(Matt 7:15-23) （太7：15-23）

Let’s look at some pictures让我们来看看照片…Yes, Calvin and his family left CHCH for Guangzhou last Thursday night,是的，郭弟兄一家周四回国了，but they will come back for study next year但他们明年还要来读书。Then there will be another journey for them to learn how to rely on God’s plan by denying the self and to make progress in the Christian life.那时将是另一个旅程，就是学习借着放下自己，信靠神的安排，在基督徒的生活中成长，we are look forward to seeing them here我们期待明年再见…

Today, we will continue the summary of the Lord’s sermon on the Mount今天我们来分享山上宝训的总结. Matthew 7:15-20（太7:15-20） “Beware of the false prophets你们要防备假先知, who come to you in sheep’s clothing他们到你们这里来，外面披着羊皮, but inwardly are ravenous wolves里面却是残暴的狼. You will know them by their fruits凭着他们的果子，就可以认出他们来. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes荆棘上岂能摘葡萄呢, nor figs from thistles, are they蒺藜里岂能摘无花果呢?  Even so这样, every good tree bears good fruit凡好树都结好果子; but the bad tree bears bad fruit惟独坏树结坏果子.  A good tree cannot produce bad fruit好树不能结坏果子, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit坏树不能结好果子.  Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire凡不结好果子的树，就砍下来丢在火里.  So then所以, you will know them by their fruits凭着他们的果子，就可以认出他们来.

After teaching about lots of “do nots” in His sermon on the Mount主耶稣在山上宝训讲了很多”不要”, our Lord Jesus gives the reason “why”然后向我们解释为什么, which is because the way of following Christ which leads to His glorious life is narrow是因为通向祂荣耀生命之路是窄路. Jesus Christ demonstrates this narrow way by obedience to the Father’s will onto the Cross耶稣基督顺服神死在十字架上，亲身示范了这条窄路, and He calls believers to follow his way by taking up their cross daily也呼召跟随祂的人每天背起自己的十字架, denying themselves and following Him否定自己跟随主, which is totally contrary to the way of the fallen nature这与堕落天性所要选择的道路完全相反. For this reason因此, He goes on to further explanation about how to discern false prophets. 他开始教导如何辨别假先知。

1, Recognizing false prophets by their fruit 从果子认假先知

Nowadays, when we look at Christianity来看今天的基督教, there are lots of healing, deliverance and prophetic conferences有许多医治、释放、说预言的特会, which attract a great multitude吸引了很多人, how can we discern by whose power those miracles are performed怎样辨别这些神迹奇事是靠何种能力行的呢? The bible tells us经上说, “and no wonder这也不足为怪, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light因为连撒但也装作光明的天使.” 2 Cor 11:14（林后11:14）. It says that Satan can appear as an angel of God to deceive God’s people就是说撒但会扮作光明的使者迷惑基督徒. That’s why 1 John 4:1（约一4:1） warns us因此神在《约一4：1》警示我们, Do not believe every spirit一切的灵，你们不可都信, but tests the spirits to see whether they are from God总要试验那些灵是出于神的不是, because many false prophets have gone out into the world因为世上有许多假先知已经出来了.How to test whether they are from God怎样试验是否来自神呢? How do we prevent ourselves from being deceived by a lying spirit怎样使我们自己不受谎言之灵的欺骗呢? Jesus tells us by their fruit主说看果子. God is Holy, righteous and He is divine Love神是圣洁公义的，是神圣的爱. For the fruit of the light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth光明所结的果子就是一切良善、公义、诚实。 Eph 5:9 （弗5:9）Do those miracles lead people to desire God’s holiness, righteousness and truth那些神迹奇事是把人引向圣洁公义和真理, so that they hate sin and lust and the works of the flesh which are hostile to God使人恨恶罪和情欲，和肉体的工作，因肉体是与神为仇！Do they lead people to love Jesus and His truth alone是把人引向单单爱耶稣爱真理? Or do those miracles lead people to worship idols – the flesh’s desires还是把人引向拜偶像- 肉体的私欲? The devil’s scheme always tries to deceive people魔鬼总是要欺骗人 to focus on other things rather than to focus on Jesus our God alone使人注视基督之外的东西，而不是注视主!

