Greg Laurie - Genuine Imitation (12/13/2017)
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Pastor Greg Laurie warns from Matthew 13's parable of the wheat and tares that in the last days Satan floods the world with "genuine imitations"—fake Christians who look real but aren't. He explains how to spot posers, why hypocrisy deceives, and urges everyone to examine their own faith to ensure it's authentic, not a performance, before facing God.
Oxymorons and Genuine Imitations
All right, well, let's turn in our Bibles down to Matthew chapter 13. Oh, that really went well. Okay. I tried to move the mic and it was louder. How do you clear your throat when you have a thing on your... Thank you for that... Thanks for that really awkward moment. Great way to get started.
Matthew chapter 13 is a series of parables that Jesus told about what the world is going to look like in the last days before he comes back. And here in Matthew 13, we're going to see one of the ploys of the enemy that will be used with great effect in the end times where he will be putting out imitations or tares among the wheat. Hence the title of my message, Genuine Imitation. That's what you call an oxymoron. We hear these quite often. You know, an oxymoron basically is a figure of speech that combines contradictory terms like jumbo shrimp. That's a classic oxymoron. I mean, is it jumbo or is it shrimp?
Or here's another one. Virtual reality. I mean, if it's a reality, how could it be virtual? If it's a virtual thing, can it really be a reality? Here's another. Friendly fire. That's not so friendly if you get hit by it. Here's one you might read in the newspaper if someone was found. They were found missing. Really? But if they were found, are they really still missing? Or freezer burn is another. Here's one of my favorites. Fresh frozen. You might go into a restaurant. You'll say, is this fish fresh? They'll say, it's fresh frozen. Well, no, that's just frozen. No, it's fresh frozen. Well, no, is it fresh? It's fresh frozen. Why don't you just tell me it's old, okay? I mean, you know, the mushy peas in the can I just opened were fresh like 20 years ago, too. But is it fresh or is it frozen?
Another classic oxymoron would be exact estimate. I mean, really, if it's exact, is it an estimate? If it's an estimate, is it really exact? In fact, here's a classic oxymoron. Airline food. That, yeah. You can also substitute hospital food. Or British food. I'm sorry if you're visiting from England today. That wasn't very lovely what you just said about the food. It's jolly good. You know, it's rubbish what you said. You can't even tell when a British person is mad at you because the words they use are so alien. That, that's rubbish. Okay, whatever. Anyway. Here's another oxymoron. Microsoft works. Yeah. Not usually. Here's one of my favorite oxymorons. Female driver. It always gets a reaction. And now we can add to the list. Genuine imitation.
Why Imitations Follow the Real Thing
Now, whenever something is popular, you know there will always be imitations. Be it a style of clothing. A style of music. Maybe it's a product that's come out. A computer. Or whatever it is, there will be imitations. For instance, you know, Apple redefined the whole cell phone market with their iPhone. And prior to that, that's not what phones look like. But now there's so many versions of them. And a lot of the companies will advertise themselves as this new phone that's going to be the iPhone killer. Imitations galore.
And that is the idea that Jesus conveys in the parable that we're going to read in a few moments. It's that prior to the return of the Lord, Satan is going to effectively flood the market with cheap imitations of the real thing. In fact, there will be so many genuine imitations, if you will, out there. Some people will have a difficult time knowing the true from the false. And why does the devil do this? Because it's an effective ploy.
For instance, maybe you knew someone who was a strong Christian. In fact, they may have even influenced you putting your own faith in Jesus Christ. And then after a period of time passed, it was revealed that that person was not the Christian you thought they were. Even worse, it was revealed they were living a double life that was a complete contradiction of their profession of faith. And so you then said, well, if they're a hypocrite, then I'm not going to be a Christian either. I'm going to turn my back on this. They're all just a bunch of phonies.
Now, if that's your reaction, here's what the devil would say in response. Voila. That's French for gotcha. You fell for my trap. You bought into what I was doing. And that is really the picture that we are given as we look at the way things will be in the last days. That there are going to be people who are going to be imitation Christians. Or genuine imitations. Or another way we might look at them is calling them posers. You know what a poser is. It's someone that pretends to be something they are not.
