Peter Tan-Chi - Be Genuine, Not Fake
What a joy and a privilege to be with all of you again today as we continue our series on Uncover: God's Kingdom Through the Parables of Jesus. Why is this new series so important? Because by studying the parables, we will uncover the hidden truths in the parables, which will impact our lives now and for eternity. It is very important. The topic for today is Be Genuine, Not Fake. What enters your mind when you think of the word "fake"? "Counterfeit"? "Forgery"? "Imitation"? "Phony"? No one wants to be deceived or invest in something that is a fake. How many of you have experienced being deceived? You may not realize this. When I was young, I was into treasure hunting. I was looking for the famous Yamashita treasure. I even bought a metal detector.
One day, a man approached us, telling us that the local natives have discovered some gold bars, probably part of the famous Yamashita treasure. They wanted to sell the gold bars at a discounted price because they needed to convert the gold bars into money. They are natives, they don't know how to deal with government, and they are afraid of the government. I was so excited, I sent my friend with the money and told him to check if the bars were fake or genuine. My friend came back. He said he checked. He bought the bar. It looked genuine, it felt genuine. The more I got excited, but guess what? When I had it tested, it was a fake. No one wants to invest their resources in what is fake. No one wants to invest their life in what is fake.
What is genuine? Genuine means true, actual, real, authentic; and that is what we all want. We want genuine relationship, genuine friendship, we don't want something that's fake. That day, I learned many lessons. When something is too good to be true, it is probably not true. Don't be greedy. When you are greedy, you will believe what you like to believe. And don't be after fast money. Jesus gave us parables to warn us not to be deceived. He does not want us to deceive ourselves. This is the worst kind of deception. When Jesus explained the kingdom of heaven, Jesus gave seven parables. Last Sunday, we discussed the first parable, the parable of four soils, four kinds of heart: the hard heart, shallow, divided, and devoted.
What this parable is telling us is not everybody will respond positively to the message of God, to the message of the Gospel. The second parable taught by Jesus is the tares and the wheat. What is Jesus telling us? Genuine and fake Christians will co-exist. What is true, what is counterfeit, will co-exist. The third parable that Jesus gave us is about the mustard seed. He's talking about the power of the gospel. How when truth is received, it will transform life, just like the mustard seed. There is transformation. There is growth. The fourth parable is the parable of the leaven. Same idea, the power of the Gospel has the amazing power to permeate life like a leaven that will impact the dough, that will make it grow, that will impact every area of the life of a true believer.
The fifth parable is the parable of the hidden treasure. What is Jesus saying? Jesus is simply saying a genuine believer, once they encounter the Gospel, will have transformation from the heart. The heart will change. His passion will change. His priority will change. His value will change. The parable of the pearl says the same thing. He talks about when somebody finds the pearl of great price, he sells everything to buy that pearl of great price. What is the principle? When somebody understands the Gospel, he'll be willing to give up everything for the sake of what is really important, what is the real treasure of life.
And the last parable is about the parable of a dragnet. This parable talks about how at the end of times, there's going to be a separation between the genuine followers of Jesus and fake followers of Jesus. And this will be exposed, and their destiny will be completely different. I'm going to discuss the six parables by highlighting what Jesus explained. Remember out of the seven parables, Jesus explained only two parables to His disciples: the parable of the four soils and the parable of the wheat and the tares. Today, we will uncover the rest of the parables of Jesus, and you will notice the six parables really have one main theme: theme: be a genuine follower and not fake.
How do I differentiate a genuine follower of Jesus versus a fake follower of Jesus? Well, the Bible is very clear. In Matthew 7:20, Jesus tells us, He's very emphatic; "by their fruit". What does that mean? The next verse tells us, Jesus is very clear: by their fruit, the fruit of obedience. And now I'm going to explain to you how the parables of Jesus expanded this reality: by their fruit, you shall know the difference between somebody fake or somebody genuine. In Matthew 13:24-30, let me read for you the parable of the wheat and the tares. Jesus explains the parable. The seed is the word of God. The field is the world. The wheat are the sons of the kingdom; these are the true, genuine followers of Jesus. The tares, these are fake believers, sons of the devil.
The enemy is the devil. He tells us very clearly when will you know the difference: What Jesus is saying in this parable is it is very difficult to distinguish between the tares and the wheat. You will only know the difference when it's time for the wheat to produce the grain. The wheat will bow down because of the weight of the grain. The tares will remain standing. I have my own experience in growing corn and sorghum. Some of you may not know about sorghum. Sorghum is almost like corn. They look the same. Sorghum is feeds for the pigs. It is the cheaper kind of corn. They look the same. The only time you can see the difference is harvest time. During harvest time, you will see the difference: this is sorghum, not corn. Here is the corn, you see the corn?
