Hinckley EFC

Dealing With Deception. Matthew 7:15-20

Dealing with Deception

Matthew 7:15-20

October 07, 2018

 

The greatest danger lies in the fact that there are going to be agents of the devil in the CHURCH!

 

"And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.  It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve.”   2 Cor. 11:14 & 15

 

What is a prophet??? 

*today the word usually means one who is able to tell what is coming in the future. 

*In Biblical times it has a much broader meaning.  A prophet was one who s________ for another, and particularly, one who spoke for G______.

 

How can we recognize false teachers, false prophets???? how can we detect just “who” is a “wolf” in sheep’s clothing?????

 

First of all there is no “s__________ g______” in the teaching of a false prophet... no “narrow way”!

when you hear preaching or teaching or read books or magazines, ask yourself, does this system of thought have the Lord Jesus as its c_________???

 

The second test... is this:  False prophets do not have disturbing doctrines in their messages, even though the true state of man d_____________ it.

 

True teaching involves the realities of men’s depravity and sin.....God’s wrath and coming judgment, the need for repentance, and the answer to mans sin in Christ’s atonement.

 

The third test is the test of g______ w________.....

Jesus shows that men are like fruit trees, good ones only produce good fruit.... bad ones only produce bad fruit.

that means two things:

 

First of all it means that there must be fruit if the Christian life is g_______________....

• there must be good works, and the evidence, or absence of them can be a good test of false doctrine.

Second, the fruit must be s___________ fruit, and not just good works of which the world is capable. 

• To put it practically ask, “does the teaching really strengthen and encourage the h_________?? Is it matched by blessing and true Christian character in the life of the teacher???  

If we put these three things together ....

• whether or not there is a s___________ gate in the message,
• whether there is the unpleasant theme of s___ and j___________ dealt with, along with the wonderful message of God’s love and Grace,
• and is there real and satisfying f_______ in the teaching....

Then, and only then, we can know if it is from the Lord!

Straight Gate, the Narrow Way. Matthew 7:13-14

Straight gate, the Narrow Way

Matthew 7:13-14

September 30, 2018

 

The Scriptures state that there are but two ways for mankind to go....

one is n____________,

the other is b____________......

 

“What will this ‘narrow way’ cost???  What will we have to leave behind in order to “enter in”???

First of all we have to start by realizing that when we become a Christian, we become something that is different, something e____________!  You are making a break with the crowd....

 

part of the cost is to recognize that one person is responsible for me, and that is m__________!!! 

I am responsible for my life, for my c___________...

 

we move from following the crowd, to the place that we are willing to go it alone....cause the strait gate and the narrow way has only room for o_____ at a t_____.

 

First of all this is the way that leads to “L_______” ...

John 10:10 “"The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly."  

 

--- this life that He came to give us was HIS life --- R_____________ life.... Christ l__________ in us!!!!

 

In Romans 6:23 the Apostle Paul said, “"For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.“

eternal life is NOT something that you get when you die if you have been g_____ e___________.... that is the concept of every works related religion... (and incidentally, that is every other philosophy other than Christianity.)

 

So, what is the alternative to this ???....Jesus calls it the “broad way” or the “wide gate”....

The Bible has many different words and phrases to describe this;

“f____________”...... or “p____________”....... I Cor 1:18 tells us; “For the preaching of the Cross is to them that perish, foolishness”

“l______” ......II Cor 4:3 tells us;  “But if our Gospel be hid it is hid to them that are lost.”

 

Lets go back to I John 5:13 ... "These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may k______ that ye have e____________ life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.”

 

Eternal life  --- eternal death or destruction.... these are at opposite end of human society....

 

The real question is what is your lot in life...

 

Jesus said, “I am the way the truth and the life... But He must be the way for you!!!

He said, I am the door... But you must enter it!!!

Foundations For Prayer. Matthew 7:7-11

Foundations for Prayer

Matthew 7:7-11

September 23, 2018

We are called to live above and beyond our own n________ a________ (Be perfect as your Father in heaven is perfect!)

that option is only available to us as we s_________ to God and allow Him to live out His life in that person of our lives.

 

to capitalize on this wonderful promise, there are a couple of things that we will need to come to grips with....

 

• First of all we must recognize our n_______....
  • the first two essential to salvation are first of all to realize our own need, and secondly to realize the riches of the G__________ that is in Christ.
  • When we recognize our need we “Ask”, We “Seek” and we “Knock”

“The most fatal thing in the Christian life is to be content with passing desires.  If we really want to be men of God, if we really want to know Him, and walk with Him, and experience those boundless blessings which He has to offer us, we must persist in asking Him for them day by day.  We have to feel this hunger and thirst after righteousness, and then we shall be filled.” Dr. D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones

 

• The second thing that we need to address is the fact that God is our F_________.

