WEBVTT 00:00:06.719 --> 00:00:07.839 Good morning. 00:00:08.960 --> 00:00:11.039 Welcome to our Redeemer. 00:00:11.599 --> 00:00:25.120 There are plenty of voices in our world today who will tell you what to think and how to live, which makes Jesus call to be discerning and to be on our guard against false prophets, very timely indeed. 00:00:25.359 --> 00:00:27.519 That will be the focus of our service today. 00:00:27.600 --> 00:00:30.879 We'll begin our service with our opening hymn number 868. 00:00:33.920 --> 00:00:38.960 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 00:00:39.280 --> 00:00:39.920 Amen. 00:00:42.159 --> 00:00:54.719 Today's readings put me in the awkward place of having to preach a warning to you about myself and those who share in my line of work. 00:00:55.439 --> 00:01:00.880 The word that Jesus uses is beware, be on your guard. 00:01:01.520 --> 00:01:12.000 And the wariness he calls for has to do with preachers, with who you will listen to and who you might follow. 00:01:12.239 --> 00:01:22.000 I suppose we could boil it down to something as simple as this as this: that today Jesus says, be a choosy follower. 00:01:22.719 --> 00:01:32.799 And you just can't be too careful in this regard, because ravenous wolves do not come to you bearing their fangs. 00:01:33.920 --> 00:01:38.400 Instead, they come to you in sheep's clothing. 00:01:39.359 --> 00:01:47.359 That is, they sound wise and reasonable and smart, like somebody you would want to listen to. 00:01:48.640 --> 00:01:55.760 They know how to gain an audience and how to get things done. 00:01:56.719 --> 00:02:00.959 They tell you things that you want to hear. 00:02:01.920 --> 00:02:06.319 This is what a wolf in sheep's clothing does. 00:02:06.640 --> 00:02:15.919 And that sheep's clothing can be so convincing that it can even deceive the false prophet himself. 00:02:16.639 --> 00:02:38.639 For Jesus tells us at the end of today's gospel this startling thing that there will be some who come before him on the day of judgment, saying, Lord, Lord, and expecting to be trumpeted and praised by God as they were trumpeted and praised by their followers here on this earth, and yet are self-deceived. 00:02:38.960 --> 00:02:44.560 And we'll find there on that day a rude surprise and a stern word waiting for them. 00:02:45.199 --> 00:02:51.919 Depart from me, workers of lawlessness, I never knew you. 00:02:52.800 --> 00:03:04.560 Now there is a clue for listeners as to what you should watch out for in the way that Jesus has these workers of lawlessness speaking. 00:03:05.680 --> 00:03:16.479 For as he depicts it, these workers of lawlessness are coming before the throne of God, and they are telling of what they have done. 00:03:16.800 --> 00:03:25.520 Now, of course, they say it was all in Jesus' name, putting that nice label upon it, and yet the accent is very notably on self. 00:03:26.159 --> 00:03:46.159 And surely you are all Lutherans enough to run up the red flag of works righteousness if you see somebody coming before God and proclaiming as the basis for their entrance into heaven the things that they have done, that should make us say, something has gone awry here. 00:03:47.199 --> 00:03:55.840 And it means that we should know well enough to be on our guard against a preacher who praises himself. 00:03:56.560 --> 00:04:08.080 We should consider it an unhealthy thing if a church spends a great deal of time proclaiming how many wonderful things the church is doing. 00:04:09.199 --> 00:04:18.639 We should know not to be taken in by much talk of grand success stories and glorious accomplishments. 00:04:19.360 --> 00:04:24.720 Because the work of the Spirit proceeds much more quietly than that. 00:04:58.800 --> 00:05:09.360 And this is reinforced by the word that Jesus uses to describe these wolves, ravenous. 00:05:09.920 --> 00:05:12.800 This sort of appetite that they have. 00:05:13.920 --> 00:05:21.839 Because a hungry wolf sees everyone as a potential meal. 00:05:22.240 --> 00:05:23.519 And that's not what you want. 00:05:23.680 --> 00:05:43.839 You see, when you are looking for a preacher, what you want is a preacher who recognizes his own emptiness and his own need and fills it with Christ, daily receiving his forgiveness, his grace, his peace, finding in Jesus his treasure, his all-in-all, everything he needs. 00:05:44.639 --> 00:05:57.439 You want a preacher who's filled to the full like that so that he won't be trying to fill some emptiness or need within himself by his preaching and by his ministry. 00:05:57.759 --> 00:06:07.439 And the question to ask here that gets to the heart of the ravenous wolf is this What is this person trying to get from me? 00:06:08.079 --> 00:06:11.680 Now you want the answer to that question to be something like this. 00:06:12.000 --> 00:06:14.560 This person wants me to believe in Jesus. 00:06:14.720 --> 00:06:20.480 This person wants me to know and understand the word and to shape and live my life according to it. 00:06:20.639 --> 00:06:25.519 This person wants me to have the hope and the peace and the comfort of Christ. 