Smells Like Smoke - Spot the Counterfeits

We're gonna sing a new song today. If you've been saved, if you belong to Christ, you've been washed in the water and washed in the blood, let's sing about it, let's go. I'm clean. Sin was tamed on me. Shame was running deep. Your love was built on Calvary. Oh, hallelujah, I'm clean. God, how can it be? I'm ransomed and redeemed. I'm standing in your victory. Oh, hallelujah, I've been washed in the water, washed in the blood. I'm as good as new. Oh, hallelujah, I've been washed in the water, washed in the blood, all because of you. Oh, hallelujah, I'm clean. It's not what I have done, but what you've done for me. You've painted all upon that tree. Oh, hallelujah, I'm clean. Your love has overcome and your mercy is supreme. I'm dancing in your victory. Oh, hallelujah, I've been washed in the water, washed in the blood. I'm as good as new. Oh, hallelujah, I've been washed in the water, washed in the blood, all because of you. Oh, hallelujah, I've been washed in the water, washed in the blood. I'm as good as new. Oh, hallelujah, I've been washed in the water, washed in the blood. I'm as good as new. Oh, hallelujah. Cause you took away my shame, and you nailed it to the cross. You got me running out the grave. Hallelujah, here I come. Cause you took away my shame, and you nailed it to the cross. You got me running out the grave. Hallelujah, here I come. Cause you took away my shame, and you nailed it to the cross. You got me running out the grave. Hallelujah, here I come. Cause you took away my shame, and you nailed it to the cross. Running out the grave. Hallelujah, here I come. Hallelujah, here I come. Hallelujah, here I come. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Thank you, Jesus. I've been washed in the water, washed in the blood. I'm as good as new. Oh, hallelujah, I've been washed in the water, washed in the blood. All because of you. Oh, hallelujah. Who thought I'd find you at the lowest place? Who thought you'd feel me in the crowd? Who knew you'd make good on my mistakes? You're nothing like I thought you were. You're better than I thought you were. What a God, what a God. What a God, what a God. What a God, what a God. Oh, it's who you are. What a God, what a God. And I thought you'd show up for perfection. Cause what kind of God is this for the Lord? They say it's over for the sinner Only you say, no it's not, no it's not Only you say, no it's not, no it's not

What a God, what a God Oh, more than I could dream of Oh, you're so much more, you're so much more If the highest place I reached is at your feet Then I've done it all If the best thing that I've seen is your glory Then I've seen it all Your love has changed my life Forever satisfied God, you are my everything If the highest place I reached is at your feet Then I've done it all If the best thing that I've seen is your glory Then I've seen it all Your love has changed my life Forever satisfied God, you are my everything If the one true answer is your faith Then I've heard it all If I fill your heart and never see your end I've seen it all No pleasure, no peace, life Forever satisfied God, you are my everything What a God, what a God If the highest place I reached is at your feet Then I've done it all If the best thing that I've seen is your glory Then I've seen it all Your love has changed my life

Forever satisfied God, you are my everything If the one true answer is your faith Then I've heard it all If I fill your heart and never see your end I've seen it all No pleasure, no peace, life Forever satisfied God, you are my everything I pray into the atmosphere Spirit of God, you're here You have all authority And I pray over my heart and mind I am healed by your stripes Your blood declares that I am free In the mighty name of Jesus I pray, calling on the power of heaven I proclaim every weapon's warned against me Must pray in the mighty name of Jesus I draw a permanent boundary line The enemy has no right to come Near my family And no skin could ever run through God's plans No matter the circumstance The cross has sealed my destiny In the mighty name of Jesus I pray, calling on the power of heaven I proclaim every weapon's warned against me Must pray in the mighty name of Jesus In the mighty name of Jesus

I know all the power of fear and darkness It must go, cause every key to every victory I hold in the mighty name of Jesus And I will not fear, I will not fear When the enemy comes near On the gold frame of my life It's the blood of Jesus Christ I will not fear, I will not fear When the enemy comes near I'm protected on all sides By the blood of Jesus Christ I will not fear, I will not fear When the enemy comes near On the gold frame of my life It's the blood of Jesus Christ I will not fear, I will not fear There's an army of angels here I'm protected on all sides By the blood of Jesus Christ In the mighty name of Jesus I pray, calling on the power of heaven I proclaim every weapon's warned against me We must pray in the mighty name of Jesus In the mighty name of Jesus I know all the power of fear and darkness We must go, cause every key to every victory In the mighty name of Jesus In the mighty name of Jesus In the mighty name of Jesus In the mighty name of Jesus

Oh Jesus, there's no other name, oh no Jesus You may be seated In the mighty name of Jesus In the mighty name of Jesus Do you know how much power is in that name? And he hears you even if you whisper his name The Bible says he knows what you have needed before you ask But all you have to do is speak his name and he is there And when he is with you, he's the majority Everything else has to go The enemy has to flee His blood applied to your life is that line that says this far and no further So if I can encourage you today Whatever battle you're fighting, whatever struggle or trial you're facing, he's there with you and his blood says this far and no further. Just briefly I want to share this with you. Earlier in the week I was listening to this song on the way to work and that line that says I will not fear there's an army of angels here. In the Old Testament there was a prophet and the enemy was encamped around the city that he was in and his servant had gone to the window and he looked out and saw just a multitude of the enemy encamped against them and he told his master the prophet he said we're surrounded on every side by the enemy and the prophet Elisha said there's more with us than are with them and I'm sure the servant thought he must not be seeing what I'm seeing. He said there's just two of us, there's a whole lot of them. But Elisha prayed Lord to open his eyes and when the servant looked again he saw a multitude of the heavenly host, heaven's armies had shown up, chariots of fire, horses of fire and angels to drive them. So no matter where you're at I pray the Lord opens your eyes so you can see what's going on in heavenly places the Lord is with you the Lord is for you and he has sent his

