Understanding Doctrine and Church Challenges

I want to, to the best of my capability, and of course to the empowering of the Holy Spirit, I want to handle, for this preaching presentation, this sermonic journey, I want to handle this topic with much grace. compassion empathy but more importantly a kingdom boldness a kingdom courageousness if you will over the things of God and I want this to be clear this is not a dis sermon. We don't do that. This is not rap. This is not a dis-sermon, but it is us being intentional by following the direction the Holy Spirit has been guiding us for now six weeks as we are in our Voices series. Somebody say Voices. A series that has been designed and constructed by the Holy Spirit to get us to be people who know, hear, and obey the Word of God. The voice of God in an era where everybody has access to mics. Everybody's saying, thus saith the Lord. Everybody's saying, God told me. Everybody is saying, I have a word. You need to be able to know the voice of God for yourself. And far be it from me if I ever become a man who uses this opportunity to stand behind a podium or a pulpit and preach a flesh-based verbiage versus holy. Spirit, breathe revelation. When that happens, I need to take several seats. You didn't come here to hear my opinions. You came to hear doctrine. So I have to get reinforcements for this one. I say, okay, this one is so meaty. This one is so weighty. I need to do combat. So I contacted my brother, Will Jackson. He's in the building. Come on up here, bro. Will, come on. Y'all can do better than that. I said we need a tag team this one because when Isaac was here he showed me something. I'm ready. Y'all ready? I'm ready. We need a tag team this one because when Isaac was here and we did therapy Thursday I saw really the benefit of having a brother minister alongside of you because it's harder to fight one-handed. But when you have two hands that can fight. Come on. So, Will, I posted this question on Friday night as an attempt to assist us with this conversation on why are people so disenchanted with church, church gatherings? What voices have been keeping them from coming to God? This is what I posted. I need your help. I'm trying to see something. What has turned you off from the church? of the preaching from the pastor? And if you left, did you go look for another church? And the reason I ask that way, because I'm like, okay, if you have a rude person through the drive-thru at Popeye's, but you love Popeye's, no judgment. If the person through the drive-thru window is rude, you might not go back to that Popeye's, but you're still going to Popeye's. You're going to another one, yeah. If somebody sells you a bad car, you're not going to say, I'm done with driving. I'm only going to catch the bus. So I really want to because I think one of the goals of effective preaching is to always test the climate of where people are. So that you can preach to their need versus preaching to a platform because you like likes. That's good. So let's navigate this. Look at some of the comments people made. Just some comments that people made as I asked this. One person said they're turned off because the same people. were falling out every Sunday but never changed. Keep going, keep going. I read them. There were over 1,400 comments. Can we pause on that one really quick? Yes. The reason why that's so imperative to understand is because we've gotten so accustomed to glorified experiences. That we don't recognize encounters. So we come in and we have an experience where we cry and we shout and we fall over, but we leave out the same way. When nobody has ever had an encounter with Jesus and left the same. Come on. Right? Let's go. This is going to be good. They're turned off because church people have too much drama. Sleeping with each other. Judgmental and messy to the point where I'm not even able to hear what the pastor is saying. So now I only watch online. Sheesh. Keep going. These are the comments. Keep going. Turned off because. There were cliques within the church. How am I in a mega church and still feel unseen or unvalued? Okay, now this one, I like this one the most. It said it turned off due to a person at your church. Talk about our church, okay? Said we flew in from North Carolina and the first thing a greeter said was church started at 12. The sermon was great, but she left a bad taste in our mouths since that was the first thing she said to us when we walked in. Church started at 12. Y'all looking awkward for it. We're talking about this greatest, y'all hear that? The first thing, see, listen, listen. I want to serve. If you are a greeter or in the parking lot, before they ever come in here, they see you. Yeah. And if you have an attitude that day, if you're going through something, maybe you should tell your group leader, today I'm not going to be spirit-led if I serve. Yeah. Okay, we're not immune from this. Somebody was talking about our church. All right, turned off due to too much watered down preaching and feel-good sermons. If I wanted to be entertained, I'd go to Deaf Comedy Jam. Keep going, two more. Turned off because the pastor didn't even use scripture, just a lot of encouraging stories. Well? I'm turned off because the pastor was more political than biblical. He told us if we didn't vote for Trump, we voted for the devil. Oh my. It's gonna get spicy in here on today. This one I kind of laughed at. It said, okay, when they counted the offering, said it wasn't enough, and came back out to take up another offering. But before we move on listen, I believe there's three thousand more dollars in the building Let the Holy Spirit lead you $100 live you gotta leave Then you sow a seed ha I'm like, I don't think people understand you can't sow your way out of rebellion. Come on. Obedience is better than sacrifice. Yes. And so the undertone that I'm getting is we are turned off due to being irritated by church people and the lack of sound theology and false teaching. Yeah. Now for the purpose of this sermonic presentation, we're going to deal with the bad teaching false prophets aspect. The week after I'm gonna deal with church people because I'm like, I don't think we understand we are all church people. Yeah Okay Every human is flawed Whoever human beings are flaws are yes, sir In fact, Jesus says there are four types of hearts I want you to consider. We have hard hearts, shallow hearts, thorn hearts, and good soil hearts. Yeah. There are four types of hearts. Do you know what this means to me? Just off Jesus'statistical presentation, 25% of people right now are going to hear this word and apply it. That means there's a 75% chance when you come here, you're going to run into other hearts that aren't good. Come on. Come on. 75%. You have a 75% chance that when you come to any church in the world, you're going to encounter people who do not have good hearts. Good hearts. So I said, okay, we need to deal with this on today because a lot of people are affected by poor theology, but there are certain people that are saying, I don't come to church because of church people. Then I'm like, okay, why do you want to go to heaven? Come on. You do remember, like, we're the bride. Yes. Messy, we're still the bride. Flaws, we're still the bride. Okay? And it's possible that we allow the voices of church people to interfere with us here in the voice of God. Bible all day read this passage. We're gonna pray let's work Matthew chapter 20 look at this y'all Verse 29 it says as Jesus and his disciples were leaving Jericho a large crowd followed him somebody say followers two men were sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was going by, they shouted, Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us, the church people. Look, the crowd rebuked them and told them to be quiet, but they shouted all the louder, Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me. Jesus stopped and called them, what do you want me to do for you, he asked. Lord. We want our sight. Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes. Immediately, they received their sight, watch this, and followed him. If these blind men would have listened to the people who claimed to be followers of Jesus, they would have left service still blind. But they had to be able to want God bad enough for themselves. Yeah. That they did not allow, y'all ain't hearing me? Come on. They did not allow the people who were following him and rebuking them to stop them from pursuing their own relationship with the Lord. And I wonder how many people watching online have not gotten their healing because of church people. Come on. 25% of people hearing this message today will allow it to take root. So let's just pray and let's dive into what we were talking about for the last few days. Dear Heavenly Father God, we thank you for this moment. Holy Spirit, we welcome you in. I pray just as Elisha prayed that you would open their eyes God that they might be able to see and identify where we are where we stand what our responsibility is and what you are calling for in this season And God, let this be a moment where the scales are stripped from our eyes and we see things in a heavenly perspective, in a heavenly realm, seated in heavenly places. God, let us have a supernatural experience. We get completely out of your way. Holy Spirit, do what you desire to do in this moment. In the mighty name of Jesus, we pray. Amen. Amen. So I want to share something that happened to me. Yeah. Let's work. Yes, sir. I had the privilege of, when I was in college, as a freshman, I had seniors. who are my friends. The benefit of having seniors as my friends is they were able to tell me who's professor and what class to not take. Come on. As I was enrolling for the fall semester of my sophomore year, they said, okay, listen, don't go to that teacher or that professor. I know a lot of people like him, but he does not teach what will be on the... the midterm his class is packed but his assignments and his lessons won't help you on the test So, the professor's class that you should take is Professor Qualls. This was a real professor. He went home to be with the Lord. Take his class. Because what he's going to do, he's going to be boring. He may not get your attention all the time, but you can rest assured every assignment, every lesson, every teaching is going to match what will be on your final. Come on. So all you have to do is go to his class and. listen and he will actually give you the answers to the test so what we want to do is help you to be able to identify professors who have large classes but they don't help you with tests come on come on they give you three at the entrance but you will fail the test they give you height but you will fail the test they are popular but you will fail the test we want to help you identify biblical teachers that will cause for you to grow because it is possible please hear me it is possible to be eloquent in speech yeah and have charisma mixed with heresy yeah and what we're dealing with right now is a collapsing of sound theology and the only way we can avoid deception is we must be students who love truth come on let's work bro so so can we talk for a moment about how not to get tricked Because we go where the crowds are, but we're going to give you a lot of Bible today. Is that okay? So if we go to Matthew 24 and 24, it says this. For false messiahs and false prophets will rise up and perform great signs and wonders so as to deceive, if possible, even God's chosen ones. First step to not being tricked is to chase the Savior and not the sign. Say that again, bro. We get to a place where we are expecting miracle signs and wonders so often. that the expectation has replaced our foundation. So now if the signs aren't there, if the people aren't packed, if the music isn't jumping, if they don't have lights and smoke, then I am looking for the signs, and I'm not being led by the Savior. But this is what happens. When the expectation now replaces the foundation, you become a breeding ground of manipulation. Say it again, bro. When your expectation for miracles, signs, and wonders now replaces the foundation, which is Jesus, the solid rock, you become a breeding ground for manipulation. Wow. Because it says that false messiahs and false prophets will rise up and perform great signs. They're healing over there. People are getting delivered over there. Yeah. It's packed over there, but if I'm chasing the signs and I'm not checking in with the Savior, then I become that breeding ground and I come in and I get enamored by everything that's going on that I miss the fact that there's no spirit in here at all. Yeah, because they'll shout you to death. I can't tell you how many churches, I'm not going to name them, we're going to be nice today. I can't tell you how many churches we shouted for hours and left out the same. We had prayer vigils all night long, left out the same. We saw healings and signs and wonders, but if you are chasing the signs and not checking in with the Savior, I become that breeding ground to be manipulated. And then it starts twisting the way that I even view the Savior because now I am viewing through the lens of this manipulation. manipulation. So when I'm connecting with him, that's when my prayer starts to change and I go to God like he's a genie. God, give me, give me, give me, please. And if he doesn't give it to me, then my issue is now with God. God because I've been manipulated to believe that I can only go to God because I'm expecting to get miracles signs and wonders and cars and houses and relationships and jobs and businesses but what do you do when you start handing out crosses come on bro let's go let's go come on we came to work this morning so how do you not get tricked you get there Isaiah 28 and 16 says this Therefore, thus says the Lord God, behold, I lay in Zion a stone for foundation, a tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation. Whoever believes will not act hastily. When my foundation is sure, I don't act hastily. I don't just run where everybody's going. I don't just choose something quickly. I need time. I need to sit and watch. I need to see how you move, not just in choosing church. but in choosing people not just in choosing people but in choosing careers I don't care how much money you handing out where where are you God there it is yeah because when he's my foundation I don't act hastily I don't just jump at the next big thing yes because the church is jumping up and everything is popping over here and if this is that this is the place to be I don't act hastily because I know what my foundation is so I got a check back in in with the foundation. Can I ask you a question? How many times have you done foundation checks? Where you took a step and checked back in with the foundation? Where you say, okay, this looks good. What you say, God? Oh, she looks good. What you say, God? Oh, he fine. What you say, God? See, but I think we need to be taught how to look for cracks in foundations. Yeah. And where. Because usually cracks in foundations are at doors. Come on. Come on. Come on. At the door, if you look. Look, there's a crack right there. Yes. That's letting you know that this foundation is compromised. Come on. Come on. Come on. We want