November 21, 2012
SCRIPTURE: Matthew 7:15-23
OBSERVATIONS
1. Who are these false prophets, these wolves in sheep’s clothing? Religious con artists? Cult leaders? Sheep-stealing churches? Televangelists? One person I know was warned away from me/us because they thought we were a cult. Someone thought I was a wolf in sheeps clothing. Jesus says you can tell the sheep from the wolves by their behaviour (fruit). I hope my fruit is not like a wolf, ferocious?
2. Jesus then warns about false Christians, people who have amazing fruit – prophesying, driving out demons, performing miracles – yet do not do His will (evil doers), and do not know Jesus personally, genuinely. These are people who prayed, worshiped, witnessed, talked about Jesus (‘Lord, Lord’), so they played the part, but God knows they are fakes. How does He know? By their fruit.
3. What fruit is Jesus talking about? It must be related to His teaching and commands: to love, to forgive, to show mercy,not not judge, to be generous, to be a peacemaker, to help those in need, to serve others, to deny self, to love God first, to love our neighbours, to loveour enemies, to turn the other cheek, etc. This fruit is what God values, this fruit is beyond us to produce on our own, this fruit requires a relationship with Jesus to produce (John 15:1-4), this fruit is produced in us by the Spirit (Galatians 5:16-23).
What do you notice in this passage?
APPLICATION
1. Am I a false prophet, am I a false Christian? I don’t think so, no I am sure I am not. But the people Jesus spoke of thought they were real too. Yet Jesus says He doesn’t know them. Does Jesus know me, do I know Jesus (personally, not just about Him)?
2. Since I cannot produce this fruit on my own (John 15:4), but need to keep in step with the Spirit (Galatians 5:16-18,25), the lesson from this passage is not to try harder to produce good fruit, but to look to and lean on Jesus for help. By myself the Jesus life is impossible, I need divine help. I need to be yoked with Jesus.
3. I notice how amazing the things these false Christians were doing: prophesying, casting out demons, performing miracles. How did they do them, if not by Jesus? Think of how many amazing ‘Christians’ who are doing amazing things, how many of them (of us) are fakes? There are a lot of non-christians who would agree with this assessment.
What do you sense the Lord saying to you?
PRAYER
Lord Jesus, Your words make me wonder, make me unsure. I want to produce good fruit, but I cannot by myself. Help me to cling to You, and help me by your Spirit to produce this good fruit.
I am a little bit shocked that anyone would call Crossroads a cult! Many of the last several passages have been a little bit discouraging, as is this one — I beat myself up over EVERYTHING, so being reminded that “few will find the narrow path” or “some will say Lord, Lord, and He will say I never knew you”, makes me feel like I can never measure up. But that’s the thing right? I can’t ever measure up! I CAN, however, rely on Jesus. That is comforting. I feel that in these passages Jesus continually checks our motives. I pray that more and more I will be motivated by love, rather than fear.
People will come with false teachings. Jesus suggests that they are like a wolf in sheep’s clothing. We are to recognize them for what they are by their fruit. Does this mean by the number of followers? Or perhaps the fruit of the Spirit – Love, Joy, Peace, Patience…… . This seems to make more sense to me. I hear God saying to me that if I am good, then good results will come from my life. If my life is filled with hate, fighting, and evil, then peace and patience, self-control, and gentleness will not usually be manifested. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Is it verses like this that we build our ideas of hell around? Jesus does say that destruction is the result of not being a good tree – that is not bearing good fruit.
The next few verses show the importance of being genuine. They suggest that there are people who prophesy in Jesus name, who drive out demons, and perform miracles, to which Jesus will say “I never knew you”. Wow. This suggests to me that it is not what I do that count, but rather the grace of God that will save. It is not what I do to impress others. How is my relationship with Jesus? Does He know me? Do I know Him?
I pray that these verses will speak to me today. I pray that I will spend time on genuine relationships with God and with others. I pray that by being rooted in my relationship with God, that His love will shine through for others to see.
Observations:
Fruit inspectors we all need to be because you are known by your fruit – your works.
Although we may recognize people by their fruit we may still be deceived since their outward actions are different than their inward desires/motives. God knows/sees all.
Application:
They will know we are Christian/disciples by our love – love God – love man and yet God truly knows those who do His will. Out of the heart flows the issues of life and we believe man’s actions reveals his Source of power. Yet among the disciples are those who are sheep in wolves clothing desiring their own way leading others astray. I need to be the tree planted secure by the living stream.
Prayer:
Open my eyes Lord that I may see You and follow You all my days. Feed me as I am securely planted in You.
I saw a tree by the riverside one day as I walked along.
Straight as an arrow and pointing to the sky growing tall and strong.
“How do you grow so tall and strong?” I said to the riverside tree.
This is the song my tree friend sang to me:
Chorus:
I’ve got roots growing down to the water,
I’ve got leaves growing up to the sunshine,
and the fruit that I bear is a sign of the life in me.
I am shade from the hot summer sundown.
I am nest for the birds of the heavens.
I’m becoming what the Lord of trees has meant me to be:
A strong young tree.
I saw a tree in the wintertime, when snow lay on the ground.
Straight as an arrow and pointing to the sky winter winds blew all around.
“How do you stay so tall and strong?” I said to the wintertime tree.
This is the song my tree friend sang to me:
Chorus:
I’ve got roots growing down to the water,
I’ve got leaves growing up to the sunshine,
and the fruit that I bear is a sign of the life in me.
I am shade from the hot summer sundown.
I am nest for the birds of the heavens.
I’m becoming what the Lord of trees has meant me to be:
A strong young tree.
I saw a tree in the city streets, where buildings blocked the sun.
Green and lovely I could see it gave joy to everyone.
“How do you grow in the city streets?” I said to the downtown tree.
This is the song my tree friend sang to me:
Chorus:
I’ve got roots growing down to the water,
I’ve got leaves growing up to the sunshine,
and the fruit that I bear is a sign of the life in me.
I am shade from the hot summer sundown.
I am nest for the birds of the heavens.
I’m becoming what the Lord of trees has meant me to be:
A strong young tree.