angels to encamp around those that fear him. So Jesus thank you for being our sacrifice for making a way then when it when it seems all hope is lost you're there and we don't ever have to fear because you're near us you're with us you walk through that fear with us through that anxiety through that trial through that test through that struggle that battle whatever it is you're with us Lord and it's because of what you did on Calvary we can stand and proclaim in victory. Thank you Jesus. Thank you Jesus. We ask these things in your name. Amen. Hola, Pantano. Bienvenidos. I'm Belzora and we're so glad you're here. Whether you're joining us for the first time or Pantano has been home for years. Welcome. If you're here on campus stop by Next Steps after service. We'd love to meet you, answer your questions, and help you find your next step. Joining us online we're so glad you're here too. Take a moment to fill out a Connect card through Next Steps so we can get to know you, keep you in the loop, and help you get connected. And speaking of online we have something really exciting to celebrate. We're so grateful for what God is doing through our God Behind Bars prison ministry and the Pando app. The Pando app has officially reached over 1 million views. That's 1 million opportunities for people to encounter Jesus and the hope he brings. We're so thankful for every life being impacted through the Pando app. You've probably heard us talk about Rooted around Pantano and we're excited to kick off our Fall Rooted experience on August 23rd. Rooted is a 10-week experience where you will grow closer to God, build real friendships, and find a place to belong. Whether you've been following Jesus for years or you're just getting started, Rooted is a place to grow, be challenged, and take your next step in faith. If you're looking for more connection, more purpose, and more of what God has for your life, Rooted is for you.

Head to Next Steps for all the details and to get connected. We can't wait to see you there. At Pantano, our mission is to love people to Jesus and launch passionate difference makers. And your generosity helps make that mission possible. Every gift creates opportunities for people to encounter Jesus, families to find hope, and lives to be transformed. When you give, you're not just supporting what we do. You're helping make a difference in people's lives here in Tucson, across our campuses, and beyond. To give, simply drop your gift in the giving box, give online, or text GIVE to 46356. Thank you for your faithful generosity and for being a part of all God is doing through Pantano. We're so excited for Pantano's Night of Worship on August 31st at 6.30 p.m. Join us at our Houghton campus for a free evening of worship, prayer, and seeking God's presence alongside our church family. Whether you're celebrating what God has done in your life, or you're walking through a difficult season, this is a chance to pause, refocus, and encounter him together. Head over to Next Steps for more information. We can't wait to worship with you. Want more Pantano throughout the week? Follow us on social media for event updates, encouraging content, ministry highlights,

and everything happening across our campuses. Thanks again for joining us. We're so glad you're here. ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ So a couple years ago, my daughter got the lead in this play called Hadestown. I don't know if you've seen it, but it's the retelling of the Greek mythology story of Orpheus and Eurydice. Now, I wouldn't tell you to base your theology off of Greek mythology, but I think there's a powerful illustration in this Broadway musical. Now, I don't know if there's any Broadway folks out there. Two of you, that's fantastic. The rest of y'all, good luck with your life. But there's this interesting scene, like Orpheus falls in love with Eurydice, and she gets taken to the underworld, Hadestown. And he goes to the underworld to try to rescue her out of the underworld. He has a interaction with Hades, and Hades agrees to let him take her out. But here's what he tells her. He said, she can follow you, you can lead, but if you turn around at all to see if she's there, she stays forever.

And there's this scene where he walks through the underworld to get her out. It's dark, it's hazy, it's smoky. It's close to the fire, Hadestown. And the whole way, there's these characters called the Fates, and they're whispering untruth in his ears about Eurydice. She's not really there, this isn't real. Like the whole time, he's trying to block out these voices, and it said the fake Eurydice. And she keeps singing in the background, that she's there, keep walking, and I'm gonna spoil the musical for you, okay? So if you're not a Broadway musical fan, and you choose to be, I'm gonna ruin it for you, I'm telling you right now, okay? But he gets to the edge of getting out of the underworld one step away, and the voices get too much, and he turns around. Oh, you had the same reaction. I've literally seen this musical no less than 15 times. In my house, I've heard it sung no less than 5,000 times. I could be a lead in the musical. And can I tell you, every time I've seen him stop and turn around, I gasp. I don't know why, it's like going to watch the movie Titanic, you know what's gonna happen. It sinks every single time. Jack dies on the door every single time. By the way, they could have both got on there.

