Podcasts about counterfeit christians

In Matthew 13, David Henke examines the parable of the wheat and tares, highlighting the distinction between the children of God and the children of the devil. He explains how the enemy sows counterfeit believers alongside true followers of Christ, emphasizing the importance of discernment. The sermon challenges listeners to evaluate their faith and ensure they are producing fruit as children of God. In the end, God will separate the righteous from the wicked, bringing eternal reward for the faithful and judgment for the deceivers. ★ Support this podcast ★

Counterfeit Christians TS WrightWhat does it truly mean to be a believer in today's world? This episode of the Kingdom Crossroads podcast dives deep into this pressing question, exploring how Jesus defined a true believer and how that definition applies in our current social climate. Pastor Bob Thibodeau is joined by Scott Wright, author of the God Centered Concepts, as they discuss the critical role of surrendering one's life to Christ, emphasizing that belief goes beyond mere acknowledgment to a complete transformation of the heart. They also examine the challenges of identifying counterfeit believers and the importance of discerning true faith through the lens of Scripture and the guidance of the Holy Spirit. As they navigate these profound topics, listeners are encouraged to reflect on their own faith journeys and the significance of the cross in their lives.Takeaways: Pastor Bob Thibodeau emphasizes the importance of understanding what it truly means to be a believer in today's world. Scott Wright discusses how Jesus' conversation with Nicodemus defines the necessity of being spiritually born again. The central issue facing humanity is sin, not merely societal problems or political issues. Counterfeit beliefs can be identified by examining whether they diminish the significance of the cross. To be a believer, one must surrender their life completely to Christ's authority and teachings. The podcast highlights that true believers must live under the authority of Christ, rejecting the notion of personal freedom. CONTACT INFORMATION:Email: gccgodcenteredconcept2038@gmail.comBook: “God Centered Concept Journal: Making God's Word My Ways.” - on Amazon Podcast: The God Centered ConceptGrow Your Ministry or Faith-Based Business without breaking our budget! Go to https://PodcastersForChrist.com for more information!_____________________________________________Check Out These Amazing LinksModernIQs is a sponsor of the Kingdom Cross Roads Podcast Newsletter: Transform your creative workflow with ModernIQs! Explore AI-powered tools for content creation, from smart question generators to automated blog writers. Streamline and create with ease! Go to ModernIQs.com for more information!Grow your faith and your business with The Faith-Based Business Newsletter! Get practical tips, biblical insights, and strategies for success. Subscribe at FaithBasedBiz.Substack.com and tune in to the podcast at FaithBasedBusinessPodcast.com!Dive deep into biblical prophecy with Revelation Warning! Explore end-times insights, scriptural truths, and what they mean for today. Start

Pastor Phelps continues in 1 John 3 by looking at what the Bible has to say to those who claim Christ but don't live out that claim. Message originally preached Sunday morning November 10, 2024.

In today's message, Dr. Brad Whitt shares seven words that will help you understand what Jesus is saying in this parable on the wheat and the tares.

"These people are false apostles. They are deceitful workers who disguise themselves as apostles of Christ. " 2 Corinthians 11:13 — Listen to the Greg Laurie Podcast Become a Harvest PartnerSupport the show: https://harvest.org/supportSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Matthew 13:24-43

Matthew 13:24-43

Dr. Chris Jones

Pastor Greg Barkman continues the exposition of Jude, warning of those who claim to be Christian but are revealed to be counterfeit.

In this session, Dr Ruth explains how the Lord Jesus describes some key qualities of counterfeit Christians, Bible Teachers, and followers; hence, to help us to be discerning. Learn more and be equipped to discern the counterfeits.

I explain the differences between two Christians, that one is true and the other is false and how to tell the difference. If you walk with the lord correctly you will never be lead astray and remain on the path to eternal life. Be wise as serpents but gentle as doves, Matthew 10 v16.

Acts 8:4-25

Acts 8:4-25

September 18: Counterfeit Christians | Mark Irving - 2 Peter 2:1-22

"Counterfeit Christians can teach, preach, profess faith, do miracles, and even perform good works."  Matthew 7

Counterfeit Christs, Counterfeit Christians, Counterfeit Creeds

Counterfeit Christs, Counterfeit Christians, Counterfeit Creeds

Counterfeit Christs, Counterfeit Christians, Counterfeit Creeds

In this episode of the National Crawford Roundtable the guys talk about counterfeit Christianity and the reinventing of Jesus.  A new poll from Probe Ministries shows almost 70% of self proclaimed "born-again Christians" believe that other religious beliefs can lead souls to Heaven.  This shows a worsening of the Pluralism that was shown to be at 57%, according to a Pew  research Poll of several years ago.  What is driving this belief; how do we explain it?  What about people of other religions in other lands--do they not get a "fair chance"?  What about "good people"--how can they go to Hell?  The guys also call out other common characteristics of today's Counterfeit Christianity.

