about two houses.

Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise.

Like a person who builds a house on solid rock.

Though the rain comes in torrents and the flat waters rise,

and the winds beat against that house, it won't collapse

because it is built on bait rock. But anyone who

hears my teaching and doesn't obey it is foolish, like

a person who builds a house on sand. When the

rain and floods come and the winds beat against the house,

it will collapse with a mighty crash. When Jesus had

finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching,

for he taught with real authority, quite unlike their teachers

of religious law. The Lord bless the reading of his

word and the preaching of his sermon. That is, I

can just read the entire sermon on the mouth, and

I believe we are blessed. But firstly, let's study some

of these things. The warning, So all these warnings that

Jesus is highlighting, and Jesus says that if you look

at the roads that he is asking you to compare. Hey, again,

the first thing he talked about was two roads. He says,

if you compare the roads, that you will end up

making the wrong choice. That's what he's essentially saying, because

he says that, look at the road to hell. It's nice, nice,

and that's what his warning is is nice and wide.

You can take a lot of luggage with you on

this road. You can take a lot of broad minded

ideas with you. No steep hills, no sharp bends, easy road.

In fact, if you want lots of company, this is

the road to go as well. It's in the scripture.

I'm not making this up. You read it slowly, you'll

see it. It's a road that is full if you

want to walk. We've reached people, nice people, clevel people,

rational people, e look on people, happy people, even good people.

Most of them are on this road. The other road

that leads to heaven is not very attractive. It is

actually narrow, and you have got to leave behind your scenes.

Very hard. Right. Sometimes for us to do that we

say easy, but actually easiest it than done. That's the

reality of it. You may have to live behind your friends, family,

though you will want to try to bring them all

with you, and that is our desire, that should be

our desire. You have to leave behind a lot of

your ideas, a lot of the way you think, and

a lot of things that you think is right. You

got to leave it behind. But this narrow road leads

to life. This is like Abraham not given the choice

at eighty years old, stay and remain in my nine

two story bungalow or head out into the wilderness and

hang out in tents. Abraham is the father of faith

for reasons that we can never fully fat him. But

he did not stay and enjoy his nice, big, two

story bungalow because we know he moved away from where

was he from of the Chaldean He moved away into

the wilderness and living in a tent with so much uncertainties.

It is hard to be a Christian. I'm not saying

it's easy, because the entrance fee is nothing free, but

the annual subscription is everything. There is the reality of it.

You think about it, you think, no prize to pay,

God price to pay, God price to pay, but entrance

fee free. That is God's grace. Hallelujah. Praise God, because

if God were to charge for the entrance fee, none

of us would have made it. None of us would

have made it, We would not be able to cover

up our sins. It is only His righteousness, through His

grace that we are safe. But after that the journey

we have to walk. And this is why the road

is sometimes empty. You may be the only Christian in

your place of work, ever felt like that before. You

may be the only Christian in your schools, in your classroom.

It's a lonely road, and a lot of Christians have

to face that you have Christ, but you don't have

many others, and you are a minority, and many Christians

are actually very lonely. It's actually the only religion in

the world that you cannot be born into one you

think about it, because we all need to be born

again one. No one can say that I'm born into

a Christian family. What does that mean? Because all of

us need to be born again and then only we

are part of the family. And that is also one

of the reasons why there are so few of us.

We can't claim that everyone's born into this house, so

we're all moving the same direction. Known that's the reality

of it. Of course, the real difference is ultimately the destination,

and we need to know which road we are going

to walk on, because one leads to destruction, the other

one leads to life. Christianity is the way to life

as well as a way of life. Very very important

for us to remember that two roads. Again, Remember what

Jesus is saying, don't just compare it blindly, because if

you compare it blindly, you will make the wrong choice.

That's the warning that he's telling us here. Now we

come to the second warning again, not do men gloommen

because all of us you have to remember this, and

this is the beauty of being a believer. We have

a choice. We have a choice. Once upon a time,

none of us had this choice, because all of us

we are heading down the path of destruction. That is

the reality of it. But when we receive God's saving

grace upon our lives again we are all saved by grace,

true faith, then another road opens up. But can still

make the choice one. And yes, there are people who

continue on the path in which they were used to

instead of choosing the right path. But we have a choice,

So rejoice in the fact that we have a choice,

because now moving on from two roads, you get two trees.