You know, you have people that pretend to be outlaw bikers when they really aren't. You know, maybe they have hair sewn into their helmet. Long, you know, hair coming out. And they take it off. And the hair comes off with it. I have one of those, as a matter of fact. I remember when I was preaching a few weeks ago at this outreach event in Los Angeles that was for bikers to bring in toys for underprivileged children. And a lot of these guys were hardcore outlaw bikers. And, you know, I mean, I ride a motorcycle, but I am hardly an outlaw biker. In fact, I had one police officer make me aware of the fact that many of the emblems or badges that some of these guys will wear as they fly the colors of their particular group they belong to represent crimes that they have committed. Not unlike what a soldier might have on his or her uniform. He hears a badge indicating I was in this campaign or I accomplished this thing or etc. They will have the same thing in their own upside down world. And here I am hanging out with all these bikers. I am hardly an outlaw biker. You know, so sometimes people will appear to be something they really are not.
The Parable of the Wheat and Tares – Matthew 13
And that is the idea that is being conveyed in the story that is before us in what is called the parable of the wheat and the tares. According to this parable, in the last days there are going to be many who believe and many who will fake believe. They will sit side by side in the same churches. They will sing the same songs. They will read the same Bibles. They will say the same things to some degree. But in reality, these people, the so-called tares, were never really believers to begin with. They are not believers that have gone astray. They are people who never believe but have been faking it from day one. Because the Bible tells us that one of the signs of the end times will be there will be a form of godliness but people will deny the power thereof.
So let's read now the parable of the wheat and tares found in Matthew 13 and we'll start in verse 24. "Another parable He put forth to them, saying: 'The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way. But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared. So the servants of the owner came and said to him, "Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?" He said to them, "An enemy has done this." The servants said to him, "Do you want us then to go and gather them up?" But he said, "No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, 'First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.'"'" Excuse me. Sorry about that.
So here is a picture that Jesus gives of the last days. You are going to have God at work. And you are going to have Satan at work. Simultaneously. Sort of reminds us of that opening line of A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens when he writes, "It was the best of times and it was the worst of times." That is how our world will be prior to the return of Jesus Christ both the best and the worst happening at the same time.
Here is the good news. God is going to be at work. And people are going to be coming to faith in Jesus Christ. We are told in Acts 2:17 that in the last days God says I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your young men will see visions. And your old men will dream dreams.
Now here is the bad news. Satan will be at work as well seeking to undermine the faith of people. Because 2 Timothy 3:13 says evil people and imposters will flourish. They will go on deceiving others. And they themselves will be deceived. So this shows that right up until the Lord's return a spiritual battle is going to be raging. We are going to see the good and the bad. The godly and the ungodly together. We see that God will ultimately have the victory over the devil and his kingdom. But we also see that the devil is not going to take this lying down. And why is the devil so active? Because even if some liberal theologians don't believe it, Satan believes that we are living in the end times. So he is stepping up his efforts. Revelation 12:12 says, "The devil has come down to you in great anger, for he knows he has a little time." Or as another translation puts it, "The devil has come down on you with both feet. He has had a great fall. He is wild and raging with anger. He hasn't much time. And he knows it."
Satan's Tactics – Subtle and Vicious
So we see that the devil is going to be busy. But Satan is not stupid. Okay. And he sizes up his opponent. And he will vary his attacks and deceptions and ploys accordingly. Sort of like when you play tennis with someone. I mean I don't play tennis very often. But when I do you will often start by rallying for serve. Right? So you are just sort of knocking the ball back and forth. It is not really a game yet. You are not playing for points. And it is a way to kind of loosen up. And also it is a way to determine your opponent's strengths and weaknesses. And so you might kind of lob it to the back of the court and realize that he can get back there pretty quickly. You might find that he is a little weak moving up on the net. And so you are sort of sizing him up because the objective is to win the game. Right?
And then when you start playing you are going to try to score points on him. I was playing a guy a while back and the guy had a wicked serve and I simply could not return. It was just like BAM! I hardly had my racket up. So he was a little bit older. So I lobbed a lot of balls to the back of the court and the front of the court. And he could not get there quite as quickly. He was 90. And he still won. So the devil sizes you up. Oh where is your weakness? Oh I see you are vulnerable here. But then another opponent might not have that same vulnerability. They are weak in another area. And so he will attack accordingly.
