Don't be Deceived (Romans 16:17-22)

WEBVTT 1 00:00:02.160 --> 00:00:09.750 Paul, Throughout this wonderful letter, has given the Christians, both in Rome 2 00:00:09.949 --> 00:00:15.310 and us as well and throughout the world, a great exposition of many truths 3 00:00:15.349 --> 00:00:22.980 of our faith. We've done a number of summaries on this throughout this sermon 4 00:00:23.260 --> 00:00:28.899 series through Romans. I would encourage you for the rest of your lives to 5 00:00:28.940 --> 00:00:33.619 go back and to read Romans over and over and over again, as you 6 00:00:33.740 --> 00:00:38.289 ought to with every book. The word of God is truly very rich and 7 00:00:38.409 --> 00:00:44.210 in Romans here we have a great truths expounded to us. These the wisdom 8 00:00:44.929 --> 00:00:49.090 of God as it comes to us in Christ. The book teaches us about 9 00:00:49.090 --> 00:00:52.759 our sin, it teaches us us, teaches us about faith and who Jesus 10 00:00:52.960 --> 00:00:58.280 is. How are united to one another, even importantly, to remember this 11 00:00:58.479 --> 00:01:04.189 week in particular, beyond racial lines, united one to another in one head, 12 00:01:04.989 --> 00:01:11.989 Jesus Christ. The Roman Christians here had given this great exposition of Faith 13 00:01:12.030 --> 00:01:19.540 and Their Beloved Apostle, this servant and messenger of God, didn't want them 14 00:01:19.620 --> 00:01:23.540 to fall away from that. He knows that they are established in the faith 15 00:01:23.579 --> 00:01:27.579 and he rejoices over them, he says in Verse Nineteen. But he wants 16 00:01:27.620 --> 00:01:30.780 them to be wise to what is good and innocent to what is evil. 17 00:01:32.420 --> 00:01:38.609 He wants to maintain a clear and steady path in the good and not in 18 00:01:38.650 --> 00:01:44.170 the bad, but wisdom from evil. He doesn't mean that in the sense 19 00:01:44.209 --> 00:01:48.760 of ignorance of evil or in the ways of evil, as he clearly tells 20 00:01:48.840 --> 00:01:57.439 us. He talks and gives some explanation and warning concerning flatterers, I'm smooth 21 00:01:57.640 --> 00:02:01.989 talkers. He tells us about these things because these are dangers that can take 22 00:02:02.069 --> 00:02:08.389 us away from the good, that can take us away from being innocent concerning 23 00:02:08.629 --> 00:02:15.550 evil, innocent in terms of being connected with it, being involved in it. 24 00:02:15.669 --> 00:02:21.340 Instead, he says there are people who cause divisions, create obstacles, 25 00:02:22.259 --> 00:02:25.780 contrary to the doctrine who you have been taught. He talks about them a 26 00:02:25.819 --> 00:02:30.810 little bit more in verse eighteen, which will consider. He says avoid these 27 00:02:30.930 --> 00:02:35.330 people and he gives reasons why. He says they don't serve Jesus Christ, 28 00:02:35.449 --> 00:02:39.930 they're not serving you. What do they serve their own appetites. This is 29 00:02:40.009 --> 00:02:45.639 how they work. Smooth talk, flattery, they deceive the hearts of the 30 00:02:45.680 --> 00:02:50.479 naive. So in plicit and that is don't be naive. There's a warning 31 00:02:50.599 --> 00:02:57.120 there and it's important to pay attention to, and this is going to be 32 00:02:57.199 --> 00:03:01.430 our focus for the morning. God's word to us this morning is a warning 33 00:03:01.990 --> 00:03:07.310 beyond guard, be on guard, be aware of, be watchful about, 34 00:03:07.830 --> 00:03:15.219 flatterers, those who serve themselves and not Jesus. They only want to do 35 00:03:15.460 --> 00:03:20.139 you harm. You can see why Paul might include this at the end of 36 00:03:20.219 --> 00:03:23.460 the message. He's given them all of this goodness. He doesn't want it 37 00:03:23.539 --> 00:03:29.530 to be taken away. They're established on this path, they're moving forward and 38 00:03:29.650 --> 00:03:37.729 he doesn't want them to fall aside by means of a flatterer. So first, 39 00:03:37.810 --> 00:03:43.120 what is a flatterer? What is a flatterer? What is flattery? 40 00:03:44.719 --> 00:03:47.919 I would define a flatterer this way. A flatter is someone who tells you 41 00:03:49.599 --> 00:03:53.400 what you want to hear so that they can have what they want to have, 42 00:03:53.879 --> 00:03:55.990 or, to put it another way, the same thing, just a 43 00:03:57.030 --> 00:04:00.949 little simpler. A flatter as someone who tells you what you want so that 44 00:04:00.069 --> 00:04:08.030 they can get what they want. A flatterer could be compared to a chameleon, 45 00:04:08.110 --> 00:04:15.099 I think, always changing to suit his or her environment. It's as 46 00:04:15.180 --> 00:04:18.980 if they have no particular color of their own, no consistency in themselves, 47 00:04:19.139 --> 00:04:28.050 but continually take on that which is around them. A flatterer is very deceptive 48 00:04:28.209 --> 00:04:35.610 in this way. Their likes are determined by your likes, their preferences by 49 00:04:35.769 --> 00:04:42.519 your preferences, their vices by your vices, their problems by your problems. 