The second warning, and the second warning is basically about

guides in our life. Okay, what do I mean by this? Well,

we all need a guide in life, but there is

always a danger that you find the wrong guide, find

the wrong guy, and I'm in the wrong place. That

is the danger that is being worn here to the

believers because from the very beginning of God's revelation of

his word to men that are always there have always

been prophets. There have always been people that God has

spoken to and release his word, and then he has

gotten them to guide his people. And here is where

Jesus is actually just warning his people be careful of

false prophets, because what he's essentially saying is identifying them

is not easy. It's difficult, first of all because of

their teaching. And this is the reality of it. False prophets,

sometimes we think, are people who teach wrong stuff. We

always think, ah, this one say ajar sasa, okay in basa,

that simply just means this person is just falling teaching

all the wrong doctrines. No, you know that they usually

say all the nice things that sound very right. They

cry peace when there is no peace. They talk of heaven,

but sometimes they don't talk about hell. They talk about

God's pardon, but they don't talk about his punishment. They

talk about his mercy, but sometimes they read whole things

about his justice. So usually a false prophet does not

tell a lie. He tells half the truth, and that

is as bad as a lie. And that is why

it's actually so difficult to spot a false profit very hard.

Sometimes we are like, oh, you know, follow this on,

follow this person, follow this. It requires a lot of analysis,

a lot of examining, not judging, but a lot of examining,

a lot of discernment. And you cannot tell him from

his appearance. You think about it, because his appearance is

like one of the flock. He looks like me and you.

Even in Revelation we know the devil will come as

an angel of light. What more do you think his

agents will look like? The Antichrist will have the appearance

of a lamb. Actually, in revelations, that's what is stated.

And so how very easy it is for us to

be misled by someone who behaves as a very caring shepherd,

as someone who is there to help us. But you

will be able to tell the difference by his distortion

of the truth that usually leads people astray. This is

where we have to be very, very very careful, because

he will do wonders and science, but by his own

ability in God's reality. Power is in the name of Jesus,

not in the prophet, and we need to remember that.

And in these days it is so important for us

to discern and test all these things because there are

counterfeit things happening everywhere, and we need to discern. We

need the Holy Spirit to discern lest we be led

away by false prophets and false teachings. And it can

sound really nice. And the only real test of a

prophet is the fruit that he bears. That is what

the two Trees essentially is talking about. You got to

check the person's character the fruit of the spirit. Is

it evident in this person's life. A true prophet helps

to attach people to the Lord and to his house

and to his church. That is a good test. A

true prophet does not attach people to him. It's dangerous

if you get followers of myself. You're supposed to get

people to follow Rise. That's important. And so the question

is does he leave people nearer to the Lord and

more dependent on the Lord, or does he simply attract

his own followers and fans to follow him. Check that,

go back read the scriptures. You all need to do this.

It's very important because in this day and age, I

kid you not, things will tickle your ears. It will

be nice to hear people will say all the right things.

Especially you know, I really do believe we are living

in letter lettered let the letter era. Okay, I don't

know how soon, but there are signs, there are science

is there, and we've got to be aware of some

of these signs. And you know, when everything is in

chaos and someone comes and offers peace, be careful because

I am of the belief that before anything can be good,

it's got to be bad first. That is what the scriptures.

If you read and you study revelation, before anything can

be good, you will go through a rough time first.

And again, read the scriptures and make the scriptures prepare

us to be able to identify, to discern together as

a family, we can also do that. It's very important.

The two trees. And then now Jesus finishes his sermon

with the illustration of two houses. Okay, so again, I

mentioned two roads, two trees, two houses, and now how

do we build these houses? Basically, this is talking about choice.

So Jesus is teaching us that when you listen to preaching,

you are building something as you listen he's talking about Basically,

he's summing up his entire sermon on the Mouth. He says,

if you enjoy a sermon, you are moved by it,

but then you go away you do nothing about it.

You will have built a structure, or you have built

a life that looks nice on the outside. On the surface,

you can look very Christian if you just listen and

do nothing about it. But then when the trials come,

when the crisis come, when the challenges come, your Christian

life will collapse because you have no foundation in the rock.

That is what he's essentially saying. But if you listen

to the sermon, you listen to God's word, and then

you go away and you do something about it. You

apply every time you are applying God's word in your life. Essentially,

what you're doing is you are digging deep, and the

deeper you dig, you will eventually arrive at what is

known as the bait rock. That is the hardest rock

in the soil. That is where we are to build,

because that is where God is. You keep praying even

though God is silent. That is my encouragement to you.