to speak around this thought from this subject. Beware of false prophets. Listen, the scripture says this in Matthew 7 and 15 through 16, Beware false prophets who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Say that one again. You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles? So we're going to talk about how to recognize, identify where you are supposed to be. to identify these false prophets and teachers and what to do if you yourself have been tricked before, right? So really quick, before we dive in, I just want to level set for a moment because you may have been like me and I've served under leaders who are manipulative. I've been in situations where I was misused and abused and taken advantage of, where people saw your gifting and wanted to use it for their own glory, and you weren't even aware that you were tapped into a place that was giving glory to man and stealing it from God. So this is what the Bible says, Jeremiah 23, 1 through 4. It says, woe to shepherds, this is God talking, who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture. Thus says the Lord. Therefore, the Lord God of Israel says this against the shepherds who feed my people. You have scattered my flock, driven them away. and had not attended to them. Behold, I will attend to you for the evil things you have done, and I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all countries where I have driven them, and bring them back into their fold, and they shall be fruitful and increase and I will set up shepherds over them who feed them and they shall fear no more nor be dismayed nor shall be lacking says the Lord so one thing I want to take out not only the fact that you're in good ground right I can say that this is a shepherd who loves you who serves God who's committed to the things of God Let me say this, let me say this, let me say this, and then we'll move on. Don't ever let another house praise your shepherd louder than you. Because he goes on certain stages, they loud. Whenever somebody speaks about your man of God, you need to be the loudest, okay? Alright, so the only thing I want to take out is that it says that the shepherds have scattered them and driven them away, but God says, I'm going to return the remnant of my flock and bring them out of the countries where I have driven them. so I said okay God you said that the shepherd drove them away but you're bringing them back from where you have driven them make it make sense and he told me this is the promise we're just going to level set if you've been in that situation where you've been manipulated or used he said just because you got into the passenger seat of the wrong vehicle does not mean they have the directional capacity to determine where you end up So right now we're gonna correct some directions. Yeah. Right? And we're bringing back, we're collecting some remnant and we're about to establish some precedent. So he said we're gonna come in empty. I came to kick down some doors. Okay? Y'all ready to work? Yeah. I want us to look at Proverbs chapter 7 verse 24 whatever scripture you have will just say it again so that the people in the back to put on the screen for you got it Matthew chapter 7 verse 24 it's a familiar passage of Scripture depending on where you are in your Christian journey. It says, therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew against that house, yet it did not fall because it had its foundation, there it is, on the rock. Somebody say the rock. The rock. But everyone. who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who builds his house on sand. Everybody say sand. Sand. Okay. The rain came down, the stream rose, and the winds blew against that house, and it fell with a great crash. I want you to notice both houses experienced wind, they experienced waves, and they experienced Experienced the streams rising. What is that? Life. Come on. Test. Trials. The individual who is built on the rock, this is Jesus. When they go through, they don't collapse. But those who built their house on sand, what is that? Culture. Bad theology. Listen, we can't get kingdom living right if we get theology wrong. Come on. Who builds their house on sand, when you go through, you're going to collapse. What is your point, pastor? We have a lot of false prophets preaching sand. Yeah. Yeah. Sand in our playlist. Sand in our church experiences. Come on. Popular, but sandy. Yeah. Sand. We want you to be able to identify sand. Watch this. Your new season is going to require ears free of sand. Your ears are clogged. They're clogged, so you can't hear rock language. Man, pastor, that hits hard. It's a rock. It's a rock. We ain't talking about Dwayne Johnson. It's the rock, Jesus, the rock of ages. He is our solid foundation, the chief cornerstone. Rock preaching. Not Broadway hype and not teaching you narrow way truths. Preaching sand. Stuff that does not help you in a pandemic. Come on. Why do you think churches emptied out in 2020? It's because it exposed a lot of ministers are preaching sand. Yes. Yes. And why were other houses... this field during the pandemic. It's because it exposed, even though they have more people, that is not going to help me in a pandemic. I have to know Jesus for myself. I have to have my own encounter. And false prophets aren't easy to spot. If they were, Jesus wouldn't tell you, watch out. They're not easy. They come as sheep, but inwardly, false prophets aren't easy to spot. And I want to make a clarification, then we'll get back to work. There's a difference between a false prophet, a false teacher, and bad exegesis. Yeah. Yeah. Okay, because certain people, uh-uh, that scripture's wrong. That's a false prophet. Or he or she didn't study. Yeah. Okay? So a false prophet is anyone who uses scripture that they're trying to use. trying to deceive you. They're trying to get your money. They're trying to get your spouse. They're trying to get your endorsement. They're trying to get you to treat them like they're a God. They're trying for you to worship them. I'm the man of God. They're trying to do that. Okay. That is a false prophet. When I'm taking scripture out of context and using it for my game. Bad exegesis is a wrong interpretation of scripture. due to a lack of understanding and study. This is possible because we're human. But a sound doctrine teacher, once they recognize, okay, I took that scripture out of context, they will come back and say, hey, I did this one wrong. I studied or a pastor friend helped me and what it really means is. You see? What it really means is stop saying everybody's a false teacher because they misquoted scripture. Yeah. They could be poor studiers. Does that make sense? So it's imperative to understand not only just how not to get tricked, but how to spot them. Right? So the first point is, what is your house built on? Right? Rock or sand. Now, before we dump into the second part, is that a lot of us, what we have to do first initially is identify what we really desire. Right? Yes. Because here's the truth. A lot of people... go to sandy places because sand is moldable. Because all I need is a little water, a little living water, and I can make it conform to what fits my lifestyle. All I need is just a little bit and I can build a castle. that I can enjoy without the responsibilities of the rock. So before we jump into figuring out how to identify sand and rock, we first have to identify what do I really want? Do I really want sand or do I really want rock? Because I know, because here's the thing, after you are enlightened, you are held responsible. to what you have been exposed to. Yeah. Okay? So, first thing is, what is your house built on? Here's the second thing. What is your house built of? Because here's the truth. A lot of people start off with the foundation sure. Right? Yeah. But then when it's time to erect and build up, things change. Yeah. Tell you a quick story. There's three individuals who were tasked to build houses. The first one said, you know what? I need to build something quick. I don't want to wait. I don't want to do the labor. It's hot out here. Let me get something up as quickly as possible. You know what? This straw look good. Let me go ahead and put this up. Create a little facility for me. This is straight, right? Second one said, you know what? I want something a little bit more sturdy. more sturdy, a little more sturdy. So I'm just going to use these sticks because it gives me a symbolization of there's some sturdiness there but it's not as flimsy and floppy as straw. The last one say I don't care how long it takes. I need to establish something with bricks. something that's going to stand the test of time. So it may take longer. I may have to lay it brick by brick, but I'm going to do what needs to be done to make sure that it stands. All of them got their houses up. Here comes an enemy. And the first thing he says is, let me in. Y'all know where I'm at? So he says, let me in. The first one says, I'm not going to let you in, not by the hair of my... So then he says, okay. Since you won't let me in, I'm gonna huff and puff and test the credibility of your structure. That's good, bro. Yes. So I blew this down, you ran to the next one. Did the same thing, you ran to the next one. So what's the moral here? The foundation was sure, the structure was off. The first one decided I need to get something up quick. What's the first? How can I get something in here? What can I do to get the people in here quick? What can I do to get the people in here quick? I don't care about, because here's the thing. You may start off with the foundation of Jesus, but then a lot of people saw the marketability of straw. That's good, bro. So let me put this up really quick. Let me get them in as quickly as I can. So that's why the enemy no longer has a problem walking right into your sanctuary. Right. We, we, we, so I'm, go with me. I am, I grew up old time church, right? Old time. And we're going to talk about that in a minute. There was a lot of stuff that was off, but one thing that we are fundamentally missing is reverence. We got so many straw houses they like yeah let the demons on in here. Yeah. Come on in. Yeah. Yeah play your music on my speakers. Come on in here. Come on in here. Hang out with us. We don't care about the straw we just care about the people. Is it packed? Then we good. The second group are the people who grew up in church but only have a form of godliness. I want something that appears sturdy, but I can still move however I want to move. We gotta find housing. that are built on the rock. Yeah. Good, bro. So this is how you can identify them, right? This is how you can identify them. After we talk about what is your house built of, there are three questions you can ask. Yeah. Three questions. because after you get into a house, right, you have to be consistently temperature gauging. This is what they don't teach you. We get to a house, and it may start off right. But then eventually, we start hitting a slope. So the question is, am I in a place, one, where I am constantly developing to figure out have things shifted in the atmosphere? Because I know some of us have been in a relationship where it started off... off good and some shifted yeah and if you're not in tune you'll miss the shift yeah so here's three questions jumping here with me bro so the first one is am I being convicted see see see see that's what happens not not judged yeah convicted yeah explain the difference people judge Holy Spirit convicts yes so can I Let me just, let me go on a rant really quick. I am so tired, so tired of this rah-rah, Jesus loves you, just wants you to be happy gospel. Yeah. Real quick, real quick. Jesus you got? So this is what you need to start asking people. Hey, come visit my church. Hey, real quick, what Jesus you got? I need to know. Because while there is a fundamental truth that he loves you, here it is. In the old time church, right? Old time. Anybody grew up in church? Yes. Church babies. The Bible says speak the truth in love. Right. Old time church gave you all truth, no love, which prompts rebellion. not only do they give you all truth and no love but they give you warped truth so instead of you identifying that they're trying to get you to a place where we're living holy and righteous they tell you stuff like you're going to hell hell if you wear pants. Yeah, yeah. That's that, that's fear. Fear. I want us to hear this, please. Your reverence to God when you have been given a fear theology lasts as long as the fear. does as long as you do it and don't get caught yeah come on talk when you do it and and judgment or rap doesn't come immediately yeah then it's like oh they were lying to me you shall not surely die there it is it's fear fear and so we try to make you scared into living holy come on and don't don't take this out of context remember I told People like to take sound bites. There is a fear of the Lord, which is that reverence. Absolutely. It's the beginning of wisdom. There it is. But we're not talking about hellfire and brimstone to get you to live right. Yeah. Because as soon as the fear is gone, we rebel. Come on. So we have those who are raised to believe God is a God of judgment and wrath. Yeah. And so that has me fearing. Yeah. And then we have those that God is a genie, whatever you ask, just make your wish list because he's checking it twice, trying to find out who's naughty or nice. I only come to Jesus to make a wish. Ah, come on. Sing the song. That's it. So we... have these, it's hyper one side. Yeah. Because it's the aspect of now you swing the pendulum, right, because people get hurt because anywhere there is a lie, you question all truth. Right. So we swing the pendulum all the way to the new age church where it just says it's all love and very little truth. So you have all truth and no love which prompts rebellion. All love and no truth prompts repeated behavior. So people aren't changing. it's getting to the basis of, okay, am I being convicted? If I'm not walking into the church and something doesn't go ouch, I need to get better. I shouldn't have talked like that. I shouldn't have thought that. I maybe shouldn't have gossiped. I maybe shouldn't have did that when they cut me off. I maybe could have exercised some more grace, some more mercy. If I'm not being convicted, I might be in a place where there's a false prophet. Because now I'm testing what are we made of. Yeah. And look, Will. If you study the Bible, when biblical prophets would come, you know what they would say? Do you come in peace? Come on. Come on. They actually were terrified when they saw a prophet. Yeah. Because prophets would come and say, David, you're the man. Huh? Prophets would come and say, Saul, didn't God tell you to annihilate all of this? Everything? All of it. Why do I still hear sheep? Why do I still hear? Don't you know that God wants obedience? obedience more than your sacrifices? Real kingdom teaching tells you what you don't want to hear. Yeah. It's rock, not sand. Yeah. So that's the first question. Am I being convicted? Here's the second question. Am I being changed? Yeah. Hold on, let me add something right there. Just as a pastor, okay, we possibly saw this before where Judas had the best pastor. Yeah. Okay. Peter had