Trinity Community Church

Red Letters - The Cure for Deception

Kelly Kinder

"The Cure for Deception" brings us to Jesus’ sober warning in Matthew 7:15-23, and Pastor Kelly Kinder will not let it drift past our ears. Kelly shows how false teachers often arrive in convincing costumes, and why Jesus’ test is simple and searching: examine fruit over time in doctrine, character, and impact. He traces the enemy’s ancient playbook from Eden—twisting God’s words, denying His truthfulness, questioning His character, and baiting our desires—and shows how the same moves animate modern counterfeits, even under religious branding. The most unsettling part is not the wolves but the possibility of being false followers who say “Lord, Lord” while remaining unknown by Christ. Kelly calls us to honest self-examination: are we doing the Father’s will because we are united to the Son, or are we performing for approval? The cure for deception is Jesus Himself. As we know Him truly, love His truth, and obey His Word in the power of the Spirit, real fruit grows and counterfeit hopes wither. This message pairs vigilance with hope and urges us to guard the gospel for our children and our neighbors by clinging to Christ and conforming our lives to Scripture.

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Kelly Kinder:

We're in the last portion of this, this final section of the Sermon on the Mount, the great sermon by Jesus, and this last section covers chapter 7, verses 13 through 29. And if we've been following along from the beginning, we know that Jesus has challenged us with the principles and the practices and the values of the kingdom of God, and it's been wonderful. Now, at the closing points of his message, he's giving us basically some choices to make about the kingdom. He's going to let us decide, and so the choices are three. They're basically three illustrations. Let me just kind of go through these and we're going to work on the second one today and the last one next week.

Kelly Kinder:

The first choice, which Tyler did such a great job last week on, is between two gates. Do you remember the wide and the narrow gate? And the warnings for each of these are also included, and the warning for that is don't follow the crowd, don't follow the crowd. The second illustration, the one we'll look at today, the choice between two trees, and there's the healthy or unhealthy, or the good and bad tree, and the warning there is don't be deceived. And then the last one, which we'll look at next week, is the two foundations, and the foundations between having being built on the sand or building your life on the rock. And the warning is don't build your life in the wrong place. So verses 13 through 14, the last week. I just kind of want to bring you back, to bring this to your mind. Jesus says For the gate is wide and the way is easy. That leads to destruction and those who enter by it are many underline that many For the gate is narrow and the way is hard. That leads to life and those who find it are few. Let that sink in. Those who find it are few, what are the odds of missing the gate? And you think about through history, billions and billions, he says, few are. Those is the way it reads in Greek. Few are those who find it. Today we're going to see that the greatest gap between that exists for us is between what we believe and what actually is. So read that again the greatest gap that exists for us is between what we believe and what actually is. Jesus warns us about how we could miss this gate and then he tells us why it's possible to miss it, and that's what we're going to look at today. Matthew 7, verses 15 through 23. Would you read along with me in your Bible, where you can watch it on the screen.

Kelly Kinder:

Jesus said beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles? That's kind of hard to say figs from thistles. So every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.

Kelly Kinder:

Not everyone who says to me, lord, lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day, many will say to me Lord, lord, did we not prophesy in your name, cast out demons in your name and do many mighty works in your name, works in your name? And then, while I declare to them I never knew you Depart from me, you workers of lawlessness. Let's pray, our Father. We're just so grateful today that we can open your word and we ask you, holy Spirit, that you'd even now open our eyes and minds and hearts that we can understand what you want to show us, lord. Remove anything in our lives that would smack of deception. Anything any lies in us that we've believed, that we are holding on to that doesn't adhere to your truth, and, lord, we just ask you to show us your ways today. In Jesus' name, amen.

Kelly Kinder:

Death by GPS that's a phenomena that is kind of well-known for those who have been a little bit familiar with it, but it's not an uncommon thing. Death by GPS kind of refers to the times when someone's GPS brings them into terrible and sometimes unattractable places and it leads to their death, and there's a lot of examples of that. I was looking this last week and one of the examples is pretty recent 2023, a man in North Carolina was driving on a dark and rainy night. His GPS was telling him to go across this bridge and he did so and the bridge ended and he drove off into the river and died True story. You know the order of magnitude in making an error like that in your spiritual life is unimaginably tragic and has incredibly unimaginable consequences. So you know what? There's a global positioning system that our enemy uses, and his positioning system will take us into the most destructive places we can ever imagine and this is why Jesus first talks about the danger posed by these false teachers will take us into the most destructive places we can ever imagine.