This concept is really c_________ to prayer itself....  It is an argument from the lesser to the greater.... that is; if an earthly father does so much, how much more will God do????

 

“… how does God become “my” Father?? 

 

John 1:11 -12 tells us, "He came unto his own, and his own received him not.  But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name:“

• B___________ in Him, we r____________ a new nature and we become children of God.
• He will also give us His Holy Spirit, ‘the Spirit of a______’ whereby we cry, ‘Abba, Father’(Rom 8:15)
• It means that, as my Father, He is i________ in me, that He is c___________ about me, that He is watching over me, that He has a p_____ and p_______ with respect to me!! It is His desire to bless and benefit me!!!

 

"For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." 

• And this is based on His understanding that “If God be for us, who can stand against us????? (Rom 8:31)
• Because He is your Father, He will never give you anything that is e_________.... He will only give you that which is g_________....
• "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." Rom 8:28

Judgment On Those Who Judge. Matthew 7:1-6

Judgment on those who judge

September 16, 2018

Matthew 7:1-6

The root idea of the Greek word “Judge” here means “to sunder, to part, to sift, to divide out.”  And, as with many Biblical words, there are many different shades and meanings.

 

One can “judge” by being c____________, carping and c________________; in short that is being judgmental.

 

• This was the particular issue with the P___________ of Jesus day,
  • "The Pharisee stood and was praying thus to himself, 'God, I thank Thee that I am not like other people; swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax-gatherer. I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get.' But the tax-gatherer, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me, the sinner!"'
  • "I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself shall be humbled, but he who humbles himself shall be exalted" (L 18:11-14).

 

Or, on the other hand, by a judgment one can form an o__________, d________, or arrive at an accurate verdict.

 

“if the devil is not able to destroy a Christian’s witness by making him apathetic, he will try to do it by making him a fanatic”......

 

 What is the spirit that condemns... it is a self-c_________, self r______________ spirit....

• Self is always at the bottom of this.... it is always a manifestation of self-righteousness, a feeling of superiority, and a feeling that we are all right while others are not. An inseparable corollary of justifying oneself is condemning others. When anyone e___________ himself, everyone else is lowered accordingly.
• a spirit that seems always ready to express itself in a d_______________ manner.

 

“...for in the same way that you judge others, you will be judged... and with the measure that you use, it will be measured to you.”

• how many of us would want to be judged by the Lord, in the way that we judge others??? Imagine if we were to be judged by:

-the c______________________....

-or by g__________________....

-or by the g________ that has been spread by others...

-or what I “think” is true....

Perhaps the real problem is that of assigning v________ to others based upon me, myself and I. 

“….we are but beggars showing other beggars where to find bread!”

 

Why Worry. Matthew 6:25-34

Why Worry

Matthew 6:25-34

September 9, 2018

 

 “Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness....”  Have one single focus...  Serve God!!! 

 

a definition of the word worry here.

• "Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?“ KJV
• “take no thought” = “being anxious” or “tending to worry”.
• So the real meaning of the word here is “be not anxious,” or because this is in the imperative tense, “...stop being anxious”.

 

• it is the word that is used to indicate something that d_________, s___________, or d__________ us….
• it means a mind that is divided into sections and compartments, and which does not f__________ as a whole.

 

the balance point...

• It is important to point out here that the Lord is not telling us that we are not to think about these things at all....
• While it is true that the birds of the air don’t worry about where their next meal is going to come from, they do busily s_________ for it. They do not just sit up on a limb and wait for God to somehow mechanically d_____________ it to them.

 

• We cannot be serving God and worrying about His ability to c_____ for us.... and since we have chosen to follow God, relax, -- don’t worry!!!

 

• the second reason that we are not to worry is found in vs 26-30.... The fact that God is both w_________ and a_____ to care for all those who will place their trust in Him.

 

• the final reason not to worry is in vs 33.... “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”
  • What Christ is saying is that we are to “make it our business to seek God’s interest and follow Him and we will see that all of our n____ are met without that e___________ of worry!

 

So, how do we avoid worry???

 

• First we must acknowledge that Christ’s p_________ are for believers. And in that, God knows what is best for us....
• Second, as a believer, you need to add to your initial salvation experience all you can learn about the n____ and c_________ of God! As you grow in your understanding of Him, you will find that you don’t worry about a lot of things that you used to.
• Third, we need to build into o___________ a kind of conditioned r________... when we see problems our conditioned response should be to flee to God.... not to worry about it.... and that is a learned reaction.