The same thing today. It's hard to distinguish between genuine followers of Jesus and counterfeit followers, fake followers. The fake and the genuine, it's hard to tell the difference, but Jesus saying it is not your job, it is not my job to focus on judging who are real and who are not. Jesus is making very clear the following: the reality of fake believers and genuine believers will co-exist. Secondly, it's hard to distinguish between the two. You will only know it at the end time. And that's what Jesus is saying. What Jesus is saying is it is not your job, my job, to focus on who are counterfeits and who are not. It is not my job to focus on who are fake and who are not. Jesus is saying let them grow together. Let them co-exist together. But at the end times, Jesus is saying, "I will send the angels to separate the two".
So don't be preoccupied in judging who are fake, who are real; just make sure you are real. This is so important. Why? Because at the end times there are consequences to counterfeit believers, to fake followers of Jesus. Notice what Jesus is saying: Jesus introduced to us now the reality of hell. However you call that place, it is an actual place. "Throw them into the furnace of fire". That place is not pleasant. "In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth". Do you understand the word "weeping" and "gnashing"? It is a word used to describe not just ordinary crying. Weeping. Tremendous regret. Tremendous sorrow. It's like you're bawling, you're crying out loud. It's hard to imagine, but that is what will happen. It's a sign of helplessness and hopelessness. "Gnashing of teeth". Wow, gnashing. It's like complete regret.
You are saying, "What in the world am I doing? Why did I not listen to the truth"? That is the expression of what Jesus is saying: be careful that you are not a counterfeit. And then the contrast: "then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He, who has ears, let him hear". Do you notice? This is a command: you listen very well. There's going to be a difference between true followers, genuine followers versus fake. This is now an allusion to the book of Daniel: "the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father". Entering the kingdom of heaven is one of the greatest gift that God is offering us.
The book of Daniel 12:2 and 3 tells us Do you notice? Everlasting contempt. Jesus is now describing the destiny of genuine Christians, genuine followers of Jesus: amazing future in the kingdom of heaven. The reason why you have many fake followers of Jesus is found in the book of 2 Corinthians, the reality of the devil. In 2 Corinthians 11:13-15: In short, you have fake Bible teachers. Counterfeit. Deceivers. "They even disguise themselves as apostles of Christ. No wonder, even Satan, disguises himself as an angel of light. Therefore, it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness, whose end will be according to their deeds".
The Bible warns us: Satan is a great deceiver. He can disguise himself as an angel of light. That's why many people believe in false doctrines. How can you know the truth from what is not true? How can you differentiate fake from genuine teachings of the Bible? You've got to know the Bible! Today, the churches and the media are full of counterfeit gospels. Some will even go far as to say, "Once you come to Christ, you are saved; it does not matter how you live anymore"! They abuse the teachings of the grace of God. They even say, "You don't need to confess your sin". For some people they'll even say, "There's no more hell. Don't worry, hell is not real".
There's a lot of counterfeit, fake gospels, and that's why this message is important. Don't be deceived. If you believe the wrong thing, you begin to deceive yourself. So this parable tells us fake and genuine believers will co-exist. Therefore do not be surprised or discouraged because the Bible is very clear: they will be present. The fake and genuine is hard to tell, so do not judge. They co-exist, so do not think of purging. Now is not the time to purge them, because out of grace, out of mercy, Jesus is saying now is not the time. The parable tells us do not purge them now; What is Jesus saying? It's an act of grace, act of mercy, because there are some wheat who may act like tares today, but by the grace of God, they will be transformed, they will repent.
How will you know if these people who are unbelievers will someday become believers? So Jesus, Jesus is simply saying be patient; leave that to Him. And that's why He said at the end of the age, God will take care of the separation: not you, not me. He will take care of the separation. And the destiny is going to be very clear, completely different. Lesson: No wonder 2 Corinthians 13 tells us: Examine yourself. Notice the grammar: you are to test yourselves. You are to examine yourselves, not others. The Bible says, Notice what the Bible is telling us: you are to examine your own faith. You are to examine yourself. Are you in the faith? Are you not? Are you a true follower? Are you a genuine Christian? Or are you a fake Christian?
This is important. The grammar says do not focus on others. You test yourself. The next two parables, the parable of the mustard seed and the leaven explains what will happen to genuine followers of Jesus, when they receive the word of God by faith. When they accept Jesus Christ, when they receive the Spirit of God, what is certain will be transformation. The mustard seed, the Bible tells us, is very small, but you will notice something: Jesus is simply saying: You will notice the Master Teacher: He used stories that people can relate to. Remember: parables are earthly stories with heavenly meaning. He talks about the mustard seed. The mustard seed is so small, and yet because there is life, when you plant it, it will grow. It'll be like a tree.