Kelly Kinder:

And this is why Jesus first talks about the danger posed by these false teachers. He says there beware of false prophets who come to you Verse 15. And that problem is really nothing new. If you look through the history of the church, it's fraught with all kinds of false teaching and the church is trying to come against it. In fact, from Genesis you look in your Bible, from Genesis to Revelation that you know the same issue false teachers is warned against and it's told to us it's a thing that we're supposed to do is we're to guard against, be cautious about. Here's what Peter said Be sober-minded, be watchful. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour. The question is, do you believe that? Do you really believe that? You say, well, that sounds kind of paranoid, like somebody's out to get me. Yes, they are. His name is Satan and he's real. He's not a figment of your imagination. And part of what we need to do as a church is and I'm talking about church in general, our church included is to gain a biblical worldview about reality. There are things that we don't see that are real and are true, and let me tell you why this should matter to us. First of all, because you may not think it, but this is happening even now, even though it's happened throughout church history. It's happening today, even now.

Kelly Kinder:

Bart Ehrman is a world-renowned biblical scholar. He teaches in a school over a university in North Carolina and he started out as a Bible-believing Christian and his spiritual journey sort of took him down a path that ultimately led him to reject the claims of Christianity. But he's an influencer. At last count I looked this up on the internet Bart Ehrman has written 34 books. Seven of these are on the bestseller or six of these are on the New York Times bestseller list, and he is. Those books have been translated into 134 countries. He's an influencer. In his own words.

Kelly Kinder:

We get a taste of his brand of Christianity, and this is an interview. I don't want to put words in his mouth, so I'll let him talk. Here's what he believes. A lot of people, he says, wonder why I am not a Christian. Is Bart Ehrman a Christian? Is a very popular question and I don't quite get this. He says just now, 15 minutes ago, I came to realize with the most clarity the crystal clarity I've ever had of why I am not a Christian.

Kelly Kinder:

Of course, as most of you know, I have not called myself a Christian publicly for a very long time 20 years or so, I suppose and then listen to this. But a number of people tell me that they think at heart I'm a Christian and I sometimes think of myself as a Christian, agnostic, atheist. Let that mess with your mind. I'll read it again. I think of myself as a Christian, agnostic, atheist. Their thinking and mine has been that if I do my best to follow the teachings of Jesus, in some respect I'm a Christian, even if I don't believe that Jesus was the son of God or that he was raised from the dead, or even that God exists. In fact, I don't believe all these things. But can't I be a Christian in a different sense, one who follows Jesus' teachings? Wow, and many of these people that are reading his books and listening to him, many go to him for the true put that in quotes true version of Christianity, and they are.

Kelly Kinder:

I think there's unknown numbers of former Christians who now follow his teachings to its logical end. They have rejected the faith and they no longer believe either. You know, remember that. You can know your Bible yet reject its truth. You can know your Bible yet reject its truth. You can know your Bible but reject its truth, and sometimes we do that unconsciously. We don't even think about how we're rejecting the truth. That's in the scriptures. Seems to me like there was someone who said this that we all know. He said this. He said if the blind lead the blind, they'll both fall into the ditch.

Kelly Kinder:

The voices like Bart Ehrman's are everywhere in our culture. They're found in our education system, they're found in our political sphere. They're found in our media and our social media. They're talking, and you don't have to have a title, you just have to have a platform to make a truth claim. But the most sinister place that we find this false teaching occurs in the most unlikely place that you could imagine. It's found in the most unlikely place that you could imagine, found in the church, find false prophets, right where the enemy can do the most damage.

Kelly Kinder:

And how do I know that? Because Peter in second Peter talks about it. You could and let me encourage you to read the whole chapter go back and read chapter two of second Peter. He gives a complete description of what the character of these false teachers are like. Complete description of what the character of these false teachers are like. Let me just read the first couple of verses to you.