In Deuteronomy 13:1-3（申13：1-3）, If a prophet, or one who foretells by dreams你们中间若有先知或是作梦的起来, appears among you and announces to you a sign or wonder向你显个神迹奇事, 2 and if the sign or wonder spoken of takes place他所显的神迹奇事，虽有应验, and the prophet says对你说, “Let us follow other gods” (gods you have not known) 我们去随从你素来所不认识的别神”and let us worship them侍奉他吧,” you must not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer你也不可听那先知或那作梦之人的话. The Lord your God is testing you to find out 因为这是耶和华你们的神试验你们whether you love him with all your heart and with all your soul要知道你们是尽心尽性爱耶和华你们的神不是.

We can see我们看到, that the goal for a false prophet who dreams a dream and tells you or shows you a sign or wonder 假先知告诉你做了一个梦，或行了一个神迹 is to lead you to follow other gods其目的是引你拜别神. It indicates that those miraculous signs and wonders are from a lying spirit which can look like the miracles that God does这说明由说谎之灵来的神迹奇事，可以看起来像神的作为. Actually, it’s not surprising实际上这不足为怪, do you remember记得吗, that when Moses and Aaron went to the Pharaoh of Egypt 摩西和亚伦进去见法老asking for Israel to be released to serve the Lord in the wilderness让以色列人可以去侍奉神. Moses directed Aaron to throw down his rod and it became a big snake摩西吩咐亚伦把杖丢在地上，杖就变作蛇. This miracle was done by God’s power这神迹是靠神的能力. But then the Egyptian magicians threw down their rods and they became big snakes as well但埃及行法术的，也丢下自己的杖，杖也变作蛇 (Ex. 7:8-12，出7:8-12). In Asia and Africa, lots of witch doctors has an ability to foretell people things accurately in a way亚洲和非洲有很多巫医在某种程度上能精确的预测未来. But they are all the things for this life但所说的都是今生的事. Such as make a fortune 比如 发财，or business failure, or even physical healing, and so on. 或生意倒闭, 身体医治等等。

2, To discern by whose power the miracles are done is to look at the fruit (the outcome) 从结果辨别神迹奇事来自何种能力. Where are those miracles leading us to那些神迹领我们去哪里?

A, Whether they lead us to things on earth or things on above是领我们顾念地上的事，还是天上的事. The bible tells us经上说, “If only for this life we hope in Christ我们若靠基督只在今生有指望, we are to be pitied more than all men就算比众人都可怜. 1 Cor 15:19（林前15：19）” “because of the hope which is laid up for you in heaven那给你们存在天上的盼望. Col 1:5（歌1:5）” “2 Cor 4:18（林后4:18）, So we fix our eyes not on what is seen原来我们不是顾念所见的, but on what is unseen乃是顾念所不见的, since what is seen is temporary因为所见的是暂时的, but what is unseen is eternal所不见的是永恒的.

From God’s words从神的话, we see that miracles are to help us to put our trust in God’s words by lying down our worries of this life神迹的目的是让我们放下今生的忧虑，信靠神的话, and the deceitfulness of wealth in the world which may hinder us to grow maturity in Christ不受世上钱财的迷惑以至于阻挡基督里生命的成熟. Repentance is the key关键是悔改! By repentance – turning from our own ways to God’s way藉着悔改，从自我的老路转向神的道路, we receive God’s mercy得到神的怜悯, and we may be healed就可得医治 (Psa 41:4, 103:3, Jer 3:22，诗篇41:4，103：3，耶3：22) B, False prophets and their miracles lead people to worship other gods假先知和他们的神迹领人拜偶像. Of course, they are not tangible gods当然不是看得见的偶像, but intangible而是看不见的! These idols could be money可以是钱财, physical health健康, power and fame (recognition by people)权力、名气，被尊重. The bible says经上说, “greed is idolatry有贪心的，就与拜偶像的一样. (see Eph 5:5，弗5:5)”