  1 Corinthians 10:1-14 Pastor Timothy challenges us: Lord prove yourself in and through me. You are the faithful God. I turn to you. May I, by your grace flee the idolatry that still resides in my life.           

Pastor Matt Cottrill's Sunday morning message from July 19th 2020. ***Audio only***

Dr. Joan Boney, Jesus Ministries ... Concerning the end times, Jesus warned us as follows: Matthew 24 And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and His disciples came to Him for to shew Him the buildings of the temple. 2 And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down. (At the end, all things will be destroyed so don't take pride in that which you can see with you natural eyes.) 3 And as HE sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto Him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of Thy coming, and of the end of the world? 4 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. 5 For many shall come in My name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. (Many will come saying "Jesus is Lord", calling themselves Christians, and they will deceive many.) Give them time to prove themselves. ( Click here for podcast and to see scriptures )

Did you know that 72% of people say the church is full of hypocrites. Sadly, this percentage is just a reflection of the sad reality we live in. Do you care about living a holy, righteous, separated life unto the Lord Jesus? Does it frustrate you when "worldly methods" are used to draw a crowd all in the name of "relevance"? Are you turned off by all of this? Are you looking for a place that would take a stand for truth? If so, you're invited to listen to this shocking sermon titled: Beware Counterfeit Christians.

Description:  Saved Magazine | Coach Dave Live | 1-17-2020 Earlier in the week some members of the Huddle showed up in Charlotte North Carolina to support Alan Hoyle.  Their work resulted in Alan’s case being dismissed.  Hoyle confronted sodomy on the streets of Charlotte.  Hoyle is in Washington D.C. right now with Ron Brock, America’s […]

1. Consider God's Sovereign Preservation of Genuine Christians-2. Consider the Need for the Perseverance in Genuine Christians-3. Consider the Frequent Biblical Warnings for Christians -4. Consider the Numerous Biblical Case of Counterfeit Christians-5. Consider the Scientific Challenge for Thinking Christians

II Peter 2:1-9

Sunday Worship

Sunday Morning... Pastor Moten

Introduction: Lessons from a laser lad. 1. Know the times (v1-4).  The last days (v1).  Fierce times (v2-4). 2. Know the threats (v5-9).  Counterfeit Christians (v5-7).  Threats inside and outside (v8-9). 3. Know the Scriptures (v10-17).  Be imitators (v10-11).  Be prepared (v12-13).  Be wise (v14-15). Conclusion: Be thoroughly equipped (v16-17).

An Issue of Trust 3: Counterfeit Christians

The Parable of the Wheat & Tares Matthew 13:24-30 The Lord gives us a disturbing illustration of the Kingdom of Heaven enemy working deceitfully while His men are sleeping. These Kingdom parables show us what prophetically the Gods Kingdom would be subtly infiltrated by Tares or Counterfeit Christians would be mixed together until the end. We look at Acts 15, 2 Timothy 3, and 2 Corinthians 11 and show a distinction between Gods (Wheat) people and Satan's (Tares) people. Shalom, Keith