Kelly Kinder:

He says but false prophets also arose among the people. Just as there will be false teachers among you who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the master who bought them, destructive heresies, even denying the master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their sensuality and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed. You know and if I you know I've had the time I could talk about church after church after church that has turned away in our away in our nation, away from the gospel, teaching things that are now contrary to the scriptures, and it's kind of mind-boggling and mind-blowing, but they're all led by men who have rejected the truth of scripture. You know, as we move closer and closer to the end of history, where I think we're fast moving there now don't know how far away we are, but I think you can sense it too we'll see the problem becoming more real.

Kelly Kinder:

Listen to what Paul says in 2 Thessalonians the coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan, with all power and all false signs and wonders and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing because they refuse to love the truth and so be saved. Even Jesus said this the end of his chapter that is written in Matthew. He says and I'm kind of astounded even now, like what we can actually see with things like deep fakes and things that are able to be put out there in the media that looks real but it's not. That couldn't have been done just a few short years ago, but it can be done now. How easy it would be to deceive the whole world and, if possible, the elect. Who are the false prophets of our day? Ever thought about that? It's just kind of like a definition for us. Let me just kind of give this to you False teachers any teacher who distorts the truth of the Scriptures and ultimately distorts the gospel of grace Distorts the truth of the Scriptures and ultimately distorts the gospel of grace.

Kelly Kinder:

It is the grace that's found in the ministry, the working ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ. You know, I started to provide us a list of examples, writing them out, but it got too long. It got too long, but I think it was surprising to learn that many of our favorite Bible teachers teach heresy. But they're out there. You just have to look under the covers a bit, see.

Kelly Kinder:

False teaching can run along a spectrum, I think, if you will, from minor errors in theology to what we call heresy. And I'm not talking when I say minor errors, I don't mean the things like when we have minor disagreements with Christians. Those will always be there. We know, in part, right, and those are some things that Romans 14 talks about non-essentials. But I'm talking about errors that deny the foundational truths of Christianity, things like the resurrection and the virgin birth and the nature of sin and its effects and the Trinity, things like that. They're common in our day.

Kelly Kinder:

You just have to listen, you see, when teaching becomes destructive, divisive and really it just turns the gospel on its head in relation to our salvation, then we can actually say, and rightly say, it comes from false teachers. And that's why we all listen. We all have to know the gospel, believe the gospel and guard the gospel. This is critical, folks, in our day. We have have to. We just have to. So why is it? Why is it important? Because it's not only important for you, it's important for the next generation.

Kelly Kinder:

So we see the danger of false teachers jesus describes here. Now he tells us of the deception of these false teachers In verse 15 again, who come, he says. They described who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. The people appear innocent and harmless, but they may actually be out to destroy you. They may be out to tear you to pieces. They want to have you, they want to make you, make a mutton burger out of you. They may be out to tear you to pieces. They want to have you, they want to make a mutton burger out of you.

Kelly Kinder:

So this idea that the gospel's enemies may initially sound really good, they may look really good, they may be very charismatic and have a great personality and draw lots of crowds, but underneath they're hiding something. And Jesus' point is that they're indistinguishable from true teachers. You see, just because somebody draws a large crowd or has a PhD or has a weekly podcast, it doesn't mean they can be trusted. And so what do we have to do? We have to lift up the fleece and kind of look underneath so we don't get fleeced right. We have to look beyond the appearance to see the reality of things.

Kelly Kinder:

Paul continues in describing these kind of people. He says in 2 Corinthians 11,. For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no surprise if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds. And so he says these guys are in disguise. These guys are in disguise, and his idea behind that is that you couldn't tell it if you wanted to by looking at them. But behind them is a darkest deceiver. The father of lies is behind these false prophets. He's motivating them to teach what they teach, and behind their deep fake, which is what it is. These folks are master manipulators. I mean, you can watch them on TV and listen to them, and they're directly influenced by Satan himself. This is what Paul is saying here. And they're often positioned inside our churches and inside our Christian organizations, and this was a really significant concern in the early church.

Kelly Kinder:

Did you realize that almost every New Testament letter talks about false teachers? Let me give you a couple examples. In the letter to Jude, for example, in the last book before the book of Revelation, right at the beginning. Here's what Jude tells us. He says I was going to talk to you about our common salvation, but he said I changed my mind because there's something I need to address right now. He says I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints, for certain people have crept in unnoticed. He's talking about the false teachers.

Kelly Kinder:

Paul in 2 Corinthians 11 says proclaims another Jesus than the one we proclaimed, or if you received a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough. And Paul is, what is he doing? He's correcting this church for their indifference Big deal, and so they blew it off. But Paul's understanding goes way beyond the surface here. He goes all the way back to the original deception in the garden and there's some instruction for us here. Paul knew that that Satan, the very first false prophet, uses tactics that never change. I want us to see him this morning because of that life altering exchange, that day that we remember, in the garden between Adam and Eve, satan and Satan.

Kelly Kinder:

In Genesis, chapter three, we learn how Satan operates to deceive. And let me just give you. There's four things here that are instructive. Number one Satan there subtly twists the words of God, and we see this in this conversation. Satan is talking to Eve and Satan says did God actually say you shall not eat of any tree in the garden? And the woman listens to that. And then she adds to his suggestion. And the woman said to the serpent we may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God says you shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden. And then she adds this neither shall you touch it, lest you die. You see what Satan's doing there. He's starting to mess with her mind, the way she remembers the scriptures, and sometimes he can do that with us. You ever thought you remembered a verse and it was like you go back and it's like that's not what it said at all. You think Satan does that still? Yes, he does. Satan subtly twists the words of God.

Kelly Kinder:

Second, satan denies the truthfulness of God. Look at it in verse four, genesis, chapter three. But the serpent said to the woman you shall not surely die. You hear that he's directly contradicting what God has said. He says well, god is really not being honest with you. Well, god is really not being honest with you. How many times does he do that with us? Satan denies the truthfulness of God. Thirdly, satan questions the character of God. This is really dark.

Kelly Kinder:

Chapter 3, verse 5, for God knows that when you eat of it, your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil. You see, what he's putting in mind is that God is holding out on you. He just doesn't want you to experience everything that ought to be coming to you. He's making your life miserable. The reason he tells you no is so you won't be happy. He doesn't want you to have everything. He's not a good God.

Kelly Kinder:

And then, number four, satan appeals to human desires, and I'm talking about what is here in the scripture the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, the boastful pride of life. He says there, so in scripture. So when the woman in verse six and seven saw that the tree was good for food and that it was a delight to the eyes and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate, eve was deceived, and Adam just. You know how. You know you women have lots of influence on us. He did that with his eyes open. He knew what he was doing right, but these are the same methods Satan uses to tempt Jesus as he did in the wilderness. These are the same methods that are seen in most, if not all, false teachers. Satan's tactics never change, and one recent example of this kind of deception, which actually twists the scriptures, is called the Mirror Bible. Has anybody heard of the Mirror Bible? Probably hasn't.

Kelly Kinder:

It came out in 2021. And it was written by one man. His name is Francois Dutoy and he's actually South African, and so his readers described this Bible. After reading it, some of the people have written and said it's a refreshing and enlightening experience that offers a new perspective on familiar passages. When you hear something like that, it offers something new. Red flag Right. And yet, as you look a little bit deeper, you find that the Bible du toi, as written, is chock full of false teaching, and this is a Bible, by the way, that I don't know how many people are reading. I've heard it. You go to Google and you say, wow, you've got all these rave reviews, five-star reviews, and I understand what Google does sometimes, but there's a lot of people who read this Bible.

Kelly Kinder:

It's called a translation, I think, a paraphrase, translation, paraphrase. Those two don't go together, by the way. But he says he worked from the original Greek and it's really, in his mind, the right thing. But here's what you find, for example, in his exposition on what about the sinful nature? Here's what Dutoy writes. He says we theologically created the idea of humanity being sinful by nature, as if humans are flawed by design. Well duh. As if humans are flawed by design, well duh. In fact, it is a distorted mindset that we inherited from Adam, from which Jesus had to free us.

Kelly Kinder:

The point of the mirror Bible is that we don't need to believe in order to become children of God. We already are because of Jesus. You see how twisted that is. But this is what people are getting from this false teacher. He goes on and finishes. He says everyone who realizes their association in him, that is, in Jesus, convinced that he is their original life and that his name defines them, god gives the assurance that they are indeed his offspring, begotten of him. That is a damning. A damning teaching, because it takes millions of people to hell because they're believing a lie.

Kelly Kinder:

And so Jesus tells us, beware of false teachers, adding that any of us can be deceived If we're not careful to pay attention to what the Word of God says and treat it like it is a lamp shining in a dark place, and you may be sitting here this morning going well, not me. Think about this. The very nature of deception is that you don't know that you're being deceived. So how then do we guard against this? We need discernment. You know what discernment is. Discernment is the God-given ability to see through the lies. Discernment is the God-given ability to see through the lies. Discernment is the God-given ability to see through the lies, and Jesus doesn't leave us without help here. He cuts to the chase and he gives us what we need to know, and we see it in this next point, the discerning of false teachers, in verses 16 through 20.

Kelly Kinder:

In verse 16, he says you, here's the thing. You will recognize them by their fruits and the way he communicates this. He gives us the illustration, he gives us a picture of two trees with their associated fruits, and really, this is a simple test to know who is real and who is not. Look at their fruits and, by the way it's plural fruits. Look at their fruits, look at all that's and, by the way, it's plural fruits. Look at their fruits, look at all that's produced by the tree.

Kelly Kinder:

And what do the fruits reveal? Three things. First of all, their fruits, he says, reveal their nature. He says. He asked the question are grapes gathered from thorn bushes or figs from thistles? The nature of the tree is what the tree is, right, can't change. It's the Old Testament. Can a leopard change its spots? Well, no, it's a leopard. The fruits reveal their nature, and so let's make this practical. I got some things to ask as we're considering these things. And the question here is do their words and their teaching line up with the scriptures? Simple thing, simple test the fruits reveal their nature.

Kelly Kinder:

The second one is that their fruits expose their character. Their fruits expose their character, he says in verses. He says in verses is that next phrase there in 17? Every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, a diseased tree cannot bear good fruit. It's impossible for them to bear what they are not right. And here's the question we ask Does their character reflect the teaching of the scriptures? I mean what's their character, and pretty soon, if you're around them long enough, you know. It's kind of like what the scripture says out of the heart words reveal what's in our heart. So just listen to what they say and you'll know. Their fruits expose their character. And then, third, their fruits predict their destiny. He says every tree verse 10 that does not bear fruit good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire, and the question we can ask here is what is the outcome of their teaching and what is their is the effect of their teaching on the people who listen to them? How have they influenced the lives of their hearers?

Kelly Kinder:

These are simple tests, and Jesus tells us, though, that by looking at their fruits we can know whether false or true. Now, jesus has been just, I think, instructing us about those who claim to be what they're not, and in verses 15 through 20, we've warned he's been warning us as he has with the danger of false prophets, and now he kind of switches gears. In verses 21 through 23, he now speaks about being false followers. Now we begin to squirm. To me, this is the most sobering portion of Scripture in all the Bible, because it tells about people who are standing at the door to heaven and they're hoping and expecting to get in, thinking that they're Christians, but they're in fact revealed not to be. Does that concern you? Does that frighten you, boy? It does me, and I know whom I have believed. But here's the disaster from false teaching, verses 21 through 23.

Kelly Kinder:

I was thinking about this and you know, we all feel that weakness, don't we? Of the flesh and just our sinful nature, and it's like we're not what we ought to be. There's those question marks that the enemy brings in and saying, well, you're not this or you're not that. And he puts a question mark on us. John Newton, who's him we know so well, you know what Amazing grace. He was so aware of this feeling that he said if I ever reach heaven, I expect to find three wonders there. First, to meet some I had not thought to see there, and that will be true. To miss some I had thought to meet there. And third, the greatest wonder of all, to find myself there. Yeah, yeah, this is a serious warning for all of us to find myself there. Yeah, yeah, this is a serious warning for all of us. To consider it.