Sometimes the devil will come in all of his depravity and wickedness like a roaring lion. Other times he will come subtly as an angel of light. If Lucifer himself were to appear to us here this morning I can guarantee he would not have red skin and pointed ears and hooves and a little pitchfork. He would be a glorious angel that would dazzle some of us. Because the Bible tells us he was once a high ranking angel. So the point is simply this. He will come in different ways. Sometimes he will come like a wolf. Other times he will come like a snake.
You remember that when Eve fell for the enticements of Satan coming to her as a serpent in the Garden of Eden. He was subtle. And that is how snakes are. I do not know why this is exactly. But when I was a kid I was thoroughly fascinated with snakes. Really reptiles in general. But especially snakes. I collected them. I read books about them. I memorized their names in Latin. I wanted to be a herpetologist which is a word that means ultra nerd. No. Not really. There might be some of you out there. It is a fascinating topic I suppose. But I would carry snakes with me. I had little snakes. I had big snakes. I had boas. I had pythons. I had gopher snakes. King snakes. You name it. I had them. And I would wrap them around my neck and just walk around town. Because I love the reaction of people when they realized that was a real snake around my neck. They would think it is fake. That is fake. Oh yeah that is fake. All of a sudden the head would come down here. And they would scream. And I really loved it when they did that.
But the thing I noticed with my snakes is they would get out of their cages very easily. In fact one day I came home and my prized snake was gone. I asked my mom where is my snake? She said he left. I said but what happened? She said he got out of his cage. He came right across the front floor here. The front room floor. And I said what did you do? She said I walked over and just opened the door up for him. He slithered out and I shut it. Couldn't believe it. But the thing with a snake. You never know where you would stand with a snake. You know with a dog. You know where you are at with a dog. Really quickly. When you approach a dog you know if the dog likes you. If he doesn't like you. The way he looks at you. The position of his ears. If he is showing his teeth. If he is growling. If he is licking you. Cats. They are more mysterious. We won't go into that. But snakes. You have no idea what a snake is thinking. You know snakes. They don't even blink their eyes. They are just the whole time. Just like this. And then also they have no eyebrows. So you can't tell if they are happy. Sad. They are just looking at you thinking I love you. I doubt they think that. But even if they did. They might. And they also might be thinking I am going to bite you in the face right now. But you will never know because I am just looking like this. And they get you. And I have been bitten by plenty of snakes. Trust me. It is no fun. But the devil comes in various ways. It is good for us to be familiar with his tactics. Second Corinthians 2:11 says, "So Satan will not outsmart us. We are very familiar with his evil schemes."
Victor Hugo put it this way, quote, "A good general must penetrate the brain of his enemy." Our enemy is the devil. Let us penetrate his brain for a few moments. As we look at this parable where Jesus exposes one of the ways in which Satan works. And specifically, one of the ways in which Satan will be working in the end times. And it is going to be through imitation.
The Parable Explained – Wheat, Tares, and the End Times
Now in this parable that we just read we see two sowings. First we have a farmer who goes out and sows seed in his field. A common occurrence. Hoping for a good crop. Nothing really unusual here. But then we see something that is quite unexpected and even dastardly. We have an enemy sowing seed right next to the good seed that the farmer just sowed with the purpose of uprooting the good seed. Jesus uses the word tare. That would also be known as the darnel seed that initially looks like wheat. In fact, it is not until it is fully grown that you realize it is not wheat at all. And by the way, this was a common crime back in these days where maybe a competitor would sow tares among your wheat so your crop would be worth less and theirs would be worth more. It was such a problem that there was even a specific law against it on the book. So this was something that people would have immediately understood sowing tares among the wheat.
So you say, well, this is all very interesting. But what does this have to do with me? Actually a lot. Let's read on for the interpretation. Verse 36. "Then Jesus sent the multitude away and went into the house. And His disciples came to Him, saying, 'Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field.' He answered and said to them: 'He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one. The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels. Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age. The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!'"
So now, this is a little bit different than the parable of the sower. In the parable of the sower, the sower was Jesus. And the seed was the Word of God. Now in this particular parable, again, the sower is Jesus. But the difference is, we the believers are the seed. And in this case, the field that the seed is being sown in is the world, owned by God, in which we are planted. So what does this mean? That means that God has planted us as believers in this world. Let me say it another way. God has put His people in the culture to influence it. To make a difference. God is not calling us as believers to isolate, but rather to infiltrate. To influence.