I know we're all thinking it. But literally, he gets to the edge of hell, and the voices got too much. Like the counterfeit voices kicked in. Now we're talking something different. in his head got too much, like the fog got too much. Hold on, hold on. This guy's gonna run away. He couldn't see what he was trying to see. And I want you to think about that. He was walking towards freedom We're turning around, and he looks at you right there, without being able to see what was happening behind him. and he's saying, come on,�� He's reflecting back at you. See, when the path is dark, the way out feels long. When you're trying to rescue people from hell, from the flames of judgment, when you get close to smoke, smoke makes it hard to see. You've gotta trust the right voice that is going on. So if we're gonna rescue people from the flames of judgment, we've gotta understand how to hear the right voice versus the counterfeit voices. See, that's what haze does. Haze doesn't change what is real. It makes what is real harder to recognize. That's what it does. The closer you get to the edge of hell

to help somebody find hope, the more important it is to know which voice is actually leading you home. Because if you're not careful, the wrong voice will lead you in the wrong direction. In fact, the most dangerous counterfeit is not the one that looks ridiculous. Like, you know what I'm talking about. You've seen ridiculous counterfeits where it's obvious, yeah, that's not real. It's like the Timu version. Like, you know how everybody has a doppelganger? The version of my doppelganger would be Timu Trevor. You'd be like, wow, that's ridiculous. Yeah, see, those are easy to spot, but the most dangerous ones, they're the ones that look real enough for you to trust them. I'll be honest with you, this last week in the DaVeis life has been hard. My dad, as we speak, is now five days in the hospital. And literally, thousands of you have been praying for my dad. And I wanna thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Like, we're praying, no surgery right now. Like, there's a lot of things still up in there. Even as I'm standing here right now, there's a lot going on. My mom's down there with him right now. As we speak, we're trying to figure out all sorts of things with my dad.

But can I tell you, I spent the night in the hospital one night, which, that's like a poke in the eye. I can still hear dings and bells in my head. And that's just a normal week. Can you imagine after being in a hospital? And about two o'clock in the morning, I woke up, or maybe I was still awake, I can't figure out which. And there was this counterfeit voice in my head. And the counterfeit voice kept saying, yeah, I know you're praying this prayer, but you don't really believe that, do you? I know you're praying to God, but God doesn't really care about your prayers. Or even more so, the counterfeit in my head became, yeah, I don't wanna answer your prayers. You're not worthy. You ever been there? And I battled for like two hours, where I'm just like, okay, I know the name that overcomes this. So I just kept saying Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus. Can I tell you, it took hours of just saying that name over and over. But the counterfeits get loud. And a lot of times they sound like God, even though they're not. But here's what I've learned, and hopefully you'll learn as we walk through what Jude has to teach us this week

about how we get to the rescue mission he's called us to. If it's fake, it will eventually break. If it's fake, it's eventually gonna break. And here's where the gospel tells a better story than Broadway, just so you know. As good as Hadestown was, fails in comparison to the gospel of Jesus. And here's why, because Orpheus entered a fictional underworld to rescue one person. Jesus entered our real world that's quite dark and quite hazy to rescue every single one of us. There's the difference. In fact, he carried our sin, he carried our shame straight to the cross. He threw out betrayal, he got mocked, he had death put on him, and Jesus never once trusted the wrong voice. He never once abandoned the mission. He never once turned around right before he got out. In fact, three days later, he walks out of a grave victorious. He makes his way for us to walk out with him. That's our rescuer. That's the model of how you and I are to rescue people out of the flames of judgment, that we will get close enough to hell to be in the smoke, but we understand that when it gets hazy, we know which voice is the right voice. See, we live in this world where we have our feed. You never thought that was a thing back in the day,

did you? I didn't grow up going, what's in your feed? That meant like, what are you eating today, right? And apparently we were all horses, what's in your feed? Now when you say feed, we know that means our social media. Like, it's actually, it's not just filling our time, it's actually forming our instincts. Like, here's what I know, a microphone, a microphone can amplify a voice. Here's what it can't do. It can't authenticate a voice. Like this microphone on my head right now. It can amplify, you can hear me all the way up there in the top. Hi, glad you're here, by the way, good to see you. And whoever's calling you, glad you guys are here. Hi, glad you're on. Just messing with you, man, it's funny. Or maybe all of you online right now, you can hear me. By the way, welcome to our online audience. We're so glad you are with us today. I know you thought I forgot you, I didn't. Andrea from the Middle East, we're so glad you are with us right now. All of our campuses, whether it's your The Prison, Gospel Rescue, or Benson, we're glad you're, hey, welcome them in, we're glad they're here every week. We're so glad you're here. We're so glad you're here. But this thing on my head amplifies my voice

for you to hear it, for you to hear it wherever you're at, to hear it, you know what it can't do? It cannot actually authenticate my character. Like a blue checkmark next to somebody's name, that never used to mean anything either. Now it means you're verified. If you pay $14.99 a month, you can be verified. You know what it can't verify? Your soul. It doesn't make you better. We still confuse confidence with credibility, popularity with authority, and repetition with truth. And if we're not careful, when we get close enough to the fire, if we listen to the wrong one of those voices, we not only don't rescue anybody, we fall into hell too. See, counterfeits work because they contain enough truth for us to lower our guards, for us to let our guards down. They use familiar language. They say things we even agree with sometimes, and often tell us what we already wanted to hear. Jude does not do that in his little book that we're studying right now. See, Jude doesn't attack honest questions. That's not what he's doing. He's not attacking people struggling to believe. So if you're here struggling to believe, he's not attacking you. He's not even going after Christians who disagree over secondary issues. There's lots of secondary issues that don't really matter.

He's actually exposing insiders who use the language of grace while rejecting the authority of Jesus. That's what this letter is about. See, discernment, which we're gonna talk about today, this is how, discernment is what you use to delineate the counterfeit voice. Discernment is not cynicism. Some of you guys are like, I'm discerning. No, you're cynical. That's not discernment. Discernment's not paranoia. It's not walking around like the sky is falling. That is not discernment. And it's definitely not the spiritual gift of being annoyed by everybody. You know those people, don't you? Here's how you spot those people, like, you know how the world is just everybody's stupid but me? That's cynical. That's not what discernment is. Discernment is the spirit-shaped ability to recognize truth, examine the fruit in somebody's life, and stay faithful to Jesus when the haze gets thick. That's discernment. And if you're gonna get close enough to the fire to rescue people, compassion has to move us close to discernment, and it has to keep us pointed in the right direction to get people home. See, discernment keeps you from deception. That's what discernment does.

