Participants:
Series Code: BOLS
Program Code: BOLS000148S
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00:05 #S077 - “False Advertising” (Part 1)
00:20 And so I'm going invite you to stand to your feet 00:22 as we go to the scriptures this afternoon, 00:25 as we look to see 00:28 what it is that God has to say to our campus. 00:33 Matthew, Chapter 21. 00:36 Matthew, Chapter 21. 00:38 And we're going to look together at verse number 18. 00:42 Matthew, chapter 21 00:45 and we will begin together at verse 18. 00:49 When you get there, just say, pass the room there. 00:52 Matthew Chapter 21 and verse 18. 00:56 And so I'm going to invite those that need to slip out 00:59 if you need to do that quickly, if you would do that 01:01 and those who need to come in, come in so that we can begin 01:04 settling the movement here in the service today. 01:08 Matthew, Chapter 21. 01:11 And we're going to look together at verse 18. 01:15 When you get there, you say Amen. 01:17 We get to same it. 01:19 All right. 01:20 The Bible says now in the morning 01:24 as he returned to the city, 01:26 he was what he was hungry 01:30 and seeing a fig tree by the room. 01:34 He came to it and found nothing on it but what but 01:39 leaves and said to it, let no fruit grow on you ever again. 01:46 And immediately the fig tree withered away. 01:49 And when the disciples saw it, they marveled, See, 01:53 how did the fig tree wither away so soon? 01:56 So Jesus answered and said to them assuredly, 01:59 I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, 02:03 you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, 02:06 but also if you say to this mountain, be removed 02:09 and be cast into the sea, it will be what? 02:13 And whatever things you ask in 02:15 prayer, believing you will receive. 02:19 But I want to read for emphasis, verse number 19 02:21 and seeing a fig tree by the root. 02:25 He came to it and found nothing on it but 02:28 leaves and said to it, Let no fruit grow on you ever again. 02:34 And immediately, the fig tree withered away today. 02:39 Saints for just a little while with God's help. 02:41 I want to talk to you and I. 02:42 Student leaders under the subject. 02:45 False advertising. 02:47 False advertising. 02:49 Let us fruit together. 02:51 Father, in this little 02:54 while, would you please say much? 02:58 Would you make the simple truths of the Scripture 03:01 something that we can all hear 03:04 and digest and to put into practice? 03:07 And so, Lord, I'm praying that 03:08 you give me power and strength to declare the word. 03:12 The Lord, would you give the people the faith, Lord, 03:15 and the courage to receive and live it? 03:19 So, Lord, would you please hype me in the shadows of the cross 03:22 that Jesus only might be seen, 03:25 that Jesus alone might be hurt? 03:29 And at the end of our time together, let Jesus alone 03:31 be praise. 03:32 Blessings. To this end, 03:33 we ask in the wonderful name of Jesus, our Lord. 03:37 Let them that believe. 03:38 Shout together. Amen. And amen. 03:41 You may be seated in the House of the Lord tonight. 03:46 Today, again, 03:50 talking to you under the subject of false advertising. 03:55 You know, it's coming up. 03:56 As a child, I spent a considerable amount 04:00 of time hanging out at my grandmother's house. 04:04 And about 2/10 of a mile from her home was a country store 04:09 that we would walk to in order to get snacks. 04:12 She would give us money and we would go to the store 04:15 and buy candy, 04:17 like now and later in about I remember Down Now and Laters. 04:21 When we get to the store, we would buy Lemonheads. 04:24 Anybody know Lemonheads? 04:25 We would buy red, hot, yellow. 04:27 No, nothing about that. 04:29 We were buying Chicco Sticks. 04:31 You got to be a certain age. 04:33 We would buy honey buns. 04:35 Little Debbie's nutty buddies are. 04:39 And every now 04:40 and then, we would get a plain bag of potato chips. 04:45 And back in the day, they would do something 04:47 very deceptive with potato chips. 04:51 Because when you picked up the bag from the shelf, 04:54 it would be very full and very puffy. 04:57 And because of that, you assume that the bag 05:00 would be filled with chips from the bottom to the top, 05:04 only to find out that they had a way of sealing the bag 05:09 so that only a third of the bag was filled with chips. 05:13 And the rest of the bag was filled with air. 05:16 And so it looked for it looked abundant, 05:21 but beneath the surface, it was just full of air. 05:25 And it was a form of false advertising 05:28 because they did not increase the content. 05:32 All they did was manipulate the container. 05:36 And at times church there is disappointment 05:38 in the body because we are guilty of false advertising. 05:44 You see, some of us in character are like a 1980s 05:48 bag of potato chips in character. 