the best pastor. the best teacher. Yeah. They both still made unwise decisions. Come on. Your change is not my responsibility. Come on. Okay. Look, look, hear me. Your children. they're learning the gospel is not children's church responsibility. Yeah. Now, we do have it where I'm teaching messages that help you change. We do have biblical curriculum for the children to help you grow, but discipleship starts at home. Yes. So I just wanted to add that because everywhere I go, well, the church don't, the church don't, the church. I'm like, okay, what do you do to help? What if we remove this menu version of church? Do y'all have children's church? Do y'all have this? Y'all have this? Do y'all have that? Because I need this for my family. I need this. What if God is causing for you to go there to install it? We want completed. We don't want process. Yeah. Yeah. And it's personal for me because we're growing fast and we have to train leaders. Yeah. Right? And it's like, okay, my parents, the elders, they're like, Okay, hold on. Whoa. All growth and healthy. Yeah. We don't want just anybody in children's church. Yeah. They got to get discipled. They got to go through a membership. They got to. That's why we have it like this here. Go ahead, bro. I just wanted to clarify that. No, because it's. Here's the beautiful part about it is that we didn't have time to really go note for note and figure out where we were. This was a topic, and we always come together in God's name. Because what I was about to say is on the change is that just like they were healed as they went, you should be changing as you go. That's good. That you should come in and get something that convicts you to say, okay, now that I've been convicted, let me go out and make some changes. Let me go out, and I know that the Holy Spirit is. has been talking to me and I know that this relationship is toxic and I know that I need to make some changes in my life. Let me go make some changes because when it pricks me, I have a responsibility. What am I going to do from here? Right? So am I being convicted? Am I leaving out to be changed? Yes. Is something developing in me to get me to the place where I'm saying I need to make some changes in my life? Because we live in a state where it's just, oh, God loves you. He just loves you. He wants you. you to be happy my Bible says be holy that I need to present In my body a living sacrifice holy and acceptable, which is my reasonable service. That's the least I can do. Because the fundamental truth is that he loves you. He sent his son to die such a horrific death. for you? Yeah. His only begotten son, and I know we've seen the passage of Christ, and that's, I love the movie, but the Bible talks about how they whipped him so bad that his entrails or intestines were exposed. Yeah. That he was marred and looked like an animal more than a human. human that his mother couldn't recognize. You know how bad you got to be beat that your mama can't recognize you? They beat him that bad for you. He went hung on a cross and was innocent for you. He does love you. And the beautiful part about this is he did all that just so you can have an option. Come on, bro. That's so good, bro. He did all of that just so you can, one day, if you decide to, choose me. Yeah, yeah. I put life and death before you, now it's your choice. Yeah. I did all this so you can have an option. Do you know how much someone has to love you to go through the most excruciating thing known to man just so you can have an option to choose them? So he does love you. But the fundamental truth is that he loves you to tell you no. He loves you enough to tell you to put that down. And if you are not under somebody who is giving you word and scripture and providing you a space where something starts turning inside of me to make some changes. Right? Yeah. And then the last one is, am I being cultivated? Yeah. Yeah. The Bible says, 1 Corinthians 3, verses 2 through 3. through 3. New King James. 1 Corinthians 3 verses 2 through 3. It says this. I fed you with milk and not with solid food. For until now you were not able to receive it. And even now you are still not able for you are still carnal. For where are there envy, strife, and divisions among you? Are you not carnal and behaving like mere men? Am I being developed to where I'm coming out of sand standing? going to rock away from milk and receiving solid food. Because here's the thing, is that you can always identify a false teacher because they want to continue giving you milk. Spiritual similac, because if I continue giving you milk, you won't identify sand. As soon as I give you solid food, you start looking for solid ground. That's good, bro. So what am I getting? Yeah. Am I growing? Have I cultivated? Yeah. Am I still the same Christian that I walked in five years ago? Yeah. Do I know any more Bible? Yeah. Am I able to pray at all? Am I able to take authority in my household over my family? Am I able to war against the kingdom of darkness? Do I understand that I don't wrestle with flesh and blood, but against angels and principalities? If I'm not wrestling with flesh and blood, am I being trained to wrestle with principalities? Yeah. So good, bro. And I really, really want us to get this. You're going to have to do the work. Yeah. We're going to present the gospel to you, but you have to do the work. And God has given you an option. Yeah. Because it's not love if you don't have a choice. Come on. I used to always wonder, why did God allow for there to be, like, options with the trees? if you don't want us to sin don't give us a tree of knowledge you're going to need it you show me you love me when you could do that but you choose me you show me you show me you love me when you break up with them and trust that I have something better Well, they've been there for so long, okay, but they're engaging, they're helping you sin. Come on. And feel nothing. You have to struggle through it. They're laughing and enjoying it. I want to give you a witness on the inside of my Holy Spirit that's convicting you. Yeah. See, and here it is. Jesus tells us this in Matthew chapter 16, verse 19. I want to read a part of it. Warren, you can come here, bro. I want you guys to see this. Jesus says, I will give you the keys. Somebody say keys. Keys. You go ahead and blindfold yourself. I will give you keys of the kingdom of heaven. Watch this. Many times in the kingdom. doors don't come in the form of doors they come in the form of keys please don't miss this this is so powerful don't miss this in the kingdom it doesn't always come in the form of doors it comes in the form of keys God did not give Noah an ark he gave him a blueprint yeah Jesus says, I will give you the keys of the kingdom. Keys. Keys of forgiveness. That unlocks something when you do that. The keys of devotion. That unlocks something when you do that. The keys of fasting. That unlocks something. These kind only come out by prayer and fasting. I'm giving you keys. A lot of us are looking for doors, but we hate getting keys. It's keys, and so what it looks like is he's given a key. He saved, he accepted Jesus. Matthew 16 told us, I will give you keys to the kingdom, okay? Now this is what false prophets do. The color of this key is red. The color of this key is red. Don't you agree with me? No, I actually think the color of the key is blue. It's red. It's blue. It's red. Listen to me. God stole me. Thus saith the Lord. In a dream. You don't have to listen. He took me up in a vision. Listen to the man of God. Listen to the man of God. Listen to the man of God. Blue. It says green. Listen to me. God has told me. He's already showed me. It's blue. No, it's orange. No, when you think about, listen, feel the texture of the key. Does that not feel like it's yellow? Okay. Hold on. Wait, wait. What color is it? Green. See? Now, this is what happens when we're listeners and not students. You walk around with the key, but since you don't study, you're blind. You're blind. Since you don't have devotion time, it's, what color is it? Green. And what Jesus says when he's talking to Pharisees, give me these keys. When he's talking to Pharisees, I want y'all to look. Luke 11, verse 52, look what Jesus says. He says, woe to you experts in the law because you have taken away. way the key to knowledge yeah you yourself have not entered and you have hindered those who were entering Jesus has a problem when people lie about keys and take them. Now, I want to give him back. Now, let's take your blindfold off. I don't know how tight you tied this. There you go. What color is this key? Red. Red. Now, Will, what a lot of times people do is now that he can see, he questions if it's really red. Come on. Because I told you it's what? Green. He told you what? Orange, orange, orange. We believe in the gifts of the Spirit? We don't. Is it water baptism? It's a sprinkle. Can women preach? Can they not preach? Can we speak in tongues? We don't speak in tongues. And so you walk around with the key, but you're yellow, orange, blue, green. Yellow, orange, blue. But the key is red. And then when you take the blindfold off and see that it's red, you still look for a yellow door. Yellow, orange, blue, green. This is so good. I heard green for years. I see that it's red, but I got green ingrained in me. All I know is green. All I'm chasing is green. All I'm chasing is green. So when it's time to die and actually accept the blood of the Lamb, I'm looking for green. And I'm searching for a door and I keep putting the key in and I keep blaming it on God that it's not opening. God, why won't you open the door? Because you got the wrong key in the wrong door. Can't hear you preach because you're not in a suit. Because you were taught an orange key. An orange key. Can't hear me because I'm up here in a jacket and not a suit. You'll be surprised how many people can't hear because of wrong keys. Now, I don't know if y'all caught this. When you first were taking the blindfold off, you were blinking quite a bit. Why? Get my vision back. Get your vision back. It was blurry. It was blurry. Okay. Now, the most fragile Christian is the one that is hungry for truth. Yeah. He's blinking, trying to see. I have to now try to adjust what I thought was faith. What I thought was Bible was not. Hallelujah is the highest praise. That's not the highest praise. Yeah. That's not Bible. Y'all look shocked. That's not Bible. It's not. So you walk around saying churchy colloquialisms, and you're trying to adjust in a world full of sandy preachers. Trying to adjust. Can I give you one that's going to change your life? Adjusting to those visions where you keep thinking that you've been taught wrong theology since we've thrown them out there. One of the most misinterpreted scriptures is faith without works is dead. because we so much credit the grind. I'm grinding. I can't just pray for it. I got to get up and do it, and I got to make it happen, and I got to make it happen, and I got to make it happen, and I got to make it happen. Let me give you a natural analogy. If you are in the living room and your spouse is in the kitchen and you ask them for something to drink, and they say, sure, I'll get it for you, and immediately you go get up and get it yourself. What are they going to say? What did you ask me for? If you're gonna get up and get it yourself, what you asking me for? Right. Well, my faith without works is dead. No, you got up because one, you either thought I wasn't gonna get what you wanted, or two, I was taking too long for your liking. That's so good, bro. That's so good. What the scripture was talking about, faith without works is dead, is if you are fundamentally rooted in a Christian belief that you have accepted the Lord Jesus Christ and you have no peace, and you have no temperament, you have no patience with... people you don't know how to love one another as yourself the works of your faith should be evident in your life by how you talk to people how you treat people how you do business how you how you govern yourself on social media if there is no fruit your works is how you represent what you believe. Your belief is trash. And that's why people are so tossed to and fro because they encountered too many Christians that was mean. They encountered too many believers that were liars. They encountered too many believers that were manipulators. Too many pastors and shepherds who were manipulators. So if you don't have the fruit of the Spirit, which is your works, your faith is dead. Yeah. I'm sorry. No, I was just going to say, because the reality of the situation is, is that we keep crediting the grind. I'm grinding. When every time we do that, we're reinforcing a curse. The grind is what God gave Adam in the garden. So good. But Jesus came to fulfill the curse. So now you can only be in a place where if I seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, God will work out the details. So good, bro. So good. What I was going to say to compliment it is the keys are better than the actual blessing. Come on. Come on. The problem is we have keys, but we don't know what they're to. If I just give somebody all of these keys, you could say thank you. Yeah. But you don't know what they're to. This is why you don't read scripture, because you don't know what they... You don't understand. And if I told you, okay, this key is to the office. This key is to a house. This key is to my truck. This key, if I begin to explain what the key unlocks, you will begin to value the keys. Yeah. versus the key giver. Versus the key. Come on. Why do you think we did a whole Love Is series? Yes. Yeah. It was like six, seven weeks. I was like, okay, I understand that a lot of people are coming, but listen, the DNA of the Christian is love. Yeah. It is. By our fruit, by this, all men will know that you're my disciples. By the way, you love one another. And so I was trying to get us to get that. get that as a church so that when people come, they experience Jesus'love before we try to rebuke. Yeah. Okay. I want to break down several points for you to see this. How can you spot a false prophet? Number one, they teach messages for their gain versus your growth and God's glory. Mm. It's for their gain. 2 Peter chapter 2, verse 2. Many will follow their evil teachings and shameful immorality, and because of these teachers, the way of truth will be slandered. In their greed, they will make up clever lies to get a hold of your money. But God condemned them long ago, and their destruction will not be delayed. If you have a need, sow a seed. We have a $500 line, a $200 line. Y'all laugh, but there are churches right now that are doing it. And... As I'm preaching. They don't care about holiness. They don't care about obedience. They just care about your money. That's it. That's all they care about is their game. Somebody say false prophet. False prophet. Number two, they don't preach the gospel. That's so easy. They do not preach the gospel. See, the good news concerning Jesus'death, burial, death... burial and resurrection according to the scriptures is that there has been a trade. God took your imperfect record. Jesus had a perfect record. And once we put our faith in him, obey his teachings, Accept him as not just Savior, but as Lord. He's the