Sometimes I think we try to avoid all contact with nonbelievers. I don't know if this is popular among kids anymore, but when I was in elementary school, we had this little game we would play where you would touch someone and he would say, "You have cooties." Remember cooties? And so then you had to have a way to defend yourself. And someone would touch you. I just gave you cooties. You would say, No, I don't have cooties. No, I gave you cooties. No, I don't have them. Why? Because of this. And you would hold your hand out. And written on your hand were the letters KP. That is cootie protection. I think in the same way. We are like out there. I don't want to talk to that nonbeliever. Well, I don't want to be exposed to that. I don't want to see this other thing. I might get cooties if you will. I understand. You don't want to be influenced in a bad way. But how about influencing them in a good way? To change metaphors as Christians we are to be salt and light. That is what Jesus says. What does it mean? Well, salt, back in biblical times, was used to preserve meat. It was rubbed into meat to stop the spread of putrefaction or rotting. So as salt, in the culture, it means I am to stop the spread of corruption. But another thing that salt does is it stimulates thirst. So I am here to stop the spread of corruption and to stimulate in others a thirst for God.
Secondly, I am to be light. What does that mean? It means I am to proclaim the gospel and do good works. Jesus said, "Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven." I am placed in this world by God to influence it. But guess what? According to Jesus, in the parable of the wheat and the tares, the devil has placed his sons, his daughters, in the world too. So then my job as a Christian is to identify them and uproot them, right? No. According to our Lord, that is not my job. I am called again to be salt and light, to live a godly life. It is God's job to identify the fake Christians, if you will, or the tares among the wheat.
Now, sometimes I think Christians believe that we are never to make any evaluations of any people. We are to just be loving to everyone. And it is true we should be loving. But what does that mean? Well, being loving means I speak the truth. In fact, the Bible says, "Speak the truth in love." So if I am out with my friend and we are having lunch and they have spinach in their teeth, you know, as a friend I will say, you have some spinach in your teeth. You don't just like, you know, not tell them unless you want to be entertained. And that is an entertaining thing to watch people talk and not realize this. Or you might let them know about something else. I was with a friend the other day. I won't say who it was. But he is a famous pastor. You would know him if I said his name and his fly was open. Some of you are saying, I can't believe Greg just said that in church. Even famous preachers have their flies open sometime, you see. There is a reason I wear my shirt untucked, you see. But I was talking with him and I noticed it and I said, I have got to tell you something. He said, what? I said, your fly is open. He said, oh. I said, I think he was getting ready to go speak. And I did not want that to happen to him. And so he said, thanks. I said, well, you know, only a true friend would tell you that. He said, it is right. You are a true friend. Now, do you want to know who it was? Who wants to know who it was? See, what is wrong with you? You are not true friends. But I am and I will not reveal it. Raul Reis. No, it wasn't. It actually wasn't Raul Reis. If it was, I would have revealed it a long time ago. But someone else. That is not the point.
But the point I am making is a friend tells a friend the truth even if it is uncomfortable or awkward. Now let us talk about something that matters. Sin. Maybe you see some compromise in their life. You see some weakness in their life. You say, I love you. And because of that I feel I need to warn you. Now they might get upset. People do not like to be criticized. And the knee jerk reaction we will often hear is, hey don't judge me. Who are you to judge me? Doesn't the Bible say judge not lest you be judged. And I am going to judge you brother. And I hope that you will judge me. Because the Bible tells me that judgment begins at the house of God. And it even says are we not unworthy to judge even the smallest matters. When I make an evaluation about a person's life I am in effect judging them and there is nothing wrong with that. The Bible never says that I should not have any judgment in my life. But what I should avoid is condemnation.
Now when Jesus says in the Sermon on the Mount, "Judge not lest you be judged." A better translation of that, and I wish it was translated this way, would be condemn not lest you be condemned. Yes I should make judgments. Yes I should make evaluations. But no I am not in the position to condemn. I am not judge, jury, and executioner. Because sometimes they will look at some and say well they are not a Christian. Well you know maybe judging from their actions we could make that conclusion. But we don't really know now do we. That is the point that is being made here. I can't say people will say to me I don't think that person is a Christian at all. Yet they profess to be. I will say well you know what I don't know. God will determine that in the final day. And that is what Jesus is saying here. It is going to be determined. I think there is going to be some surprises when we get to heaven. Number one, some of the people we thought would be there will not be there. Number two, some of the people we never thought would be there will be there. And number three, we will be there. That is the biggest surprise of all. Now truly I expect to be there. I am just kidding on that third one. But I think I think we will be surprised by some of the people that end up in heaven. I think we will be surprised by some of the people that don't end up in heaven. But you know sometimes we misjudge people. And that is why I say you leave it in the hands of God.