05:52 Some of us are only one third spirit, so but two thirds 05:55 hot air. 05:57 And many of us don't really grow in the Lord. 06:00 We just pretend to be more pious then we are more prayerful 06:05 then we are more spiritual then we are. 06:10 And the problem with false advertising 06:13 is it ends, writes the manufacturer. 06:16 And there are some of us that feel 06:17 a need to bolster our witness 06:20 by pretending to be more pious and more prayerful. 06:24 There's some that feel the need to strengthen our testimony 06:27 through exaggeration. 06:29 And how many of us know that the witness of the believer 06:33 is not that we are perfect. 06:35 Our witness is that we are progressing. 06:39 In other words, you don't have to have it all together. 06:42 You simply got to be growing in the faith. 06:45 And how many can testify that you might not be all that 06:48 you ought to be, but you are better than what you used to be. 06:53 And you have the assurance that if God has begun a good work 06:57 in you, He'll continue it until the day of Jesus Christ. 07:01 Are you with me today? 07:02 Church And so, friends, this particular story, 07:07 though brief and limp, is filled with implication 07:10 for the body of Christ 07:11 and the first thing this teaches us 07:15 is that some of us should be a bit more fruitful than we are. 07:18 Let me say it again 07:19 that some of us ought to be more fruitful 07:22 than we currently are now to have the context. 07:27 Remember that Jesus now has entered into Jerusalem 07:31 as He begins the week of His passion, 07:34 and as he enters the city, he is met with cries of Hosanna. 07:40 As the Jewish nation look to coronate him as a key. 07:44 Now, in order to understand the Savior's frustration 07:47 with the tree. 07:49 You've got to understand the season that we are in. 07:53 You remember now that Jesus is crucified 07:56 about the same time as the Passover, 08:00 and during the Passover they would receive 08:03 what you called the first fruit offering. 08:07 And when the first fruit offering was received, 08:10 it meant that the vines were putting forth their product 08:14 and the branches were putting forth their fruit. 08:18 It meant that the harvest of the wheat and barley was in place. 08:23 And see, the reason that Jesus even entertains the tree 08:28 is because it is the season for the tree to bear fruit. 08:31 In other words, you have this anomaly 08:34 where this tree is in harvest season. 08:38 Yet this tree has produced no fruit. 08:41 In other words, the climate is ripe for fruit. 08:44 The soil is right for fruit. 08:47 Everything is conducive for fruit. 08:50 And yet this tree has produced no fruit. 08:53 And it can. 08:55 I suggest friends that like this barren tree, that some of us 08:58 should have more fruit than we actually have. 09:03 In fact, some have gone through a planting season. 09:07 Some have endured a watering season, 09:10 and God has made conditions ripe 09:14 for you to bear more fruit than you have in this season. 09:17 And let me be clear asserts 09:19 that I am not like the prosperity preachers. 09:23 I don't believe that every season is your season. 09:27 I don't believe that every season produces a harvest, 09:31 but every season pushes you to your harvest. 09:35 And see, this is the thing for somebody is that somebody 09:38 you can be in harvest season and not know it. 09:42 Let me say it again that you can be 09:44 in a season of harvest and not know it. 09:48 In fact, young people. 09:49 I want to suggest that 09:50 spiritually some of us should have more fruit than we have. 09:56 In fact, some of 09:56 us here today have grown up in the church. 10:01 You spent every day of your life in church school. 10:05 You've gone to Pathfinders and a y es. 10:08 And even though you spent your whole life in the church 10:12 as it relates to character, you're on the same level 10:15 as those that just started believing 10:18 you should have more fruit than you have. 10:20 In fact, 10:21 some our decisions should be more fruitful than they are. 10:26 Some of us are old enough where we've been around the block. 10:29 We've seen the consequences of certain choices. 10:32 And some of us are not in 10:34 a bad season, and some of us are in a bad cycle 10:39 because our decision course have not changed. 10:42 There are some marriages that should have more fruit by now. 10:46 You see, how many of us know that the witness of a marriage 10:50 is not just in the number of years, 10:53 it is in the joy that flows from the union. 10:56 And there are some that have been married 20 years, 11:00 but you're having newlywed arguments and fights. 11:03 And the issue with some 11:04 is that you're in a season where things should be settled 11:08 and you're still trying to decide if there are some 11:11 that should be in a more financially fruitful season 11:16 and see the problem is not that we don't make enough money. 11:20 The issue is that we're trying to live according 11:22 to other people's expectations and as a result, 11:28 we're asking God, just help us make it through. 