Those intangible gods can be something you desire看不见的偶像可以是你想要的东西! That’s why they are deceptive所以是迷惑人的! When I was in Asia我在亚洲时, a sister from another church came and told me有个其他教会的姊妹来找我, that many years ago她说很多年前, she and other two Christians had gathered together to inquire from God她和另外两个基督徒姊妹一起寻求主, whether they should start a business or not要不要一起做生意. Then someone dreamed a dream然后有人做了个梦, in which she saw that they were running a business to sell breakfast food梦里她们合作开早餐店. And other people gave them prophetic words to confirm that God was going to bless them in that business其他人也预言说神必会赐福她们的生意. Are you happy when you heard that听到这些开不开心? I interrupted her我打断她, “be careful要小心, don’t believe those dreams or prophetic words that only lead you to storing up for yourselves treasure in this life要是把你引向为今生积存财宝，这些梦和预言都别信! God’s words say神的话说, “seek first His kingdom and His righteousness先求神的国神的义, and other things will be added to you其他一切都要白白加给你了! God never promises us money or things that can be seen神从未应许给我们发财或能看见的福 but promises “life and the abundant life and His kingdom”神应许我们”得生命并且得的更丰富，并祂的国”, which are the things that can’t be seen这是看不见的. If a dream or someone’s prophetic words lead you to desiring more money如果梦和预言引动人想发财, more vanity and pride想得虚荣和骄傲, more power over others得更多权力、凌驾他人之上, or more recognition by people或得人的认同, don’t believe them不要信! If you believe them你要信了, and you will suffer loss就会承受损失, because you haven’t believed in God’s words and haven’t set your mind on things above因你没有信神的话、思念天上的事. You must repent in God’s grace and mercy and forgive those who cheated you你需要在神的恩典和怜悯中悔改，并饶恕欺骗你的人, for the reason such things could happen to you is that the Lord is testing you因神用这些事试验你to find out whether you love him with all your heart and with all your soul要知道你是否尽心尽性爱神. And also同时, you have to build your house on God’s word by practicing His words humbly你必须谦卑操练神的话，把房子建在神的话语之上.” Then the sister started to tell me that their business failed afterwards 于是那位姊妹就告诉我，她们的生意最终失败and their relationships with each other and with God had broken她们之间的关系以及与神的关系都破裂了, and her heart was filled with bitterness心里充满苦毒. Yes, when she humbled herself and repented但当她谦卑悔改转向神, God delivered her from unforgiveness神释放了她，使她饶恕. But what she had suffered, she had suffered但该受的苦白白受了.

False prophets infiltrate churches all over the world假先知渗透世界各地教会, even perform great miracles甚至行大神迹, Jesus warns us主耶稣警戒我们说, “for false Christs and false prophets will rise 因为假基督、假先知将要起来and show great signs and wonders to deceive显大神迹、大奇事, if possible, even the elect倘若能行，连选民也就迷惑了. Matt 24:24（太24:24）. To discern by whose power the miracles are performed怎样辨别神迹靠的是什么能力, Jesus teaches主说, “by their fruit, you will recognize them 凭着他们的果子，就可以认出他们来v.20”. C, Whether they are chasing holiness or happiness in their personal life是引人追求圣洁，还是享受个人生活.   In 2 Tim 2:20-22（提后2:20-22）, clearly says明明白白地说, 20 But in a great house (it refers to God’s house) 在大户人家（指神的家）there are not only vessels of gold and silver不但有金器银器, but also of wood and clay (people who live according to the desires of the flesh) 也有木器瓦器（照着肉体私欲行事为人的人）, some for honor and some for dishonor有作为贵重的，有作为卑贱的. 21 Therefore if anyone cleanses himself from the latter (deny the desires of the flesh)人若自洁，脱离卑贱的事（否定肉体私欲）, he will be a vessel for honor就必作贵重的器皿, sanctified and useful for the Master成为圣洁，合乎主用, prepared for every good work预备行各样的善事. 22 Flee also youthful lusts你要逃避少年的私欲; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart同那清心祷告主的人追求公义、信德、仁爱、和平.