Being Salt and Light – Not Uprooting Tares
So on one hand we don't want to be a person that is never making evaluations. But then we don't want to be overly condemning and always coming down on people. And some people are that way. They are just, it seems like all they look for are things wrong. You know their whole life is spent in finding what is wrong with other people. Like the old codger that was not known for his faith who went over to the preacher's house to watch him repair his roof. And as the pastor was working away he said to the guy, you want to pick up some tips on carpentry? The old guy said, no I just want to see what a preacher says when he hits his thumb with a hammer. So some people are, they are just waiting for you to slip up. Ah, I saw that. That wasn't very godly now was it? It is like J. Vernon McGee used to say, the only exercise some Christians get is jumping to conclusions and running down others. My beloved. So it is true. That is the only exercise some Christians get. Jumping to conclusions and running down others.
And then when we see some inconsistency in a person's life, we are quick to say hypocrite. And I will define what a hypocrite is in a few moments because it is not what you may think. And we are quick to say, well they are a phony. They are not a believer at all. Well no. Maybe they are just a struggling believer. Even godly people can mess up. Even real Christians can make mistakes and sin against the Lord. The Bible even tells us if we say we have no sin we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. And let me just say, if you are looking for the hypocrite free church, I have good news for you. Your search is over. So you might be saying, are you saying this is the hypocrite free church? No. What I am saying is, there is no hypocrite free church. So stop looking for one. And besides, if you ever found it, if you joined it, it would be ruined.
Sometimes we confuse hypocrisy with humanity. We will sin. We will fall short. That is clear. But this now is not what Jesus is talking about. He is not talking about a struggling believer. He is talking about a phony. He is talking about an actor. And by the way, that is the literal definition of the word hypocrite. Jesus used this choice term for the religious leaders, the Pharisees, the Sadducees. He called them hypocrites. And understand that the word just means actor. So there is nothing negative attached to the word actor. If you ask someone, what do you do for a living? I am an actor. Or they might say, I am an actor. You say, well that is very impressive. But you see, that is their profession. And so when Jesus took the word hypocrite, He was taking a neutral word, in effect, actor. And He is saying, but these people are pretending to be Christians. They are putting on a performance, you see. But it is not genuine faith.
Jesus says in Matthew 6, "Be especially careful when you are trying to be good so you do not make a performance out of it. It might be good theater. But the God who made you won't be applauding." And there is a lot of people that are putting in a great performance, but it is not genuine. It is not real. That person is a tare. They are a poser. They are a genuine imitation. But this is up to God to ultimately decide who is who and what is what. Understand this. Whenever there is the genuine, there is also going to be the counterfeit. Satan has his fake version of just about everything.
For instance, the devil has counterfeit Christians. Paul in 2 Corinthians 11 wrote, "I have traveled many weary miles. I have faced danger from flooded rivers and from robbers. I have faced danger from my own people and I have faced dangers in the cities, the deserts, and on the stormy seas. And I have faced danger from men who claim to be Christians who are not." So even back in Paul's time, there were those genuine imitations. Also, the devil has a counterfeit gospel. Just because a person uses the term gospel doesn't mean they are referring to the genuine gospel. Even though someone says, I am now preaching the gospel, that doesn't mean it is the real gospel. You see for the gospel to be the gospel, certain things must be in place. And one of those things is the acknowledgement that everyone has sinned.
I saw a very famous preacher, not the one of this fly open, being interviewed a while back on television. And the interviewer asked him about the topic of sin. And this preacher said, I never talk about sin. I never use the word sin because people already know that they are sinners. I am not here to beat people down. I just want to lift them up. Well I am sorry. I don't think most people do know that they are sinners. And our job is not just to lift people up. It is to point them to Christ, you see. So we have to use that word sin. And then secondly, there is only one solution for our sin being removed. And that is through the cross. If the cross is not proclaimed, it is not the gospel. Any proper presentation of the gospel comes back to the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Paul said, "I don't want to know anything else among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified." As I have said before sometimes, in our attempts to cross over, we don't bring the cross over. There is a counterfeit gospel.