world's Savior for those who accept the gift of salvation, but he's not everybody's Lord, meaning he leads your life. We're not used to that because in America we have... a president. If we had a king, it'll be a little different. Because kings, they don't take back talk. It ain't, well, we're going to vote on it. No, this is what I said. Jesus is not a president or a congressman. He's the king. And what he says goes. And I believe sometimes a democracy mindset has bled over into our Christianity to where we think we got options. I don't like that passage. I don't agree with that. God ain't through with me yet. He's the king. Somebody say the king. King. Galatians chapter 1 verse 9 as we have said before so now I say again if anyone preaches any other gospel to you then what you have received let him be accursed for do I now persuade men or God? Or do I seek to please men for if I still please men I would not be a bondservant of Christ. I read that like, ain't that the truth? Because if I was trying to please men, some of these comments Thomas, what's up, bro? I'm a bondservant of Christ, though. So I want to act out. I feel what you feel. But God is boss. They cut me off on the freeway, too. But God is boss. I see women that are pretty, too, but God is boss, and I got my own fine thing at the house. Come on. Come on. When you understand that you are not given electives on which one you pick. It's not a Jesus menu where you copy and paste your own version of the Bible. All 39 in the old, 27 in the new. All 66 books are decrees and commands for us to live by. They don't preach the gospel. Number three, they never address sin, repentance, or God's desire of holiness. You don't ever hear them say sin. Sin! I know, well you're going to have a best life, okay, but God hates sin. He died on the cross so that we wouldn't experience the wrath of sin. Ooh, can I mess your theology up a little bit? See, the wrath of God was poured out on... Jesus on the cross. Yeah. So when we who are sons and daughters of the kingdom, when we sin, we don't get wrath. We get chastisement. Yeah. Yeah. Come on. There's a difference. The wrath has been been handled. Yes. We don't live in sin. We don't practice it. What is practice? You live like this. Yes. There's a difference between a fall and a practice. Yes. I fail. Okay, for you to fall means you kind of tripped. You didn't see it. Yeah. Going over there at three in the morning is this. You jumped. That was not a fall. I jumped. I'm struggling. Okay. A struggle is not this. Yeah. Hold me back, Will. This is a struggle. I'm trying. I'm trying to still. This is what a struggle looks like. That's a struggle. You're not struggling if you're just going and doing it. Yeah. Yeah. Never address sin. at all. If your ears don't get hot, palms don't get sweaty, start clenching your teeth a little bit. If you're sitting next to somebody that you know you're doing things that aren't biblical with and y'all start to feel some type of way as we're preaching about holiness and it's going to spark for there to be a conversation on the ride home, you're in the wrong place. And the day you're in that it's not preaching sin it nullifies your ears to where it's easier to slip into a reprobate mind there it is there it is so where you lose consciousness in desensitized I no longer have an awareness nope conviction that this is even wrong anymore yeah so I've gotten comfortable and I've insulated myself in my sin and because I never hear about sin this is just who I am and God knows my heart yeah or only God can judge me I'm like, that's horrible. You know what you're saying? Only God could judge me. He's a righteous judge. Listen. I don't think you want that. I think you want to be blood covered standing before God versus saying only God could judge me. Okay, all right. Let's go down the list. Let's go down the list. So we got to get to a place where we are willingly looking for, I want you to tell me what I can work on. There it is. That's how you. If you're, that's how you know if you're a babe in Christ or not. And that's cool if you're just coming in. But at some point in time, I need to know. I tell my friends all the time, don't let me be wrong. If you see me going somewhere and it does not align, but this is why you got to have people who are future and faith focused. Come on, bro. Because if I have an awareness of where you're supposed to be, when you start going off, I can say, hey, hey, hey. Hey, hey, hey. But if I can't be challenged. in my sin, my pride has built up this standard that keeps me protected. And because they said something and I felt stones, this ain't the church for me. Because that hurt. That hurt. You told me, when you were preaching, I felt like I need to leave them and I've been with them for six years. That hurt. Let me find a church that makes me feel good about it. Because I want to get comfortable and that's where you got to figure out what do we want. I want to be in a place where I'm challenged. Let me get better. Because it's in my relationship with God that promotes my desire to want to be better for Him. I can gauge where my love is for Christ by how much I am working on me. Because love requires you to do work. There it is. Listen, this is so good, bro. It's so good. Let's give you these and let's wrap it up. Number four, how can you spot a false prophet that tell people what they want to hear? Yeah. I actually love hearing this comment. Ooh, pass the flowers. They come to find next. he stayed coming for my scalp. If you ever like, ooh, his messages are so soft, I need a sabbatical. What has happened to where coming for my neck has changed to where his messages are soft? Yeah. And we have a lot of softies in pulpits. I'm scared if I say this, you won't give. I'm scared if I say this, you won't tithe. I'm going to tell you the truth at the end of the day. I got to stand before God. And I ain't going to stand before, I lied to them so that they can like me. I lied to them so I can get a bigger platform. And then we listen to music that encourages lies. Come on. I love the way you lie. Like, I want to be lied to. Come on. 2 Timothy chapter 4, verse 3. For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. Tell you what you want to hear. Number five, they're a false teacher or a false prophet if they sleep with sheep. Okay, I'm gonna be brief. As a shepherd, the people I serve, they're my assignments. Yeah. You don't sleep with assignments. Yeah. That's how that becomes your assassin. I don't pray for you, I pray on you. That's what a lot of us... In the comments, go back on my social media, you'll see over 1,400 comments. My pastor was looking at me with lust. Talking about deliverance, he looked like he wanted something delivered to him. This is real, y'all. Yeah. That's causing for us to not be able to hear the voice of God. Next, how to spot a false prophet. They're eloquent in language, persuasive with charisma, but lethal with sugar. with sugar. Everybody says something true from time to time. Even the devil could do that. Y'all didn't hear what I just said. Everybody could say something true from time to time. Even the devil was quoting scripture at Jesus. This is why when you're looking for a local church, I always suggest try to give it a series. See if it's consistent with the Word of God. Not just one. See if the foundation is Jesus. Romans chapter 16, verse 17. Now I urge you, brethren, note those who cause divisions and offenses. Contrary to the doctrine which you learned and avoid them. Somebody say avoid them. Avoid them. For those who are such do not serve our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly and by smooth words and flattering speech deceive the hearts of the simple. Last one. How do you spot a false teacher, false prophet? They promote biblical contradictions. Promote them. Nothing is wrong with. Well, you know, sometimes pastors steal. They promote biblical contradictions. Why go this route? How are you going to have a whole series on voices and you never deal with what Jesus dealt with? Beware of false teachers and false prophets. Because what a lot of us are affected by is bad teaching. Bad teaching. And so we come here with sand. Sand. We just want you to consider, maybe you shouldn't take that professor's class because they don't teach what's going to be on your midterm. Popular, but once you have to take the test, you won't see anything that you need to answer the questions. This conversation, I pray, will cause us to be hungry and study, because like I said, I'm not trying to just feed you, I'm trying to make you hungry. I want you to study the Bible for yourself, but I do understand that only 25% of people who are hearing this message will actually allow it to take roots. Let's pray, bro. Let's stand. Let's all stand. Jesus said to Simon Peter, The devil desires to sift you as wheat, but I have prayed for you that you will not fall. And when you have returned to me, strengthen the brethren. Everybody isn't lucky enough to be or blessed enough to be in the house where you don't have to worry about this. But my desire is to see a space where not only we receive, but we go out and distribute. But you are the light. It should be evident in your life and how you move and how you talk that I am not in a place where I'm receiving false teachings. Come over here. So we're going to pray. I'm going to first pray over you, then we're going to pray over your leaders. But I want you to really take a moment of assessment. Just close your eyes for a moment. And just be honest with what you desire. Do I want to get better? Because here's the truth. God can't heal what we continue to refuse to reveal. Because the scripture says, even where he says, the good things that I desire to do, I don't. Oh, wretched man that I am. And if you're at a place where you don't want rock, but you want to want rock, that's where we got to give it to God. God, so he is able to step in and start changing your desires. So right now, right now, as you take a moment of assessment, we're just going to pray. Dearly Father God, we thank you for this moment in the name of Jesus that you orchestrated before the foundations of the earth. the earth, that before time began, you had this moment in mind. Thank you, God, for everybody that is here, that everybody that is listening, everybody that is watching, everybody that will watch, because your word remains true. We thank you, God, for your faithfulness to your believers, to those who desire more. I pray right now, Holy Spirit, that you come in and start infiltrating hearts and minds, that you start shifting perspective, that you start changing some desires, that you start restructuring and reorganizing and bringing restoration to those who have been broken and used and abused by those who were not. by you. I pray God for healing right now in the name of Jesus. To those who have been manipulated, to those who have been abandoned, those who have been led astray, those who have been in a space where they have been lied to and driven out into a space that you have not called them return and start collecting your remnant and bring them back into the fold i pray for the body of christ at large god that those who have been in in the pulpits and on stages and have have been lying and preaching heresy father god that you begin to open the eyes of the people father pour out your spirit on all flesh that your sons and daughters will prophesy that we will see visions and have an understanding and revelation i pray god for those who are in the space where they desire more but don't know how to get to you i pray for those who have the desire to do more but don't know how to make the first step that you bring clarity i pray god that you bring clarity that you heighten the discernment what about Oh, God, that you heighten the discernment of your people. I pray, God, that you begin to whisper your knowledge and mysteries to those who have an ear to hear. Let them hear what you're saying, God, in this season. Let them hear what you're saying, God. Even in the midnight hour when you wake them up and you're tossing to and fro, trying to figure out why you can't get comfortable. Holy Spirit is tapping you on the shoulder and say, come here, I got some stuff to reveal to you. Come here, there's some things I'm trying to talk to you about. about. There's some things I'm trying to work out. God, help us to understand what you're doing in this season. I pray, God, for supernatural clarity. I pray for supernatural discernment. I pray for a divine intervention, God, for those who have been, their ears have been clouded and that have been stopped up with garbage theology. I pray, God, that you begin to send Holy Spirit, Holy Spirit into the ears and to the hearts and to the minds and to the bodies and begin bring restoration. healing right now to those cracks in the hearts. I feel you right now. I feel you. Those who have said that, I just don't know if I can try again because it hurt me so bad. Those that say, I know I want to do more, but I'm just, I'm paralyzed in my broken pieces. I'm praying right now that Holy Spirit begin to put those pieces back together. I know what they did. It wasn't right. It wasn't your fault. It wasn't your fault. And you're not responsible for what happened to you, but you are responsible for how you respond. And you don't have to do the heavy lifting. If you give it to God, he'll do the work. But you got to invite him in. You got to give it to Holy Spirit to start putting those pieces back together. You matter to God. And I know people may have put you in a place where you felt like you didn't matter. Let me reaffirm that you matter to God. You are his beloved. You are his bride. You are his son. You are his daughter. And I pray right now that you begin to see yourself in the image of who he has created. That in this season, As the world is groaning, as the earth is bringing forth the signals and signs that time is winding down, that God will give you supernatural clarity and discernment, and that He will allow you to have the boldness and the strength to not only come in and receive, but to leave and take out. That you become the light in your workplace. That you become the light in your marriage. That you become the light in your friend group. If the world ended today, let your light so shine among men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father, which is in heaven. So I pray, Holy Spirit, sweep the minds and the hearts of those that are listening. when we leave from this place never from your presence and the demons that are waiting outside send angelic assistance that you would go with them and cover them you are their rear guard that you would stand before them and lift up a standard that no weapon formed against them shall prosper and every tongue that rises in judgment thou shalt condemn this is their heritage Satan the Lord rebuke you and the blood of Jesus be against you I bind up every demonic assault on every purpose, every destiny, every relationship, every calling, it will not be stifled anymore. Father, remove the barriers and the obstacles. Kick down walls and tear down borders, God, and allow your people to ascend into the place that you've called them to be. I thank you, God.

