Loading Content...
Share a Link to this Message
The link has been copied to your clipboard; paste it anywhere you would like to share it.
CloseRyan Sim - June 25, 2013
Tuesday - Study It - Influences
Near the end of his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said: 15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 16 You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. 18 A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus you will recognize them by their fruits. We'll look today at the Attractive quality of these false teachers. 15 Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing They will pretend to be sheep, or followers of Jesus, but really they are wolves. They will pretend to have your best interests at heart, but really have their own. They will present a new improved version of Jesus, God, or a new approach to life, all packaged in a slick presentation. It may be too good to be true. Think of a Time Share Presentation. Perhaps you went to one for free stuff, thinking you knew better. But after the slick presentation, you may have left seriously considering it! Professionals can make their message attractive, even if it's not good for you. Jesus is saying don’t be surprised when you are attracted to false prophets. They are very good at this…acting like sheep…discerning them to be wolves takes time, care and prayer. They will also be Inconsistent 16 You will know them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorns, or figs from thistles? In the same way, every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Seek consistency. Grapes come from grapevines, not thorny bushes. The produce is consistent with its source. But this isnot the case with false teachers! They'll be inconsistent in two ways: 1st they will be inconsistent with their own words I visited a woman once, who was reading a popular spiritual teacher who claims to be Christian but also claims God helps her predict the future 85% of the time. Unfortunately, a 3-year study of predictions about 115 missing persons and murder cases found she was wrong in every single case. She claims her teachings benefit her followers, so she writes books, but they are inconsistent with the results. I learned all this from a woman in an unsanitary trailer home with little to her name. All this time, the teacher was making millions on book deals…telling people they can have it all. My friend didn’t notice that the fruit and the tree were very, very different…her experience of this supposed true teaching was very different from the teacher’s own experience. The 2nd Inconsistency is that false prophets teach what is inconsistent with God’s word through history. This is the easiest to verify: you have a written record of God’s word for thousands of years in the Bible. If someone truly represents Jesus, the truth of God, then their words should match what God has always said. I read this week about someone who says that Jesus wanted them to live in a certain kind of mansion with a certain kind of car, but in the Sermon on the Mount Jesus says not to store up treasures on earth…we have a problem! If God is truly speaking to you or anyone – he will be consistent. If it is inconsistent with God through history, you have a problem. Tomorrow, we'll examine the other two fruit of a negative spiritual influence. Question: Can something be true, yet not delivered by an attractive teacher? What would a good teacher’s results look like? Be sure to discuss this with someone else in your life - someone from the train, bus, work or the neighbourhood - wherever. Watch the challenge videos each day while you're apart, then discuss the question when you see each other.
Related Topics: Influence | More Messages from Ryan Sim | Download Audio
From Series: "Sermon on the Mount"
More Messages From Ryan Sim...
