You Will Know Them by Their Fruits - Matthew 7 Vs 16-18
You cannot be a person that serves the Lord with a passion and preach a doctrine that goes against the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Having money as an Idol, pride and a covetous lifestyle is not the fruit of a person who is walking with God.
OUR TEXT: Matthew 7:16-18 (New King James Version) 16 You will know them by their fruits.
Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? 17 Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.
18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit.
PRIDE So many men in the ministry are puffed up with pride.
So many of them think that the whole world revolves around them and what they are teaching.
They go about their ministry speaking about the Lord Jesus and the Father except when it comes to the glory they are quite happy for men to give them glory.
People in leadership in the Kingdom of God should be humble and this should shine from them.
Whenever a person tries to give them glory a person that is serving God should say that the glory goes to God.
But these wolves are full of pride and wise in their own eyes.
Proverbs 3:7 (New King James Version) 7 Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the LORD and depart from evil.
It is a shame but many people on Television seem to be quite proud of themselves and speak as though they are an authority on God.
Even Lucifer was an authority on God but look where that got him! IDOLATRY Many of these big preachers have IDOLS in their heart.
Many have an Idol of their own ministry.
They seem to boast about how big it is and how much money they need for it to continue.
They have IDOLS in their heart when it comes to the power that they have.
Yes they are Christians and yes they have the anointing of God, but they speak of the Holy Spirit's anointing in an insulting way.
God will do the great works through them using the Anointing of the Holy Spirit.
Sure the anointing for doing great signs and wonders is there.
But some of these preachers brag about it and in doing so life themselves up in pride as though they are worthy of such a strong anointing.
Many of these preachers cannot stay at a humble person's home, they stay in five star $5000 a night hotels and call it Kingdom Living.
Where the same $5000 can buy the land and pay for a church in India.
They have multiple jets to ferry them around the world.
COVETOUS PRACTICES They say against what Jesus says, that is quite easy for a rich man to get into heaven as long as he is tithing.
They do not realize that God would expect up to 70% of their income if they where earning a million dollars a year.
They teach their flocks and followers that it is quite okay to desire to be rich and to prosper when Jesus says you cannot serve two masters.
The say that you can have multiple million dollars worth of cars and 20 million dollar houses if you chose and they call this the Lords blessing.
Whereas the people that are starving for money in the East, those countries where Christianity is exploding need money and who do the work for the West, are crying out to the Lord of the harvest as we mentioned in James Chapter 5 above.
The pride, the idolatry and the covetous practices are the thistles the Lord speaks about.
This is the bad fruit that if not repented of will see a person go to hell.
This verse tells us to stay away from these teachers and certainly don't send money to them.
1 Corinthians 5:11 (New King James Version) 11 But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner-not even to eat with such a person.
So there you have it.
Having money as an Idol, pride and a covetous lifestyle is not the fruit of a person who is walking with God.
OUR TEXT: Matthew 7:16-18 (New King James Version) 16 You will know them by their fruits.
Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? 17 Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.
18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit.
PRIDE So many men in the ministry are puffed up with pride.
So many of them think that the whole world revolves around them and what they are teaching.
They go about their ministry speaking about the Lord Jesus and the Father except when it comes to the glory they are quite happy for men to give them glory.
People in leadership in the Kingdom of God should be humble and this should shine from them.
Whenever a person tries to give them glory a person that is serving God should say that the glory goes to God.
But these wolves are full of pride and wise in their own eyes.
Proverbs 3:7 (New King James Version) 7 Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the LORD and depart from evil.
It is a shame but many people on Television seem to be quite proud of themselves and speak as though they are an authority on God.
Even Lucifer was an authority on God but look where that got him! IDOLATRY Many of these big preachers have IDOLS in their heart.
Many have an Idol of their own ministry.
They seem to boast about how big it is and how much money they need for it to continue.
They have IDOLS in their heart when it comes to the power that they have.
Yes they are Christians and yes they have the anointing of God, but they speak of the Holy Spirit's anointing in an insulting way.
God will do the great works through them using the Anointing of the Holy Spirit.
Sure the anointing for doing great signs and wonders is there.
But some of these preachers brag about it and in doing so life themselves up in pride as though they are worthy of such a strong anointing.
Many of these preachers cannot stay at a humble person's home, they stay in five star $5000 a night hotels and call it Kingdom Living.
Where the same $5000 can buy the land and pay for a church in India.
They have multiple jets to ferry them around the world.
COVETOUS PRACTICES They say against what Jesus says, that is quite easy for a rich man to get into heaven as long as he is tithing.
They do not realize that God would expect up to 70% of their income if they where earning a million dollars a year.
They teach their flocks and followers that it is quite okay to desire to be rich and to prosper when Jesus says you cannot serve two masters.
The say that you can have multiple million dollars worth of cars and 20 million dollar houses if you chose and they call this the Lords blessing.
Whereas the people that are starving for money in the East, those countries where Christianity is exploding need money and who do the work for the West, are crying out to the Lord of the harvest as we mentioned in James Chapter 5 above.
The pride, the idolatry and the covetous practices are the thistles the Lord speaks about.
This is the bad fruit that if not repented of will see a person go to hell.
This verse tells us to stay away from these teachers and certainly don't send money to them.
1 Corinthians 5:11 (New King James Version) 11 But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner-not even to eat with such a person.
So there you have it.