0:18 Would you turn your Bibles with me to Matthew's Gospel, chapter 24? Matthew 24. I'd like to read the first four verses. 0:37 And Jesus came out of the temple and was going away when his disciples came up to point out the temple building to him. And he he answered and said to them, "Do you not see all these things? Truly I say to you, not one stone here 0:53 shall be left upon another which will not be torn down." And as he was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, "Tell us, what will these things be? And what will the sign of your coming and the end of 1:13 the age?" The disciples asked Jesus, "What will be the sign of your coming and what will be the end of the age?" And uh we know in this chapter Jesus mentioned various things like wars and rumors of 1:32 wars and nations rising against nation and earthquakes in many places and terrors and tsunamis which we had not heard in the past few years. These are something new in 1:50 the in this century or in the last century. So there were any uh there were not uh any tsunamis as we are familiar with today and uh 2:09 terrorism as we know it today. It was unheard of but it is written there. the parallel passage you read in Luke 21 about tsunami and about um terrorism. But before all these things, Jesus said one particular thing that I 2:29 want to talk about uh this morning and that is in verse 4. Jesus said an answer to them. This is the first thing that Jesus is telling them as a sign of his coming. He said, "See to 2:48 it that no one misleads you." Why is he telling that? This is not something not so bad as earthquakes or 3:05 wars, tsunamis or terrorism. But something that creeps into us or creeps into Christendom very subtly that you will not detect the danger of it and the poison of 3:25 it. Jesus first of all mentioned see to it that you are not misled. See, as 3:42 we look at church history in the last 60 plus years, especially in from 1960 onwards, the charismatic movement 4:01 began. And prior to that about 60 years prior to that Pentecostal movement began and um some revival was there genuine revival and it really brought some good 4:17 thing in the church and it restored the the apostolic ministry and the gift of the Holy Spirit etc. And afterwards came this charismatic movement in 1960. And it did some good things. But 4:39 you see how it has declined and descended to a level where the word of God has been compromised. The word of God has been distorted and diluted. And they have 4:57 digressed from the main gospel into another gospel, gospel of prosperity, gospel of health and wealth and uh things like 5:13 that. And they have gone like Paul says to follow another Jesus and preaching another gospel and following another spirit. See these things initially they 5:33 look like harmless when a person uses the Bible and says God wants you to be healthy, wealthy and all these things and he will quote some verses and people believe that it is true because it is there in the Bible 5:52 and there are so many things in the Bible. If you want an excuse, you can always find if you want to justify your immorality, you can always say David committed that and he became a man after God's own heart and Saul was a 6:12 murderer and he was a persecutor of the church, but he became one of the great apostles. That's true. The all these things are true. But do we take comfort in those things and do we make use of these 6:29 um incidents in these people as as my uh goal or do I make them as my heroes? See even in the old covenant Elijah and Elisha there were some of the great 6:49 u prophets including Samuel they never ran after money or women or wealth or things like that even though they had many gifts to heal and to raise the dead and things like 7:06 that but you see today's Christian Christianity how it has diverted from the mainline Christianity and mainline teaching of the gospel. It is it's it's preaching a different gospel 7:24 altogether which if Jesus and Apostle Paul had come down today and lived incognito in this world and preached the gospel that they preached 2,000 year old 7:44 gospel I am sure that people would still kill them because no true prophet was honored and no true prophet was heralded. They were all almost all of them they were 8:03 persecuted and they were hunted and hounded and they were killed. And the same thing is happening even today. When a man of God preaches undiluted pure word of God, the gospel of Jesus 8:22 Christ, he is considered a heretic or a fanatic or a lunatic and they tick them off. And who is honored and glorified and 8:39 respected? All these people who are like celebrities today who walk on the stage like uh know performers and making a great show of their 8:57 talent of so-called healing where hardly any healing takes place. There may be some healing which God does despite the man. Not because of the man or be not because of his 9:13 godliness but in spite of him. Like for example when Moses disobeyed God and hit the rock twice, God still gave water to the people. It's not because God was happy with Moses at that 9:31 time. He disobeyed God. But still God gave water for the people to drink because God loved those people. So God loves his people and he heals them in spite of that so-called man of God. And people 9:48 watch those things with open mouth and say, "Oh, what a man of God." And things like that. And later on, a few years