God is Holy神是圣洁的! If we want to be useful instruments for God若要成为神有用的器皿, we need to pay the price to get rid of all the works of the flesh 我们需要付代价除去肉体的工作and be cleansed by God’s Holy Power并被神的能力洁净. If those who perform miracles live a carnal lifestyle by getting involved in an affair or a divorce那些行神迹的人，若过着体贴私欲的生活，搞男女关系或离婚, or they do anything unlawful in the bible或行圣经里所说不可的事, and they refuse to repent of what they have done并拒绝悔改所行的, don’t believe in their miracles不要信他们的神迹. Because the Holy Spirit leads us to God’s Holiness因圣灵引导我们进入圣洁, the unclean spirit leads people to stay in uncleanness污秽的灵引导人留在污秽中.

Look at our Lord Christ Jesus看看耶稣基督, who is the true prophet and King真正的先知和君王, when he came to call His people to repent当他来召罪人悔改 he endured opposition他被抵挡, rejection and scorn被拒绝，被讥笑, yet lived a life of light and full obedience to the word of God却活出光的生命，全然顺服神的话以至于死在十字架. Look at Moses看看摩西, David大卫, Isaiah以赛亚, Daniel但以理, and all the prophets in the bible所有圣经里的先知, they all endured opposition他们都被抵挡, rejection and scorn被拒绝，被讥笑, and dangers遭遇危险, but they faithfully lived the messages they preached但却以信心活出自己传讲的道.

We all know that God used Paul the apostle to raise the dead and heal the sick使徒保罗被神大大使用，医治病人、使死人复活, and even his handkerchiefs and aprons when touched by sick people甚至有人从保罗身上拿手巾或围裙放在病人身上, their sickness was healed病就退了. But do you know 可你知不知道how many years God spent preparing Paul’s life for the first missionary journey 神花了多少年预备保罗的生命可以出去传道after his conversion when he was caught up to the third heaven and heard inexpressible things就是在他初信并被提到三重天听到隐秘的言语之后 (2 Cor 12:2，林后12:2)? The bible tells us that after Paul’s conversion经上说保罗初信后, he went to Arabia and returned to Damascus where he spent 3 years他往阿拉伯去，后又回到大马士革，住了三年 (Galatians 1:17-18，加1:17-18). And 14 years after his conversion信主十四年, Paul and Barnabas went to the council in Jerusalem保罗和巴拿巴参加耶路撒冷会议 (Galatians 2:1-2 and Acts 15:2，加2:1-2 ，徒15:2). This happened during his first missionary journey这发生在第一次传道过程中. Fourteen years preparation to learn how to humble himself and wait for God’s timing patiently神用十四年时间预备保罗谦卑自己，等候神的时间, although he had already experienced great miracles尽管保罗经历过许多大神迹. That’s God’s unchangeable work in His true useful vessel那就是神在真正有用的器皿身上不变的工作.

In 2 Cor 6:3-11（林后6:3-11）, Paul wrote to explain that he was a true servant of God保罗在信中解释自己是基督真正的仆人, and described what a true prophet or apostle’s character looks like并描述一个真先知、真使徒的样式: “3 We give no offense in anything我们凡事都不叫人有妨碍, that our ministry may not be blamed免得这职分被人毁谤. 4 But in all things we commend ourselves as ministers of God反倒在各样的事上表明自己是神的用人: in much patience (in great endurance)就如在很多的忍耐（恒久忍耐）, in tribulations患难, in needs穷乏, in distresses困苦, 5 in stripes鞭打, in imprisonments监禁, in tumults扰乱, in labors勤劳, in sleeplessness警醒, in fastings不食; 6 by purity廉洁, by knowledge知识, by longsuffering恒忍, by kindness恩慈, by the Holy Spirit圣灵的感化, by sincere love无伪的爱心, 7 by the word of truth真实的道理, by the power of God神的大能, by the armor of righteousness on the right hand and on the left仁义的兵器在左在右, 8 by honor and dishonor荣耀、羞辱, by evil report and good report恶名、美名; as deceivers, and yet true似乎是诱惑人的，却是诚实的; 9 as unknown, and yet well known似乎不为人所知，却是人所共知的; as dying, and behold we live似乎要死，却是活着的; as chastened, and yet not killed似乎受责罚，却是不至丧命的; 10 as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing似乎忧愁，却是常常快乐的; as poor, yet making many rich似乎贫穷，却是叫许多人富足的; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things似乎一无所有，却是样样都有的.