The Bible describes the Christian life as something like this: in 1 Peter 1:13: Genuine Christians are born again, how are they born again? When they receive the word of God. It says, when you put your faith in who Jesus is, in His promises. Genuine followers of Jesus will have transformation, will have growth. The same thing with the parable of the leaven. This is what Jesus said: What is Jesus saying? Many times people think leaven always means something bad. No! What Jesus is saying is simply this: leaven is something, it's yeast that will cause its surroundings to grow. Leaven will permeate the dough. I asked my wife, "How do you bake bread? How do you make cakes"?
The same principle: you put a little leaven in the flour and it will expand, it will grow. Such is the reality of true, genuine followers of Jesus. Once they allow God's word into their hearts, their lives, they will grow, they will change. The evidence of a true, genuine follower of Jesus is what I call the fruit. Because of God's word, the life of Christ in us, there is tremendous power, the power of transformation because of the life of Christ in us. The power of growth: character will change. We become more and more like Christ. The power of influence: as our lives are changed, we're able to influence. Like the mustard seed, we're able to provide shade. We become a blessing to the world.
Do you now understand why these parables go together? The reality of fake and genuine followers; how can you tell? Through the parables of the mustard seed and leaven, the reality of transformation, growth. How are you doing? Are you a genuine follower of Jesus? If you are, can you see changes in your life? Do you see growth? Are you growing in your character? Are you growing in your love for the Lord? Genuine followers of Jesus, the Bible tells us The next two parables is about treasure and the pearl of great price. Let me read for you. You will say, "How can treasure be hidden in the field"? You must understand, in the time of Jesus, there is no safety deposit box. The bank is not such that you can keep your treasures in the bank. So what do they do? To protect themselves in times of war, for safekeeping, they hide their treasures under the ground, so that when the enemy will come, their treasures are protected.
That is exactly what Jesus saying. A man sees treasure in the field. So what did he do? He did not steal it. He sold everything to buy that field. I want you to imagine now you are the relatives, you are the friend of this man. What will you tell him? You will probably say, "What in the world are you doing? Why are you selling everything"? You will think he's crazy, but not this man. He knew what he was doing. Look at the second story. It talks about a businessman. "The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it".
Again, let me ask you if you're the friend of this businessman, what will you be saying? "Why are you selling all the other fine pearls"? And you will think he is crazy. You see, what Jesus is saying is these two men are not crazy. They saw things that people do not see. The Christian life is really understanding the Gospel, and once you understand the Gospel, it will impact your heart, it will impact your mind, it will impact your perspective, therefore your values will be changed. Your priorities will be changed. It's a radical transformation from the inside out. Why? Because you have discovered the truth: that the greatest treasure is none other than Jesus. That the greatest treasure is the gift of Jesus Himself, eternal life, forgiveness.
Genuine Christians understand the principle of trade-off. What is trade-off? It's about investment. You exchange something for something much better. It's like the apostle Paul. The apostle Paul said the following: Do you notice what Paul is saying? Paul is simply saying this: "I count all things to be loss in view", in light of; it's a comparative statement. The comparative statement is this: "in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord". Genuine followers of Jesus understand the value of the Gospel. He understands how priceless Jesus is, because in Jesus, what do you have? Notice what Paul is saying. Paul is saying: Do you know what Paul is saying? When he discovered Jesus, he realized the greatest gift of Jesus is Himself.
When you have Jesus, what do you have? You have forgiveness. You have righteousness. Our righteousness, salvation is not by human effort. It is not by means of obeying the law. "But that which is through faith in Christ". He discovered the righteousness that comes from God through Jesus, by faith. "The righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith", for the apostle Paul that is priceless. For the apostle Paul, salvation is priceless. For the apostle Paul, eternal life in Christ is priceless, and that's why he's saying, "I count them but rubbish that I may gain Christ".
What is the Bible saying? The Bible is saying salvation, while it is free, it is not cheap. Salvation is priceless. You cannot earn it. You can only receive it by faith, by grace. However, in order to receive the amazing promise of God, in order to have Jesus, you need to make a radical decision. What is a radical decision? The willingness to surrender all in order to follow Jesus, in order to have Jesus. Salvation is free, but it will cost you everything. The all-or-nothing principle. Either Jesus is Lord of all, or He's not Lord at all. Don't be confused. The Bible is very clear. In Ephesians 2:8 and 9, the Bible is very clear: You see salvation is by grace. You don't buy it. It's not by good works. It's by grace, something you don't deserve, by faith. However, true faith is never alone. True faith means the willingness to entrust your all to Jesus.
The book of James is very clear: faith without works is dead. The Bible is very clear: grace does not mean licentiousness. The Bible is equally clear: faith is never alone. The evidence of faith is transformed life. And to summarize everything, Jesus closes with the last parable, Matthew 13:47-50. This is what Jesus is saying: at the end of the age, there will be a separation of genuine followers of Jesus and fake believers. That is the job of God. And the Bible tells us there is no exception. That day will come. And when that day comes, it is the angels, it is God that will do the separation, not you, not me. Notice what he said, notice: hell, however you want to call it, is a real place; in that place, "there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth".