later, you'll hear or read about that man. He ran away with so many millions of 10:06 dollars or fell into immorality and things like that. and the whole ministry their so-called international ministry by their name so and so's international ministry 10:26 collapses and folds up why is it because more than 90 95% of the people in Christendom they do not have discernment to see through what's happening 10:44 whether this is the true Jesus and the true gospel or this is a fake one because they don't read their Bible and obviously they go astray and they deserve to go astray because they they 11:01 do not study it as much as they study their textbooks or as much as they're diligent in their duty secular work. So if you do not take pains to read God's word properly and understand 11:21 it and learn the word of God and are dependent upon the Holy Spirit, then you will be led astray. And Jesus said made it very clear on the top of the list. He said, 11:37 "See to it that nobody misleads you." He said that in verse 11 also. He said many false prophets will arise and mislead. Not a few, many. He 11:56 said many people will be misled. Verse verse 11. And again in the same chapter verse 24 Jesus said for these for false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and 12:16 wonders so as to mislead if possible even the elect. See these people are not just ordinary preachers. He says there that they show great signs and 12:35 wonders and mislead and not just a few people. It says mislead many if possible even the elect. Why is it that even the elect, 12:51 the chosen ones are misled? Because they want everything to be spoonfed. They don't want to take any trouble to dig into God's word and see whether Jesus did that or Jesus preached that or whether 13:10 the apostles preached that or did it. If they didn't do or didn't preach and these people are doing something contrary to what Jesus and the apostles did, then I can safely throw that in the 13:29 trash and move away from there. That is what God wants us to exercise our senses and to judge everything. The Bible says that it says judge not in 13:44 Matthew 7 and in John 20 7:24 I think it says judge. So you need to have the balance. Don't judge unnecessarily if you don't know every fact about it but judge righteous judgment. Judge 14:04 righteously. So there's a balance in scripture for everything. Don't take one word out of its context and make a doctrine out of it. Then you are bound to go astray. And 14:21 Jesus said, "Go and preach the gospel." And what is the gospel? What is the gospel? Jesus came into the world before that as 14:41 his forerunner John the Baptist came and they began their public ministry and the first word I have said this a few times here I don't mind repeating that here again today the first words that both of them 14:58 uttered word to word repent for the kingdom of God is at And this is the first word that John the Baptist said and this is the first word that Jesus said when they both began 15:15 their first public ministry. And even just before Jesus ascended to heaven, he said in Luke 24 towards the end, go and preach repentance. 15:33 He said, you can read that in 24:47 in Luke. Go and preach repentance. So if you don't hear the word repentance and faith in 15:48 God's love and his finished work on Calvary. And if you don't hear of God's justice and judgment in any church, 16:04 then you know that it is not the church according to biblical standard. You can safely say goodbye to that and move to a place where repentance is preached 16:21 everywhere. every I mean almost every in every message repentance and faith and about the judgment coming judgment of God. If these things are missing then you are following another Jesus and you 16:39 are you are exposing yourself to another gospel. My dear brothers and sisters get back to the Bible. You know there was a radio program in the 60s and 70s called back to the 16:56 Bible. There's a very good title for that. Come back to the Bible. Then you will not be misled. Read your Bible, study it and show yourself approved unto God. And as you do this and as you take 17:16 little um trouble in studying that then your progress will be made evident to all. It says people will come to know that your progressing in your Christian life. I'm not talking about Bible knowledge. Bible knowledge is different and gaining the 17:35 glory of God and gaining God's approval and being conformed to the image of Jesus and also being partaker of the divine nature. They are different from Bible knowledge. The devil has more 17:51 Bible knowledge than all of us and every one of us. He could even quote scripture to Jesus and tempt him. how much more he can do with us. And we need to we need to realize dear brothers and sisters that all that happens to us is not 18:10 necessarily from the devil. Many people misunderstand that. And I was recently listening to one preacher. He's calling everything as demonic. Don't give the 18:29 devil the credit and the glory that he doesn't deserve. Like for example, he was telling if you are in the habit of thumb sucking or bedwetting or um you crack your 18:49 knuckles or things like that or even eating chocolate and ice cream. These are all from the devil. He was telling you need to realize some of these things are, you know, when children are small, they involuntarily 19:06 wet their bed. That is not a sin. The Lord understands it. The Lord has made them. And thumb sucking is also one of the traits of small children. And cracking knuckles is some people's habit. and biting nails. Some 19:24 people's habit. Those are not sins that will take you to hell. So you can't put them in a category of sins and blame the devil for that. Sins of the flesh is different. 