Discernment keeps us from falling into deceptive tracks. So last week, we dove into the book of Jude. Now, the book of Jude, one chapter, 25 verses. And we talked about contending for the faith. We gotta figure out how to contend, and then when we figure out how to contend, we gotta figure out how to battle these counterfeit voices in our heads. So in verse five through 16, now, this is a big chunk of scripture I'm about to read you. I'm gonna read you, like, 12 verses. Now, you're like, well, that doesn't sound like a lot, until we're halfway through, and you're like, I wonder what the scores are. Because some of you guys are like, I'm reading the Bible on my phone. Do-do-do, do-do-do. Do-do-do. Don't act like it's not true. But here's what I would tell you. Lean into these verses with me for a few minutes. First of all, when we read the word of God, it's more powerful than anything else I say. Like, you just need to know that. So if you're like, ah, that seems like a lot of scripture, you're in church. You're in church. So these counterfeit voices have slipped into the church. They're even sitting at the church meals, at the table. So Jude moves from what God judged in the past

to the fruit these people are producing in the present to where the road is gonna end in the future. We're gonna unpack those three things. But he gives us these three tests for every influential voice in your life. So let's just walk through this. You're like, what chapter? There's only one. So Jude, verse five. It says, so I wanna remind you, though you already know these things. So he's talking to Christians, remember that. That Jesus first rescued the nation of Israel from Egypt, but later he destroyed those that did not remain what? What's it say, church? Faithful. And I remind you of the angels who did not stay within the limits of the authority God gave them, but left the place where they belong. God has kept them securely chained in prisons of darkness, waiting for the great day of judgment. So we know this story, the fallen angels, Lucifer, like the whole day. You can go back and read it. He says, and then don't forget Sodom and Gomorrah. Remember this story? Sodom and Gomorrah? He's like, don't forget. And their neighboring towns, which were filled with immorality

and every kind of sexual perversion. Those cities were destroyed by fire and serve as a warning of the eternal fire of God's judgment. By the way, you could fill in just a couple thousand years later, any city in our world right now, and this lines up. You're like, surely not Tucson, especially Tucson. In the same way, verse eight, these people who claim authority from their dreams live immoral lives. He's talking about these counterfeits now. They defy authority. They scoff at supernatural beings, and even Michael, one of the mightiest of the angels, we know Michael the angel, right? The archangel? He's like the Navy Seal of angels. He might repel out of the ceiling into your life, kicking in the windows. He says, while arguing with the devil about Moses's body, he didn't even say the Lord, he didn't say, like, use my power, but the Lord rebuke you is what he says. Verse 10, but these people scoff at things they don't understand, like unthinking animals, probably donkeys. Fill in the blanks later. I added that, by the way, that's not there. They do whatever their instincts tell them,

and so they bring about their own destruction. What sorrow awaits them? For they follow in the footsteps of Cain, who killed his brother, by the way, Cain wasn't able, that's funny, who killed his brother. Like Balaam, they deceive people for money, and like Korah, they perish in the rebellion. So when these people eat with you in your fellowship meals, commemorating the Lord's love, they're like dangerous reefs that can shipwreck you. See, these people are eating with them in the church. They claim Jesus. They're like shameless shepherds who can only feed themselves. They're like clouds blowing over the land without giving any rain. They're like trees in the autumn that are doubly dead. I don't even know how you can be doubly dead. Like there's dead dead, and apparently then there's doubly dead. Is that dead, dead, dead, dead? I don't know. Sorry, it's been a long week, y'all. I had just funny things. It says, for they bear no fruit, and they're churning up the foam with their shameful deeds, like the waves of the sea. They're like wandering stars, doomed forever to blackest darkness. Then he says, verse 14,

Enoch, who lived in the seventh generation of Adam, prophesied about these people. Now, Enoch is actually a historical figure. And he said, listen, the Lord is coming with countless thousands of his holy ones to execute judgment on the people of the world. He'll convict every person of all the ungodly things they've done for all the insults and the ungodly sinners have spoken against them. These people are grumblers, complainers, living only to satisfy their own desires. They brag loudly about themselves, and they flatter others to get what they want. By the way, we've just read about half the book of Jude. So you can go brag to your friends today, I read half of a book of the Bible today. Actually, you didn't, I read it to you. So it was like story time with Trev. I just sit and use all the voices, you know. We'll go back and read it again. I'll do it with voices. We'll inflect, it'll be fun. But he actually gives these three tests. Jude actually tells us how to discern these false voices. He brings it right out in the text. So the first one, he says this, does this voice submit to the authority of Jesus? That's the first question you ask.