11:32 When God wants to take us to the next level and see friends. 11:35 I don't save these things in order to make you unhappy 11:39 with your life. 11:40 But I say these things to remind you of what 11:43 Jesus says in John ten and verse ten that I come 11:47 that you might have life and have it more abundantly. 11:53 In other words, Church, a believer should never live 11:57 without the expectation of a harvest. 12:00 We all that today. 12:01 In other words, a believer should never live 12:05 without the expected tastes and that things can change. 12:09 And the reason we don't know when a season changes 12:13 is that when a season changes, it doesn't announce change. 12:17 It just changes. 12:19 It doesn't say I change. 12:21 It just changes the season. 12:23 In other words, sometimes spring comes right after winter. 12:29 But how many of us know that the first few weeks 12:31 of spring can still be cold? 12:35 Because the season changes before the temperature does that 12:40 that the same way fall comes after the summer. 12:43 But the first few weeks of fall can still be hot and muggy 12:48 because the season changes before the temperature does. 12:52 And see, you can't wait for the temperature to change 12:55 in order to know that the season has. 12:58 And the reason that some of us 12:59 don't realize that the trial is about to end 13:03 is because you're 13:04 measuring the season by the temperature of the trial. 13:09 But sometimes the season can change before 13:11 the temperature actually does. 13:13 On that here today. 13:15 In other words, I need somebody in a tough season to know 13:19 that the termination from the top 13:21 doesn't mean the season won't change. 13:24 Sometimes the termination 13:25 is an announcement that the season has changed. 13:29 It is a call to stop working for them and start 13:32 working for yourself. Help. 13:35 In other words, the blow up in the marriage 13:38 doesn't mean the season won't change. 13:40 Sometimes the blow up is proof 13:43 that you can no longer live according to the status quo. 13:46 You see, how many of us know 13:47 that a fight is not proof that there is no love? 13:52 You see, anger is proof that there is love. 13:55 When love is gone, indifference is what shows up. 13:59 Let me say to my single your single season is about to 14:01 change. 14:03 In other words, God has put the person 14:06 you're supposed to be with in your life already. 14:10 But the problem is you've got them in the friend zone 14:14 and God has got to remove the scales from your eyes 14:17 so that you can see 14:18 who God has positioned them to be in your life. 14:22 Y'all hear me today? 14:23 And I guess what I'm saying is that like a good farmer, 14:29 he doesn't just wait for the season to change, 14:32 to check on his harvest, because if he waits for the 14:35 temperature to change, 14:37 then the fruit will die while attached to the vine. 14:41 He goes and looks for a harvest based upon the calendar 14:45 and not the temperature, along with the past of the date. 14:48 And what I'm saying to somebody is, don't 14:50 wait for the temperature to change. 14:53 In order to claim a harvest season. 14:55 I don't know about you, 14:56 but I don't want to let my fruit die attached to the vine. 15:01 I want everything that God has for me. 15:04 And I'm not going wait for the temperature 15:07 in order to reap what I have shown. 15:10 In other words, I need you to get that 15:12 the season changes before the temperature. 15:14 In fact, 15:15 let me say it this way up to probably about two years ago. 15:19 You know, 15:20 I didn't really care a whole lot about my travel status 15:22 when I fly, but I fly a little bit. 15:26 But once they begin to change your stance from silver to gold 15:29 and from gold to platinum, 15:31 they don't make a big announcement. 15:32 They just automatically update it in the app. 15:36 And because I wasn't paying attention, 15:39 I was actually losing access to benefits. 15:41 I should have had. 15:42 And see what the flight attendants won't do 15:45 is they won't tell you all your benefits. 15:48 You've got to know your status 15:49 so you can claim your own benefits. 15:53 And see, I didn't even realize that I had privileges 15:57 to not pay for a certain amount of badge 15:59 I was able to claim upgrades into first class. 16:03 I was able to not pay for luggage and certain privileges 16:08 and see if you don't know what status you have, 16:11 then you don't know what questions to ask 16:13 and you don't know what privileges to claim. 16:16 And what I'm saying to somebody as a child of God 16:19 is if you don't know 16:20 your status, you don't know what questions to ask, 16:24 you don't know what 16:25 blessings to claim because they're not going to tell you 16:28 it stays. 16:29 You've just got to know that it's changed. 16:32 You are hearing me today, friends. 