This is not rap. This is not a dis-sermon, but it is us being intentional by following the direction the Holy Spirit has been guiding us for now six weeks as we are in our Voices series. Somebody say Voices.

A series that has been designed and constructed by the Holy Spirit to get us to be people who know, hear, and obey the Word of God. The voice of God in an era where everybody has access to mics. Everybody's saying, thus saith the Lord.

Everybody's saying, God told me. Everybody is saying, I have a word. You need to be able to know the voice of God for yourself. And far be it from me if I ever become a man who uses this opportunity to stand behind a podium or a pulpit and preach a flesh-based verbiage versus holy. Spirit, breathe revelation.

When that happens, I need to take several seats. You didn't come here to hear my opinions. You came to hear doctrine. So I have to get reinforcements for this one. I say, okay, this one is so meaty.

This one is so weighty. I need to do combat. So I contacted my brother, Will Jackson.

He's in the building. Come on up here, bro. Will, come on. Y'all can do better than that.

I said we need a tag team this one because when Isaac was here he showed me something. I'm ready. Y'all ready? I'm ready. We need a tag team this one because when Isaac was here and we did therapy Thursday I saw really the benefit of having a brother minister alongside of you because it's harder to fight one-handed.

But when you have two hands that can fight. Come on. So, Will, I posted this question on Friday night as an attempt to assist us with this conversation on why are people so disenchanted with church, church gatherings? What voices have been keeping them from coming to God?

This is what I posted. I need your help. I'm trying to see something. What has turned you off from the church?

of the preaching from the pastor? And if you left, did you go look for another church? And the reason I ask that way, because I'm like, okay, if you have a rude person through the drive-thru at Popeye's, but you love Popeye's, no judgment.

If the person through the drive-thru window is rude, you might not go back to that Popeye's, but you're still going to Popeye's. You're going to another one, yeah. If somebody sells you a bad car, you're not going to say, I'm done with driving.

I'm only going to catch the bus. So I really want to because I think one of the goals of effective preaching is to always test the climate of where people are. So that you can preach to their need versus preaching to a platform because you like likes. That's good.

So let's navigate this. Look at some of the comments people made. Just some comments that people made as I asked this.

One person said they're turned off because the same people. were falling out every Sunday but never changed. Keep going, keep going.

I read them. There were over 1,400 comments. Can we pause on that one really quick? Yes.

The reason why that's so imperative to understand is because we've gotten so accustomed to glorified experiences. That we don't recognize encounters. So we come in and we have an experience where we cry and we shout and we fall over, but we leave out the same way.

When nobody has ever had an encounter with Jesus and left the same. Come on. Right?

Let's go. This is going to be good. They're turned off because church people have too much drama.

Sleeping with each other. Judgmental and messy to the point where I'm not even able to hear what the pastor is saying. So now I only watch online.

Sheesh. Keep going. These are the comments.

Keep going. Turned off because. There were cliques within the church.

How am I in a mega church and still feel unseen or unvalued? Okay, now this one, I like this one the most. It said it turned off due to a person at your church.

Talk about our church, okay? Said we flew in from North Carolina and the first thing a greeter said was church started at 12. The sermon was great, but she left a bad taste in our mouths since that was the first thing she said to us when we walked in. Church started at 12. Y'all looking awkward for it. We're talking about this greatest, y'all hear that? The first thing, see, listen, listen.

I want to serve. If you are a greeter or in the parking lot, before they ever come in here, they see you. Yeah.

And if you have an attitude that day, if you're going through something, maybe you should tell your group leader, today I'm not going to be spirit-led if I serve. Yeah. Okay, we're not immune from this. Somebody was talking about our church.

All right, turned off due to too much watered down preaching and feel-good sermons. If I wanted to be entertained, I'd go to Deaf Comedy Jam. Keep going, two more. Turned off because the pastor didn't even use scripture, just a lot of encouraging stories. Well?

I'm turned off because the pastor was more political than biblical. He told us if we didn't vote for Trump, we voted for the devil. Oh my.

It's gonna get spicy in here on today. This one I kind of laughed at. It said, okay, when they counted the offering, said it wasn't enough, and came back out to take up another offering.

But before we move on listen, I believe there's three thousand more dollars in the building Let the Holy Spirit lead you $100 live you gotta leave Then you sow a seed ha I'm like, I don't think people understand you can't sow your way out of rebellion. Come on. Obedience is better than sacrifice. Yes. And so the undertone that I'm getting is we are turned off due to being irritated by church people and the lack of sound theology and false teaching.

Yeah. Now for the purpose of this sermonic presentation, we're going to deal with the bad teaching false prophets aspect. The week after I'm gonna deal with church people because I'm like, I don't think we understand we are all church people.

Yeah Okay Every human is flawed Whoever human beings are flaws are yes, sir In fact, Jesus says there are four types of hearts I want you to consider. We have hard hearts, shallow hearts, thorn hearts, and good soil hearts. Yeah.

There are four types of hearts. Do you know what this means to me? Just off Jesus'statistical presentation, 25% of people right now are going to hear this word and apply it.

That means there's a 75% chance when you come here, you're going to run into other hearts that aren't good. Come on. Come on.

75%. You have a 75% chance that when you come to any church in the world, you're going to encounter people who do not have good hearts. Good hearts. So I said, okay, we need to deal with this on today because a lot of people are affected by poor theology, but there are certain people that are saying, I don't come to church because of church people. Then I'm like, okay, why do you want to go to heaven?

Come on. You do remember, like, we're the bride. Yes.

Messy, we're still the bride. Flaws, we're still the bride. Okay?

And it's possible that we allow the voices of church people to interfere with us here in the voice of God. Bible all day read this passage. We're gonna pray let's work Matthew chapter 20 look at this y'all Verse 29 it says as Jesus and his disciples were leaving Jericho a large crowd followed him somebody say followers two men were sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was going by, they shouted, Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us, the church people. Look, the crowd rebuked them and told them to be quiet, but they shouted all the louder, Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me.

Jesus stopped and called them, what do you want me to do for you, he asked. Lord. We want our sight. Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes.

Immediately, they received their sight, watch this, and followed him. If these blind men would have listened to the people who claimed to be followers of Jesus, they would have left service still blind. But they had to be able to want God bad enough for themselves. Yeah.

That they did not allow, y'all ain't hearing me? Come on. They did not allow the people who were following him and rebuking them to stop them from pursuing their own relationship with the Lord.

And I wonder how many people watching online have not gotten their healing because of church people. Come on. 25% of people hearing this message today will allow it to take root.

So let's just pray and let's dive into what we were talking about for the last few days. Dear Heavenly Father God, we thank you for this moment. Holy Spirit, we welcome you in. I pray just as Elisha prayed that you would open their eyes God that they might be able to see and identify where we are where we stand what our responsibility is and what you are calling for in this season And God, let this be a moment where the scales are stripped from our eyes and we see things in a heavenly perspective, in a heavenly realm, seated in heavenly places.

God, let us have a supernatural experience. We get completely out of your way. Holy Spirit, do what you desire to do in this moment.

In the mighty name of Jesus, we pray. Amen. Amen.

So I want to share something that happened to me. Yeah. Let's work.

Yes, sir. I had the privilege of, when I was in college, as a freshman, I had seniors. who are my friends. The benefit of having seniors as my friends is they were able to tell me who's professor and what class to not take. Come on.

As I was enrolling for the fall semester of my sophomore year, they said, okay, listen, don't go to that teacher or that professor. I know a lot of people like him, but he does not teach what will be on the... the midterm his class is packed but his assignments and his lessons won't help you on the test So, the professor's class that you should take is Professor Qualls. This was a real professor. He went home to be with the Lord.

Take his class. Because what he's going to do, he's going to be boring. He may not get your attention all the time, but you can rest assured every assignment, every lesson, every teaching is going to match what will be on your final.

Come on. So all you have to do is go to his class and. listen and he will actually give you the answers to the test so what we want to do is help you to be able to identify professors who have large classes but they don't help you with tests come on come on they give you three at the entrance but you will fail the test they give you height but you will fail the test they are popular but you will fail the test we want to help you identify biblical teachers that will cause for you to grow because it is possible please hear me it is possible to be eloquent in speech yeah and have charisma mixed with heresy yeah and what we're dealing with right now is a collapsing of sound theology and the only way we can avoid deception is we must be students who love truth come on let's work bro so so can we talk for a moment about how not to get tricked Because we go where the crowds are, but we're going to give you a lot of Bible today.

Is that okay? So if we go to Matthew 24 and 24, it says this. For false messiahs and false prophets will rise up and perform great signs and wonders so as to deceive, if possible, even God's chosen ones. First step to not being tricked is to chase the Savior and not the sign.

Say that again, bro. We get to a place where we are expecting miracle signs and wonders so often. that the expectation has replaced our foundation. So now if the signs aren't there, if the people aren't packed, if the music isn't jumping, if they don't have lights and smoke, then I am looking for the signs, and I'm not being led by the Savior. But this is what happens.

When the expectation now replaces the foundation, you become a breeding ground of manipulation. Say it again, bro. When your expectation for miracles, signs, and wonders now replaces the foundation, which is Jesus, the solid rock, you become a breeding ground for manipulation. Wow. Because it says that false messiahs and false prophets will rise up and perform great signs.

They're healing over there. People are getting delivered over there. Yeah. It's packed over there, but if I'm chasing the signs and I'm not checking in with the Savior, then I become that breeding ground and I come in and I get enamored by everything that's going on that I miss the fact that there's no spirit in here at all.

Yeah, because they'll shout you to death. I can't tell you how many churches, I'm not going to name them, we're going to be nice today. I can't tell you how many churches we shouted for hours and left out the same. We had prayer vigils all night long, left out the same.

We saw healings and signs and wonders, but if you are chasing the signs and not checking in with the Savior, I become that breeding ground to be manipulated. And then it starts twisting the way that I even view the Savior because now I am viewing through the lens of this manipulation. manipulation.

So when I'm connecting with him, that's when my prayer starts to change and I go to God like he's a genie. God, give me, give me, give me, please. And if he doesn't give it to me, then my issue is now with God.

God because I've been manipulated to believe that I can only go to God because I'm expecting to get miracles signs and wonders and cars and houses and relationships and jobs and businesses but what do you do when you start handing out crosses come on bro let's go let's go come on we came to work this morning so how do you not get tricked you get there Isaiah 28 and 16 says this Therefore, thus says the Lord God, behold, I lay in Zion a stone for foundation, a tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation. Whoever believes will not act hastily. When my foundation is sure, I don't act hastily. I don't just run where everybody's going. I don't just choose something quickly.

I need time. I need to sit and watch. I need to see how you move, not just in choosing church.

but in choosing people not just in choosing people but in choosing careers I don't care how much money you handing out where where are you God there it is yeah because when he's my foundation I don't act hastily I don't just jump at the next big thing yes because the church is jumping up and everything is popping over here and if this is that this is the place to be I don't act hastily because I know what my foundation is so I got a check back in in with the foundation. Can I ask you a question? How many times have you done foundation checks?

Where you took a step and checked back in with the foundation? Where you say, okay, this looks good. What you say, God? Oh, she looks good. What you say, God?

Oh, he fine. What you say, God? See, but I think we need to be taught how to look for cracks in foundations.

Yeah. And where. Because usually cracks in foundations are at doors. Come on. Come on.

Come on. At the door, if you look. Look, there's a crack right there.

Yes. That's letting you know that this foundation is compromised. Come on.

Come on. Come on. We want to speak around this thought from this subject. Beware of false prophets. Listen, the scripture says this in Matthew 7 and 15 through 16, Beware false prophets who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.

You will know them by their fruits. Say that one again. You will know them by their fruits.

Do men gather grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles? So we're going to talk about how to recognize, identify where you are supposed to be. to identify these false prophets and teachers and what to do if you yourself have been tricked before, right?

So really quick, before we dive in, I just want to level set for a moment because you may have been like me and I've served under leaders who are manipulative. I've been in situations where I was misused and abused and taken advantage of, where people saw your gifting and wanted to use it for their own glory, and you weren't even aware that you were tapped into a place that was giving glory to man and stealing it from God. So this is what the Bible says, Jeremiah 23, 1 through 4. It says, woe to shepherds, this is God talking, who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture. Thus says the Lord. Therefore, the Lord God of Israel says this against the shepherds who feed my people.