Does the voice that is speaking into your life actually submit to Jesus? So he begins with three warnings, right? Verse five, Jesus first rescued the nation of Israel from Egypt, but later he destroyed those who did not remain faithful. So then Jude points out the angels who refused the boundaries God gave them. He's like, there's these angels. They didn't listen, they get booted out of heaven. Then there's Sodom and Gomorrah, right? Remember that? They're just immoral people. God absolutely obliterates Sodom and Gomorrah. And then he talks about where their desire became rebellion against God's order. So these are different stories, but the thread connects them is the rejection of God's authority. That's what connects all of those stories. And so Israel had been rescued, but yesterday's rescue was not permission for today's rebellion. Like, you know how that works, right? Like we're like, I've been rescued. Now I can do whatever I want. Not how rescue works. In fact, the angels would not remain where God placed them. The cities would not receive God's design. Grace is never permission to make ourselves Lord

after we've been rescued. Grace rescues us from sin. It does not help us remain in our sin. So if you use grace in your life as an opportunity to go, man, I'm glad I got rescued from that. I can go right back to it. God's like, that's not how it works. You ever seen the meme of the sheep that they rescued from a ditch and they pull him out and he's free and then he jumps right back in the ditch. Ditch, you ever seen that? That's us. That's what we're talking about. It's like the sheep's like, yay, I'm free, let's do it again. And he has to keep getting unstuck. See, and then in verse eight and 10, it exposes the arrogance of the counterfeit teachers. Like they claim authority from their dreams. They're like, God has given me a dream. They've defied authority. They speak boldly about things they don't understand. So Jude contrasts them with Michael the archangel, right? The Navy SEAL dude. And even Michael doesn't act as judge, even though he had the power, it didn't belong to him. It said, he said, the Lord rebuke you, in verse nine is what he said.

Michael had power with humility. That's a good voice. These teachers had confidence without submission. Bad voice. See, a spiritual experience that contravicts Jesus is not a higher revelation. If somebody has to tell you that their revelation is now higher, then it's not true. Christian vocabulary does not guarantee Christian authority. Just cause you know a lot of Christianese doesn't mean that you have authority. Because you know words like salvation, propitiation, I don't even know what that word means. Sanctification, obliteration, fill it in, whatever, ation you want. Just cause you can say it doesn't mean you have authority. Just cause you know the words of Jesus doesn't mean you actually are acting as Jesus. So ask every voice in your life, does this make Jesus more authoritative or does it make the speaker I'm listening to more authoritative? You've got to ask that question. Like put every one of them up against Jesus. Does this person welcome correction from scripture and mature believers? Are they willing? Maybe ask, does this voice teach the whole way of Jesus or edit out everything that confronts the audience? That's why I tell people when they're going to churches,

make sure they preach the hard truth too. Are they willing to talk about the things that need to be talked about? And before we use those questions to inspect like online teachers or people in front of us, we need to inspect ourselves too. Like you need to ask yourself, do I follow Jesus or do I follow Jesus only when he agrees with me? I think you need to ask yourself that. I have to ask myself that. Because counterfeit freedom always ends in bondage. It feels like it's gonna free you and it actually keeps you bound. If it's fake, it will eventually break. It's eventually gonna go away. That's the first test. Here's the second test that Jude gives us. What fruit does this voice produce? Now you're like, like apples, oranges, peaches? No, no, no, that's not the kind of fruit we're talking about. But in verse 11, Jude gives three names his readers would recognize immediately. Like he talked about Cain, who allowed everything inside of him to give hatred towards his brother to kill his brother. Like literally, Cain wasn't able, it bothered him, so it had him killed. Or then you got Balaam, who turned spiritual influence into a way to make money and lead people into sin.

By the way, you wanna read a great story? This is where his donkey actually talks in scripture. Now you can make every joke you wanna make about that in the parking lot. Don't make it in here right now, okay? But if God can speak through Balaam's donkey, he can speak through you. Okay, just making sure you caught that. See, Korah, if you go read Korah's story, led pride become open rebellion. Cain used anger, Balaam used influence, Korah used rebellion. Every road led away from God, every single one of them. And then Jude stacks these images on top of, like the ship in the sea that gets thrown against the rocks. He talks about the shepherds who feed themselves instead of serving the flock of sheep. And then he talks about these clouds that promise rain but deliver nothing. By the way, I think that hits us in Tucson a little different, doesn't it? Like you ever do this, you see huge monsoon clouds build over the Catalinas, maybe the Rincons. You get excited. The first year I was here, I thought y'all were nuts. People would run outside with their cameras and take pictures of the clouds. I was like, what are we doing? They're like, clouds.

Mesquite tree, like what are we doing? And they get excited and you would watch and it was like, monsoon is coming, monsoon is coming. I'm like, we're gonna die. Monsoon sounds like a bad thing. And it would build over the mountains. The sky would get dark. You'd hear the thunder. The wind would pick up. Everybody's checking the radar like they're checking sports scores in church. And then the clouds come right over you and six drops of rain fall from the sky. And we cheer. And then it moves to Marana. It made a great picture. It made a terrible water source. Jude says some voices are like that. They're dramatic. They're impressive. They're full of promise. And they're absolutely empty when your soul needs water. They're a false monsoon in your life. What fruit does that voice produce in you? Jesus actually gives the test, Matthew chapter 7. He says, beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep, but are really vicious wolves. And then he says, you can identify them by their, what's he say? By their fruit. That is by the way they act. Fruit is do they act like Jesus?