Kelly Kinder:

Jesus imagines now for us what it will be like for someone on that day of judgment. And they stand as they stand, horrified, at the door to heaven, thinking they're going to get in and they're turned away. So notice, they're turned away from the door of heaven. There are, I would just say, two panicked professions. Can you imagine Panic would set in the first? And these are claims. But I called you Lord, verse 21,. Jesus said not everyone who says to me, lord, lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my father, who is in heaven. You know this is about lip service. Lip service is in heaven. You know this is about lip service. Lip service is not enough. Using his name doesn't prove anything. You can wear the moniker Christian and not be a Christian. But I called you Lord. And then the second one. But I did great things for you. We did great things for you. He says.

Kelly Kinder:

On that day, many will say to me Lord, lord, did we not prophesy in your name and cast out demons in your name and do mighty works in your name? And here's someone who is busy in ministry, counting on his sensational works to do what? To save him. He does a lot of great things. In fact he lists them A lot of great results maybe, but he's also too inflated by what he's done, by the things he's done himself. It kind of gives you a little clue about something's not quite right.

Kelly Kinder:

But prophecy casting out demons mighty works don't those say anything. And we might have thought that Jesus would Mighty works. Don't those say anything. And we might have thought that Jesus would handed the guy an A for all the effort, right. But spiritual power doesn't prove anything and we kind of gravitate to that, thinking wow, that's a powerful preacher, that's a powerful ministry or that's a super mega church. It must be something to that church or that person. Spiritual power doesn't prove anything Because he says then will I declare to them I never knew you. Depart from me, you, workers of lawlessness.

Kelly Kinder:

This is the ultimate deception, a disaster that you and I don't want to encounter, right? You know there's a scripture in Proverbs that says there is a path that seems right to a person, but it ends in death. You know, there's only one thing, only one thing that matters according to Jesus. Do you know him? Do you know him in a personal relationship? Do you know him in deep fellowship and this is a word that talks about intimacy, you spent time with him. He knows you, you know him. It's not about all the things we do or things that we claim or the words that we use, and this is where it's deceptive. John Calvin once wrote the human heart has so many crannies where vanity hides, so many holes where falsehood lurks, is so decked out with deceiving hypocrisy that it often dupes itself. So what are we to do? So what are we to do? Make sure that you and I have not misunderstood the way. The way is Jesus. He's a way and the truth and the life. Grab hold of the truth like it's your best friend, because it is love the truth. Believe is Love the truth, believe the truth, live the truth.

Kelly Kinder:

Here's a good piece of advice from 2 Corinthians Paul. He says examine yourselves to see if your faith is genuine. Test yourselves, surely you know that Jesus Christ is among you. If not, you have failed the test of genuine faith. See, our faith is it's grace that God gives. We don't work for it, it's by grace. You don't boast because you've done it yourself. You can't boast, but it's something God has given to you as a gift, but guess what it's by grace. Has given to you as a gift, but guess what it's by grace, through what Faith we have, steps, so we do as was shared this morning. We have to do what we do ourselves too. There's a part we play, you know.

Kelly Kinder:

See, the message is the cure for deception. The cure for deception is Jesus, and when we fail to be discerning about the teaching and beliefs we embrace, we become vulnerable to the lies of the enemy and to the most tragic deception of all To hear on that day Jesus say to us I never knew you. Ultimately, only God knows who belongs to him. Right, but here's the thing Today, if you have doubts about your salvation or if you think I don't know Jesus, you can know him today. There'll be people down here in just a minute.

Kelly Kinder:

I want you to stand, we're going to pray, but I want you to know there'll be people down here and ready to talk to you about those doubts and about any question that you have, or tell you how you can know Jesus in a personal way. Here's the truth, because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and you believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. Father, we thank you for your word today and we ask you, lord, to speak your words to our hearts. Lord, lord, we have questions sometimes about where we are with you, and I pray today that if we have questions in any way, whether we don't know you or we have doubts about you, lord, we'll nail those down today and make certain that we've not misunderstood and that we're not deceived. Lord, in Jesus' name, we pray Amen.

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