You have scattered my flock, driven them away. and had not attended to them. Behold, I will attend to you for the evil things you have done, and I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all countries where I have driven them, and bring them back into their fold, and they shall be fruitful and increase and I will set up shepherds over them who feed them and they shall fear no more nor be dismayed nor shall be lacking says the Lord so one thing I want to take out not only the fact that you're in good ground right I can say that this is a shepherd who loves you who serves God who's committed to the things of God Let me say this, let me say this, let me say this, and then we'll move on. Don't ever let another house praise your shepherd louder than you. Because he goes on certain stages, they loud.

Whenever somebody speaks about your man of God, you need to be the loudest, okay? Alright, so the only thing I want to take out is that it says that the shepherds have scattered them and driven them away, but God says, I'm going to return the remnant of my flock and bring them out of the countries where I have driven them. so I said okay God you said that the shepherd drove them away but you're bringing them back from where you have driven them make it make sense and he told me this is the promise we're just going to level set if you've been in that situation where you've been manipulated or used he said just because you got into the passenger seat of the wrong vehicle does not mean they have the directional capacity to determine where you end up So right now we're gonna correct some directions. Yeah. Right?

And we're bringing back, we're collecting some remnant and we're about to establish some precedent. So he said we're gonna come in empty. I came to kick down some doors. Okay? Y'all ready to work?

Yeah. I want us to look at Proverbs chapter 7 verse 24 whatever scripture you have will just say it again so that the people in the back to put on the screen for you got it Matthew chapter 7 verse 24 it's a familiar passage of Scripture depending on where you are in your Christian journey. It says, therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew against that house, yet it did not fall because it had its foundation, there it is, on the rock. Somebody say the rock.

The rock. But everyone. who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who builds his house on sand. Everybody say sand.

Sand. Okay. The rain came down, the stream rose, and the winds blew against that house, and it fell with a great crash. I want you to notice both houses experienced wind, they experienced waves, and they experienced Experienced the streams rising. What is that?

Life. Come on. Test. Trials. The individual who is built on the rock, this is Jesus.

When they go through, they don't collapse. But those who built their house on sand, what is that? Culture.

Bad theology. Listen, we can't get kingdom living right if we get theology wrong. Come on.

Who builds their house on sand, when you go through, you're going to collapse. What is your point, pastor? We have a lot of false prophets preaching sand. Yeah.

Yeah. Sand in our playlist. Sand in our church experiences.

Come on. Popular, but sandy. Yeah. Sand.

We want you to be able to identify sand. Watch this. Your new season is going to require ears free of sand.

Your ears are clogged. They're clogged, so you can't hear rock language. Man, pastor, that hits hard.

It's a rock. It's a rock. We ain't talking about Dwayne Johnson. It's the rock, Jesus, the rock of ages.

He is our solid foundation, the chief cornerstone. Rock preaching. Not Broadway hype and not teaching you narrow way truths. Preaching sand.

Stuff that does not help you in a pandemic. Come on. Why do you think churches emptied out in 2020? It's because it exposed a lot of ministers are preaching sand. Yes.

Yes. And why were other houses... this field during the pandemic.

It's because it exposed, even though they have more people, that is not going to help me in a pandemic. I have to know Jesus for myself. I have to have my own encounter.

And false prophets aren't easy to spot. If they were, Jesus wouldn't tell you, watch out. They're not easy.

They come as sheep, but inwardly, false prophets aren't easy to spot. And I want to make a clarification, then we'll get back to work. There's a difference between a false prophet, a false teacher, and bad exegesis.

Yeah. Yeah. Okay, because certain people, uh-uh, that scripture's wrong. That's a false prophet. Or he or she didn't study.

Yeah. Okay? So a false prophet is anyone who uses scripture that they're trying to use.

trying to deceive you. They're trying to get your money. They're trying to get your spouse. They're trying to get your endorsement.

They're trying to get you to treat them like they're a God. They're trying for you to worship them. I'm the man of God.

They're trying to do that. Okay. That is a false prophet.

When I'm taking scripture out of context and using it for my game. Bad exegesis is a wrong interpretation of scripture. due to a lack of understanding and study. This is possible because we're human.

But a sound doctrine teacher, once they recognize, okay, I took that scripture out of context, they will come back and say, hey, I did this one wrong. I studied or a pastor friend helped me and what it really means is. You see?

What it really means is stop saying everybody's a false teacher because they misquoted scripture. Yeah. They could be poor studiers.

Does that make sense? So it's imperative to understand not only just how not to get tricked, but how to spot them. Right?

So the first point is, what is your house built on? Right? Rock or sand.

Now, before we dump into the second part, is that a lot of us, what we have to do first initially is identify what we really desire. Right? Yes.

Because here's the truth. A lot of people... go to sandy places because sand is moldable.

Because all I need is a little water, a little living water, and I can make it conform to what fits my lifestyle. All I need is just a little bit and I can build a castle. that I can enjoy without the responsibilities of the rock. So before we jump into figuring out how to identify sand and rock, we first have to identify what do I really want? Do I really want sand or do I really want rock?

Because I know, because here's the thing, after you are enlightened, you are held responsible. to what you have been exposed to. Yeah. Okay? So, first thing is, what is your house built on?

Here's the second thing. What is your house built of? Because here's the truth. A lot of people start off with the foundation sure. Right?

Yeah. But then when it's time to erect and build up, things change. Yeah. Tell you a quick story.

There's three individuals who were tasked to build houses. The first one said, you know what? I need to build something quick. I don't want to wait.

I don't want to do the labor. It's hot out here. Let me get something up as quickly as possible.

You know what? This straw look good. Let me go ahead and put this up. Create a little facility for me.

This is straight, right? Second one said, you know what? I want something a little bit more sturdy. more sturdy, a little more sturdy.

So I'm just going to use these sticks because it gives me a symbolization of there's some sturdiness there but it's not as flimsy and floppy as straw. The last one say I don't care how long it takes. I need to establish something with bricks.

something that's going to stand the test of time. So it may take longer. I may have to lay it brick by brick, but I'm going to do what needs to be done to make sure that it stands.

All of them got their houses up. Here comes an enemy. And the first thing he says is, let me in. Y'all know where I'm at? So he says, let me in.

The first one says, I'm not going to let you in, not by the hair of my... So then he says, okay. Since you won't let me in, I'm gonna huff and puff and test the credibility of your structure. That's good, bro.

Yes. So I blew this down, you ran to the next one. Did the same thing, you ran to the next one.

So what's the moral here? The foundation was sure, the structure was off. The first one decided I need to get something up quick. What's the first?

How can I get something in here? What can I do to get the people in here quick? What can I do to get the people in here quick?

I don't care about, because here's the thing. You may start off with the foundation of Jesus, but then a lot of people saw the marketability of straw. That's good, bro. So let me put this up really quick.

Let me get them in as quickly as I can. So that's why the enemy no longer has a problem walking right into your sanctuary. Right. We, we, we, so I'm, go with me. I am, I grew up old time church, right?

Old time. And we're going to talk about that in a minute. There was a lot of stuff that was off, but one thing that we are fundamentally missing is reverence. We got so many straw houses they like yeah let the demons on in here.

Yeah. Come on in. Yeah.

Yeah play your music on my speakers. Come on in here. Come on in here.

Hang out with us. We don't care about the straw we just care about the people. Is it packed?

Then we good. The second group are the people who grew up in church but only have a form of godliness. I want something that appears sturdy, but I can still move however I want to move.

We gotta find housing. that are built on the rock. Yeah.

Good, bro. So this is how you can identify them, right? This is how you can identify them. After we talk about what is your house built of, there are three questions you can ask.

Yeah. Three questions. because after you get into a house, right, you have to be consistently temperature gauging. This is what they don't teach you.

We get to a house, and it may start off right. But then eventually, we start hitting a slope. So the question is, am I in a place, one, where I am constantly developing to figure out have things shifted in the atmosphere?

Because I know some of us have been in a relationship where it started off... off good and some shifted yeah and if you're not in tune you'll miss the shift yeah so here's three questions jumping here with me bro so the first one is am I being convicted see see see see that's what happens not not judged yeah convicted yeah explain the difference people judge Holy Spirit convicts yes so can I Let me just, let me go on a rant really quick. I am so tired, so tired of this rah-rah, Jesus loves you, just wants you to be happy gospel. Yeah.

Real quick, real quick. Jesus you got? So this is what you need to start asking people. Hey, come visit my church.

Hey, real quick, what Jesus you got? I need to know. Because while there is a fundamental truth that he loves you, here it is.

In the old time church, right? Old time. Anybody grew up in church?

Yes. Church babies. The Bible says speak the truth in love. Right.

Old time church gave you all truth, no love, which prompts rebellion. not only do they give you all truth and no love but they give you warped truth so instead of you identifying that they're trying to get you to a place where we're living holy and righteous they tell you stuff like you're going to hell hell if you wear pants. Yeah, yeah. That's that, that's fear. Fear.

I want us to hear this, please. Your reverence to God when you have been given a fear theology lasts as long as the fear. does as long as you do it and don't get caught yeah come on talk when you do it and and judgment or rap doesn't come immediately yeah then it's like oh they were lying to me you shall not surely die there it is it's fear fear and so we try to make you scared into living holy come on and don't don't take this out of context remember I told People like to take sound bites. There is a fear of the Lord, which is that reverence. Absolutely.

It's the beginning of wisdom. There it is. But we're not talking about hellfire and brimstone to get you to live right. Yeah. Because as soon as the fear is gone, we rebel.

Come on. So we have those who are raised to believe God is a God of judgment and wrath. Yeah.

And so that has me fearing. Yeah. And then we have those that God is a genie, whatever you ask, just make your wish list because he's checking it twice, trying to find out who's naughty or nice.

I only come to Jesus to make a wish. Ah, come on. Sing the song. That's it.

So we... have these, it's hyper one side. Yeah.

Because it's the aspect of now you swing the pendulum, right, because people get hurt because anywhere there is a lie, you question all truth. Right. So we swing the pendulum all the way to the new age church where it just says it's all love and very little truth. So you have all truth and no love which prompts rebellion.

All love and no truth prompts repeated behavior. So people aren't changing. it's getting to the basis of, okay, am I being convicted?

If I'm not walking into the church and something doesn't go ouch, I need to get better. I shouldn't have talked like that. I shouldn't have thought that.

I maybe shouldn't have gossiped. I maybe shouldn't have did that when they cut me off. I maybe could have exercised some more grace, some more mercy.

If I'm not being convicted, I might be in a place where there's a false prophet. Because now I'm testing what are we made of. Yeah.

And look, Will. If you study the Bible, when biblical prophets would come, you know what they would say? Do you come in peace?

Come on. Come on. They actually were terrified when they saw a prophet.

Yeah. Because prophets would come and say, David, you're the man. Huh?

Prophets would come and say, Saul, didn't God tell you to annihilate all of this? Everything? All of it.

Why do I still hear sheep? Why do I still hear? Don't you know that God wants obedience? obedience more than your sacrifices? Real kingdom teaching tells you what you don't want to hear.

Yeah. It's rock, not sand. Yeah. So that's the first question.

Am I being convicted? Here's the second question. Am I being changed? Yeah.

Hold on, let me add something right there. Just as a pastor, okay, we possibly saw this before where Judas had the best pastor. Yeah.

Okay. Peter had the best pastor. the best teacher. Yeah.

They both still made unwise decisions. Come on. Your change is not my responsibility. Come on.

Okay. Look, look, hear me. Your children. they're learning the gospel is not children's church responsibility. Yeah.

Now, we do have it where I'm teaching messages that help you change. We do have biblical curriculum for the children to help you grow, but discipleship starts at home. Yes. So I just wanted to add that because everywhere I go, well, the church don't, the church don't, the church. I'm like, okay, what do you do to help?

What if we remove this menu version of church? Do y'all have children's church? Do y'all have this?

Y'all have this? Do y'all have that? Because I need this for my family. I need this. What if God is causing for you to go there to install it?