16:34 Second things that I story teaches 16:35 and I won't be here with you long. 16:39 The second thing this teaches is that sometimes trees can look 16:42 fruitful from a distance, 16:48 but you can't see its true character 16:51 till you get up close. 16:54 So. So, friends, you've got to see this thing. 16:56 As Jesus now enters into the city of Jerusalem, 17:01 his activity has been filled with hustle and bustle. 17:05 From the time he got there. 17:06 They look to coronate him as king. 17:09 He goes into the temple 17:12 and he cleanses it a second time. 17:15 He goes to Bethany, where he fellowships with Mary 17:17 and Martha. 17:19 He spends the night there. 17:21 And as he begins the next day's journey, 17:24 the Bible says that Jesus was hungry. 17:28 And so across the street 17:29 he noticed his friends, a fruit tree that looks 17:33 as if it is ready to feed those that pass by. 17:39 And remember, the only reason he entertains 17:42 the tree 17:43 is because it is the season for it to yield its fruits. 17:48 In addition to that, it's got sturdy branches, 17:51 it's got uncorrupted roots, and the tree 17:54 is filled with an abundance of leaves. 17:57 Now, the reason Matthew points that out 18:00 is that a fig tree is kind of tricky. 18:04 In other words, the leaves don't grow in before the figs, but 18:08 on a fig tree the leaves grow in after the figs are developed. 18:14 In other words, the presence of leaves 18:17 is an announcement that the tree should be ready to bear fruit. 18:22 And so gets this moment where Jesus is hungry 18:26 and he sees this tree that is now filled with pointless. 18:30 Its leaves are announcing to the world 18:33 that I've got something here that's going to satisfy you. 18:37 And so Jesus now marches and He begins to salivate 18:40 as he approaches, as he goes to the tree, his hunger content 18:44 used to increase his body, prepares for digestion. 18:49 The tree look good from a distance, but it 18:52 wasn't until he got up on it 18:56 that he 18:57 can see how barren it actually was and see friends. 19:00 I need you to understand why Jesus is actually moved 19:05 with such 19:06 vitriol toward the tree. 19:08 In other words, He does not curse the tree. 19:12 If somebody had just gone ahead and plucked the tree, 19:17 he wouldn't have gotten mad if somebody got to the tree 19:19 before he did. 19:20 In fact, he's not even upset just by the fact that the tree 19:24 does not have any fruit. 19:26 In other words, he's 19:27 not mad that the tree doesn't have fruit. 19:31 He is mad that the tree has leaves, that 19:34 the tree says, I got something, that 19:37 the tree is posing as fruit fall 19:41 and it's got leaves, but it has no fruits. 19:44 In other words, what he's upset about 19:46 is that this tree poses as something that it's not, 19:52 as he understand that there is a spiritual eruption 19:56 that takes place in the mind of Jesus 19:58 because this tree represents 20:01 the condition of Israel in that time 20:05 and that it had 20:06 great religious spoilage, but it had no content. 20:10 He realized that this tree was a symbol of the last day 20:14 Church of Leon DC that outwardly would be rich 20:19 and increase with goods and say, I have a need of nothing 20:24 but inwardly it would be as barren as a fig tree. 20:28 And it's crazy 20:29 because there are a lot of folk that look good from a distance, 20:34 but you can't see the true 20:36 character of that person until you get up close. 20:40 And can I say to those who are new members of the church 20:43 and to those who are young people trying to negotiate 20:47 the landscape of church life, the thing I want to say to you 20:50 today is never judge somebody character 20:54 based upon what you see up front. 20:58 Never judge somebody's character 21:01 based upon what you see from a distance. 21:04 Because how many of us know that people have layers to them? 21:08 So? So that because we are layered, 21:11 we don't put our weaknesses on display. 21:13 We tend to put our strengths on display 21:16 because we are layered. 21:17 We don't put our fears on display. 21:20 We put our bravado on display. 21:23 And the truth is, you can't judge someone from a distance. 21:27 You can only know them when you get close to them 21:30 and see friends. 21:31 This is what you've got 21:32 to be mindful in church, especially in the post 21:36 pandemic entertainment culture that we now call church. 21:41 You see, never confuse 21:44 spiritual gifts with spiritual character. 21:48 You see, there is a difference friends 21:50 between the gifts of the spirit 21:53 and the fruit of the spirit. 21:56 And see, there is some in the body of Christ 21:59 that have great demonstration of the gifts of the Spirit. 22:03 They are some folk here 22:04 at Oakwood that can sing you underneath the table. 22:09 There are some that can preach you into a frenzy. 22:12 There are some that have theological knowledge 22:15 that would suggest that they know God. 22:17 There are some 22:18 that dress with a modesty that suggests true piety. 