Paul says in Galatians 1, "I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—which is really no gospel at all." Not only does the devil counterfeit Christians and a counterfeit gospel, he also has a counterfeit Christ. That's right. Lucifer has his own version of Jesus and he is going to be known as the Antichrist. He will emerge in the end times. And by the way, I think it is futile and useless to try to figure out who the Antichrist is. A lot of people expend a lot of energy in this and come up with some very interesting choices. None of which turned out to be the Antichrist. But the Bible never tells us to look for Antichrist. As a matter of fact, Antichrist cannot even be identified until the church is raptured. The Bible says, "He who now restrains will continue to restrain until he is taken out of the way. Then that wicked one whom the Lord will destroy with the brightness of His coming will be revealed." The restraining force in the world today is the church. Coming back to the analogy of salt I alluded to earlier. And once the church is removed, i.e. all Christians are raptured to meet the Lord in the air. Then the wicked one, the Antichrist, the beast, will be revealed.
So don't waste your time looking for Antichrist. Spend your time looking for Jesus Christ. But yes, Antichrist will emerge. And he is not going to be obviously evil. You know, with steam coming off of him. Dressed like Darth Vader. You know, with his own theme song playing wherever he goes. He is going to be suave. He is going to be a powerful orator and communicator. He is going to come up with ideas for peace treaties that will actually be implemented and will be successful for a time. He is going to come up with economic solutions. He will be so effective at what he does that some will herald him as the very Christ. Hence the description Antichrist. And by the way, the prefix anti not only means against. It also means instead of. Some will hail him as the very Messiah.
And we are told over in the book of 2 Thessalonians 2:4. "He will exalt himself and defy every God there is and tear down every object of adoration and worship. He will position himself in the temple of God claiming that he himself is God." So the devil always has his fakes out there. A good example of a couple of fakes are Ananias and Sapphira. The story is found in the book of Acts. The church was young. Just starting to really explode. Thousands of people were coming to faith in Christ. Miracles were being performed. And along comes this couple named Ananias and Sapphira. Who apparently had some means and sold a piece of land and said that they had sold it for more than they really sold it for. And they were going to give the money to the church. And so Peter asks Ananias to tell him the truth. Did you sell this land for such and such? And Ananias said yes I did. And then Peter says, "Ananias why has Satan filled your heart? You lied to the Holy Spirit and kept some of the money for yourself."
Well what was this sin that Ananias and later Sapphira committed? Lying to the Spirit. What does that mean? They were pretending to be something they were not. They were hypocrites. Again. They wanted people to think they were more thoroughly devoted to God than they actually were. So then after it is revealed that Ananias is lied, God touches him and he dies right on the spot. Sapphira comes in a little bit later, tells the same story and she dies right on the spot as well. Harsh judgment. Now I know this might seem to some like overkill on the part of God. No pun intended. But I mean that is a little radical isn't it? Yeah I will admit it is. But here is something to consider. People will say today, You know I wish we saw more miracles today like they had in the book of Acts. Really? All of them? How about this one? Where every time someone pretended to be something they weren't and were living a lie that they would die on the spot. Listen if that were the case every church would have to have a full time undertaker on staff and a morgue in the basement. People would be dropping like flies in the pulpits or in the pews and the pulpits as a matter of fact. They should have just been honest to God and told the truth. They were tares or actors putting on a show.
Probably the classic example of an actor or a tare or a poser or a genuine imitation would be Judas Iscariot who betrayed the Lord. I mean it is bad enough he did that. But did he have to do it with a kiss? Wouldn't a handshake have done the same job? Hey the one I shake the hand of. That is the one you are looking for. Or how about a tap on the shoulder. I will tap the guy Jesus on the shoulder so you can arrest him. He might have said to the temple police. No instead Judas says it is the one that I kiss. And in the original language when Judas kissed Jesus it was not a peck on the cheek. It was repeated kisses. Now if I were Jesus Judas would have never gotten close enough to kiss me. He would have got a punch in the face. I would have been a very bad Messiah. But in contrast to that Jesus says to Judas who is about to betray him. "Friend why have you come?" It was a gesture of love and compassion and even forgiveness if Judas had taken it. But instead Judas betrays the Lord.