50 00:04:43.399 --> 00:04:49.680 In many cases, flatterers will even mimic outward external, seemingly unimportant things as 51 00:04:49.720 --> 00:04:57.870 a way to ingratiate and connect themselves to you, perhaps the way you walk, 52 00:04:59.110 --> 00:05:01.829 the way you hold your head, the clothes that you wear, the 53 00:05:02.069 --> 00:05:08.180 music that you listen to, decisions that aren't being made because of any kind 54 00:05:08.220 --> 00:05:14.220 of principal basis in them, but because that's what you do. We of 55 00:05:14.300 --> 00:05:16.699 course, have other words for these kinds of people, people pleasers, man 56 00:05:16.939 --> 00:05:27.529 pleasers and others. But unlike a chameleon, which does this kind of mimicry 57 00:05:28.250 --> 00:05:34.839 for self defense, a flatterer mimics for self advancement. So in this way, 58 00:05:34.879 --> 00:05:40.120 we might say a flatterer is also like a parasite. He is very 59 00:05:40.399 --> 00:05:46.759 close to his host, but he's no friend. His friend is really his 60 00:05:46.959 --> 00:05:51.829 victim. And this is what Paul warns about. He says these flatterers, 61 00:05:51.910 --> 00:06:00.269 these smooth talkers, they serve their own appetites right. So they're mimicking you, 62 00:06:00.389 --> 00:06:02.750 they're telling you things you want to hear, they're trying to be close 63 00:06:02.949 --> 00:06:08.699 to you, be friends with you, deceive you into thinking they're a friend 64 00:06:08.699 --> 00:06:15.660 and not a flatterer, but really what they're serving is themselves and, like 65 00:06:15.860 --> 00:06:18.850 a parasite, flatterers have the tendency to once they have what they need, 66 00:06:20.009 --> 00:06:25.610 to move on. They don't wait around, they don't suffer with you, 67 00:06:25.769 --> 00:06:29.529 they don't go through the things that you will suffer with as long as it's 68 00:06:29.529 --> 00:06:34.000 not benefiting them. Again, one of the great differences between a flatterer and 69 00:06:34.160 --> 00:06:39.800 a friend. A true friend, someone who's really with you, will stick 70 00:06:39.879 --> 00:06:45.199 with you even when it's to their disadvantage, when it brings some harm to 71 00:06:45.319 --> 00:06:48.029 them, perhaps when you are in a lowly position and you are once in 72 00:06:48.029 --> 00:06:53.790 a high position. People who all of a sudden get a lot of money 73 00:06:53.829 --> 00:06:58.029 or lose a lot of money, see these things play out in in their 74 00:06:58.110 --> 00:07:02.220 lives. was just one of many examples. You find out who your friends 75 00:07:02.259 --> 00:07:06.459 are. We say I'm in situations like these, because those who are truly 76 00:07:06.500 --> 00:07:11.459 there will will continue to be with you, but flatters this isn't the case. 77 00:07:11.980 --> 00:07:15.730 Why? Because they're serving their own appetites, their own does buyers they 78 00:07:16.009 --> 00:07:25.050 things that they want. The flatterer is tricky because he appeals to our own 79 00:07:25.250 --> 00:07:29.850 interests and our self love, are our love of ourselves, to take something 80 00:07:30.000 --> 00:07:34.720 for himself. He appeals to something that's in us, a kind of inward 81 00:07:34.920 --> 00:07:40.160 internal flatterer, and for this reason it can be very hard to detect. 82 00:07:40.160 --> 00:07:46.709 It's dangerous. He says things that we like to hear or she. flatterers 83 00:07:46.790 --> 00:07:51.350 say things that we want to hear, things that make us feel good, 84 00:07:54.910 --> 00:07:58.980 and so it seems like they have our interests in mind, but they don't. 85 00:08:01.939 --> 00:08:07.180 Now, if this is something you haven't thought about much before, remember 86 00:08:07.379 --> 00:08:13.850 how warnings work. Warnings are the kinds of things that are meant to sort 87 00:08:13.889 --> 00:08:18.449 of wake you up to something. Perhaps you didn't realize or didn't know. 88 00:08:20.930 --> 00:08:24.689 This road ends in fifty feet. A cliff comes after that. Right, 89 00:08:24.889 --> 00:08:30.079 that's a good thing to know. It's surprising. The simple fact that this 90 00:08:30.160 --> 00:08:35.480 might be new information doesn't mean it should be ignored. To make some of 91 00:08:35.519 --> 00:08:39.799 these distinctions is hard, especially if you've not thought about it much before, 92 00:08:39.840 --> 00:08:43.789 if you haven't made these distinctions, but that's why God give gives it to 93 00:08:43.870 --> 00:08:46.950 us in this. I'll just comment that Paul is acting here as a friend. 