Wild Grapes
2 Corinthians 11:4 talks about ‘another Jesus’. Most Christians ignorantly serve the wrong Jesus. They appear to worship the same Jesus, but like King Saul, they’re deceived by their own goodness, they worship the work of their own hands, skills and ability and inwardly think they are great (1 Samuel 15:17), and in the deception of their mind they become their own authority. God calls these people ‘wild grapes’ (Isaiah 5:2).
Wild grapes look like grapes and act like grapes but they’re deceptive, shrunken in size, thick skinned and taste less sweet or sour, and the vines can be invasive weeds. Wild grapes are the saltless church. Wild grapes are the picture of the church that worships the wrong Jesus and takes advantage of what God offers. The Seed is sown but the lust of the flesh, the cares of the world, the lusts of the eyes, and the pride of life, chokes it (Mark 4:19).
The problem with the modern church is that the pastors practice the same deception (Jeremiah 12:10 & 50:6), so the people can’t trust the religious authorities and end up only trusting themselves and thus never know the truth about themselves, or God. The fake pastors are destroying the church.
Wise in own eyes
The instruction from the Word of God is … you shall not do whatever is right in your own eyes, Deuteronomy 12:8, Romans 12:16. Once you do that, you’ll interpret the Word of God according to how you see it, and you’ll be deceived. You’ll devalue the laws of God, and use the Word of God to justify your own ends. Contrary to the Word of God, you’ll follow the thinking of the majority and end up believing that homosexuality is normal, that women in leadership is right, that all religions lead to the same heaven, and that the earth is suffering because of climate change, instead of seeing that it’s man’s sin.
Most Christians I have counselled over the last 3 decades, believe they are good people serving a good God who will look after me and protect me and give me good things and meet my needs, and this is why they choose to serve Him. It’s really all for me and not for Him, but the fake Christian must deceive himself with the pretence that it’s not for one’s self. Their IMAGE is everything. They serve Him for reward.
Woe
The Word of God declares … Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and prudent in their own sight, Isaiah 5:21.
“Woe” is a bad consequence. ‘Woe’ means that if you choose to praise your own goodness and chase your own value and favour, devalue the laws of God, and disregard the warnings from true prophets of God, you will ultimately earn grief, misery and calamity, even though you worship God. Anyone who thinks they’re good and ultimately expects good, will end up in ‘woe’.
Woe means …
‘Woe’ means that eventually, women and children will rule over the men, Isaiah 3:4, 12, 1 Timothy 2:11,12.
‘Woe’ means that children will disrespect their parents and authority, Isaiah 3:5.
“Woe’ means that eventually God will punish a Christian nation that tolerates and begins to worship foreign gods.
‘Woe’ means that God will punish with calamity any nation that calls homosexuality, divorce, abortion or sex-change, or foreign religions, good. It’s blasphemy & defamatory to call evil, ‘good’, when God labels it ‘evil’.
‘Woe’ means that eventually a foreign evil nation will rule over you.
‘Woe’ means that God will remove His hedge of protection and expose you to Satan’s evil, Isaiah 4:5.
‘Woe’ means there are repercussions for calling sin (e.g. adultery, sexual affairs, pornography, abortions, clairvoyants, divorce, homosexuality, hyper-violence, 1 Corinthians 6:9) good by making it legal or TV acceptable, or justify the wicked for reward especially in direct opposition to the righteous, Isaiah 5:23.
‘Woe’ means that God will shake terribly the earth, Isaiah 2:19.
‘Woe’ means there are consequences when you merchandise the Word of God.
‘Woe’ means fires, droughts, storms, earthquakes, climate change, pollution, foreign ownership, foreign dependence, sickness, disease, unemployment, domestic violence, excessive loneliness, homelessness, dysfunctional families, murders, authority disrespect, educational dysfunction, hospital over-crowding, civil war, political dysfunction, piles of excessive waste, excessive alcohol and drug abuse, wars and destruction.
Serving a False Jesus
One or more signs of serving a false Jesus …
- Doesn’t like being corrected, but rather defends their reputation.
- Worry about my image. Worry about what people think of me.
- Measures success by ability or wealth, education or talent, and position.