You know we have award ceremonies where we give out Golden Globes and Grammys and Emmys and so forth. Maybe we had to have a ceremony in the church and we could give out the coveted Judas award for best performance by a nonbeliever playing the role of a Christian. Imagine the drama and the ceremony. And the Judas for this year's best performance by a nonbeliever pretending to be something they are not goes to. And your name is called out. We have the tight shot on all the other people. You know. And they all wince when they realize they didn't win. And you run down and we give you your Judas. And you hold it up and you say you really love me. You do, don't you? Or whatever you say. You know. But that's really what it is. It's a performance that is really deceiving you. It's not deceiving God. God knows what's going on from the beginning. It does deceive people but not forever. You know you can fool all of the people some of the time. You can fool some of the people all of the time. But you can't fool God any of the time.
Self-Examination – Are You Genuine?
Well, that's what Jesus is talking about here. Tares among the wheat, the Ananiases and Sapphiras, the Judases, the satanic plants put there to undermine the Word of God. In any case, the Lord makes it clear that the separation of the wheat and tares, the sons of the kingdom, the sons of the evil one, will happen at the end of the age. Until that day, they will coexist side by side. Breathing the same air. Enjoying the same sunshine and rain. Eating the same food. Attending the same schools. Living in the same neighborhoods. Going to the same churches. Singing the same songs. Talking the same talk. But certainly not walking the same walk.
Now I know when you hear a message like this, you might be inclined to think, I wish so and so was here to hear this message. You know, I think that the so and so's that need to be hearing this message are probably hearing it right now. So I think here's the idea that's being communicated. Don't worry about who the other people are. Think about yourself. Don't concern yourself with who the tares might be. Just make sure you're not a tare. Okay. That's your job.
Paul says in 2 Corinthians, "Check up on yourselves. Are you really Christians? Do you pass the test? Or are you just pretending to be Christians when you actually aren't at all?" So our objective is to do a little self-exam, if you will, and make sure that we are in the faith. That we are not one of these posers. One of these tares or Darnel seeds among the wheat. Because one day we are all going to have to face the music.
Remember that band Milli Vanilli from the early 90s? How many of you went out and bought recordings by Milli Vanilli? Raise up your hand. People will never admit it. 30 million people bought Milli Vanilli recordings. They actually were quite successful in their day. Until it was revealed that they did not do the vocals on their own recording. Some studio singers had done that. And Milli Vanilli could not sing. So they gave their Grammys back. You see there came a moment when Milli Vanilli, sounds like a flavor of ice cream, doesn't it? Had to face the music. That is an interesting phrase. You have probably heard it before. One day you are going to have to face the music.
Have you ever wondered where that expression actually came from? I have heard it said that it originated in Japan. And the story goes this way. There was a man in the Japanese Imperial Orchestra who could not play a note. But he was a man of great influence and wealth. And he wanted to be given a place in the group because he wanted to perform before the Emperor of Japan. So the conductor went along with this ruse and allowed him to sit in the second row of the orchestra. And though he could not play or read any music, he was given a flute. And when the concert would begin he would raise his instrument, pucker his lips, move his fingers like he was playing. But he never played a single note. And this deception went on for two years. Well then a new conductor took over. And he told the orchestra that he wanted to audition each player personally. One by one they would have to perform in his presence. Sort of like standing before the judges of American Idol. And I just love the people that are so confident in their ability to sing that have no skills whatsoever. And they're always the people that storm out. I'll show them, they say, and so forth. Well, this guy had to face the conductor. He had to face the music. And when it was revealed that he could not play a note on a flute, he was exposed. And his lie had caught up to him. The pretender had to admit he was a fake.
Well, you know what? One day we'll stand before God himself. Though you may have done a brilliant job of fooling others in church, you too will have to face the music. So don't play games with God. Maybe there are some of you who are putting on a good show right now. Oh, you just about have everyone convinced. You have your mom and dad convinced. You have your friends convinced. You have your husband or your wife convinced. You have all of your friends thinking you're really a very committed believer, but you're living this double life. And you're fooling them all. Aren't you clever? One day you'll face the music. One day that which is hidden will be revealed. It'll be shouted from the housetops. And there'll be nowhere to hide. And you'll realize the only person you effectively were fooling was yourself.
