Filters don't Fool God
Notes
Transcript
SERIES TITLE: SOUND DOCTRINE, SOUND LIVING
SERIES TITLE: SOUND DOCTRINE, SOUND LIVING
Text: Titus 1:10–16
Introduction
Introduction
“We live in the age of filters.
Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat—
you can smooth your skin,
whiten your teeth,
change your background, even fake a smile.
And people scroll by thinking, ‘Wow, what a perfect life.’
I AM HERE TO TELL YOU—
filters may fool people,
but they don’t fool God. Amen?
God doesn’t just see your feed, He sees your heart.
in Titus 1:10–16, Paul warns Titus about people who put on a religious filter.
They say they know God.
They look the part.
But when you peel the filter away—their lives deny Him.
So here’s the real question this morning:
If the filters were stripped away...
what would God see in your life?”
...OPEN IN PRAYER....
10 For there are many rebellious people, full of meaningless talk and deception, especially those of the circumcision group. 11 They must be silenced, because they are disrupting whole households by teaching things they ought not to teach—and that for the sake of dishonest gain. 12 One of Crete’s own prophets has said it: “Cretans are always liars, evil brutes, lazy gluttons.” 13 This saying is true. Therefore rebuke them sharply, so that they will be sound in the faith 14 and will pay no attention to Jewish myths or to the merely human commands of those who reject the truth. 15 To the pure, all things are pure, but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure. In fact, both their minds and consciences are corrupted. 16 They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him. They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good.
THIS MORNING I WANT TO GIVE YOU 4 TRUTHS FROM THIS PASSAGE OF SCRIPTURE
1. False Teaching Is Just Another Filter (vv. 10–11)
1. False Teaching Is Just Another Filter (vv. 10–11)
Paul says:
“There are many rebellious people, full of meaningless talk and deception…
They must be silenced, because they are disrupting whole households.”
False teaching looks like truth—but it’s just a filter.
It makes lies look good enough to click..... “like.”
OH COME ON....THIS IS WHAT WE DO....
IF IT SOUNDS GOOD …..THEN IT MUST BE TRUE
IF IT LOOKS GOOD AND FEELS GOOD
IT MUST BE TRUE
UNDERSTAND THIS
WRAPPING TRUTH UP IN DECEPTION
IT’S WHAT THE ENEMY HAS BEEN DOING SINCE THE BEGINNING
1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”
2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’ ”
4 “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5 “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.
WE SEE THAT SHE FAILED TO TAKE THOSE THOUGHTS CAPTIVE.....SHE DIDN’T HAVE SCRIPTURE LIKE WE HAVE IT…..BUT EVEN IN HER INNOCENCE
THE THOUGHTS AND RATIONALIZING BEGIN TO TAKE PLACE
THE THOUGHTS AND LIES OF THE ENEMY TOOK ROOT
AND SHE DECIDED.....
OH COME ON…………THIS IS IMPORTANT.....
SHE DECIDED...TO DISOBEY GOD AND HIS COMMAND
THIS IS WHAT THE ENEMY DOES......HE BRINGS TRUTH AND HE TWISTS IT
AND IT SOUNDS GOOD
AND LOOKS GOOD
AND TASTE GOOD
AND CULTURE TELLS US....IF TASTE GOOD, SOUNDS GOOD, LOOKS GOOD
IT MUST BE......GOOD....
OH MY LORD.....I WISH SOMEBODY WOULD HELP ME
📖 Jesus warned in Matthew 7:15
15 “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.
I WONDER....
How many of you have seen a “Bible verse” pop up on social media,
but when you check it—it’s not even in the Bible.....Or
it’s twisted to mean something God never said.
That’s a filter—it looks spiritual, but it’s not truth.
HOW ABOUT THIS......
A scammer sends an email that looks legit—same colors, same logo....
but, click the wrong link and your whole account is stolen.
This is exactly what false teaching does.
it Looks real. Sounds real.
But it’s designed to steal your soul.
“Church—don’t fall for filtered lies.
If it doesn’t line up with the unfiltered truth of God’s Word—
delete it
block it
and silence it.
OH COME ON.......
CAN Somebody shout, ‘Unfiltered Truth!’”
2. Correction Is God Removing the Filter (vv. 12–13)
2. Correction Is God Removing the Filter (vv. 12–13)
Paul quotes a Cretan prophet: Titus 1:12-13
12 One of Crete’s own prophets has said it: “Cretans are always liars, evil brutes, lazy gluttons.” 13 This saying is true. Therefore rebuke them sharply, so that they will be sound in the faith
CHURCH THIS IS IMPORTANT....
Correction hurts, WHY?
because it removes the filter we’ve been hiding behind.
But only when the filter is removed can healing happen.
📖 Proverbs 27:5–6
5 Better is open rebuke
than hidden love.
6 Wounds from a friend can be trusted,
but an enemy multiplies kisses.
HAVE YOU Ever had someone tag you in a photo without a filter?
Ouch! All the flaws, all the blemishes, exposed.
But that’s the real you.
God says:
“Let Me remove the filter so I can make you whole.”
Illustration:
Think of a doctor. If the X-ray shows cancer but the doctor says,
“You’re fine, nothing to see here”—
he’s not loving you, he’s killing you.
A good doctor shows you the truth so you can be healed.