Monday - A New Idea - PerfectionApril 15, 2013 |
||
Tuesday - Study It - PerfectionApril 16, 2013 |
||
Wednesday - Change - PerfectionApril 17, 2013 |
||
Thursday - Act On It - PerfectionApril 18, 2013 |
||
Friday - Reflect - PerfectionApril 19, 2013 |
||
Monday - A New Idea - GenerosityApril 22, 2013 |
||
Tuesday - Study It - GenerosityApril 23, 2013 |
||
Thursday - Act On It - GenerosityApril 25, 2013 |
||
Friday - Reflect - GenerosityApril 26, 2013 |
||
Monday - A New Idea - Pompous PrayerApril 29, 2013 |
||
Tuesday - Study It - Pompous PrayerApril 30, 2013 |
||
Wednesday - Change It - Pompous PrayerMay 1, 2013 |
||
Thursday - Act On It - Pompous PrayerMay 2, 2013 |
||
Friday - Reflect - Pompous PrayerMay 3, 2013 |
||
Monday - A New Idea - Self DenialMay 6, 2013 |
||
Tuesday - Study It - Self DenialMay 7, 2013 |
||
Wednesday - Change It - Self DenialMay 8, 2013 |
||
Thursday - Act On It - Self DenialMay 9, 2013 |
||
Friday - Reflect - Self DenialMay 10, 2013 |
||
Monday - A New Idea - ForgivenessMay 13, 2013 |
||
Tuesday - Study It - ForgivenessMay 14, 2013 |
||
Wednesday - Change It - ForgivenessMay 15, 2013 |
||
Thursday - Act On It - ForgivenessMay 16, 2013 |
||
Friday - Reflect - ForgivenessMay 17, 2013 |
||
Monday - A New Idea - PrioritiesMay 20, 2013 |
||
Tuesday - Study It - PrioritiesMay 21, 2013 |
||
Wednesday - Change It - PrioritiesMay 22, 2013 |
||
Thursday- Act On It - PrioritiesMay 23, 2013 |
||
Friday - Reflect - PrioritiesMay 24, 2013 |
||
Monday - A New Idea - WorryMay 27, 2013 |
||
Tuesday - Study It - WorryMay 28, 2013 |
||
Wednesday - Change It - WorryMay 29, 2013 |
||
Thursday - Act On It - WorryMay 30, 2013 |
||
Friday - Reflect - WorryMay 31, 2013 |
||
Monday - A New Idea - JudgementJune 3, 2013 |
||
Tuesday - Study It - JudgementJune 4, 2013 |
||
Wednesday - Change It - JudgementJune 5, 2013 |
||
Thursday - Act On It - JudgementJune 6, 2013 |
||
Friday - Reflect - JudgementJune 7, 2013 |
||
Monday - A New Idea - NeedsJune 10, 2013 |
||
Tuesday - Study It - NeedsJune 11, 2013 |
||
Wednesday - Change It - NeedsJune 12, 2013 |
||
Thursday - Act On It - NeedsJune 13, 2013 |
||
Friday - Reflect - NeedsJune 14, 2013 |
||
Monday - A New Idea - The Golden RuleJune 17, 2013 |
||
Tuesday - Study It - The Golden RuleJune 18, 2013 |
||
Wednesday - Change It - The Golden RuleJune 19, 2013 |
||
Thursday - Act On It - The Golden RuleJune 20, 2013 |
||
Friday - Reflect - Golden RuleJune 21, 2013 |
||
Monday - A New Idea - InfluencesJune 24, 2013 |
||
Tuesday - Study It - InfluencesJune 25, 2013 |
||
Wednesday - Change It - InfluencesJune 26, 2013 |
||
Thursday - Act On It - InfluencesJune 27, 2013 |
||
Friday - Reflect - InfluencesJune 28, 2013 |
||
Monday - A New Idea - KnowingJuly 1, 2013 |
||
Tuesday - Study It - KnowingJuly 2, 2013 |
||
Wednesday - Change It - KnowingJuly 3, 2013 |
||
Thursday - Act On It - KnowingJuly 4, 2013 |
||
Friday - Reflect - KnowingJuly 5, 2013 |
||
Monday - A New Idea - FoundationsJuly 8, 2013 |
||
Tuesday - Study It - FoundationsJuly 9, 2013 |
||
Wednesday - Change It - FoundationsJuly 10, 2013 |
||
Thursday - Act On It - FoundationsJuly 11, 2013 |
||
Friday - Reflect - FoundationsJuly 12, 2013 |
||
Monday - A New Idea - OriginalityJuly 15, 2013 |
||
Tuesday - Study It - OriginalityJuly 16, 2013 |
||
Wednesday - Change It - OriginalityJuly 17, 2013 |
||
Thursday - Act On It - OriginalityJuly 18, 2013 |
