2010-03-05
Good Morning Dear Ones,
We look through the lens of MT 7: 17-20 for the meaning of “fruits” we should produce according to God. Once again, we are looking at deeper meanings from Christ’s Sermon on the Mount. “A healthy tree bears good fruit, but a poor tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a poor tree cannot bear good fruit. And any tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown in the fire. So them, you will know the false prophets by what they do.”
As observers, whether premeditated or not, we can see the results of people’s actions. Last week, I cited the example of Priscilla and Aquila taking action in the case of Apollos’ incorrect doctrine. Apollos wasn’t preaching inaccurately or incompletely out of malice. He thought he was right. However when Priscilla and Aquila got him aside and spoke to Apollos, the latter listened and understood. Later he became a very useful purveyor of the Way [Paul’s teaching and that of the Lord Jesus] amongst the believers in Achaia [AC 18: 24-28]. God knew that Apollos, Aquila, and Priscilla were all good believers with the best motives. Such was not the case with the motives of Demetrius, the pagan silversmith who called a meeting of people in the amphitheater at Ephesus. His one motivation was regaining the money he and the others in his guild were losing as people converted to Christianity and began eschewing the worship of idols, particularly the goddess Artemis-the fertility goddess whose temple was centered in Ephesus. The shouting that arose at the meeting was on the verge of becoming a riot. Alexander, a Jew was sent up by his people to the front to speak, but Demetrius fanned the flames of emotion by getting his people to shout, “Great is Artemis of Ephesus!” repeatedly. Paul himself wanted to go to this meeting, but some of the provincial leaders wisely begged him not to do this. At last, the city clerk was able to calm the crowd. Demetrius and his group decided not to keep these flames fanned, as the city clerk had the right to bring charges against them. The meeting was dismissed. [AC19: 21-41].
EPH 2: 8-10 is a very important passage. It makes the case for why we can’t boast about having salvation through our faith in Jesus Christ and concludes with, “God has made us what we are, and in our union with Christ Jesus He has created us for a life of good deeds, which He has already prepared for us to do.” This is the mechanism through which God works through us to forward His work and purposes. God put this mechanism in place, and we join Him in carrying it out. This is the workings of Covenant of Grace, a two-way promise between the believer and God. God carries out his part of it, keeping His promises, and we are supposed to do the same. God, being perfect, can always be counted upon; we, being imperfect, often fall short of keeping the promises we made. Yet our God is patient and compassionate, as long as we are attempting with a genuine heart to improve. People, like Demetrius above, reject their exposure to the truth and choose a lie over the truth [RO 1: 25].
Actions with evil results further Satan’s agenda. This can be seen in the lives of false prophets. As Christ spoke of in MT 7: 15, these false prophets often come to us in very friendly appearing packages. A group will select their most charismatic person to make public appearances and conduct meetings to further the agenda. Unsuspecting people are flattered and attracted to these people and become followers. Such was the case with Adolf Hitler in pre-WW II Germany. The country had been through a series of economically depressed years when Hitler promised recovery. Never in their wildest dreams did the ordinary German citizens realize the horrific atrocities that would follow the breaking of windows of Jewish-owner businesses in Kristalnacht in Nov. ’38. For 8 long and destructive years, the Germans were swept into the false promises of the Nazis.
A more recent example of false teaching came from a charismatic so-called Christian preacher, Jimmy Swaggert. This was the case of a mentally disturbed and very emotional man, who simply didn’t live out what he taught. Swaggert was eventually caught visiting a house of prostitution. The story made the papers, and Swaggert got on the TV in tears, confessing his sin and promising never to engage in this behavior again. Once again, he lapsed into surrounding himself with prostitutes and finally had his TV program taken off the air. These people, no matter how premeditated their misbehavior is, either can’t or won’t conform to Christ’s standards. Either way, they cause a lot of bad publicity for the innocent body of true believers. Satan’s agenda is furthered. The lifestyle of a false prophet doesn’t conform to that prescribed by the Scriptures. Before ending this segment, I would be remiss if I didn’t say that Satan can only establish his strongholds if we allow it. We have been given the equipment and faith we need to vanquish him and his agents in spiritual warfare in Christ’s holy name. God gave this authority to Christ, who passed it on to true believers. We are given the same power to beat down the devil, as God used to raise Christ from death to eternal life [EPH 1: 18-20]!
PRAYER: O Lord, we stand in awe of You, for having the love and heart to grant us faith in Jesus Christ, the courage to repent of our sins with a genuine heart, and the ability to fend off the evil one when he attacks. Yes Lord, there are times when these battles in spiritual warfare make us weary. But we must remember, IS 40: 29-31, “He strengthens the weary and tired. Even youths grow tied and wary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who trust in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” Even before that, You gave Your only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, over to suffering, humiliation, and death by crucifixion, so that those of us who would listen to His message of salvation and peace and who would repent would be given the opportunity for a blissful eternal life [JN 3: 16; RO 3: 24-25]. The sweet forgiveness that He modeled for us was made available to us, as was the gift of the Holy Spirit [HE 8: 12; RO 8: 14-16]. We were deemed acceptable in Your eyes [made right with You and justified] when we came to genuine heartfelt faith in Jesus Christ [RO 4: 3; GA 3: 6], just as Abram was in GN 15: 6. And now, when we need discernment and wisdom more than ever, You have given us a hunger for the Scriptures and to have an active prayer life- more than ever. We are acutely aware that we may either be in the end times or closely approaching it. Time is running out for us to effectively witness to Your truth, serve the people in mission, study and worship in a Christ-led congregation, and life in profoundly obedient faith . When Christ’s disciples asked Him when the day of Christ will happen. MT 24: 36, “No one knows, however, when that day and hour will come-neither the angels in heaven nor the Son. The faith alone knows.” We remember You told us, in 2 THESS 5: 2, “For you yourselves know very well that the Day of the Lord will come as a thief comes in the night.” We pledge to stand ready and prepared for that Day, even welcoming it, because You are a magnificent and loving God. We feel Your presence and send You our loving devotion in the mighty and holy name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Next week: Before wrapping up this two year long series of messages on the Sermon on the Mount, I am led to take us on a look at the Scriptures dealing with the lifestyle of false prophets. If we know their traits, we will recognize them when we see them. In successful spiritual warfare, this is necessary information that every one of Christ’s warriors must know. By now, most of us know the true armor of God: truth [belt], righteousness [breastplate], readiness to announce the Good News of peace [shoes], faith [shield], salvation [helmet], and word of God [sword which the Spirit gives us][EPH 6: 14-18]. We don this all with prayer for all God’s children, prayer with persistence. We have also been told that “We are not fighting against human beings but against the wicked spiritual forces in the heavenly world, the rulers, authorities, and cosmic powers of this dark age [EPH 6: 12]. Every spiritual warrior needs to know that he is like David against Goliath [1 SAM 17: 45-47], fighting on God’s team with the leadership of Jesus Christ. The Lord and Savior wants us to know that we must remember when we are under fire that He is here with us and willing to guide us, if we will only listen for Him. Churches and individuals are open to the enemy’s fiery arrows; with Christ’s leadership we are equipped for victory. False teaching is a kind of sin, lies which are perpetrated by the evil one himself. After all, he is called “a murderer and the father of all lies” in JN 8: 44. We must remember as true believers, that “anything is possible with God” [MK 10: 27]. Praise and thanks be to Him!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn