Jesus Warning to us –
One of the verses that has always startled me is Mat 7:21-23
Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.
Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name,
cast out demons in Your name,
and done many wonders in Your name?’
And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’
This effectively means there are folks around us who are performing signs and wonders, who are prophesying in Jesus name, and yet He says – He never knew them.
In John 10 Jesus says, He knows His sheep. If He does not know these folks, THEY ARE NOT HIS SHEEP!
The lesson as we learn to practice discernment is:
“Signs and wonders in Jesus name, are NOT the mark of true disciple.
Obedience to the Father is.”
So how do we learn to recognize His sheep?
Jesus made His guidance simple. In that same chapter, let’s look at the verses right before these in Mat 7:15-20
Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.
You will know them by their fruits.
Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles?
Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.
A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit.
Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down
and thrown into the fire.
Therefore by their fruits you will know them.
What fruit should we look for?
Fruit of Repentance:
Luk 3:8 and Mat 3:8-9 – “Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones.
Repentance: a change of mind, as it appears to one who repents, of a purpose he has formed or of something he has done
Is there a mark of repentance in someone’s life? Is there a changing of their mind towards Jesus and Kingdom ways? Or is there continued defiant sin and an unwillingness to change?
Fruit of Holiness:
Rom 6:22 – But now having been set free from sin, and having become enslaved to God, you have your fruit resulting in holiness. And the outcome is eternal life.
Holiness: consecration, purification. The effect of consecration is sanctification of heart and life
Do you see evidence of someone being set apart for Kingdom purposes, willing to make the sacrifices to serve Jesus?
Fruit of Righteousness:
Phl 1:9 -11 – And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment, that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ, being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.
Righteousness: in a broad sense: state of him who is as he ought to be, righteousness, the condition acceptable to God. Integrity, virtue, purity of life, rightness, correctness of thinking feeling, and acting
Do you see evidence of right thinking? Kingdom thinking and acting?
Fruit of the Spirit:
Gal 5:22 -23 – But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.
Do you see evidence of the fruit of the Spirit in a person’s life?
What does bad fruit look like?
Gal 5:19-21
Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
Conclusion
Wisdom always judges by the fruit. Use Holy judgement and discernment as you begin to desire and grow in Spiritual awareness and giftings.
Be mindful of whose fruit you are partaking and look for good fruit! In the very verses we started with Jesus highlights those who do the will of His Father. The mark of a true disciple of Jesus is one who obeys the Father.
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