“Don’t run when God pulls off the filter.
Correction isn’t condemnation—it’s transformation.
God is saying, ‘I love you too much to let you hide behind a filter forever!’”
GOD WILL SOMETIMES EXPOSE US TO HEAL US.....OH THATS GOOD
3. Purity Comes from the Inside Out, Not the Outside In (vv. 14–15)
3. Purity Comes from the Inside Out, Not the Outside In (vv. 14–15)
Paul says:
15 To the pure, all things are pure, but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure. In fact, both their minds and consciences are corrupted.
Purity isn’t about how polished you look on the outside—
it’s about the state of your heart.
📖 Mark 7:15
15 Nothing outside a person can defile them by going into them. Rather, it is what comes out of a person that defiles them.”
You can filter your feed, edit your selfies, even filter your words in public.
But if your DMs are full of gossip......
if your search history is full of lust
OR if your heart is full of bitterness—
no filter can hide that from God.
Illustration:
You can polish the outside of a coffee mug all day long.
But if the inside is covered in mold, no one wants to drink from it. UNLESS YOUR ROBERT SHEPHERD....LOL
God says:
“I’m not impressed with how clean you look outside—I want to cleanse you on the inside.”
OH MY LORD......HELP US
YOU HAVE GOT TO Stop trying to filter your way to holiness!
Filters can’t make you pure—only Jesus can.
Is there anybody here who can testify that....
when Jesus cleansed your heart, everything else in your life started to change?”
.............WORSHIP TEAM JOIN ME.........
4. Faith Without Fruit Is Just a Filter (v. 16)
4. Faith Without Fruit Is Just a Filter (v. 16)
Paul says:
16 They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him. They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good.
It’s easy to filter your words—but your actions reveal the truth.
LORD HELP US.....
📖 James 2:17
17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
OH COME ON....THIS IS TRUTH
At work, nobody cares if your Instagram bio says “God first”—
they care if you show integrity.
At home, your kids don’t care if you post Bible verses—
they care if you model Jesus at the dinner table.
Your neighbors don’t care if you stream sermons—
they care if you actually love your neighbor.
OH COME ON....ARE YOU GETTING THIS????
Illustration:
You can wear a sports jersey,
but if you can’t dribble or shoot....
nobody’s mistaking you for a pro.
DID YOU HEAR ME.....
The jersey is just a filter....
In the same way, wearing the Christian label without Christ-like living.....is empty branding.
IT’S 2 TIMOTHY 3:5
1 But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. 2 People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, 4 treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God—5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people.
OH MY LORD HELP US......
HELP US FALL IN LOVE WITH YOU AGAIN.....
HELP US TO KNOW THE TRUTH
“Church, faith without works is nothing but a filter.
Don’t just post it—practice it!
Don’t just hashtag it—live it out!
CAN Somebody shout................ ‘LIVE IT OUT’
Conclusion
Conclusion
“Paul’s message to Titus is God’s message to us today:
Don’t be fooled by filtered lies.
Let God remove your filters through correction.
Pursue purity from the inside out.
Live a faith that’s more than just a filter—it’s fruitful action.
FILTERS MAY FOOL PEOPLE, but they don’t fool God.
Let’s live unfiltered before Him, so the world sees the real Jesus in us.”
.....STAND TO YOUR FEET........
EVERY HEAD BOWED
YOU MAY BE HERE TODAY AND THIS MESSAGE RESOGNATED SO HARD WITH YOU
MAYBE YOU HAVE BEEN TRYING TO LIVE A LIFE THAT IS OPPOSITE OF WHAT GOD WANTS
MAYBE YOU HAVE BEEN TRYING TO HIDE BEHIND A FILTER FOR A LONG WHILE
TRYING TO HIDE THE REAL YOU FROM OTHER CHIRSTIANS OR EVEN GOD
MAYBE YOUR CURRENTLY LIVING A LIFE OF SIN AND YOUR CONSTATLY APPLYING FILTERS TO LOOK HOLY
BUT IN SECRET.....YOUR A SLAVE TO SIN
I’M HERE TO TELL YOU TODAY THAT...THERE IS A TABLE THAT GOD HAS PREPARED FOR YOU
OH COME ON SOMEBODY.....
THERE IS A RESERVATION FOR 2 AT A TABLE THAT HE HAS PREPARED FOR YOU....IN THE PRESENCE OF YOUR ENEMIES
OH COME ON......
YOU DON’T HAVE TO LIVE A LIFE OF SLAVERY TO YOUR SIN ANY LONGER
BECAUSE WHEN YOU CHOOSE TO SIT AT HIS TABLE....
YOUR SIN IS COVERED BY THE BLOOD OF JESUS CHRIST
AND A NEW COVENANT IS NOW MADE ON YOUR BEHALF
YOU ARE NO LONGER A SLAVE TO SIN BUT...
YOU ARE SONS AND DAUGHTERS OF THE MOST HIGH GOD
OH COME ON SOMEBODY.........THESE ALTARS ARE OPEN....
HE IS INVITING YOU TO DINE AT HIS TABLE....WOULD YOU COME
Closing Prayer
Closing Prayer
“Lord, strip away our filters. Purify our hearts. Align our actions with our confession. May our faith be more than words, more than filters—may it be lived out in truth, in power, and in love. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”