Well, lets open our Bibles up this morning to James 5. Can you believe that we are finishing this series that we have been on for weeks, months, and were finally coming to an end of this Book? I hope that this is not the end of your study of James. I hope that you will continue studying it, and then when you do refer back to it, it will mean more to you than it ever did before we started this series. When I was a new believer, I was 17 years old, in our newly-formed church in Rockford, I had a Sunday School teacher named Roger. He had come out of the hippie movement. He had been a drug addict and had had a dramatic conversion to the Lord. He was one of those cool guys, cool teachers. Some of the teachers could be kind of dry and boring, but not Roger. He was hip; he was cool. He could speak our lingo, so we really enjoyed our class. We really learned a lot from Roger. In fact, because we had mutual friends, I would spend some time with Roger from time to time. I really enjoyed his company. One particular day, there was a church service going on in the house across the street from my sister, and it was really loud. It was a hyper-Pentecostal kind of a church; so he was like, Lets go check it out. I was like, No, no, no. Im not going in there. He said, Come on! Lets go check it out. Ill go with you. So we went in there, and it was like nothing Id ever seen before. They called people forward for prayer for the sick. Apparently everybody was sick because if you were in the room, you were coming forward for prayer; so everybody lined the walls and had to come around. The pastor occasionally would start hopping across the stage on one leg with his tambourine. His face was red, and he was shouting and screaming. People were on the floor convulsing and shaking. Im thinking, What is this? What is this? Next thing you know, Im in line, and Im like, I dont want to do that. I really dont. You brought me here, but I want to leave. So we came to an exit near a side wall, and right when we got to that exit, we cut out. We left the building. We got outside, and it was like, Oh, man! That was crazy. He said, You know, thats just another expression of the Body of Christ. Theres nothing wrong with what they did. Its just that we all worship God in different ways, and thats how they choose to worship the Lord, so I got a nice lesson on how the church operates. But we walked out of the church, and that was very symbolic because shortly after that, Roger walked away from Christ. He went back to a life of drugs. Years later, from what I knew, he was not serving Christ, not serving the Lord. How does that happen? The Bible talks about the fact that sometimes within the Body of Christ, there are believers who we think are believers, but theyre really not. They have confessed to Christ, but they dont possess Christ. Their conversion experience for whatever reason really wasnt real, really wasnt true. They really didnt have the Holy Spirit inside of them empowering them to live a Godly life. The Bible talks about this. Jesus says in the Parable, The Wheat and the Tares, in Matthew 13, Sometimes within the church, there are wheat and tares. A tare looks just like wheat, and it grows with the wheat. Its not separated until harvest time. Jesus explained the Parable later on, and He said, Thats the way it is. The tares grow amongst the wheat, and then at harvest time, God will separate the real from the fake, the true from the counterfeit. In fact, at the judgment, Jesus once said to people who professed Him and called Him Lord, And Lord, in Your name, did we not do miracles? In Your name, did we not cast out demons? He said, Depart from Me, I never knew you, not I knew you at one time and dont anymore, but I never at any point knew you. Never at any point did you belong to Me as a follower, as a child of God. Counterfeit Christians, theyre amongst us today. There are tares here today. They come to church every Sunday. They look like us; they talk like us, but there has not been-and God knows this-a true bringing to faith. They do not have the Holy Spirit residing within. If they did, they would stay in the church. They would stay with the believers, but the faith is not a true faith. John talks about this in 1 John 2:19 (page 1208 of pew Bibles). Id like for us to read that together. The Apostle John is talking about people who went apostate. They were in the church, and then they left the church. He said, They went out from us... Theyre not worshipping with us anymore. …they did not really belong to us. For if they had really belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us. The fact that they went AWOL and they were not living for Christ is proof and evidence of the fact that they really didnt belong to us. They were simply going through the motions. How many of you know of people who once professed Christ and no longer do? Maybe they went to church with you and no longer do. Let me see your hands. All around this room, weve known people like that. Thats what James is going to talk about. Really, these are controversial verses, but they shouldnt be. Once you understand the target audience-who James is writing to-theyre not difficult to understand. In fact, this whole Book has been about a test of faith, hasnt it? You say, Heres the test: if you are a true believer, this is how you respond to trials. If you are a true believer, heres how you respond to temptations. If you are a true believer, here are the words you speak out of your mouth. If you are a true believer, here is how you react to a promise. In fact, in Chapter 4, he gives an appeal to conversion. He says, Repent. Come to Christ. Remember that Passage. He challenges them to come to Christ. Why? Because James knew