Return on Investments 9-2-18

Return on Investments

September 2, 2018

Matthew 6:19-24

Where are your treasures???

Examples of those who tried to “lay up treasures for themselves upon the earth”, ….and the c___________ that brought.

A_______ who stumbled upon a nice suit of clothes, two hundred pieces of silver and an ingot of Gold. ..... the result was the great defeat at Ai, and a great judgment on this mans family!

• Another illustration is S__________.... he let the love of money and women ruin his spiritual life.
• and let’s don’t forget about A_____________ and S__________,who lied to the Holy Spirit about the sum of money that they had to give to the church.
• Then Paul wrote about a young man named “D________” who “had forsaken me, having loved this present world.”!

It is no wonder that Paul wrote to young Timothy to remind him that, “the love of money is the root of all evil.”  (I Tim 6:10)

 

If you have been afforded this worlds goods, use them here and now it this world in such a way that they are building up a balance in the next world.

The solution to the problem is not to give it all away, not to withdraw from society....We are n____ called upon to relinquish our possessions.... BUT we are called upon to use them u_______ the d__________ of God’s divine wisdom.

Jesus’ words here are designed to point out this terrible pre-occupation with possessions and how foolish and dangerous it is for us as Christians.

• In the first place, it is foolish because one day all earthly things will p_________.... they will be gone forever....
  • I Corinthians3:12-15…In other words, ONLY as a person uses his/her possessions for s__________ ends is he/she able to accumulate real treasures....
• The second reason that this attitude is dangerous is pointed out in vs 21....
  • Because where your treasures are... that is where your h______ will be.
• The third reason is found in verses 22-23 "The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!“
  • .... is our vision of God and His will for our lives clouded and distorted by an unhealthy p________________ with things???

 

Who owns the possessions that are in your possession???  YOU??? or GOD???  The bottom line is that either God owns them AND you, (and thus you serve Him), or your possessions own you, and you serve them!  There is no other alternative!

Fasting-A Biblical Perspective. Matthew 6:16-18

Fasting – A Biblical perspective

Matthew 6:16-18

August 26, 2018

 

What really is the place of “fasting” in the Christian life???

• Fasting is something that is taught in the Old Testament!
• the only fast c_______________ in Scripture is the one connected with the Day of Atonement. On that day all the people were to "humble [their] souls" ( 16:29; cf. 23:27), a Hebrew expression that included forsaking food as an act of self-denial.
• Then we find that in certain national e__________ the people themselves appointed certain additional fasts.

 

• When we come to the New Testament we see that the Pharisees had gotten to the place that they were fasting twice a week...(Luke 18:11-12)...

• In Jesus’ teaching we find that although He never taught fasting d_______, He certainly taught it i___________...

In Matthew 9:14-15, it is quite clear that He is advocating fasting....."Then John's disciples came and asked him, "How is it that we and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?" Jesus answered, "How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while he is with them? The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast."

 

And the text here  “when you fast”, makes it clear that He e____________ His followers to do it, as it was a n____________ part of one’s spiritual life.

 

In our Lords own life He fasted, the most notable was the 40 days and 40 nights as He went through the preparation and testing of the wilderness.

 

• As we look at the early church we find that the church at Antioch was “fasting and praying” before they sent Paul and Barnabas out on their p_____________ tours.

 

It seems that on any i____________ occasion, when they were faced with any vital decision, the early church gave themselves to prayer and fasting.

• Paul tells us in II Corinthians 11, that He was in “fastings often”!
• In the history of the church we find that Christians of all ages and places have b__________ in and p__________ fasting....

 

“It is an act of self-denial, and mortification of the flesh, a holy revenge upon ourselves, and humiliation under the hand of God. The most grown Christians must hereby own, they are so far from having anything to be proud of, that they are unworthy of their daily bread. It is a means to curb the flesh and the desires of it, and to make us more lively in religious exercises, as fullness of bread is apt to make us drowsy.” 

Matthew Henry

 

• the definition of most of the Biblical fasting would be, “a____________ from food for spiritual purposes.”...
  • Nēsteia (fast) literally means not to eat, to abstain from food. Fasts were sometimes total and sometimes partial, and ordinarily only water was drunk.

 

• “In every scriptural account genuine fasting is linked with prayer. You can pray without fasting, but you cannot fast biblically without praying. Fasting is an affirmation of intense prayer, a corollary of deep spiritual struggle before God. It is never an isolated act or a ceremony or ritual that has some inherent efficacy or merit. It has no value at all—in fact becomes a spiritual hindrance and a sin—when done for any reason apart from knowing and following the Lord's will.
• Fasting is also always linked with a pure heart and must be associated with obedient, godly living.” John MacArthur

A Plea For Prayer. Matthew 6:5-15

A plea for prayer

Matthew 6:5-15

August 19, 2018

 

• The instructions for prayer
  • The pretense of prayer.....
    • “they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on street corners, to be seen of men....” H__________ in prayer

 

• for many today, prayer is simply a h__________....
• Let me ask you a question, do your prayers bring you into the presents of the Lord, or do they just fulfill your d_______????