19:42 Temptation from the devil is different. Temptation from our flesh is different. And sins committed unknowingly and involuntarily those are different. And the Bible says very clearly in James that when you are 20:00 tempted let no man say that he's God is tempting him because God himself cannot be tempted by anything and he tempts nobody. It says, "But it says you are being tempted because of 20:18 the because of the fleshly desires in you that wage war against your soul and that makes you sin. When you yield to that evil thought that is flashed into your mind 20:36 and you agree with that and you yield to it and you say yes s to it then sin is conceived and then it gives birth to sin and the wages of sin is death. So we need to realize what is from the flesh 20:55 and what is from the devil and distinguish that and then ask the Lord to help because Jesus also came in the flesh as we read in Hebrews 4 uh 14 and 15 and 16 that he was tempted like 21:13 us because he had the flesh like us. He came in the flesh like you and me. Lived on this earth not as God but as man. Although he was God and he didn't use his 21:31 prerogatives divine help but he lived utterly depending upon the father and asking him for help. It says he was tempted in every point like as we are at without sin. It says therefore it 21:51 encourages us to come boldly to the throne of grace that we may find mercy for our past sins and grace for the future that we may not fall into sin but that we may glorify the Lord. 22:09 And the gospel that Jesus spoke about as we saw is repentance and faith. And even on the day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit came and the and the apostles stood up and Peter on their behalf 22:28 spoke to the crowd and the crowd were smitten to the heart. They were cut to the quick it says and Those were all, you know, hardcore Jews. Just a few weeks ago, they had crucified 22:46 the Lord Jesus. And here when they hear the gospel from Peter, they were convicted and they asked the apostles, "Sers, what should we do?" You read that in Acts 2 36 onwards. Sir, what should 23:05 we do? And they came to realize that they were the ones who crucified the Lord, the Lord of life, the King of glory. And they were convicted and they 23:23 asked, "What should we do now?" And then you know what Peter says? The same thing that Jesus and John the Baptist said. He said, "Repent. repent and believe and be 23:44 baptized and then receive the Holy Spirit. These are the things that the early apostles spoke. Even turn with me to Acts chapter 20. What Paul says to the Ephesians church, Ephesian church 24:01 just before he was departing from them, he said, "See, I have I have done my part. Now I will tell you something." He says in verse 21, chapter 20 21 of acts he 24:20 says I or 20 I'll read I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable and teaching you publicly and from house to house. He stayed there for three years as we read in verse 31. And for 3 years 24:39 he spoke to the people in Ephesus morning and evening twice a day. 365 days into two into three years. See nearly 2,000 24:55 messages he spoke to them. And what what did he speak to them? solemnly testifying to both Jews and Greeks of repentance. Again, the word repentance, of repentance toward God and 25:13 faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. And now behold, bound in spirit, I am on my way to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit solemnly testifies 25:30 to me in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions await me. See, he was not afraid because the Holy Spirit had already told him that every city that you go to, bonds and afflictions await 25:48 you. You will be persecuted. You'll be imprisoned. And one day you will have to give your life for me. That was the Holy Spirit telling him 26:06 clearly often in his spirit. And he says, "Therefore," verse 24, "I do not consider my life of any account as dear to myself in order that I may finish my course and the 26:22 ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus to testify solemnly of the gospel of the grace of God." Again, the gospel, the gospel is the gospel of repentance. Repent from your sins. My 26:40 dear brothers and sisters, some of you who have come from different churches, different backgrounds, you may be gloring in the fact that one day in the past, you said that sinner's prayer. Lord 26:59 Jesus, please be merciful to me. I'm a sinner. Forgive my sins. I believe in you. And thereafter there is no change in you and you have been carrying on as you were before and if there is no 27:18 genuine change in you my dear friend I would like to tell you that your so-called salvation experience is fake. I have no hesitation to say that because the Bible says very clearly, if any man is in Christ 27:37 Jesus, he is a new creation. Old things passed away, behold, all things have become new. If something genuine has happened in your spirit and you've been born of the spirit and regenerated of the Holy 27:54 Spirit, then all things