that some of the people he was writing to did not know the Lord. They may have professed they knew the Lord or seemed to know the Lord, but they really didnt truly know Christ. James says, I know youre there, and Im telling you right now, Come to Christ. Repent of your sins. Belong to Him. Now hes not going to talk to the tares. Hes not going to be talking to those who are not truly believers. Hes going to talk to believers. This is what he says in Verse 19 (page 1199), My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back, remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins. Now when you first read that in Verse 19, he says, My brothers, if one of you should wander… So right away we think-and heres where the misunderstanding comes in-that hes talking about backsliding Christians, apostate Christians; but hes not. We know that from the words he uses in Verse 20, and there are many of them. First of all, he says, Whoever turns… This is the word that means convert. You dont convert the converted. You dont turn those who are already followers of Christ. This word is always used in Scripture-every single time-as a reference to people who dont believe in Christ coming to Christ. It used by the Lord when He talks to Paul on the road to Damascus. He said, You are to turn the people from darkness to light, from the kingdom of Satan to God. The word turn is used there. It means to change your direction. Secondly, he uses the word sinner. The word sinner is never used of professing believers. Now we are sinners; its true. We do sin; thats true, but every time you look up the word sinner, this word in the Bible, While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us, it always refers to people who dont know the Lord, who dont truly know the Lord. They may know about the Lord, but they dont truly know the Lord. Thirdly is the word save. You dont save those who are already saved. He said, Were going to save them, and we know were not talking about a deliverance from physical death, but deliverance from spiritual death because he says the word soul here. Deliver their soul from death. In the Greek, the word soul is present; so what are we talking about? Were talking about spiritual death. Were talking about salvation, and that is for the loss. That is for people who are apart from God. Then he talks about the fact that it covers a multitude of sins. That simply means that God is going to forgive their sins. Gods grace covers their sins, so theres no sin that cannot be forgiven. There is no quantity of sin that cannot be atoned for. His grace will cover their sin, so what were talking about is those within the church. Maybe there has been a tare amongst you. All of the sudden they have now departed from the church. Theyre not coming anymore. The hopes are that theyll come and get it. Theyll finally get it. Theyll catch on to the program and realize that they need to serve and follow Christ. He says, Youre to go after them. Youre to pursue them. Youre to bring them back to the way of the Truth. I was careless this week. I was carrying a heavy box of books down to the basement. Rather than turn on the light switch, I thought the ambient light coming in from the surrounding areas was going to be sufficient to see the stairs. I was too lazy to put the box down and flip the switch, and I paid the price. I got to the bottom of the steps; I tripped on the last step and fell forward onto the concrete basement floor. Writhing in pain, Oh, did that hurt! I landed on my knee and hurt my neck. I was down there a little bit in shock and was trying to figure out what was wrong. I thought Id really damaged my knee. I was down there just moaning, groaning, and writhing in pain. My dog, Penny, came to see what the commotion was about. She came to the top of the steps. She wasnt coming down. I dont know if she was afraid of me or was trying to figure out what the new game was that Dad was trying to play. She was looking at me from a distance; from the top of the steps, she was looking down at me in agony. She was studying me; her ears were up, and her head was tilted like, Whats going on? Why are you doing that? I was like, Oh, Penny! Im hurt! I dont know what I was expecting, but I can tell you this: there is no St. Bernard in my dog. I thought, You know, shes at least going to come down and give me a courtesy lick on the face to say, Listen, Id like to help ya, but Im a dog. I cant do anything for ya. I love ya. Im sorry youre in this condition. Im pulling for you to make it, and do your best. Thats what that would have demonstrated to me. Just come down and check on me, make sure Im okay. Give me the courtesy lick on the forehead and then Im good. Rather than doing that, my dog simply turns-while Im in pain, writhing in agony-and leaves and goes back to the couch! Nothing more I can do here. Hope you make it, big guy. Good luck to you. Im out of here. I have squirrels to watch, so off Penny went. I lay there for a long time, assessing my damage. I finally got up, went upstairs, and there she was just watching birds and squirrels out the bay window. When we think about these folks who have fallen-we think about these folks who are no longer living for the Lord and are in darkness-I wonder when you raised your hand and thought about that person, did you go after that person? Did you pursue them? Did you dare take a step down into the darkness with them and find out what was going on? Now, dont lick them on the head. Im not asking you to do that like my dog, but did you find out, Whats going on with you? How did you get here? Do you want to stay here? Why are you here? Can I give you a hand? Can I help you out of this darkness? Can I help you up? Can we go back up