Do they produce things of Jesus? Jesus doesn't say to inspect their follower count. Oh man, they got 100,000 followers. They must be like Jesus. He says, nope, inspect the fruit. See platforms can be polished. Fruit eventually tells the truth. Inspect the fruit. If it looks like the plastic fruit that was on your grandmother's table, the one that you tried to eat one time in your life and realized it was plastic, man, it looked real until you bit into it. So you got to inspect the fruit. And this is not a demand for flawless leaders. That's not what Jude's talking about. A failure confessed is not the same as a falsehood defended. Jude's describing a sustained pattern, pride, greed, exploitation, distortion, the refusal of correction, the absence of repentance. Here's what Jude's really getting at. Giftedness can draw a crowd. Only godliness can bear the fruit of Jesus. I know lots of gifted people that can draw crowds. Only godliness bears the fruit of Jesus. And the fruit test works in two directions. Like first ask what fruit is visible in the life of the person speaking? But then you got to ask, what fruit is that voice growing in me? Is that voice actually growing fruit of God in my life as well? Like after I listen, am I more humble? Am I more truthful? Am I more loving? Am I more holy?

Am I more courageous? Am I more centered on Jesus after I allow a voice into my life? Or am I more afraid, angry, arrogant, suspicious, addicted, and convinced that everybody else is the problem? You know where I feel like that the most is when I watch the news. Which is why I stopped watching it. Because it wasn't bearing any fruit of Jesus in my life. It was causing the opposite in me. And there's people that we listen to that do the same thing. So when we say if it's fake, it will eventually break, that doesn't mean every counterfeit collapses publicly on our timetable. That's not what it usually means. Like Jude's final horizon is God's judgment. And so sometimes the platform doesn't break first. Sometimes the people who trusted it do. Be careful what you trust. And sometimes, sometimes the platform when it does break, it has a collateral of damage. See discernment actually helps us see the cracks before somebody else gets crushed. If we listen to counterfeit voices, we get crushed when the platform falls. If we listen to Jesus, we have the discernment to get people out from underneath that platform. Here's the third test. Where does this road end? If I follow this voice, where is the end of the road? Now some of you just sang Boyz II Men. I know you did. You're like, although we've come. Some of you guys just went back to dating in sixth grade. I know what you just did. I'm not talking about that end of the road. But in verse 14 and 15, Jude uses a prophecy familiar to his audience from Enoch.

Enoch is actually a historical figure. He's not taking a detour from this ancient book, but he's pointing people to something thorough and biblical. Enoch's actually pointing back to scripture like, the Lord sees, the Lord is coming, evil will not remain hidden forever. Here's what I've told people with this, is the truth may not win today. The truth may not win tomorrow, but eventually truth always wins. And when you're discerning, you get to hear the truth faster. Verse 16 makes the fruit visible in everyday life. If you hear grumbling, selfish desire, loud bragging, and flattering people for personal gain, then this road does not end well. If you grumble about everything, I can promise you, you're living out of the wrong place. you're living in a counterfeit voice. Second Peter gives the same warning. He says, counterfeit voices use clever lies, greed, and empty promises. So verse 19 says, they promise freedom, but they themselves are slaves of sin and corruption. That's why when we see church leaders fall, like the big Humpty Dumpty fall, that all the king's horses and all the king's men can't put back together again, it usually comes back to that they were promising freedom, but they themselves were in sin and corruption. That's what we see. See, the fake in these people, it sells freedom, but it produces chains. Every voice in your life has a destination. There's an end in your life to those voices. So there's some questions you can ask here.

If I let this voice lead me for the next five years, I think this is worth asking. Will I become more like Jesus or merely more like the person holding the microphone? Which is it? Here's what I would say. If you're somebody who's listening to a lot of voices, I would say, don't blindly trust any voice. Like, I appreciate that you come and you listen to me preach. I appreciate that. Can I just tell you, don't trust my voice on all things. You're like, what? Because I'm not Jesus. Nowhere in scripture does it say, Trevor is the Messiah. You know why you should test everything I say? Because I'm human. Like, I'm not your, if I'm your end all, I'm sorry, you've got a bad ending. You're gonna come to a weird end of the road. And we're both gonna be standing there going, ah. Like, literally, seriously, when you hear me speak, go home and put this against scripture. And here's why. I'm not perfect. I'm gonna mess something up at some point. You're like, you have four times a day. Thank you, I appreciate it. But seriously, go put up against Jesus the things that you hear.

Like, there's things I've said in sermons a decade ago that I listen to now and I'm like, wow, you're an idiot. And I've had to even say from platforms, hey, I once believed this to be true, but I've studied more. I've learned more. Like, don't blindly trust voices. Now, if you're exploring faith, first of all, I'm so glad you're here. But this passage is not telling you to stop asking questions and blindly trust religious people. In fact, I would say it's telling you the opposite. Jesus himself warns that some people who look spiritual are dangerous. Jesus says that. Like, put Jesus at the center of your investigation. Like, read what he has said. Watch how he was treated. Watch how he treated people. Look at the fruit of his life. Like, the failure of a counterfeit does not make Jesus fake. Just because a counterfeit looked like Jesus, talked like Jesus, but wasn't really Jesus, doesn't mean Jesus is fake. Like, I tell people all the time, if it looks like a duck, talks like a duck, quacks like a duck, it's probably not a cow. But if it looks like Jesus, talks like Jesus, but walks in dressed like something else, it's probably not Jesus.