Keep reading His word even in the most challenging of

times and moments in your life. Because sometimes we are

like that, right, nothing happens, and then we are frustrated,

and then we stop, and then we give up, and

then we start playing the blame game. God, why are

you like that? But He says, keep on building. Don't

stop even in the most challenging moments in your life.

Continue to claim God's promises, which are yes and Amen.

Even if your heart desires don't come to pass right

before your very eyes, continue to whole state fast to

the Giver of life. Then your Christian life will stand firm,

regardless of the crisis that you may be facing. I

believe in this with all my heart. Really, I know

I can't compare myself to how you are living your

lives and how and what you are going through. Everyone

has got their journey, but I've lived long enough to

realize that whatever it is, don't let go of our

hope of glory, don't let go of Christ. It's so

important for us to remember that the band and come up.

I'm almost done. You see, this is the true test

of discipleship before God, to listen to his word and

then to do something about it. So let's sum up

the last part of Jesus's sermon on the mound. Let's

summon it all up. He's essentially saying this, in your

relationship with others, be concerned for your enemies and refrain

from writing off your friends. Do not judge. Love your

enemies strong. Not the easiest things to do, but really

it will do you a work of wonders if you

learn how to forgive. Basically, the only way you can

love your enemies is if you forgive them. I can't

think of any other ways. Well, what Jesus, love your enemy?

What's the secret to that? No people who keep hating

us or No. Naturally, I don't know how to love

the person as well. The only way is to forgive

the person. That's how I look at it. Don't write

off your friends, don't judge people, don't see this person

has got no hope. Don't do that. Our life is

to bear the fruit that comes from having roots and

having a foundation in the row. We need to keep

building deep, and it has been said that the sermon

is actually a mirror to show us for who we are.

Sometimes it shows all out dirt when we hear a sermon,

and it can be painful, it can be strong because

it's essentially it's like a reflection and we are seeing

all our shortcomings. And it leaves us in a dilemma

because when I read through the life and the teachings

of Christ, I know what is right. That is the

difficult thing. Right. Sometimes knowing the right thing, some people say,

I rather you do not tell me the right thing.

At least I don't have to make the right choice,

because making the right choice is always hard. It's always challenging.

But we need to know. If not, we are all

we only have one or no choice. The thing is,

we have a choice right now, and we have been

introduced to what is right, the right thing. I know

what is right. I know this is the truth. I

know this is the way. I know this is a life.

But sometimes I just can't choose that. I don't know how.

I just can't do it. It's so difficult, it's so challenging.

That is why we all need a savior. Jesus came

to save us from our sins. We all need a savior,

and we can only live like this when Jesus himself

has forgiven us our sins, and he then begins his

work in our hearts, and then he begins to live

in our lives, and then he begins to take over

how we live our lives as well, because we allow

him to. That in itself is a choice, not always

the easiest choice to make. To say, Jesus take the wheel.

I know Carrier Underwood sung it, and we all agree,

but sometimes it's not easy to let Jesus take the wheel.

But it's not easy if you think he's going to

crash the car for you. Right, you're really think Jesus

is going to crash the car for you. I don't

think so because you think about it. For all the

good things we have read in these passages, all of

them are perfectly true. About the preacher, Jesus is someone

who practices what he preaches. Because as the people spat

on him, whipped him, mocked him, laughed at him, nailed

him to a block of wood, remember what he said,

he said, his father, forgive them, for they know not

what they do. Jesus could have caught down fire and

brimstone and rained all of hell over them. He did

not do such things. He didn't write them off, and

then hallelujah. Not long after that, one of the earliest

Christian martyrs was strn to death, and as he was

being stoned to death, he showed that he now could

live the Sermon on the Mound because Stephen, before breathing

his last said these words, as well, Lord, lay not

this sain on their charge. Lord, don't put it upon them,

because basically they don't know better as well, even though

they are stoning me and killing me right now, it

is possible to live like this, but not by yourself.

You will only do it with Jesus. And this is

the Sermon on the Mound. This is what the sermon

essentially is. Jesus preached as one who had authority. It

was the word of God that he spoke, and the

beauty of it is he was the word of God.

That's what a man when he says that I am

the Logos, I am the Word, and I am not

just going to leave with you a bunch of words.

I'm going to live with you an example of how

to live.

We hope you've been blessed by this message. For more

information on our church, please visit as church org. We

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this week is going to be a good week. I

hit for you. God bless