Matt 7:15-23

We moved to Oregon in January. It was winter and while not cold, there were still a lot of trees that we missing leaves. There is a lot of ground brush in Oregon, so in most places you go there would be low lying brambly type bushes. In those days I did a lot of bicycling and I would see these brambly bushes the first few months I was there. But while I noticed them, they really didn’t mean much to me.

Until about August. And then I realized what these bushes were all over the place. They were blackberry bushes. I would be out for a walk and walk by an abandoned lot, and there would be blackberry bushes. We would be out with family at a park, blackberry bushes. Many of my memories there in the summer include blackberries because they grew all over the place.

It took me awhile to realize what kind of bush it was, but once I knew I saw blackerry bushes everywhere.

After I figured out what a blackberry bush was I knew that no matter where I was in the area, if it was the right time of year and I saw the right plant, I could pick blackberries from it.

Blackberry bushes are incredible at producing blackberries. I knew what kind of plant it was because it showed me what kind of plant it was.

These last few passages in the SOTM, Jesus begins to warn us that not everything is as it appears to be.

We are going to follow Jesus in His alerts in this passage. We are warned against false prophets.

False teachers are individuals who speak on behalf of God but not under Him.

There are big things in life, and we should treat them as big things. But then there are ultimate things in life. In those we should treat as ultimate. What we should not do is confuse the two

Disguise is the name of the Game: Metaphor 1

Matthew 7:15 ESV

“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.

It is more comfortable, more natural to hide than to show what we really are

the problem is when it becomes a way in which we want to be known

Fruit will always show what kind of tree it is: metaphor 2

Matthew 7:16–19 ESV

You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

fruit does not lie.

What a thing is will eventually show you what it is

An example of false teaching: NAR

“The seven mountain mandate, or seven mountain prophecy, is a strategy for cultural engagement popularized by Lance Wallnau and Bill Johnson in their 2013 book Invading Babylon. Since its advent, the perspective has gained popularity, especially among charismatic and Pentecostal Christians. Proponents of the 7M mandate call on Christians to retake seven spheres (or mountains) of cultural influence: religion, family, government, education, media, arts/entertainment, and business.”

Jesus authority and the NAR and political rhetoric. The authority of Christ is the beginning and end of our understanding of Christianity. It is NOT a ladder to further authority elsewhere. This is where we have to be careful about the NAR and encompassing political rhetoric. That our end is the authority of JEsus. It is not our means

A politician will not speak kingdom An entertainer will not speak kingdom An educator will not speak kingdom Christians speak kingdom

An argument could be made in saying that politicians, etc. do not speak the language of the kingdom, that I could be suggesting that I don’t want Christian influence in those environments

But there is a difference, a vast difference, between being a part of an influencing an environment, and assuming that the only way you have influence in that environment is to own it. Those are two entirely different arguments. That would be like me going into an ice cream store And wanting to get a job, but assuming that the only job that I will take is the owner of the ice cream store. Influence is not done with clutched fists. The gospel starts begins and ends with open hands. The very victory that we would assume that we have by taking ownership in these different cultural arenas were already bestowed upon by Christ in two different ways. Victory looks like a lamb who has been slain. Victory looks like only one rider on a white horse with a sword coming out of his mouth, whose name is Christ. For anybody other than Christ, including his body, to take ownership or victory, is blasphemous. What do you call it when the body takes control over the head that makes decisions? A disease.

Discernment

Wolf in sheep clothing can be someone who teaches accurate but acts indifferently to the teaching or people who teach innacurelty but who cultivate an ethical life. In either case the reasoning never escapes. Thier own interest

No seeing to but seeing through

You may see that all our our resources is taken out of our hands. What do we do now? All of our tips and tricks no longer can work in the way we want?

Exactly. This is where we should be left. This is exactly where we should be. Now we interact with Jesus

Matthew 7:22–23 ESV

On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’

Jesus tells them He never knew them. regardless of what they did or when. It was about who was known