But just because somebody has been fake in the name of Jesus, doesn't mean Jesus is fake. In fact, truth be told, I think it exposes how valuable the real thing is. It actually exposes how valuable Jesus really is. Like, Jude gives these three tests. Does this voice submit to Jesus? What fruit does it produce? Where does the road end? See, if it's fake, it will? Break. Eventually break. Discernment keeps you from deception. So, here's your next step this week. I want you to conduct a voice audit in your life. Do a voice audit. I want you to do something like intriguing this week. I've actually, I've had a lot of time sitting in hospital rooms in the last week, so I've actually started doing this in my own life. Like, write down the three voices with the most access to your ears. Maybe a podcast, maybe a social media account, maybe it's a preacher, maybe it's a news source, a friend, a show, or a group chat. Now, don't write down the voices that you think sound the worst. That's easy to do. Write down the voices you actually hear the most. And then run each one of those through Jude's three tests.

Does this voice bring me under the authority of Jesus or help me edit Jesus around my preference? Like, what fruit is visible in the voice I'm letting in? What fruit is growing in me? Will this road lead me to rescuing more people or lead me into hell? Here's an easy way to audit it. When my oldest daughter was little, she was like. two. My youngest hadn't been born yet. And I had the privilege to pick her up from school every day, bring her home. So it was just daddy-daughter day every afternoon. I would come home, work on some stuff on my laptop, and let her play in the afternoon in the living room, give her a snack. And she was young, so I didn't think she was paying attention to what I was watching. And back then, I watched a show called That 70s Show. Arguably not the greatest thing. And so I didn't think much of it. It was just a fun show. It kind of reminded me of my transition of when I was born into the 70s to the 80s. But again, probably not the greatest show. And I didn't think she was paying attention until one day in the car, we heard a song that sounded like the theme song to That 70s Show. And at the end of it, I heard my two-year-old go, hello, Wisconsin. Hmm. I turned around and looked at her. She grinned. I did not. Because I realized something in that moment. I was allowing something to speak into my life and my daughter's life that was not going to bear fruit. It was the last time I watched an episode. And I don't try to be legalistic in the way I live my life whatsoever. But I'll be honest with you, it caused me to ask some questions. See, after you do that audit, I want you to choose one voice this week out of those three you choose. And just cut back. Cut it out for seven days. Some of you guys are like, it's actually you, and we're about to leave. No, don't do that, please. I would beg you. Just come back in seven days. Here's what I'd also tell you. You don't have to hate a voice to mute a voice. You don't have to hate it. And if it's a friendship, let me say this really carefully. Don't use this message as permission to treat a person as disposable in your life. Love them. Pray for them. But sometimes you need to set a boundary on some of those relationships. Keep their influence from pulling you away from Jesus. You know what those voices are.

And then I want you to replace that space for the next seven days. You're like, what should I replace it with? I'm glad you asked. Maybe go read the book of Jude again. You've already read half of it today. You should go read the other half. It's really good. Or maybe read Matthew chapter seven. Or spend 10 quiet minutes listening to Jesus before you open anything else in your life. Maybe ask one trusted follower of Jesus in your life what fruit they see growing in you. Is there fruit of God growing in your life right now? And be prepared for them to say, I don't see any. Then be prepared to adjust. Here's what I tell you. No voice deserves unquestioned access to your soul. No voice other than the voice of the Holy Spirit. Now, if you follow Jesus for a long time, don't only audit the obvious secular voices in your life. You're like, I'm going to go break all my CDs. First of all, if you still have CDs, that's weird, okay? I'm like, go delete Spotify. I don't know what to tell you. A Bible verse in somebody's biography is not the same thing as biblical fruit. Like, but they have my favorite verse in their bio on their Instagram. Okay, good for them. They know how to write. Doesn't mean they know how to live it. Your favorite Christian podcaster or preacher or political commentator, just say you test them all. And if you feel far from God, let me say this. Jesus is not afraid of your honest questions. Start with him. He'll actually meet you in the haze and lead you towards the truth. So if your path is hazy, a little foggy, reduce the voices before you make a major turn. Discernment keeps you from deception. Now, I want to ask you if you notice something, because I bet you don't right now. There's actually still haze hanging in this room for where you thought the machine was broke earlier. By the way, it wasn't. It didn't get stuck in the on position. But I can actually, from my perspective, I can still see haze hanging in the air. But you stopped noticing it at some point. All of you stopped noticing that it was even in the room. And it's interesting because the first compromise, the smoke bothers us, right? We're like, man, it's smoky. The second gets a little easier. It dissipates around the room. So you're like, okay, I can kind of see again. It's a little clear. The third time you're like, it's kind of normal. I don't even see it. See, deception rarely shocks us. It just slowly numbs us. That's what it does. Like you've kind of become numb to the fact that there's still fogging in this room and you don't even see it. Now all of you are like, where? I still don't see it. But just look around. Here's what's interesting. The room didn't change. Like nothing moved in the room. The truth didn't change. You know what did? The fog.

The fog changed. Jesus has this way of clearing the fog. See, he's calling you to clear it right now. That's amazing, like he's clearing your fog of life right now. Like Jesus just has this way of exposing lies and leading us to life. Pantano, let me tell you something. We will not become a cynical church that assumes everybody is fake. We're not gonna do that. But we will become a grounded church that knows the shepherd's voice. That's the kind of church that we will be. We'll test everything. We're gonna test fruit. We're gonna stay humble. We're gonna turn down any voice that keeps tuning us from Jesus. And if we're gonna get close enough to the fire to help people go from hell to hope, we've gotta know our way home. We've gotta keep our eyes focused on getting people out of the underworld. Like we're gonna step into the smoke. We're gonna love people. We're gonna keep pointing them towards Jesus. And remember, if it's fake, eventually it's gonna break. But discernment will keep you and I from deception. This week, I've been walking my dad through the hallways of the hospital.