to where you were before? Thats what James is telling us to do. Hes saying, Go into the darkness. Find them. Reach down to them. Love on them. Dont lecture them! Dont yell at them! Whats wrong with you?!? Lift them up and say, Im here for you. Lets talk about how you ended up here. Lets talk about how we bring you back to where you used to be. That's what James is saying. James is saying, Take responsibility to bring that person who has wondered away from the church and finally, finally help them to cross the line of faith for real, and really give their life to Christ, really become a true believer and a true follower of Jesus Christ. Thats what hes saying, My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone… Who? Someone. Are you a someone today? He doesnt say, And the Apostles will bring him back to faith, or the elders will, or the pastors will bring him back to the faith. He says, Someone, anyone, if you love that person, realize what is at stake. Youre going to save their soul from death. The stakes are as high as they can possibly be. If you truly love somebody, you wont simply look at them in that fallen condition in the darkness and go, Tis, tis, too bad. Well, I have to get back to what Im supposed to do. Maybe Im afraid. I remember not talking to Roger, truthfully, when I was 17 when I heard that news because I was afraid. He was a tough guy before he became a Christian. Maybe he is that tough guy again. Maybe he wont like me. Besides, Im a kid. What am I going to do? What am I going to say to an adult? I was afraid. Probably my dog didnt come down those steps because she was afraid because I was acting funny. I was making a lot of strange noises, and she didnt know what was going on. James says, Take that risk. Make that walk. Descend to where theyre at. Help them up. Now there are two ways that we stray. I want to talk about both of them. The first way we can stray is doctrinally. If you stray doctrinally, probably morally/ethically, youre still going to be living an upright life. In fact, thats one of the reasons why we cant identify them because theyre fine citizens, right? Theyre good people, but they stray doctrinally. Theyve received some wrong information that caused them to depart from the truth of the Gospel. This happened time and time again. In fact, much of the New Testament is written to combat error. Paul would write or John would write, and they would correct wrong thinking, wrong information. Remember Paul said, Earnestly contend for the faith once and for all delivered to the saints. Gods Word, His revelation, is done. Its complete. You cant add to it or take away from it, but there are people who will twist and distort it. That happened in the First Century Church, and it happens today. Were to go after them and give them the right information. I went to go visit one of our members named Kilcha. Some of you know Kilcha. Shes Korean. She usually comes to the 11 oclock service and sits over here. Kilcha had a headache, and her friend encouraged her to go to the hospital. It turned out it was a brain aneurism. They caught it just in time. She had brain surgery that Sunday I found out about it. I preached the sermon first, and then I took off to try to find Kilcha at 11 oclock. She was at the UW Hospital in Madison recovering from brain surgery by the time I made it there. UW Madison is a big place, so I wanted to make sure that I knew exactly where my car was parked and exactly how to find her room. It worked out with my memory device because she was in the K Wing, and her name is Kilcha. So I went, This is a piece of cake. Im in the K Wing. Ill be able to find this, no problem. So I was given directions to the room, K423. You take the K elevator, and you go up to the fourth floor. No problem. I walked to the K elevator and went up to the fourth floor. I got up there, and it was a ghost town. There were no people, no patients, no doctors or nurses-nobody. There was nobody around. I was walking around thinking, Well, these are more administrative offices and laboratories. There are no patients here. She must be in another K Wing, so I went to another K Wing. I couldnt find it. I was walking around for 20 minutes up and down the same hallways going, Well, it says K. This has to be it. This is it. This is the only place the elevator would take me. Finally, I see a young man in blue jeans and a T-shirt walking around. I didnt know if he was the custodian or what his role was there. I said, Sir, could you help me? Im trying to find this. He said, Okay. Hmm, thats strange. Well, lets look. So we walked around for another 15 minutes in the same corroders. I wanted to tell him, You know, I can tell you right now this isnt going to do any good. Finally he started asking questions. He said, Hmm, I wonder if this is the correct information. Can you tell me what she had done? I said, Well, she had brain surgery done. Then he goes, Oh, yeah. I used to do that. Okay, so what did… He said it just like that, just kind of casually. It turned out before he came to UW Madison, he was a brain surgeon in California. I said, Whyd you stop? He said, I got tired of working 110-hour weeks. Now I only work 80-hour weeks. He said it just like that, Oh, I used to do that. You and I would be like, I have a Honda. I used to drive one of those. She had brain surgery. I used to do that. Okay, now lets look… We couldnt find her. When he couldnt find the room, I wanted to say so badly, Doctor, this isnt brain surgery… (Congregation laughing). But I thought, Im not going to do that. As soon as he found out it was brain surgery, he said, Were in the wrong place. We walked over to the elevator, and he said, Heres where they usually recover from brain