22:22 There is some that can smile 22:23 as if they got the Holy Ghost inside. 22:27 But where we get messed up is we sometimes confuse 22:30 the gifts of the Spirit with the fruit of the Spirit. 22:35 And Jesus made it clear 22:37 that if you want to know the character of the tree, 22:40 don't necessarily look at what it says. 22:43 Don't look at what it demonstrates. 22:46 If you want to know what kind of tree it is, 22:49 you've got to look at the fruit that it bears. 22:51 And it's funny phrase because there is 22:53 an interesting contradiction sometimes in church life, 22:58 because this is the crazy thing that Jesus does, is that Jesus 23:01 gives spiritual gifts sometimes to un spiritual people. 23:07 Okay, 23:09 see, this is why you cannot always access these 23:12 and begin to assess it from a distance, 23:14 because Paul literally 23:16 says, Mark, that he says, I've got to beat my body 23:20 and I've got to make it my slave less. 23:23 After I've preached to others, I myself become a castaway. 23:29 Because how many of us know that it is possible 23:33 for the Spirit of God to flow through you 23:35 and not live inside of you? 23:38 In other words, it is the same way 23:41 that the Bible says the Spirit of the Lord will come 23:44 upon Sam set and He will do great exploits. 23:48 While He was still laying up with prostitutes 23:51 and being a bad buddy with Delilah. 23:53 Are you hearing me today 23:55 the same way that the Spirit 23:57 was with David and he would still win wars 24:01 after he first became his adultery with Bathsheba, 24:05 Paul says that Satan is able 24:07 to transform himself into an angel of light, 24:12 even while Jesus calls him the Prince of Darkness. 24:17 In other words, it's possible for the Spirit to flow through 24:19 you and not live in you. 24:21 In fact, 24:21 let me say it this way 24:23 for some of us, our bodies are not a spiritual house. 24:27 Our bodies are a spiritual hotel. 24:30 In other words, it is not a place where the spirit lives. 24:34 It's just a place the spirit comes and it goes. 24:38 It visits while we minister, while we preach 24:41 or while we sing. 24:42 But as soon 24:43 as the benediction is gone, the Holy Ghost says goodbye 24:48 and see friends of mine. 24:49 This is the crazy thing about Jesus, 24:51 because Jesus doesn't repossess your gifts 24:55 when Satan possesses your character 24:59 so that everybody that can sing and saved 25:03 everybody that can preach. 25:05 And in practicing it, you can be mighty and still be me. 25:10 And don't confuse the prosperity that your gifts 25:13 bring as an endorsement of the way that you are living. 25:18 Because just because it's going well doesn't 25:21 mean that it is well with your soul. 25:24 You are here in the past. So today I see. 25:26 This is what I need. 25:27 Somebody, the fundamental of the embrace is this is that God. 25:32 God says, even when you don't serve me authentically, 25:35 I'll still let you hold on to your gifts 25:38 and see. 25:39 I'm trying to wrestle with this thing, Brother Perry, 25:40 because I'm trying to figure out how is it 25:42 that God will let us hold on to the gifts, 25:45 even when we don't use them as we should, and the reason God 25:50 lets you hold on to the gift is because Grace never gives up. 25:54 He, in other words, the grace of God 25:58 is able to see a day that you can't see. 26:02 The grace of God is able to see a shift coming 26:05 that we cannot perceive. 26:07 The grace of God is able to see a change 26:10 that your coworkers or friends cannot notarize. 26:13 In other words, Grace is able to see a day 26:16 when you turn your life toward Him. 26:19 And so God doesn't say, I'll wait till you change 26:23 to start loading my gifts. 26:24 He says, I'm going to give you the gift in anticipation 26:28 of the day that you turn your life around 26:32 and give your gifts to me and use them for my glory. 26:37 In other words, your gifts are a deposit. 26:40 Your gifts are the proof. 26:41 Your gifts are the evidence that he's not giving up on you. 26:46 He's leaving the light on you. 26:47 He's holding the door open for you. 26:50 And is there anybody grateful that the grace of God 26:54 is still extended toward his children? 26:58 Can anybody praise him that He has not turn the light off, 27:02 that he has not closed the door, that he has not repossessed 27:05 the gifts, but he lit them to you and said, 27:09 Hold on to them until you turn them back over to me. 27:14 Are you hearing the word today Church. 27:15 Thank you for joining us for the Breath Of Life 27:18 Television Ministries Broadcast with Pastor Debleaire Snell. 27:22 We hope and pray that you have been blessed 27:25 by this powerful message. 27:27 Join us next week for part two of the message 27:31 “False Advertising” you don't want to miss it! 28:04 (Breath Of lIfe Music) |
Revised 2024-11-28