have passed away. They're gone. They go away from your life. And then you become a new creation, a new desire, a new longing, a new love for the Lord 28:11 and hatred for the world and the devil and sin will be there increasingly in you. And you love what you hated and you hate what you loved. You love the Lord with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength. and you 28:29 would like to be among those who call upon the name of the Lord from a pure heart and your friendship and your company, your relationships change and you will long for the godly 28:47 ones. Like yesterday I was telling in the meeting that we had like that verse says in Psalm 16:3 I have made the godly ones my heroes. Who are your heroes 29:03 today? Your film stars or some fashion models or or some sports star. I had them once upon a time but I checked them all out and today my heroes 29:21 are godly ones whom I see whom I have seen for four five decades who have lived god-fearing life whose life has blessed many over the years not only here in 29:40 Bangalore but in different parts of India and abroad and their lives are a testimony, a testament for me, an example for me to follow. So these are my heroes. You make them your heroes 29:58 too. And Jesus warned very clearly, be careful that no one leads you astray. For many will come in my name, saying that I am Christ. You see, there are two sides to it. When Jesus said many will come to me and say I am Christ 30:18 means some people have literally claimed that they they are Christ. They are Jesus Christ the Messiah. I remember one of the Indian gurus when he was kicked out of India. He went to America and when he was landing in America he uttered these 30:36 words saying I am the Messiah that America is looking forward to. He said and he landed there and he did the same mischief that he had done here and he was kicked out from there also. Like that there are people 30:54 in times past where people said I am Christ and Jesus I mean we can take it in another way also. People can say Jesus said in another place people will say I am he means they will say Jesus Christ of 31:12 the Bible is the real Messiah and Jesus and they misrepresent them with all these garbage that you heard of prosperity health wealth and so on and so forth another Jesus and 31:31 another gospel be careful about them. Jesus said they will mislead many and even the elect can be misled. Beware, he said, of false prophets. You read about that in Matthew chapter 7. 31:50 Jesus warned very clearly, beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. You know what the wolf comes for? What does it require from the sheep? Want something from the 32:12 sheep. So it comes in sheep's clothing among the sheep. And I read in a in a humor uh cartoon that uh wolf is wearing sheep's clothing and 32:30 telling you vote for me, I promise you I'll become a vegetarian. You know these preachers are like that. You give me your money and see how the Lord will bless you. You mean God is a commission agent or what? That he wants you 10% 32:50 And he is the one who created everything, man. What you see and what you don't see and what you have and what you don't have. He wants everything and he needs nothing. The Bible says he needs nothing. Don't think that God needs you. 33:08 God doesn't need you and me. God is self-sufficient. He has everything that he wants. he needs and he is the one who has given all things pertaining to life and godliness to enjoy it for his pleasure. God doesn't need your 10% like this. 33:28 People keep on asking and fleeing you all the time in the church. Jesus said, "Watch for them." Many will tell me on that day. Jesus said, "Lord, Lord, we did this, that, and the other. We prophesied in your 33:47 name. We cast out demons in your name. And we did many mighty miracles in your name." See, these are not ordinary people like you and me. These are preachers. You know, most of us have not cast out 34:07 demons, have not preached a sermon, and have not uh performed any miracles. We're all ordinary people. But these people who are telling Jesus, they're reminding them as if he doesn't know. They're reminding Jesus, don't you 34:26 know that we did this, that, and the other for you? And what is the answer that Jesus gives them? You read that in Matthew 7:22 7:22 and 23 he says clearly I will tell them on that day depart from 34:46 me I never knew [Music] you depart from me you workers of iniquity that means in their private life they were different they were one thing inside another thing 35:04 outside. There was sin in their personal life, in their thought life which nobody knew. Even his wife didn't know. But you see of late some things are coming out of the closet about 35:22 certain well-known tele evangelists how they fell in the area of money or in the area of sex. And these are no time will prove everything one day or the other. If not 35:40 here there when we stand before the judgment seat of Christ everything will be laid bare and everybody can see everything about you and me. So are we walking in the light today keeping that day in 36:00 view so that I set my life right so that I live before the face of God and when my time comes on the day of judgment the Lord says there's nothing for me to judge 36:20 about you because you have judged yourself on this earth and you have lived in the fear of God. Everything has been wiped