surgery, so lets go to that floor and that wing even though its different from whats on the paper. He took me there. He got on the elevator; he walked me to that unit, and we found Kilcha. I was like, Wow, Doc, that was really nice of you. You took all that time. You got on the elevator with me. You took me to the unit. You figured it out. Thats awesome. Thanks. Thats what James is telling us to do. There are people who get wrong information, doctrinally-wrong information. They are wandering. Theyre lost. Theyre no longer in contact with the truth as it was delivered to the saints-the Gospel, the pure Gospel, theyve departed from that. Maybe theyre denying the deity of Christ. Maybe theyre denying the work on the cross or His Resurrection. It could happen to anybody. A friend of mine who was a pastor in Rockford started teaching in the 80s what was called the JDS or the Jesus Died Spiritually Doctrine. Have you heard of that? The way it goes is Christ died on the cross and then His Spirit descended into hell where he was tormented by Satan and demons for three days. He became a sinner in Hell. He took on all of our sin, and then finally He Himself had to be born again; and thats why Colossians said He is the first born of the dead. Then He was resurrected. He was teaching this, and I said, Thats heresy. Oh, but Pastor so-and-so says that its in this book, and hes really famous. I said, Thats heresy. Youre teaching that when Jesus says, It was finished, it wasnt finished. Youre teaching that the cross was not enough, that His blood was not sufficient to atone for my sins. He had to further descent into Hell and further experience more torment and be born again just like a man. Im telling you thats heresy. Around and around we went. I dont know if hes still teaching that today or not, but I do know that hes a friend. I care for him. I care for the people who are going to hear what he is teaching, so I challenged that. Remember when we shared about a pastor who came to Janesville, a Universalist pastor? He used to be one of the most dynamic pastors Id ever listened to in my life. Hes now traveling around the country. I showed you a picture of his mug months ago-a literal mug, not his face-a coffee mug. It had the Ten Commandments with a slash through it. Do you remember that? He was teaching, You dont need to worry about the Ten Commandments. You live any way you want to live because every single person on this planet is going to be saved and go to Heaven. It didnt matter what kind of life you lived. You could be a mass murderer and die shaking your fists at God, and you would go to Heaven. Thats what he taught. I wonder-I dont know that guy personally-but I wondered if anybody confronted him. Did anybody take him to the Scriptures and say, Listen to what youre teaching. Listen to how youre leading people astray. Paul would do that. Even Paul once went astray, and Paul confronted Peter. Friends, there are a lot of people with the wrong information. If thats the case, James says, We go to them and say, Listen, youve departed from the truth. Paul did this with the Galatians when he said, You are following a different Gospel. This is not the Gospel I taught you. This is not the true Gospel. Paul said, If I were to come back and teach a different Gospel or an angel from Heaven were to come to you and preach a different Gospel from the one youve heard, let him be accursed. Sometimes people will err doctrinally. The second way they err is morally. They wander away from the faith morally. Theyre living a lifestyle that no longer honors God. Im not talking about our sin, our struggle with sin. We all struggle with sin. Were all sinners. Youre being taught this morning by a sinner. I hope you understand that. We are all sinners in this place in need of grace, in need of a Savior. Were all in the same boat. Im talking about a person who in defiance-in defiance-is living a lifestyle that he or she knows does not honor and please God. They know its contrary to the Word of God, and theyre there. Thats a false believer. James says, You go after that person and try to be used of God to make them become a true believer. I was driving home after an adventurous week, I guess. I dropped my son off at UW-Milwaukee, and I was heading home on the interstate. I was going 65 MPH, the speed limit. There was really nobody in front of me. There was a gap where there were no cars in front of me, and there were some cars behind me. A deer came out of the woods. Id never hit a deer before, but Ive heard many stories about what its like. Immediately, my anxiety level went up. He walked to the edge of the interstate and stood there. I was like, Oh, please, just go back in the woods. Go back where its safe. Dont come this way. Then he slowly started to walk on the interstate. He was on the right lane-actually physically standing on the interstate. I went into the left lane. I couldnt stop-you understand that-because there were cars behind me coming 70 MPH. I had to move forward, so I went into the left lane, and when I got close, I sped up because I was trying to get around him. That speeding up may have saved my life. I think the slower you go, if you hit your brakes, the more apt they are to roll right into your car through the windshield. If you can drive through them, which I didnt want to do and you dont want to do, but if your lifes on the line, you do what you have to. If you go through them, then its less likely for that to happen; so I hit the gas, and as soon as I did that, this deer ran right in front of the car. I hit that deer full on, a full-on collision. I propelled it like 30 feet off into the meridians. I knew there was no way [it would live]. It was probably instant death for