We want completed. We don't want process. Yeah.

Yeah. And it's personal for me because we're growing fast and we have to train leaders. Yeah. Right? And it's like, okay, my parents, the elders, they're like, Okay, hold on.

Whoa. All growth and healthy. Yeah.

We don't want just anybody in children's church. Yeah. They got to get discipled. They got to go through a membership. They got to.

That's why we have it like this here. Go ahead, bro. I just wanted to clarify that.

No, because it's. Here's the beautiful part about it is that we didn't have time to really go note for note and figure out where we were. This was a topic, and we always come together in God's name. Because what I was about to say is on the change is that just like they were healed as they went, you should be changing as you go. That's good.

That you should come in and get something that convicts you to say, okay, now that I've been convicted, let me go out and make some changes. Let me go out, and I know that the Holy Spirit is. has been talking to me and I know that this relationship is toxic and I know that I need to make some changes in my life. Let me go make some changes because when it pricks me, I have a responsibility.

What am I going to do from here? Right? So am I being convicted? Am I leaving out to be changed?

Yes. Is something developing in me to get me to the place where I'm saying I need to make some changes in my life? Because we live in a state where it's just, oh, God loves you. He just loves you. He wants you.

you to be happy my Bible says be holy that I need to present In my body a living sacrifice holy and acceptable, which is my reasonable service. That's the least I can do. Because the fundamental truth is that he loves you.

He sent his son to die such a horrific death. for you? Yeah.

His only begotten son, and I know we've seen the passage of Christ, and that's, I love the movie, but the Bible talks about how they whipped him so bad that his entrails or intestines were exposed. Yeah. That he was marred and looked like an animal more than a human.

human that his mother couldn't recognize. You know how bad you got to be beat that your mama can't recognize you? They beat him that bad for you. He went hung on a cross and was innocent for you. He does love you.

And the beautiful part about this is he did all that just so you can have an option. Come on, bro. That's so good, bro.

He did all of that just so you can, one day, if you decide to, choose me. Yeah, yeah. I put life and death before you, now it's your choice.

Yeah. I did all this so you can have an option. Do you know how much someone has to love you to go through the most excruciating thing known to man just so you can have an option to choose them? So he does love you.

But the fundamental truth is that he loves you to tell you no. He loves you enough to tell you to put that down. And if you are not under somebody who is giving you word and scripture and providing you a space where something starts turning inside of me to make some changes.

Right? Yeah. And then the last one is, am I being cultivated? Yeah.

Yeah. The Bible says, 1 Corinthians 3, verses 2 through 3. through 3. New King James. 1 Corinthians 3 verses 2 through 3. It says this.

I fed you with milk and not with solid food. For until now you were not able to receive it. And even now you are still not able for you are still carnal. For where are there envy, strife, and divisions among you?

Are you not carnal and behaving like mere men? Am I being developed to where I'm coming out of sand standing? going to rock away from milk and receiving solid food.

Because here's the thing, is that you can always identify a false teacher because they want to continue giving you milk. Spiritual similac, because if I continue giving you milk, you won't identify sand. As soon as I give you solid food, you start looking for solid ground.

That's good, bro. So what am I getting? Yeah.

Am I growing? Have I cultivated? Yeah. Am I still the same Christian that I walked in five years ago? Yeah.

Do I know any more Bible? Yeah. Am I able to pray at all? Am I able to take authority in my household over my family?

Am I able to war against the kingdom of darkness? Do I understand that I don't wrestle with flesh and blood, but against angels and principalities? If I'm not wrestling with flesh and blood, am I being trained to wrestle with principalities?

Yeah. So good, bro. And I really, really want us to get this.

You're going to have to do the work. Yeah. We're going to present the gospel to you, but you have to do the work.

And God has given you an option. Yeah. Because it's not love if you don't have a choice. Come on. I used to always wonder, why did God allow for there to be, like, options with the trees?

if you don't want us to sin don't give us a tree of knowledge you're going to need it you show me you love me when you could do that but you choose me you show me you show me you love me when you break up with them and trust that I have something better Well, they've been there for so long, okay, but they're engaging, they're helping you sin. Come on. And feel nothing. You have to struggle through it. They're laughing and enjoying it.

I want to give you a witness on the inside of my Holy Spirit that's convicting you. Yeah. See, and here it is. Jesus tells us this in Matthew chapter 16, verse 19. I want to read a part of it.

Warren, you can come here, bro. I want you guys to see this. Jesus says, I will give you the keys.

Somebody say keys. Keys. You go ahead and blindfold yourself.

I will give you keys of the kingdom of heaven. Watch this. Many times in the kingdom.

doors don't come in the form of doors they come in the form of keys please don't miss this this is so powerful don't miss this in the kingdom it doesn't always come in the form of doors it comes in the form of keys God did not give Noah an ark he gave him a blueprint yeah Jesus says, I will give you the keys of the kingdom. Keys. Keys of forgiveness. That unlocks something when you do that.

The keys of devotion. That unlocks something when you do that. The keys of fasting.

That unlocks something. These kind only come out by prayer and fasting. I'm giving you keys. A lot of us are looking for doors, but we hate getting keys. It's keys, and so what it looks like is he's given a key.

He saved, he accepted Jesus. Matthew 16 told us, I will give you keys to the kingdom, okay? Now this is what false prophets do.

The color of this key is red. The color of this key is red. Don't you agree with me?

No, I actually think the color of the key is blue. It's red. It's blue. It's red. Listen to me.

God stole me. Thus saith the Lord. In a dream.

You don't have to listen. He took me up in a vision. Listen to the man of God.

Listen to the man of God. Listen to the man of God. Blue. It says green. Listen to me.

God has told me. He's already showed me. It's blue.

No, it's orange. No, when you think about, listen, feel the texture of the key. Does that not feel like it's yellow?

Okay. Hold on. Wait, wait.

What color is it? Green. See?

Now, this is what happens when we're listeners and not students. You walk around with the key, but since you don't study, you're blind. You're blind. Since you don't have devotion time, it's, what color is it? Green.

And what Jesus says when he's talking to Pharisees, give me these keys. When he's talking to Pharisees, I want y'all to look. Luke 11, verse 52, look what Jesus says. He says, woe to you experts in the law because you have taken away.

way the key to knowledge yeah you yourself have not entered and you have hindered those who were entering Jesus has a problem when people lie about keys and take them. Now, I want to give him back. Now, let's take your blindfold off.

I don't know how tight you tied this. There you go. What color is this key?

Red. Red. Now, Will, what a lot of times people do is now that he can see, he questions if it's really red.

Come on. Because I told you it's what? Green.

He told you what? Orange, orange, orange. We believe in the gifts of the Spirit? We don't.

Is it water baptism? It's a sprinkle. Can women preach?

Can they not preach? Can we speak in tongues? We don't speak in tongues.

And so you walk around with the key, but you're yellow, orange, blue, green. Yellow, orange, blue. But the key is red. And then when you take the blindfold off and see that it's red, you still look for a yellow door.

Yellow, orange, blue, green. This is so good. I heard green for years.

I see that it's red, but I got green ingrained in me. All I know is green. All I'm chasing is green.

All I'm chasing is green. So when it's time to die and actually accept the blood of the Lamb, I'm looking for green. And I'm searching for a door and I keep putting the key in and I keep blaming it on God that it's not opening.

God, why won't you open the door? Because you got the wrong key in the wrong door. Can't hear you preach because you're not in a suit. Because you were taught an orange key. An orange key.

Can't hear me because I'm up here in a jacket and not a suit. You'll be surprised how many people can't hear because of wrong keys. Now, I don't know if y'all caught this. When you first were taking the blindfold off, you were blinking quite a bit. Why?

Get my vision back. Get your vision back. It was blurry. It was blurry. Okay.

Now, the most fragile Christian is the one that is hungry for truth. Yeah. He's blinking, trying to see.

I have to now try to adjust what I thought was faith. What I thought was Bible was not. Hallelujah is the highest praise. That's not the highest praise.

Yeah. That's not Bible. Y'all look shocked.

That's not Bible. It's not. So you walk around saying churchy colloquialisms, and you're trying to adjust in a world full of sandy preachers. Trying to adjust.

Can I give you one that's going to change your life? Adjusting to those visions where you keep thinking that you've been taught wrong theology since we've thrown them out there. One of the most misinterpreted scriptures is faith without works is dead. because we so much credit the grind. I'm grinding.

I can't just pray for it. I got to get up and do it, and I got to make it happen, and I got to make it happen, and I got to make it happen, and I got to make it happen. Let me give you a natural analogy.

If you are in the living room and your spouse is in the kitchen and you ask them for something to drink, and they say, sure, I'll get it for you, and immediately you go get up and get it yourself. What are they going to say? What did you ask me for?

If you're gonna get up and get it yourself, what you asking me for? Right. Well, my faith without works is dead. No, you got up because one, you either thought I wasn't gonna get what you wanted, or two, I was taking too long for your liking.

That's so good, bro. That's so good. What the scripture was talking about, faith without works is dead, is if you are fundamentally rooted in a Christian belief that you have accepted the Lord Jesus Christ and you have no peace, and you have no temperament, you have no patience with... people you don't know how to love one another as yourself the works of your faith should be evident in your life by how you talk to people how you treat people how you do business how you how you govern yourself on social media if there is no fruit your works is how you represent what you believe. Your belief is trash.

And that's why people are so tossed to and fro because they encountered too many Christians that was mean. They encountered too many believers that were liars. They encountered too many believers that were manipulators.

Too many pastors and shepherds who were manipulators. So if you don't have the fruit of the Spirit, which is your works, your faith is dead. Yeah. I'm sorry.

No, I was just going to say, because the reality of the situation is, is that we keep crediting the grind. I'm grinding. When every time we do that, we're reinforcing a curse. The grind is what God gave Adam in the garden.

So good. But Jesus came to fulfill the curse. So now you can only be in a place where if I seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, God will work out the details.

So good, bro. So good. What I was going to say to compliment it is the keys are better than the actual blessing. Come on.

Come on. The problem is we have keys, but we don't know what they're to. If I just give somebody all of these keys, you could say thank you.

Yeah. But you don't know what they're to. This is why you don't read scripture, because you don't know what they...

You don't understand. And if I told you, okay, this key is to the office. This key is to a house.

This key is to my truck. This key, if I begin to explain what the key unlocks, you will begin to value the keys. Yeah. versus the key giver.

Versus the key. Come on. Why do you think we did a whole Love Is series?

Yes. Yeah. It was like six, seven weeks. I was like, okay, I understand that a lot of people are coming, but listen, the DNA of the Christian is love.

Yeah. It is. By our fruit, by this, all men will know that you're my disciples. By the way, you love one another.

And so I was trying to get us to get that. get that as a church so that when people come, they experience Jesus'love before we try to rebuke. Yeah.

Okay. I want to break down several points for you to see this. How can you spot a false prophet? Number one, they teach messages for their gain versus your growth and God's glory. Mm.

It's for their gain. 2 Peter chapter 2, verse 2. Many will follow their evil teachings and shameful immorality, and because of these teachers, the way of truth will be slandered. In their greed, they will make up clever lies to get a hold of your money. But God condemned them long ago, and their destruction will not be delayed. If you have a need, sow a seed.

We have a $500 line, a $200 line. Y'all laugh, but there are churches right now that are doing it. And... As I'm preaching.

They don't care about holiness. They don't care about obedience. They just care about your money. That's it. That's all they care about is their game.

Somebody say false prophet. False prophet. Number two, they don't preach the gospel. That's so easy. They do not preach the gospel.

See, the good news concerning Jesus'death, burial, death... burial and resurrection according to the scriptures is that there has been a trade. God took your imperfect record.

Jesus had a perfect record. And once we put our faith in him, obey his teachings, Accept him as not just Savior, but as Lord. He's the world's Savior for those who accept the gift of salvation, but he's not everybody's Lord, meaning he leads your life.

We're not used to that because in America we have... a president. If we had a king, it'll be a little different. Because kings, they don't take back talk. It ain't, well, we're going to vote on it.