True prophets in the bible圣经里的真使徒, listen to God and bring out God’s messages of forgiveness and judgement faithfully他们听从神，忠心传讲饶恕和审判的道. They call people to repentance and to turn to God’s righteousness and holiness to live并呼召人悔改，转向神的公义和圣洁. False prophets lead you to worship other gods 假先知引人拜别神– something that the world pursues拜这世界所追求的, such as wealth如发财, physical health身体健康, prosperity成功, power权力, recognition by people人的认同, and other worldly pursuits和其他世界所求的.

3, Rebellion (Disobedience) is like the sin of divination (sorcery, witchcraft)悖逆的罪与行邪术相等 (1 Samuel 15:23，撒上15:23)

In the book of Acts16《使徒行传》16章, v,16-18, Now it happened, as we went to prayer后来，我们往那祷告的地方去, that a certain slave girl possessed with a spirit of divination met us有一个使女迎着面来，她被巫鬼所附, who brought her masters much profit by fortune-telling用法术叫她主人们大得财利. 17 This girl followed Paul and us她跟随保罗和我们, and cried out, saying喊着说, “These men are the servants of the Most High God这些人是至高神的仆人, who proclaim to us the way of salvation对你们传说救人的道.” 18 And this she did for many days她一连多日这样喊叫. But Paul, greatly annoyed保罗就心中厌烦, turned and said to the spirit转身对那鬼说, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her我奉耶稣基督的名，吩咐你从她身上出去.” And he came out that very hour那鬼当时就出来了.

From this passage在这段经文里: A, we see that the girl was possessed by a spirit of divination看到使女被巫术的灵所附. The truth clearly reveals that when a person has the ability to foretell or predict the future similar to prophesying这真理清楚地告诉我们，预测未来，类似于讲预言, it’s because he or she has a spirit of divination是因为那人被巫术的灵附着. B, The purpose (fruit) of doing this is to earn money其目的（果子）是为赚钱. C. The person who has a spirit of divination will follow the servant of God and cry out something被巫术的灵所附的人会跟随神仆人，并喊叫, which seems to help them看上去好像在帮传福音. “These men are the servants of the Most High God这些人是至高神的仆人, who proclaim to us the way of salvation对你们传说救人的道.” But actually但实际上, the spirit of divination aims to cause confusion or misinterpretation of the truth其目的是混淆真理，使人误解. As for the Greeks, “the Most High God’ could be recognised as Zeus希腊人的”至高神”可指宙斯. D, The spirit of divination caused God’s servant great annoyance这巫术的灵为让神仆人很烦躁. The purpose of the spirit of divination is to destroy peace in God’s servants’ hearts这灵的目的是毁坏神仆人内心中的平安, so that they may lose their peace and sin against God out of anger 使他们失去平安而生气犯罪得罪神 (Eph 4:26，弗4:26). But the Holy Spirit guides us to Christ and reconciliation但圣灵把我们引向基督与和睦. Paul had spiritual discernment保罗有属灵的看见, so he commanded the evil spirit out就吩咐那鬼出去. But what if God’s servants don’t have spiritual discernment 要是神的仆人们没有属灵的分辨, they accept this voice instead of rebuking it他们接受了这声音代替斥责? They are deceived and confused successfully. 他们被成功欺骗和混乱了。