By the way, I don't know if you've ever been to TMC's main campus, but you need a small GPS to find your way through the hallways of that place. But the other night, my dad and I were just talking. And he just looked at me like in the middle of the night and he was like, son, no matter what happens, he's like, don't lose sight that Jesus is in control. He said, the name of Jesus transforms all things. Can I just tell you the best way to spot a counterfeit is to say the name of Jesus in its presence, is to keep pointing it towards the voice of Jesus. In the dark hours of the night, when I'm not sure if it's God's voice or the enemy's voice, it's just the name Jesus. For you right now in this moment, make sure Jesus becomes the main voice that speaks in your soul. Like if you're dealing with trepidation, you're dealing with fear, guilt, shame, none of those words are of Jesus. Speak his name and see what the counterfeits actually do. They'll shudder, they will flee. So I wanna pray for you. As we lead this series towards a rescue mission, I wanna pray that we would be ready for the counterfeits that are gonna speak into our lives this week. We would recognize them and then we would call them out and we would flee from them. So if you don't mind, would you stand where you are just so we get on your feet?

Selfishly, can I ask you a favor? If you think of me, my dad, my mom this week, would you just pray? Would you just pray? And here's our prayer in our house right now, no surgery. And I'm not gonna give you a lot of details, but just no surgery is the prayer. Like we're gonna pray that specifically in our house. We have been all week. No surgery, no surgery, no surgery, no surgery. In the name of Jesus, no surgery. Praying that my dad's body begins to respond the way that it needs to. I don't ask for that very often, but I just selfishly ask for it. And thank you for literally the thousands of prayers that have already been prayed for my dad. But I also wanna pray for you. And honestly, I'm kinda praying the same prayer for you I'm praying for my dad is that there's no spiritual surgery that has to be done on you. That you would actually realize it before you have to be at the bottom to get put back together. That we would recognize the counterfeit. Let's pray, Father today. God, I'm so grateful for a church that loves you so deeply. For a church that really works hard to spot the counterfeits. God, a humble people that love you deeply.

God, for each and every one of us. All of us have counterfeit voices that have spoken into our heart and soul. God, I pray that today, we would recognize what they are now. And God, that in the name of Jesus, none of them have authority. In the name of Jesus, none of them get our heart, our soul, or our mind. In the name of Jesus, we will not be bitter. In the name of Jesus, we will not be critical. In the name of Jesus, God, we will not be scared or fearful or guilty or shameful. But in the name of Jesus, we'll be a people of love and joy and peace and patience and kindness and goodness and gentleness and self-control. That God, we proclaim in the name of Jesus that your real son would have a real impact on a real community that desperately wants people to know you. God, help us spot it with discernment so we can help get people out. We love you. It's in the powerful name of an unbelievably real Jesus that we pray. All God's people said. Amen. Love you, church. Thank you. ♪ I am an instrument of exaltation ♪

♪ And I was born by your Spirit ♪ Lift your name above all names. You hear the melody of all creation. But there's a ♪ I was born by your Spirit ♪ song of praise that only I can bring. Who else is worthy? Who else is worthy? There is no one, only you, Jesus. Who else is worthy? Who else is worthy? There is no one, only you, Jesus. You are the infinite, God of the ages. Yet you chose to make my heart your dwelling place. You healed my brokenness, showed me your glory. So I have songs of thanks, not even angels sing. Who else is worthy? Who else is worthy? There is no one, only you, Jesus. Who else is worthy? Who else is worthy? There is no one, only you, Jesus. Who else is worthy? Who else is worthy? There is no one, only you, Jesus. Who else is worthy? Who else is worthy? There is no one, only you, Jesus. Lamb of God, anointed one, who was and is and is to come, seated on the throne above. Holy, holy, righteous one who shed his blood and proved to us the Father's love. Jesus Christ be lifted up. Holy, holy. Lamb of God, anointed one, who was and is and is to come, seated on the throne above. Holy, holy, righteous one who shed his blood and proved to us the Father's love. Jesus Christ be lifted up. Holy, holy. Lamb of God, anointed one, who was and is and is to come, seated on the throne above. Holy, holy, righteous one who shed his blood and proved to us the Father's love. Jesus Christ be lifted up. Who else is worthy? Who else is worthy? There is no one, only you, Jesus. Who else is worthy? Who else is worthy? There is no one, only you, Jesus. There is no one, only you, Jesus. There is no one, only you, Jesus. Amen. Amen. Who else is worthy? Who else but Jesus, our Savior. Who else is worthy? Church, thank you so much for being here. I know the Lord was here, and I pray that you receive something from him this morning. And when you come expecting, he always meets your expectations. And actually, if you want to know the truth, he exceeds those expectations.

So look and be aware. Open your eyes. He's with you. Look for those blessings. Look for those moments. allow those moments to happen in your life for him to step in and as Pastor Trevor said just be aware of what's going on around you look for those counterfeits the enemy is after your soul but you know who else is Christ he's after you too won't you let him have you church we love you thank you so much for being here thank for worshiping with us we hope you felt the presence of the Lord this morning if it's your first time thank you so much for being here there's so much more that the Lord wants to do in your life yes he wants to do something in your life so next steps across the courtyard our team is there waiting for you to get you plugged into what God is doing here because he's doing great things here and if you need prayer for any reason our prayer team is also across the courtyard waiting for you to come so they can pray with you and for you and over you again church we love you so much and we'll see you again next time you