that deer. My car was in bad shape. I could tell. I drove really slowly, and as it got dark, I had a really good view of the treetops on my left with my headlights. It wasnt such a good view of the road. I knew I was leaking fluids, and I had no heat. Finally, I made it home. If you remember seeing me in a Toyota Prius, you wont see me in that Prius anymore. Thats gone. I had to call my sister and say, Can I have my Lincoln Town Car back? I went from a Prius to a Lincoln. Its a 2001, so now Im driving that again. What a contrast of cars. Ill now get 15 miles to the gallon when I used to get 45. The car is gone. There are sometimes when people we know leave the safe area. Theyre in the church; but theyre not truly following Christ, but theyre in the church. Thats a good place to be, and they wander away. They head to that danger zone. They head where life is not safe. They wander away from the Commandments of God. They put themselves in harms way. How long do they do that before we intervene? Is it as they start walking out of the woods and toward that direction? Is it when they get on the highway, or is it when they start to come into traffic and put themselves in harms way where their lives could literally be on the line? I had a friend who I thought was a moral guy, a good guy. He occasionally went to church and seemed to profess Christ; but at a certain point, he just completely walked away from what hed been taught. He was living a destructive lifestyle, so I and a couple of other friends went to him and said, You have to change. You need the Lord. You need Christ. He wouldnt listen. He got angry at us instead. We went there in love and said, We love you. Were afraid for you. He lost his car; he lost his girlfriend; he lost his job; he lost his house and became addicted to cocaine and created other problems in his life. He was totally living an un-Godly life. Im so happy to say that God has worked in his life, and today he has a job. Hes a productive member of society again. He seems to be doing really well with his life, but we did an intervention with him. Maybe there are some folks that you need to do an intervention for. In fact, that's one of my goals this morning is that we can be catalysts. If you know somebody who used to live an upright life and has totally turned their backs on the things of God, how far do you let them wander before you say, You know what? I love you. I care about you. Im concerned for the way youre living your life. Im concerned that your life is going to end up destroyed because of the decisions that youre making. If you truly love somebody, you wouldnt let them walk onto the interstate, would you-if it was in your power to grab them, stop them and pull them back, and say, Go back to the place of safety. Go back where youre loved and supported? Would you not do that? Yet, sometimes there are people that we know, and we simply allow them to go under harms way without lifting a finger to try to stop them. James makes an appeal to those who are true believers. He says, If somebody wanders from your faith, doctrinally, morally, you have a responsibility to pursue them. They may not listen to you. They may become angry with you, but what if they dont? What if they listen? What if God uses you to bring them to repentance? James says, Youll know that God has used you to save their souls-cover a multitude of sins. Lets pray together. Father, we want to pray right now for the message that we have heard. Lord, in our minds eye, some of us can see people. We know who they are. We know their situation. We want to pray for those who have departed from the faith doctrinally and morally, with wrong information. Theyre lost. Theyre meandering and wandering away from the Truth. There are some who have morally turned their backs on what Your Word says. Theyre living on dangerous ground because theyre operating and living a lifestyle that is contrary to what the Creator, the Designer, has said. Its only a matter of time before they reap what they have sown. We who love them should be concerned about them, so I want to pray for them. I want you, in your minds eye right now, to think about that person. Name their name. Say, Father, I pray for… and name their name. Pray that they will come to faith in Christ. Pray that they will repent and change directions. Pray that they can be saved. Pray that they can know that You love them, that Christ died for them. Pray that they could truly enter in to a genuine experience where they put their hope and trust in Jesus Christ. I pray this morning-if youre here this morning and youre listening to this, and youre thinking, Im not sure Ive truly given my life to Christ, I pray this morning youll say, Lord Jesus, I give You my heart and life. Forgive my sins. I ask Your Holy Spirit to come inside of me, to empower me, to cleanse me and make me a new person. Lord, I want to live for You all the days of my life. Because of Your Resurrection, I have the hope of eternal life because I belong to You. Receive me as Your son, as Your daughter this morning. I pray that youd pray that pray in sincerity of heart. I pray that youd go through the motions and become a true follower of Christ. Father, I pray that those we identify, that we will actually go after them. Well make some phone calls. Well knock on some doors. Well send some emails and say, Can we get together? Can we talk? I pray we will have the courage and the insight to tell them we love them and help them to go down to the darkness, pick them up, and bring them the restoration. I pray we bring them the right information in place of wrong. Father, equip us for that, empower us for that. I pray in Jesus name, Amen.

Sermon by Bill Murray from Galatians 2:20