Can God’s people be used by the spirit of divination神子民会被巫术的灵利用吗? In Gal 5:19-20（加5:19-20）,  When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear情欲的事都是显而易见的: sexual immorality就如奸淫, impurity污秽, lustful pleasures邪荡, 20 idolatry拜偶像, sorcery (witchcraft, kjv)邪术, hostility仇恨, quarreling争竞, jealousy嫉妒, outbursts of anger恼怒, selfish ambition结党, dissension纷争, division异端, it clearly tells us这里清清楚楚地说, that Christians can follow the desires of the sinful nature基督徒可以随从肉体私欲, the fruit of the flesh are obvious而果子是显而易见的, one of these fruit is sorcery (witchcraft, divination)其中一个果子就是行邪（巫）术. Christians can commit the sins of sexual immorality基督徒会犯奸淫, quarrelling争竞or jealousy嫉妒 or selfish ambition或结党的罪, and also can commit the sin of sorcery or witchcraft or divination也会犯行邪术、巫术的罪.

How怎么犯? In 1Samuel 15:23（撒上15:23）, when King Saul disobeyed God’s commands扫罗王不遵行神的命令, the prophet Samuel said this to him先知撒母耳对他说, For rebellion is like the sin of divination (witchcraft, kjv) 悖逆的罪与行邪术的罪相等, and arrogance (stubbornness) like the evil of idolatry顽梗的罪与拜虚神和偶像的罪相同. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord你既厌弃耶和华的命令, he has rejected you as king耶和华也厌弃你作王.” Rebellion – disobedience is like the sin of divination or witchcraft or sorcery悖逆的罪与行邪术的相等. In the book of Samuel《撒母耳记》里说, we see that since God had stopped answering King Saul’s enquiry扫罗求问神，神却不回答他, he consulted a witch扫罗就去找女巫 (see 1 Samuel 28:6-7，撒上28:6-7) instead of truly turning his way from listening to the desires of the self to the commands of God而不是转道，从听从自己转向听从神. It reveals that if we want to hear the genuine voice of God就是说，我们若愿意听到神的声音, we must love God by following the way of Christ我们必须爱神，跟从基督的道路, and denying the desires of the sinful nature否定肉体私欲 that cause jealousy, greed, pride, unforgiveness and disobedience这私欲造成嫉妒、贪婪、骄傲、不饶恕和不顺服. And turn to practicing the truth in faith转向在信心中操练真理. If those God’s people who are like King Saul don’t truly repent of the sin of disobedience要是神子民像扫罗王那样，并不真心悔改脱离悖逆的罪, but have the power to do miracles or prophesying or seeing visions or dreaming prophetic dreams却可行神迹、说预言、见异像、做异梦. By whose power does they perform miracles他们的能力从哪里来?

In the bible,在圣经里 Paul performed great Miracles in God’s power在神的大能里保罗行大神迹, but this didn’t give his companion Demas faith to follow Christ但这不能给底马信心去跟随耶稣, Paul wrote this in 2 Tim 4:10保罗在提摩太后书说, “For Demas has forsaken me, having loved this present world…因为底马贪爱现今的世界，就离弃我…’  You know why?你知道为什么？

A miracle itself can’t save our souls 神迹的本身不能救我们的灵魂! But our faith in Christ and his truth can save us from the corruption of the self但我们信靠耶稣基督就能救我们脱离败坏! Don’t seek a great miracle itself so that you are deceived不要单单追求神迹就被欺骗! But seek the resurrection power of Christ to do the greatest miracle for you但求基督复活大能为你行最大的神迹, that is the miracle of a changed life那就是一个更新的生命! A resurrected life! 一个复活的生命！The gospel is God’s power to transform us from the inside out福音的大能是人从里到外的改变! He can do what human can not do神做人做不到的事! Pursue this greatest miracle in Christ当追求在基督里的这最大的神迹, and love your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength,也当尽心，尽力，尽意，尽力爱主你的神 and be obedient to His Spirit and His truth并顺服真理和圣灵 you will be able to discern in the power of God!你就能在神的大能里有分辨力！