out. Your slate is clean. Please move next. He will call. Are you looking for 36:37 that commendation from the Lord? Or you are looking to please men here in this world and have a good testimony before them and say and they say, "Oh, what a man of God he is." and you glory in that. But God has a different opinion 36:55 about you. And Jesus said even about the Pharisees and the scribes, he said, "Beware of them. Beware of the 11 or their east." Jesus said, "The leavenven of the Pharisees, the leavenven of the 37:15 Sadducees, the leavenven of the Herodians." There are three types of leaven that Jesus spoke about. Leven of the Pharisees is hypocrisy. They were men pleasers doing you know all the 37:32 right things externally like they wore special dress big robes like you see some pastors wearing. Where do you see that in the New Testament? That was an old company. If they are wearing that they better be disciples of Moses. 37:51 Jesus's disciples and the apostles they never wore any special robes to distinguish themselves from other ley and they get greetings in the marketplace and best seats in the synagogues and best places at 38:11 feasts and they devour widows houses and for a pretense make long prayers. These will receive greater condemnation. And 11 of the scribes is scribes didn't believe in the miraculous. They didn't even believe in 38:30 resurrection. They said resurrection is passed. And there are no angels, there is no miraculous and things like that. And the lean of the Herodians is, you know, King Herod, he loved to listen to the fiery messages of John the Baptist. 38:47 He was fed up with the Pharisees messages, boring messages. But John the Baptist, he couldn't even care less for the king, King Herod. He said, "It is not good for you to have your brother's wife." He confronted him 39:06 straight. No man had ever dared to say that to a king. And king put him in prison. And some people come to Sunday morning church meeting, church meeting, they all get stirred up, go back home 39:22 and watch what they should not watch either on TV or on their laptop or computer and you one thing on Sunday morning here, one thing in Sunday afternoon or Sunday evening at home. That is hypocrisy again. That is leaven 39:41 of Herodians. He listened to John the Baptist in the morning. In the night at dinner, Salomi belly dancer danced. And he promised her in his drunken stuper. He promised 40:00 her even if you ask half of my kingdom, I will give it to you. And that little girl didn't know what to ask. She went and asked the mother who was Herod's brother's wife. He was keeping her and she had a grudge against John the Baptist and this Salomi 40:19 went and asked the mother and the mother said ask him for John the Baptist's head and she went and asked for that even though Herod felt sorry about it because of the guests around him and the promise that he had 40:35 made. He said, "Okay." And he got John's head chopped off in a platter and brought it and gave it to her. This is Herodians. This is not I'm not talking about Herod 40:53 alone. Those of us who enjoy Sunday morning meeting and enjoy R-rated movies in the evening at home are no better than them. And Paul says in the same chapter of Acts 41:09 20 verse 29 and 31 he says be on 28. Be on guard for yourself and for the flock among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers to shepherd the church of God 41:25 which he purchased with his own blood. Dear brothers and sisters, listen to this. It says here that God purchased his 41:42 church with his own blood. Not with the blood of bulls or goats or any other person but with his own blood that is in the Lord Jesus Christ. 42:01 So God came in flesh in Jesus Christ and shed his blood. That's why Paul is not ashamed to say that Jesus p he he didn't say that Jesus purchased his church with his blood. He 42:20 said God purchased the church with his blood. This is a very important phrase. I want you to remember that brothers and sisters. God Almighty in heaven took on 42:37 the form of a man came in flesh and blood and he shed his blood and purchased his church. And Paul says, "I know that after my departure savage ols will come 42:55 in among you and not sparing the flock and from among your own selves men will arise speaking perverse things to draw away the disciples after them." Even the disciples in the church, 43:13 genuine real strong disciples also can be led astray. Like Jesus said, even the elect can be led astray by these false prophets and false preachers. And some of these people among yourselves, he says they're sitting here. They were 43:30 sitting there. When Paul was there, as long as Paul was there, there's their these wolves were um you know, bound their mouths were bound as it were. They had no say in the church because there was a strong 43:49 man called the apostle Paul. He knew whom to put where and where to uh put a put his foot down. He didn't let anybody and everybody get up and share some nonsense. 44:08 He was very selective and he was very discerning to see through people and you know you read certain things where he saw through people's heart even Peter through Ananas and Safara and Paul in that magician's thing 44:28 he said your heart is filled with bitterness he he pronounced judgment on him and he became you know blind and things like that. These were men who had the Holy Spirit in them, who had discernment in 44:45 them. And he says, "Some of you after my departure, they will rise up and they will mislead people speaking perverse things." And what are the perverse things? These are the perverse things that we hear today. 