God's giving you a chance right now to come clean. I plead with you, don't be a fake Christian. It's just a waste of time. That's why Jesus said, I would rather you be hot or cold, but not lukewarm. And because you are lukewarm, I will spew you out of my mouth. That's a very nice word, spew, isn't it? That's the King James Version. That's what a British person would say if they were going to throw up. Emma, I'm feeling a bit nauseated. I think I will go spew. Why? Cheerio. Okay, good. You go and spew. I'm going to go vomit. That's the more common word. And the word that Jesus used is exactly that. He said, I will vomit, regurgitate you out of my mouth. Now, that's a repulsive term. We don't like to think of it. Exactly. That's why Jesus used it. He was trying to make a point. He was saying, you know what? I can't stand people that are lukewarm.
What does it mean to be lukewarm? Sometimes people will say, lukewarm Christian. Not to be overly picky, but I don't really believe there is any such thing as a lukewarm Christian. Now, I think there are carnal Christians. This is a whole message in itself. A carnal Christian is someone who believes, but maybe is compromising. Paul even said that he had moments of carnality. But you can't be a lukewarm Christian. Let me explain why. In Revelation 3, Jesus speaks to the lukewarm people. He says, "I would rather you be hot or cold, so then because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spew you out of my mouth." And then he goes on to say, "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If any man will hear my voice and open the door, I will come in."
So to the lukewarm person, he is saying, I am standing at the door knocking. Let me in. Lukewarmness is not a compromising Christian. It is a person pretending to be a Christian who isn't. To be lukewarm is to be a tare among the wheat. To be lukewarm is to be a genuine imitation. A fake. Like Ananias, and Sapphira, Judas, and others. So, here is what Jesus says. I would love to come in your life. Why don't we do this right? Why don't you start an actual relationship with me, and let me forgive you of all of your sin? So that is how I close today. Jesus says, He stands at the door and knocks. If you will hear His voice and open the door, He will come in. Isn't that interesting? It is addressed to a church. Now often when I quote the verse, I will be speaking to non-believers, but precisely, Jesus was speaking to non-believers in the church who were intending to be Christians when they weren't. The church of Laodicea.
Just because you are in this church today, doesn't make you a Christian. Any more than going to Taco Bell makes you a double-Decker taco. Have you tried the double-Decker? It is quite good. Or going to In-N-Out makes you a double-double. Or going to McDonald's makes you a... whatever. Okay, you get the idea. No, there has to be a moment when you really believe in Jesus. And I hope you are not putting on a performance.
Invitation to Genuine Faith
So we are going to close in prayer. And I am going to give you an opportunity to get right with God. And to ask Him to come into your life if you have not done that yet. Let's pray. Father, I pray now for everyone listening to this message. Help them to see their need for You. And help them to believe in You. And be forgiven of all of their sins. For we ask it in Jesus' name.
Well, our heads are bowed and our eyes are closed. And we are praying. Maybe you would say today, I want to be a genuine Christian. I want to be a real follower of Jesus Christ. I want Him to forgive me of my sin. And I want to be certain that I will go to heaven when I die. If that is your desire. If you want Christ to come into your life. And you want Him to forgive you of your sin. If you want to be ready for His return. I want you to stand to your feet, wherever you are sitting. And I am going to lead you in a prayer of commitment. Wherever you are, stand to your feet. If you are outside in the amphitheater, I want you to stand up. And I am going to lead you in this prayer. If you are up in the court building, I want you to stand up here in the sanctuary. Stand up, up in the balcony. Stand to your feet. And I am going to lead you in a prayer where you are asking Christ to come into your life. Wherever you are now, just stand up. God bless you. People are standing, by the way, so you won't be the only one. Just stand up. God bless you. God bless you. God bless you. Anybody else, stand now. Wherever you are, stand up and I'm going to lead you in a prayer that you will pray right where you stand. This final moment, God bless you. Don't be embarrassed. This is a good thing to do now and get it right before God. Anybody else, stand now. God bless you.
Alright, all of you that are standing, I want you to pray this prayer out loud after me. Again, as I pray, pray this out loud after me. Right where you stand. Pray this now. "Lord Jesus, I know I'm a sinner, but you died on the cross and shed your blood for every sin I have ever committed. I am sorry for my sin. I turn from it now. I put my faith in you, Jesus. I want to follow you from this day forward. Lord, I want to be a real believer, not a fake. Thank you for calling me and forgiving me and accepting me now. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen." Amen.