 

• “And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words”. avoid “b__________”...

         

• when we concentrate on the f________ of our prayers, or on the amount or length of time spent in prayer
• Question: What is i______________ when you pray, the words you use, or the amount of time that you pray, or the place that you pray?

 

1. the practice of prayer …

• First of all, it is important to understand that even by the sentence structure, we are e_____________ to pray. ... notice the wording... “when”... vs 5, vs 6, vs 7, vs 9, We never see it as “I___” .....
• What is called for is an intense, intimate time with G_____... you are to enter into your “very private place” and enjoy that communion

 

• How are we to pray??
  • True prayer is prayer offered to God the Father on the basis of the d_______ of J________ C__________.!!!
    • “Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus,... Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith,...(H_____________ 10:19&22a)
    • "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.“ J________ 14:6,

 

The Reward of prayer;

 

• vs 6, “then your Father, who sees what is done in secret will reward you”,
• notice that the key is in vs 8.... “He knows our needs before we ask....”
• Since He already knows my n______, He is already actively involved in meeting these n__________....
• that is the basic idea behind R_________ 8:28!

Matthew 6:1-4

Matthew 6:1-4

August 12, 2018

 

The foundational principle.....  “Be careful not to do your acts of righteousness before men, to be seen by them.”

 

• “let our light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your father which is in heaven.”

 

The believer is to so live that when outsiders look at him/her they will see the quality and character of that life and it should bring _______ _       ________.

 

• the ultimate choice for the Christian is always between pleasing self, or pleasing God.

 

• ultimately the only reason that we want to please o__________ is that we want to please o_____________.

 

• man, by nature desires the praise of m_____ more than the praise of G_____, because in the final analysis we are really more concerned about o_______________.

 

• .... The supreme matter in this life for all of us is that we should realize our r________________ with God.

 

“One almost apologizes for making such a statement, and yet I suggest that the greatest cause of all of our failures is that we constantly forget our relationship to God!”

 

• .... "Be careful not to do your 'acts of righteousness' before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no r____________ from your Father in heaven.“

 

• God knows our heart.

 

“For that which is highly esteemed amongst men is a____________ in the sight of God.” Luke 16:15 

 

to we need to be constantly reminding ourselves of that....WE ARE IN THE PRESENTS OF GOD!!!!!

 

Jesus Himself is indicating that it is not only right to seek r_____________, it is almost expected.

 

There is no reward from God for those who seek it from men!

 

It is not our a____________... it is our h_________ that is important.  No matter how much we pray, or how much we fast or give or any other activity...if the heart is wrong...we are wrong.

 

Matthew 5:43-48

Matthew 5:43-48

August 05, 2018  

First of all, lets take a look at what the Pharisees were saying....

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’

 

The Pharisees were teaching this in order to put the w_________ of the S___________ behind what they were teaching

 

‘n__________’ meant only an Israelite; so they taught the Jews to love Jews...but at the same time they told them to regard everyone else not only as an alien, but as an actual e_________.

 

there is a j____________ element in life. 

While we are on this earth God does indeed make the sun to shine on us and the rain to fall upon us, both the good and the evil.

 

But, at the same time, He announces to them that unless they r_________, they shall finally be destroyed.

 

When we look at this subject in the light of Jesus Words we find that He sheds more light on it.... 

He says “but I say unto you, love your e_____________”.....  

 

And then He gives us an illustration that we can apply ..

“Bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them that despitefully use you and persecute you.’ 

 

So, what does this mean in our lives today?? 

It means that our t___________ of others must never depend upon what they are, or upon what they d___ to us! 

It must be entirely controlled and governed by our view of them and their c______________!

 

Application:

 

• First of all, “Bless them that curse you” which in ordinary language would be something like, ‘reply to bitter, unkind words with words of k_______ and g________.  (we all know that when people say harsh unkind things to us we tend to reply in kind)

 

• Secondly, “Do good to them that hate you” ... which means b_____________ actions for s________ actions..... Though the farmer may hate God, and is an unjust, spiteful sinner, constantly rebelling against God, He still causes His sun to shine upon him and gives him rain for his crops.... good for evil...

 

• Lastly, “Pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute you.” We need to learn to respond to the e_______ in others toward us with the energies of P_______... because it is through the avenue of prayer that God changes us... and changes how we think about the problem.