45:04 another Jesus, another gospel, another spirit, and draw away disciples after them. Therefore, be on the alert, remembering that night and day for a period of 3 years, I did not cease to admonish each one with tears. Now, I commend you to God and to 45:23 the word of his grace, which is able to build you up. You want to be built up, my dear brothers and sisters. You want to be built up. Here is the secret. The Apostle Paul himself says, "You want to be built up, 45:41 I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you an inheritance among all those who are being sanctified." Then he says about the way 45:59 how he lived among them. These three years I coveted no one's silver or gold and today people are after the money not only the money the property of their uh of the congregation they say you write 46:17 your houses you write your land in our name give it to our church and God will give you hundfold. You see how is it that Christians are so dumb? Even marvies don't believe 46:34 that you know marvies are such clever people when it comes to money. They know how to make money and they are not fooled by the Christian preachers teaching who will not give to the church. If I give 10% I 46:53 give with a view to receive 90% or 100% 10 times more. No stock exchange will give you that kind of thing. No company will give you that much of dividend or anything. But still these dumb Christians believe that if I give 10% to 47:12 God, God will give me 100%. God never promised that. That was in the old covenant for the Israelites. It was 10% income tax for them like how you pay income tax today. So today God is not interested in your 47:30 10%. God is interested in your life. You and your body is what God requires. And that is the last thing that you want to give to God because you want to enjoy this life on this earth. And you don't know what 47:50 lies beyond the blue and you think this is everything. If you believe that, okay, then go ahead and enjoy. But those who live as if this world is not their home, they're looking forward to something beyond the blue. Like we sing in the 48:09 song, this world is not my home. I'm just a sojourer passing through. My treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue. Not somewhere. It's really with Christ. Like Paul said, I know whom I have believed and I'm 48:28 persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day. And he didn't coveret anybody's silver or gold or clothes. you yourselves know that these hands of 48:43 mine. You see how the apostle Paul um uh helped himself and those who were with him, his co-workers, how he spent money on 49:00 himself and others. He was not a burden on anybody. He says you know these hands of mine minister to my own needs and to the men who were with me. He was a tent maker. He used to make tents and sell them and with that profit whatever he 49:18 earned earned he supported himself and also his co-workers. He never depended upon others asking I'm ministering so you need to supply food for me or you need to give me this that and the other. And he says in another place he stayed 49:37 there 3 years in his own rented apartment that was in Rome. Rome was one of the richest cities of those days. That was like today's whatever you call it, New York or Tokyo, whatever costliest city. And 49:56 he lived there for 3 years paying his own rent and supporting himself financially and also his co-workers working with his own hands. Show me today how many preachers are there working with their own hands supporting 50:14 themselves except in CFC churches. I have not heard or not seen anywhere else. If there is, please let me know. I want to meet them and fellowship with them. 50:30 And further on it says in everything I showed you that by working hard in this manner like I have done working with my own hands supplying my own needs and the needs of others with my own money without being a burden to 50:49 others. He says you also must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus that he himself said it is more blessed to give than to receive. See today's trend is it is more blessed to receive than to give. The more you give 51:07 to me the more you will get. The Lord will bless you. What is that nonsense? Evil pit from the pit of hell. This teaching you give to me your 10%, God will give you 100%. God will bless you. 51:24 You send your money, your prayer request with a check enclosed that's not into bracket and or you write to us. We will send you this little olive oil bottle. This is 51:42 from Israel and only $1,000. Send it to us and it is prayed over and you can use this as a holy oil from Israel. No, all your diseases will 52:00 vanish. What nonsense, what garbage that we are hearing these days. And people 95% of the people Christians don't have discernment with the mouth wide open. They fall a prey to these 52:21 gimmicks. And who are these people? Paul says in Romans 16:17, he says, "Now I beg you, brothers, look out for those who are causing divisions and occasions of stumbling among you, contrary to the 52:39 doctrine which you learned and turned away from them. For those who are such do not serve the Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly." See these are some people about whom Paul says 52:56 their god is their belly and they with their smooth and flattering speech they deceive the hearts of the innocent. 