||
Friday - Reflect - OriginalityJuly 19, 2013 |
||
Monday - A New Idea - Neighbours MatterSeptember 9, 2013 |
||
Tuesday - Study It - Neighbours MatterSeptember 10, 2013 |
||
Wednesday - Change It - Neighbours MatterSeptember 11, 2013 |
||
Thursday - Act On It - Neighbours MatterSeptember 12, 2013 |
||
Friday - Reflect - Neighbours MatterSeptember 13, 2013 |
||
Monday - A New Idea - Strangers to NeighboursSeptember 16, 2013 |
||
Tuesday - Study It - Strangers to NeighboursSeptember 17, 2013 |
||
Wednesday - Change It - Strangers to NeighboursSeptember 18, 2013 |
||
Thursday - Act On It - Strangers to NeighboursSeptember 19, 2013 |
||
Friday - Reflect - Strangers to NeighboursSeptember 20, 2013 |
||
Monday - A New Idea - Neighbours to AcquaintancesSeptember 23, 2013 |
||
Tuesday - Study It - Neighbours to AcquaintancesSeptember 24, 2013 |
||
Wednesday - Change It - Neighbours to AcquaintancesSeptember 25, 2013 |
||
Thursday - Act On It - Neighbours to AcquaintancesSeptember 26, 2013 |
||
Friday - Reflect - Neighbours to AcquaintancesSeptember 27, 2013 |
||
Monday - A New Idea - Acquaintances to PartnersSeptember 30, 2013 |
||
Tuesday - Study It - Acquaintances to PartnersOctober 1, 2013 |
||
Wednesday - Change It - Acquaintances to PartnersOctober 2, 2013 |
||
Thursday - Act On It - Acquaintances to PartnersOctober 3, 2013 |
||
Friday - Reflect - Acquaintances to PartnersOctober 4, 2013 |
||
Monday - A New Idea - Partners To FriendsOctober 7, 2013 |
||
Tuesday - Study It - Partners To FriendsOctober 8, 2013 |
||
Wednesday - Change It - Partners To FriendsOctober 9, 2013 |
||
Thursday - Act On It - Partners To FriendsOctober 10, 2013 |
||
Friday - Reflect - Partners to FriendsOctober 11, 2013 |
||
Monday - A New Idea - Friends To FamilyOctober 14, 2013 |
||
Tuesday - Study It - Friends To FamilyOctober 15, 2013 |
||
Wednesday - Change It - Friends To FamilyOctober 16, 2013 |
||
Thursday - Act On It - Friends to FamilyOctober 17, 2013 |
||
Friday - Reflect - Friends to FamilyOctober 18, 2013 |
||
Monday - A New Idea - Becoming Like FamilyOctober 21, 2013 |
||
Tuesday - Study It - Becoming Like FamilyOctober 22, 2013 |
||
Wednesday - Change It - Becoming Like FamilyOctober 23, 2013 |
||
Thursday - Act On It - Becoming Like FamilyOctober 24, 2013 |
||
Friday - Reflect - Becoming Like FamilyOctober 25, 2013 |
||
Monday - A New Idea - Growth - in DiscipleshipOctober 28, 2013 |
||
Tuesday - Study It - Growth - in DiscipleshipOctober 29, 2013 |
||
Wednesday - Change It - Growth - in DiscipleshipOctober 30, 2013 |
||
Thursday - Act On It - Growth - in DiscipleshipOctober 31, 2013 |
||
Friday - Reflect - Growth in DiscipleshipNovember 1, 2013 |
||
Monday - A New Idea - Groups - in CommunityNovember 4, 2013 |
||
Tuesday - Study It - Groups - in CommunityNovember 5, 2013 |
||
Wednesday - Change It - Groups - in CommunityNovember 6, 2013 |
||
Thursday - Act On It - Groups - in CommunityNovember 7, 2013 |
||
Friday - Reflect - Groups in CommunityNovember 8, 2013 |
||
Monday - A New Idea - God in WorshipNovember 11, 2013 |
||
Tuesday - Study It - God in WorshipNovember 12, 2013 |
||
Wednesday - Change It - God in WorshipNovember 13, 2013 |
||
Thursday - Act On It - God in WorshipNovember 14, 2013 |
||
Friday - Reflect - God in WorshipNovember 15, 2013 |
||
Monday - A New Idea - Grace - in LifestyleNovember 18, 2013 |
||