00:06:25.839 --> 00:06:28.639 That's what you want the answer to be. 00:06:29.199 --> 00:06:44.160 But I know in my own heart how thin the line is between thinking, I want a sermon that feeds people with Jesus, and the thinking that says, I want a sermon that will feed my own ego. 00:06:44.560 --> 00:06:48.879 And have people on the way out of church telling me what a fine preacher I am. 00:06:49.279 --> 00:06:54.319 And once a preacher heads down that road, boy, watch out. 00:06:54.800 --> 00:06:58.240 Beware, be on your guard indeed. 00:06:58.800 --> 00:07:09.600 You have to be on your guard against a preacher who views you as a means to an end and not as the end in and of yourself. 00:07:09.920 --> 00:07:11.360 And those ends might be various. 00:07:11.439 --> 00:07:20.319 It could be money, it could be the preacher saying, I don't want to ruffle too many feathers, I want to keep everybody happy so that they keep paying my salary and the offering dollars keep coming in. 00:07:20.639 --> 00:07:31.199 I think more often it's fame and prestige, a preacher who says, I want to use these people to build up the church and do something great that will have other pastors asking me, what's your secret sauce? 00:07:31.279 --> 00:07:34.399 And will get me invited to headline conferences. 00:07:35.279 --> 00:07:38.800 I suppose it could be other ends as well. 00:07:40.000 --> 00:07:52.959 In this regard, I think that we have a pretty decent ability to sense when somebody is only paying attention to us in order to get something from us. 00:07:53.199 --> 00:07:54.480 I think we can sense that. 00:07:54.560 --> 00:08:03.279 We can sense when care and attention is being paid, but really only to use us to get to some other end. 00:08:04.079 --> 00:08:12.240 Take that as a sign, a warning, as one of the fruits that would cause you to beware. 00:08:13.120 --> 00:08:23.199 Take it as a sign that perhaps here there is a sort of ravenous appetite that would betray the wolf hiding beneath the sheep's clothing. 00:08:24.160 --> 00:08:34.399 So the recipe that you want in a preacher goes like this maximum glory to Christ, minimal attention on self. 00:08:35.200 --> 00:08:37.360 That's what you're looking for. 00:08:38.080 --> 00:08:42.639 No, I've spent a great deal of time talking about how this looks in a church. 00:08:42.879 --> 00:08:57.279 At this point, I think it's important for us to broaden out this conversation and to acknowledge that in our world today, there are many prophets who are prophesying but do not operate under the title Reverend. 00:08:57.600 --> 00:09:05.360 Instead, we call them content creators, lifestyle influencers, podcasters, and the like. 00:09:05.600 --> 00:09:07.919 But they're filling a prophet's role. 00:09:08.080 --> 00:09:17.360 They view it as their task to tell you what to think, what to buy, where to direct your dollars, how to live your life. 00:09:17.679 --> 00:09:23.759 They set before you paths that they promise will lead to wellness and flourishing. 00:09:24.480 --> 00:09:35.840 And as much as we all fancy that we're unique individuals cutting our own path through this world, the fact of the matter is that we're mostly all but followers. 00:09:36.159 --> 00:09:41.679 And it seems to me that even someone who never comes to church has a preacher. 00:09:42.000 --> 00:09:48.320 The question isn't really if you're going to have a preacher, it's just who that preacher will be. 00:09:48.879 --> 00:09:55.120 In fact, some of the platforms that we use make this very obvious because they have a button that says follow this person. 00:09:56.159 --> 00:09:59.120 Subscribe to this channel. 00:09:59.440 --> 00:10:09.279 In Jesus' day, if you wanted to take in the teaching of a rabbi, you might have to literally follow that rabbi, dusty mile after dusty mile on the road. 00:10:09.440 --> 00:10:19.519 Today you click that button and the next podcast slash sermon will be automatically queued up for you to listen to. 00:10:20.639 --> 00:10:32.799 Which doesn't make it all that easy to be a choosy follower, especially when the algorithm is designed to feed you what you want to hear. 00:10:33.600 --> 00:10:48.879 So everything that I've said already can be applied to this kind of mass communication that comes to us in various forms, be it in print and a book, or in audio form, like a podcast, or in video form on any of those kinds of streaming platforms. 00:10:49.120 --> 00:10:56.559 First and foremost, the question that we have to ask is: is this person leading me to the Lord Jesus? 00:10:57.200 --> 00:11:01.440 Or are they leading me away from my Savior? 00:11:02.000 --> 00:11:09.279 Is what this person's saying in keeping with God's word and the truth that it has given to me? 00:11:10.399 --> 00:11:21.759 Because we know that there are many things that sound wise and reasonable and good in this world, and yet nevertheless run contrary to what God has revealed to us in his word. 00:11:22.159 --> 00:11:24.320 That's always first and foremost. 00:11:24.559 --> 00:11:27.919 It seems to me that you can ask the same question about motives here. 00:11:28.080 --> 00:11:30.639 What is this person trying to get from me? 00:11:31.200 --> 00:11:34.399 And sometimes that motive is not hidden in the least. 