53:12 And you know in chapter 23 of Matthew when you go home you please read that how he had a confrontation with the Pharisees, the lawyers, the 53:29 Sadducees and how he lambasted them. He tore them apart as it were their hypocrisy. He just tore their heart open and exposed. go home and read it. And in one of those verses, it says in Romans 53:49 23:35, he says he tells about all the things that they did to the prophets of of old, how they treated them, how they, you know, tortured them and killed 54:06 them. Every true prophet was killed. because they thought that he was a heretic and they got rid of them. Even just about 500 years ago when people wanted to translate the Bible into English and other 54:26 languages, the then ruling church persecuted them to such an extent that they burnt them alive, stripped them. Some of them were skinned. Some of them were beheaded. And because of their sacrifice, today you have a Bible on 54:45 your lap. A Bible which you can read in your own language. Aren't you thankful that those people gave their lives so that we could have a Bible, God's word in our own hands? And verse 35 it says in Matthew 55:05 23 and this is Jesus talking to the Pharisees mind you he's telling so upon you will come all the righteous blood that has been shed on earth from the blood of the righteous Abel that's you 55:22 read in chapter 4 of Genesis to the blood of Zachchariah the prophet the son of Barakayiah whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. You know why they murdered 55:43 [Music] Zechariah? You know these genuine prophets of old, they were not diplomats. They didn't know how to mince words. They spoke as the Lord told them to speak. They if God told them to call a spade 56:03 spade, they called it spade and by no other name. And when God told them to go and say thus says the Lord's so and so, they said exactly that or batim. and you would like to know some 56:20 sample of what this prophet Zechariah spoke, turn with me to the second last book of the Old Testament. Zechariah I'll close with this second last verse book 56:38 of Zechariah chapter 1 verse one. Zechariah chapter 1 verse one. In the eighth month of the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to 56:55 Zachchariah the prophet, the son of Barakiah, the son of Edo. You see the prophet comes here. Let's imagine the situation. A 57:11 prophet has been called to speak in a conference. And what do the preachers say when they're welcomed in a in a conference as a main speaker, keynote speaker? What do they say normally? I'm glad that 57:31 you have invited me or I am happy to be here with you. No, these are the things that they should say, right? But you know what this man says? The first word that he utters when he comes to the pulpit and stands 57:48 there. He says verse two, just read there. He says to the people, "The Lord was very angry with your fathers." Or in other words, God is very angry with you, brothers and 58:06 sisters. And how many of how many such churches will call such a preacher back again when he says God is angry with you rather than saying smile brother Jesus loves you. This is the true prophet. He will 58:30 tell you to your face what you are. Like the prophet Nathan said to King David, you are the man who committed that sin against Uriah, against Bath Sheba. You are the man. And some prophets said that 58:49 and they were put in jail and they were killed. One of which was John the Baptist. And you read some in the Old Testament also. But David was humble enough to take that blame and he said yes read that Psalm verse Psalm 59:07 51. He writes a big psalm about himself rather than justifying his sin. He says Lord against you and you only have I sinned. It's me who sinned against you. Lord have mercy on me. you desire 59:26 truth in the inward being, forgive me." And he was restored. Whereas Saul, he justified his sins even though it was not so grave as David's sins. And this man says, "God was angry 59:41 with you. No wonder he paid for his preaching." Dear brothers and sisters, use discernment. Dig deep into God's word. Then you will not go astray. You will not be 1:00:00 misled and you will be saved and the Lord will help you take your Christian life seriously. Shall we bow our heads in prayer? Now father we thank you that you have given 1:00:19 us sufficient warnings in your word that we may escape corruption in this world and false teaching and false preachers. Lord Jesus, we pray that you 1:00:37 will open our hearts, our minds. Give us light and understanding that we may know you and your will and your ways that we may walk in the light as you are in the light. and that we may escape this corruption 1:00:55 that is there in this wicked world and this diluted and distorted teachings that are going around. Lord, we pray that you will sensitize us, make us more and more sensitive to your Holy Spirit and to 1:01:13 your word, that we may be transformed from one degree of glory to another day by day. that our lives will be more and more clearer and brighter, Lord Jesus, until the noonday 1:01:32 sun, like your word says, make our lives count for you. We commit ourselves into your hands. For Jesus' sake, we pray. Amen.