- Judges people from their own higher position.
- Envies those who are higher up the totem pole.
- Does what authority says as long as it’s what I think is right.
- Likes to tell you what’s right because it knows.
- Do good deeds to feel worthwhile and elevate my image, but believe I’m doing it because I care.
- Think they’re good, and thinks that good works will get them to heaven.
- Friends are those who listen and are empathetic to my hurts, agree with my opinion, and make me feel good and valued.
- Expect God to bless me because I’m good.
- Expects you to say sorry, too.
- Believes that grace supersedes God’s Ten commandments.
- Believes the blood of Christ saves us from the curse, and therefore, no bad should happen to us, and if it does happen to you, then you are in sin [John 9 contradicts this lie], but conveniently ignores the fact that the sweat of ‘work’ is part of the curse.
- Believes that faith is evidenced by good things happening for me.
- Believes that if something bad happens to you, then it’s evidence that God is punishing you for offending or challenging me.
- Gets threatened, or offended, if you question their thinking.
- Gets threatened, or offended, or mocks if you have sabbath on the seventh day (Saturday), even though God Himself did, and Jesus Himself did. [Genesis 2:2, Matthew 5:17-19)
- Lives in fear, expressed by either cooperative submission, or on the other hand, intimidation.
Serving the True Jesus
Signs of serving the True Jesus …
- Making myself of no reputation (Philippians 2:7). Defending God’s reputation.
- Leaves God to be the judge by confidence in His judgment.
- Knows that grace is the fruit of Faith, and the backbone to faith is God’s Ten commandments, Matthew 5:17-19 &.
- Expect only God’s perfect plan and perfect will for my life, whether that be good or evil (like Job), blessing or suffering (like Jeremiah), for the glory of God (Habakkuk 3: 17,18).
- Lives under the constant persecution of misjudgement and mocking by the world and fake Christians. The fake church brands those who value, respect and seek to live by the Ten Commandments as legalistic. A true Christian is a threat to the kingdom of Satan and is thus constantly under attack physically or emotionally for the Name of Christ, Revelation 12:17.
- Has given up family and friends for the will of God first (Luke 14:26-33).
- Correctable through respect of authority without a ‘but’, because it trusts God’s ultimate justice.
Marriage
When you marry, you make an oath to God … better or worse, rich or poor, in sickness or health, till death. How come when you marry Christ, you expect Him to only give you good? Only pride expects good because it thinks it’s good. Humility serves the will of God by faith in His “I AM”.
Examples of the True Jesus
- Love is doing the will of the Father; not being nice to people, John 5:30
- Saved Jacob and hated Esau, Romans 9:18
- Gave a demonic spirit to King Saul
- Destroyed the whole Egyptian army at the Red Sea
- Enabled Judas to have the powers of the Holy Spirit
- Called the Syrophoenician woman, a ‘dog’
- Criticised Peter for not walking on water
- Didn’t go to Lazarus’ funeral
- Couldn’t do any mighty works in Nazareth
- Destroyed the whole of humanity with a flood
- Killed Ananias and Sapphira simply for lying
- Made Rahab, the harlot, one of Joseph’s ancestors
- Criticised and mocked the pharisees
- Offended His followers by saying eat My body and drink My blood
- Expects His disciples to be persecuted for his Name, 2 Timothy 3:12
- Challenged a fake religious system
Who says God should do it the way I think is right?
Only those who are wise in their own eyes expect God to do it the way they see it. God doesn’t do things the way we think. He’s above our thinking and understanding. Diminishing the living eternal Creator to conform to my friendship rules and doing it the way I think is right, is arrogance and sheer pompousness.
Only pride expects good because it thinks it’s good. Humility serves the will of God by faith in Him, for better or worse.
The Truth, even though it’s not nice
Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach, Proverbs 14:34, and brings woe.
They that forsake the law, praise the wicked: but those that keep the law contend with the wicked, Proverbs 28:4
The true church is called to separate from the false, 2 Timothy 3:5
May God open the eyes of his remnant to suffer for His Name and to conform only to His will for His kingdom.
Pastor Daniel Smithson
www.e-preacher.org 