00:11:34.559 --> 00:11:44.879 The YouTuber who in the middle of the video says, Help me reach 100,000 subscribers, is clearly telling you that you are a means to their end and the fulfillment of their own goal. 00:11:45.120 --> 00:12:00.639 And when you hear, and now a word from our sponsors breaking up a podcast, it's a reminder to you that the podcaster wants your attention because the more people who are listening, the more ad revenue that podcaster brings in. 00:12:00.960 --> 00:12:05.519 Those motives are not hidden, they're fruits that are easy to see. 00:12:06.720 --> 00:12:22.320 And yet it seems to me that there is an added layer of complication when communication is done digitally or remotely, because there's distance and anonymity between the person that you're listening to and you yourself. 00:12:22.799 --> 00:12:43.360 Look, you might be listening to an online preacher, and you can learn a little bit about that preacher from the carefully curated content that is delivered to you in the video, but you can't actually know how that person lives his life when he steps away from the camera lens. 00:12:43.679 --> 00:12:52.399 And that can make it very difficult to recognize the fruits that might otherwise mark out a false preacher. 00:12:52.960 --> 00:13:01.519 And many people will tell you that they know what will be good for you, but they do so without actually knowing you personally. 00:13:01.679 --> 00:13:21.600 That is, somebody that you know only at a distance, mediated by a screen, cannot truly care for you as you, or know and understand the very specific joys and sorrows that are in your life and the burdens that you carry. 00:13:22.399 --> 00:13:34.240 In fact, nowadays you have to ask of any video that you see whether it's even real or whether it's been generated by AI. 00:13:35.519 --> 00:13:59.840 These kinds of complications seem to me to indicate the great importance of what happens in a relatively small congregation like ours, where we get together face to face, where there is no question whether what you are hearing and seeing is really happening or whether it's been generated by AI. 00:14:00.879 --> 00:14:13.279 More than that, what happens within our congregation is this great joy of getting to walk together with one another, of knowing each other personally, of sharing life's joys and carrying each other's burdens. 00:14:14.000 --> 00:14:24.879 That provides the best possible context for carrying out Jesus' command to be careful and discerning and choosy in who we're following. 00:14:25.200 --> 00:14:33.440 It's within a Christian church like this where you can actually know the preacher, and the preacher can actually know you. 00:14:33.600 --> 00:14:36.639 You can get a sense of his life and his heart. 00:14:37.600 --> 00:14:45.759 Now, you can certainly go online and find better preachers and better sermons, more carefully crafted and polished and the like. 00:14:46.240 --> 00:14:52.639 But it seems to me that it's far better to have this kind of context of shared life. 00:14:52.879 --> 00:15:06.720 In fact, it seems to me that this is something that's going to be all the more important as this kind of divide between being able to know and understand what's real and what isn't grows more and more in our society. 00:15:06.960 --> 00:15:11.840 We have something here that is important and genuine. 00:15:12.240 --> 00:15:19.039 We have something here that souls that are feeling disconnected and lonely are searching for. 00:15:19.360 --> 00:15:26.240 We have the joy of gathering together in the flesh, face to face, of knowing one another. 00:15:26.799 --> 00:15:33.519 And that seems to me to be the best possible way that you and I can carry out Jesus' words. 00:15:33.919 --> 00:15:43.039 It's the place where you can look for a preacher who genuinely cares for you as you, who loves the Lord Jesus, who wants nothing more than to bring you to Him. 00:15:43.200 --> 00:15:46.399 It's my prayer that you find a pastor, a preacher like that. 00:15:46.799 --> 00:15:48.399 So there, I've carried out my duty. 00:15:48.480 --> 00:15:53.600 I have warned you about myself and those who share in my line of work. 00:15:53.840 --> 00:15:55.919 Let's be choosy followers. 00:15:56.159 --> 00:15:59.679 Let's listen to those who will lead us to the Lord. 00:16:00.000 --> 00:16:00.559 Amen. 00:16:01.120 --> 00:16:04.879 Welcome to our Redeemer, a special warm welcome to our guests who are with us today. 00:16:04.960 --> 00:16:07.120 It's great that you joined us here. 00:16:07.679 --> 00:16:09.039 A couple of announcements. 00:16:09.279 --> 00:16:14.559 Our Thursday afternoon Bible study will be resuming next week, Thursday, August 6th. 00:16:14.720 --> 00:16:16.559 That takes place at 1 o'clock p.m. 00:16:16.799 --> 00:16:17.759 in the community room. 00:16:17.919 --> 00:16:19.200 All are welcome to attend that. 00:16:19.279 --> 00:16:20.879 So mark that on your calendars. 00:16:21.279 --> 00:16:29.039 Also, you're invited to stick around now for refreshments in our community room, as well as our summer Bible reading hour, where we're reading through the book of Exodus. 00:16:29.120 --> 00:16:30.639 That'll begin in just a few moments. 00:16:30.720 --> 00:16:36.960 But before you head out, take a moment, greet those worshiping with you, and I wish you God's blessings on the rest of your day.