No, this is what I said. Jesus is not a president or a congressman. He's the king.

And what he says goes. And I believe sometimes a democracy mindset has bled over into our Christianity to where we think we got options. I don't like that passage. I don't agree with that.

God ain't through with me yet. He's the king. Somebody say the king. King.

Galatians chapter 1 verse 9 as we have said before so now I say again if anyone preaches any other gospel to you then what you have received let him be accursed for do I now persuade men or God? Or do I seek to please men for if I still please men I would not be a bondservant of Christ. I read that like, ain't that the truth? Because if I was trying to please men, some of these comments Thomas, what's up, bro?

I'm a bondservant of Christ, though. So I want to act out. I feel what you feel.

But God is boss. They cut me off on the freeway, too. But God is boss. I see women that are pretty, too, but God is boss, and I got my own fine thing at the house. Come on.

Come on. When you understand that you are not given electives on which one you pick. It's not a Jesus menu where you copy and paste your own version of the Bible. All 39 in the old, 27 in the new.

All 66 books are decrees and commands for us to live by. They don't preach the gospel. Number three, they never address sin, repentance, or God's desire of holiness. You don't ever hear them say sin.

Sin! I know, well you're going to have a best life, okay, but God hates sin. He died on the cross so that we wouldn't experience the wrath of sin.

Ooh, can I mess your theology up a little bit? See, the wrath of God was poured out on... Jesus on the cross. Yeah. So when we who are sons and daughters of the kingdom, when we sin, we don't get wrath.

We get chastisement. Yeah. Yeah.

Come on. There's a difference. The wrath has been been handled. Yes.

We don't live in sin. We don't practice it. What is practice?

You live like this. Yes. There's a difference between a fall and a practice. Yes.

I fail. Okay, for you to fall means you kind of tripped. You didn't see it.

Yeah. Going over there at three in the morning is this. You jumped. That was not a fall.

I jumped. I'm struggling. Okay.

A struggle is not this. Yeah. Hold me back, Will.

This is a struggle. I'm trying. I'm trying to still. This is what a struggle looks like. That's a struggle.

You're not struggling if you're just going and doing it. Yeah. Yeah. Never address sin.

at all. If your ears don't get hot, palms don't get sweaty, start clenching your teeth a little bit. If you're sitting next to somebody that you know you're doing things that aren't biblical with and y'all start to feel some type of way as we're preaching about holiness and it's going to spark for there to be a conversation on the ride home, you're in the wrong place. And the day you're in that it's not preaching sin it nullifies your ears to where it's easier to slip into a reprobate mind there it is there it is so where you lose consciousness in desensitized I no longer have an awareness nope conviction that this is even wrong anymore yeah so I've gotten comfortable and I've insulated myself in my sin and because I never hear about sin this is just who I am and God knows my heart yeah or only God can judge me I'm like, that's horrible. You know what you're saying?

Only God could judge me. He's a righteous judge. Listen. I don't think you want that.

I think you want to be blood covered standing before God versus saying only God could judge me. Okay, all right. Let's go down the list.

Let's go down the list. So we got to get to a place where we are willingly looking for, I want you to tell me what I can work on. There it is. That's how you. If you're, that's how you know if you're a babe in Christ or not.

And that's cool if you're just coming in. But at some point in time, I need to know. I tell my friends all the time, don't let me be wrong.

If you see me going somewhere and it does not align, but this is why you got to have people who are future and faith focused. Come on, bro. Because if I have an awareness of where you're supposed to be, when you start going off, I can say, hey, hey, hey.

Hey, hey, hey. But if I can't be challenged. in my sin, my pride has built up this standard that keeps me protected. And because they said something and I felt stones, this ain't the church for me.

Because that hurt. That hurt. You told me, when you were preaching, I felt like I need to leave them and I've been with them for six years.

That hurt. Let me find a church that makes me feel good about it. Because I want to get comfortable and that's where you got to figure out what do we want.

I want to be in a place where I'm challenged. Let me get better. Because it's in my relationship with God that promotes my desire to want to be better for Him. I can gauge where my love is for Christ by how much I am working on me. Because love requires you to do work.

There it is. Listen, this is so good, bro. It's so good.

Let's give you these and let's wrap it up. Number four, how can you spot a false prophet that tell people what they want to hear? Yeah. I actually love hearing this comment. Ooh, pass the flowers.

They come to find next. he stayed coming for my scalp. If you ever like, ooh, his messages are so soft, I need a sabbatical.

What has happened to where coming for my neck has changed to where his messages are soft? Yeah. And we have a lot of softies in pulpits.

I'm scared if I say this, you won't give. I'm scared if I say this, you won't tithe. I'm going to tell you the truth at the end of the day.

I got to stand before God. And I ain't going to stand before, I lied to them so that they can like me. I lied to them so I can get a bigger platform. And then we listen to music that encourages lies.

Come on. I love the way you lie. Like, I want to be lied to.

Come on. 2 Timothy chapter 4, verse 3. For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.

Tell you what you want to hear. Number five, they're a false teacher or a false prophet if they sleep with sheep. Okay, I'm gonna be brief. As a shepherd, the people I serve, they're my assignments. Yeah.

You don't sleep with assignments. Yeah. That's how that becomes your assassin.

I don't pray for you, I pray on you. That's what a lot of us... In the comments, go back on my social media, you'll see over 1,400 comments.

My pastor was looking at me with lust. Talking about deliverance, he looked like he wanted something delivered to him. This is real, y'all. Yeah. That's causing for us to not be able to hear the voice of God.

Next, how to spot a false prophet. They're eloquent in language, persuasive with charisma, but lethal with sugar. with sugar. Everybody says something true from time to time. Even the devil could do that.

Y'all didn't hear what I just said. Everybody could say something true from time to time. Even the devil was quoting scripture at Jesus.

This is why when you're looking for a local church, I always suggest try to give it a series. See if it's consistent with the Word of God. Not just one. See if the foundation is Jesus. Romans chapter 16, verse 17. Now I urge you, brethren, note those who cause divisions and offenses.

Contrary to the doctrine which you learned and avoid them. Somebody say avoid them. Avoid them.

For those who are such do not serve our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly and by smooth words and flattering speech deceive the hearts of the simple. Last one. How do you spot a false teacher, false prophet? They promote biblical contradictions. Promote them.

Nothing is wrong with. Well, you know, sometimes pastors steal. They promote biblical contradictions.

Why go this route? How are you going to have a whole series on voices and you never deal with what Jesus dealt with? Beware of false teachers and false prophets. Because what a lot of us are affected by is bad teaching. Bad teaching.

And so we come here with sand. Sand. We just want you to consider, maybe you shouldn't take that professor's class because they don't teach what's going to be on your midterm. Popular, but once you have to take the test, you won't see anything that you need to answer the questions.

This conversation, I pray, will cause us to be hungry and study, because like I said, I'm not trying to just feed you, I'm trying to make you hungry. I want you to study the Bible for yourself, but I do understand that only 25% of people who are hearing this message will actually allow it to take roots. Let's pray, bro.

Let's stand. Let's all stand. Jesus said to Simon Peter, The devil desires to sift you as wheat, but I have prayed for you that you will not fall.

And when you have returned to me, strengthen the brethren. Everybody isn't lucky enough to be or blessed enough to be in the house where you don't have to worry about this. But my desire is to see a space where not only we receive, but we go out and distribute. But you are the light.

It should be evident in your life and how you move and how you talk that I am not in a place where I'm receiving false teachings. Come over here. So we're going to pray. I'm going to first pray over you, then we're going to pray over your leaders.

But I want you to really take a moment of assessment. Just close your eyes for a moment. And just be honest with what you desire.

Do I want to get better? Because here's the truth. God can't heal what we continue to refuse to reveal.

Because the scripture says, even where he says, the good things that I desire to do, I don't. Oh, wretched man that I am. And if you're at a place where you don't want rock, but you want to want rock, that's where we got to give it to God. God, so he is able to step in and start changing your desires.

So right now, right now, as you take a moment of assessment, we're just going to pray. Dearly Father God, we thank you for this moment in the name of Jesus that you orchestrated before the foundations of the earth. the earth, that before time began, you had this moment in mind. Thank you, God, for everybody that is here, that everybody that is listening, everybody that is watching, everybody that will watch, because your word remains true. We thank you, God, for your faithfulness to your believers, to those who desire more.

I pray right now, Holy Spirit, that you come in and start infiltrating hearts and minds, that you start shifting perspective, that you start changing some desires, that you start restructuring and reorganizing and bringing restoration to those who have been broken and used and abused by those who were not. by you. I pray God for healing right now in the name of Jesus. To those who have been manipulated, to those who have been abandoned, those who have been led astray, those who have been in a space where they have been lied to and driven out into a space that you have not called them return and start collecting your remnant and bring them back into the fold i pray for the body of christ at large god that those who have been in in the pulpits and on stages and have have been lying and preaching heresy father god that you begin to open the eyes of the people father pour out your spirit on all flesh that your sons and daughters will prophesy that we will see visions and have an understanding and revelation i pray god for those who are in the space where they desire more but don't know how to get to you i pray for those who have the desire to do more but don't know how to make the first step that you bring clarity i pray god that you bring clarity that you heighten the discernment what about Oh, God, that you heighten the discernment of your people. I pray, God, that you begin to whisper your knowledge and mysteries to those who have an ear to hear.

Let them hear what you're saying, God, in this season. Let them hear what you're saying, God. Even in the midnight hour when you wake them up and you're tossing to and fro, trying to figure out why you can't get comfortable. Holy Spirit is tapping you on the shoulder and say, come here, I got some stuff to reveal to you.

Come here, there's some things I'm trying to talk to you about. about. There's some things I'm trying to work out.

God, help us to understand what you're doing in this season. I pray, God, for supernatural clarity. I pray for supernatural discernment. I pray for a divine intervention, God, for those who have been, their ears have been clouded and that have been stopped up with garbage theology.

I pray, God, that you begin to send Holy Spirit, Holy Spirit into the ears and to the hearts and to the minds and to the bodies and begin bring restoration. healing right now to those cracks in the hearts. I feel you right now. I feel you. Those who have said that, I just don't know if I can try again because it hurt me so bad.

Those that say, I know I want to do more, but I'm just, I'm paralyzed in my broken pieces. I'm praying right now that Holy Spirit begin to put those pieces back together. I know what they did.

It wasn't right. It wasn't your fault. It wasn't your fault.

And you're not responsible for what happened to you, but you are responsible for how you respond. And you don't have to do the heavy lifting. If you give it to God, he'll do the work. But you got to invite him in.

You got to give it to Holy Spirit to start putting those pieces back together. You matter to God. And I know people may have put you in a place where you felt like you didn't matter.

Let me reaffirm that you matter to God. You are his beloved. You are his bride. You are his son.

You are his daughter. And I pray right now that you begin to see yourself in the image of who he has created. That in this season, As the world is groaning, as the earth is bringing forth the signals and signs that time is winding down, that God will give you supernatural clarity and discernment, and that He will allow you to have the boldness and the strength to not only come in and receive, but to leave and take out. That you become the light in your workplace. That you become the light in your marriage.

That you become the light in your friend group. If the world ended today, let your light so shine among men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father, which is in heaven. So I pray, Holy Spirit, sweep the minds and the hearts of those that are listening. when we leave from this place never from your presence and the demons that are waiting outside send angelic assistance that you would go with them and cover them you are their rear guard that you would stand before them and lift up a standard that no weapon formed against them shall prosper and every tongue that rises in judgment thou shalt condemn this is their heritage Satan the Lord rebuke you and the blood of Jesus be against you I bind up every demonic assault on every purpose, every destiny, every relationship, every calling, it will not be stifled anymore. Father, remove the barriers and the obstacles.

Kick down walls and tear down borders, God, and allow your people to ascend into the place that you've called them to be. I thank you, God.

Transcript for:Understanding Doctrine and Church Challenges

Transcript for:
Understanding Doctrine and Church Challenges