It's a repetition of the parable of the tares and the wheat. Jesus is very emphatic. He's saying it is very serious. Make sure you are a true follower of Jesus. In the parables of Jesus, you will learn something: heaven and hell are realities. In the four gospels, Jesus, the kindest, most compassionate person, the most loving person who ever lived, the son of God, He spoke more about hell than He did about heaven. Do you realize that? Do you realize why Jesus has to tell us the reality of heaven and hell, but especially about hell? Because it is very hard for me personally, to believe about hell. How I wish it is not taught by Jesus. How I wish it is not in the Bible.
The Bible continuously warns us about hell. There are 162 references, allusions about hell. Over 70 of these references were uttered by none other than Jesus Christ. Either hell is true, or Jesus is lying. The reason why I believe this series on the parables of Jesus is so serious is that you and I will take action today because the kingdom of heaven is real. And God offers that to us. But the warning about hell is equally real, because in Luke 16, Jesus tells us: The place of torment. And the Bible tells us in the story of Jesus, the rich man cried out. What Jesus is saying is hell is a real place, a place of agony, a place of torment. And that is why you have weeping and gnashing of teeth.
After listening to the parable of Jesus, I want to ask you a question: are you a genuine Christian? Do you see evidence or evidences in your life? Is there growth? Is there transformation like the mustard seed, like the leaven? Do you see changes? What about your heart? Is your love and your passion transformed? Are your values transformed from the temporal to the eternal, the man who discovered the treasures? Like the businessman who sold everything in order to have the most precious pearl?
So you see, the Bible tells us, the Bible tells us your priority will reflect your understanding of the Gospel. If you have no interest in God's Word, if you have no desire to seek more about the kingdom of heaven, no desire for Bible study, might I ask you, I don't judge you; I humbly ask you, examine yourself, as the apostle Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians, examine yourself. Are you in the faith? Are you not?
I don't judge you. We are not to judge others, but examine yourself. Are you in the faith? Are you not? Test yourself. Does your priority reflect your understanding of the Gospel? Does your life, your values, your priorities reflect what you really believe about the Gospel of Jesus? I want you to hear the testimony of a young man, how he started out as a fake Christian, and how God transformed him into a genuine follower. You will notice in the life of Burgy Doria, how God can transform a tare into a wheat, a fake Christian into a genuine follower of Jesus. It's by the grace of God. The Gospel is powerful. The fruit becomes evident. It transforms lives.
You see, the kingdom of heaven has amazing value system. If you have the whole world and you have everything, but you don't have Jesus, it's nothing. If you have Jesus plus nothing, you have everything. You may ask, "How can I be sure I am a genuine follower of Jesus"? It's very simple. I call this the all-or-nothing principle. Jesus tells us, In other words, what do we mean by all or nothing? The willingness to surrender all, to give up all, for the sake of having Jesus. Is there anything that's holding you back from having Jesus? Ask yourself. Is there anything in your life, any sin, any relationships that you know God wants you to give up? What about materialism? What about family? What is it that is more important to you than Jesus? Whatever that is, I want you to remember what Jesus tells us.
Look at Luke 9:25. Do you know what Jesus saying? What will it gain you if you gain the whole world? Can you imagine the whole world, all the money of the world! You are so rich beyond description, but you lose your own soul. Jesus is saying, what kind of a decision is that? The whole principle of a genuine follower of Jesus is simply this: your values are transformed, Jesus is your highest priority, and you are not ashamed of Jesus. You are not ashamed of His words. That's what He's saying.
A genuine Christian has relationship with Jesus. He understands the love of Jesus, and he loves Jesus. It does not mean he's perfect. It does not mean he will never fail. But should he fail, he gets up again. Why? Because you have the spirit of Christ, you have the Holy Spirit, in your heart, and you understand the love of God is unconditional. So a genuine follower of Jesus will rise up again should he fail, and he keeps on following Jesus. Why? Because Christ is in him. Christ is in us. That's the good news. Are you a genuine follower of Jesus? If God has spoken to your heart and you are not sure that you belong to the kingdom of heaven, my friend, don't risk your eternity. I want you to pray with me. This is a radical decision you need to make, but it matters. God loves you, and your eternity is at stake. Let's pray.
Lord Jesus, I'm not sure if I belong to You or not. Sometimes I feel I'm a counterfeit, but today I want to make sure. I want to be honest with You. Lord Jesus, I surrender my all to You. I accept You today, unconditionally, as my Lord and Savior. I'm willing to surrender everything because You love me and I trust You. I invite You today as my Lord and Master. I accept Your gift of forgiveness. I accept Your gift of eternal life. Change my heart, so that my heart will learn to love You and to trust You. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. And amen.