94 00:08:48.230 --> 00:08:54.190 He's perhaps saying something that's a little uncomfortable, that doesn't always feel quite 95 00:08:54.230 --> 00:08:58.820 right, that makes us have to change in some way, but of course 96 00:08:58.860 --> 00:09:03.019 that's what friends do. If Paul were a mere flatterer, he wouldn't warn 97 00:09:03.059 --> 00:09:09.059 us of these kinds of things. He would simply try to appeal to whatever 98 00:09:09.580 --> 00:09:15.809 seems to motivate us. But Paul doesn't want us to be self interested and 99 00:09:16.610 --> 00:09:22.929 loving ourselves and united to ourselves. He wants us to know Jesus, he 100 00:09:22.049 --> 00:09:26.399 wants us to know Christ and to be found in him. And so he's 101 00:09:26.480 --> 00:09:31.120 not going to tell us what we want to hear. Always he's going to 102 00:09:31.200 --> 00:09:35.240 tell us what we need to hear. And, of course, as Christians, 103 00:09:35.360 --> 00:09:37.629 is those who are united to Christ. It resonates with us and we 104 00:09:37.750 --> 00:09:43.350 say yes, this is what I want and this is good. The flatterer 105 00:09:43.509 --> 00:09:46.990 is different, though. What does the flatterer want? He wants to take 106 00:09:48.070 --> 00:09:54.700 away from the Christian what has been given to them by God. Where we 107 00:09:54.940 --> 00:10:03.779 have unity between people of vastly different places, of social status, racial backgrounds, 108 00:10:03.139 --> 00:10:11.929 of family origins, theological or spiritual histories, all all united into Christ. 109 00:10:11.090 --> 00:10:16.129 What is the flatter or what does the smooth talker want? Division? 110 00:10:18.730 --> 00:10:22.000 God, when he comes to us in Christ, wants to unite us to 111 00:10:22.120 --> 00:10:26.200 himself, as we read in Romans. He wants to make peace with us, 112 00:10:26.639 --> 00:10:31.000 he wants to create a body that is of many members and united together. 113 00:10:31.360 --> 00:10:35.350 The divisive one wants to come and divide us. You Remember Psalm to 114 00:10:35.710 --> 00:10:39.309 the kings of this earth plotting against the Lord, and then is annointed, 115 00:10:39.470 --> 00:10:46.950 trying to break up heart, their bonds, separate them. That's what flatterers, 116 00:10:46.029 --> 00:10:50.539 smooth talkers do. Where we have been given unity with one another in 117 00:10:50.580 --> 00:10:58.899 Christ and with God himself in Christ, the flatterer wants division where you have 118 00:10:58.019 --> 00:11:05.330 biven Gin, given righteousness and holiness, sanctification, a beautiful path of good 119 00:11:05.450 --> 00:11:09.610 works on which to walk in this world. The flatterer, Paul says, 120 00:11:09.649 --> 00:11:13.450 wants to create obstacles. They are contrary to the doctrine that you have been 121 00:11:13.570 --> 00:11:20.679 taught when you put it this way, that they want division when you have 122 00:11:20.799 --> 00:11:24.039 been given unity, that they want to create stumbling blocks for you where you 123 00:11:24.120 --> 00:11:28.919 have been given a clear and smooth path. Why, you might ask, 124 00:11:30.000 --> 00:11:35.269 why would anybody be so mean? Why would somebody take away a treasure or 125 00:11:35.429 --> 00:11:39.710 create a stumbling block or a problem where there wasn't one. Well, Paul 126 00:11:39.789 --> 00:11:48.860 Answers. He says it's because they're evil people. They don't serve the Lord, 127 00:11:48.860 --> 00:11:56.019 Jesus. They serve and they don't serve his servants. God's goods are 128 00:11:56.059 --> 00:11:58.700 not their goods. God does, was what is right, and they're not 129 00:11:58.899 --> 00:12:03.769 his servants, so they do what is wrong. Moreover, they're not only 130 00:12:03.809 --> 00:12:11.649 against him, therefore themselves. The holy appetites of the Christian of Love, 131 00:12:11.649 --> 00:12:18.240 of peace, of joy, of longing and hoping in heaven, of desiring 132 00:12:18.480 --> 00:12:22.600 to know the Lord and his word, these are not the appetites of a 133 00:12:22.720 --> 00:12:30.470 person who is enslave to sin. Somebody who is captured by the law and 134 00:12:30.549 --> 00:12:33.629 their own lawlessness is not going to love good things. This is what Paul 135 00:12:33.669 --> 00:12:37.950 taught us at the beginning of Romans. This is what God tells us. 136 00:12:37.070 --> 00:12:43.820 With how we are in our fallen nature, we do mean things. We 137 00:12:43.940 --> 00:12:52.500 are bad people because of the fall. Our appetites enslave us. We Crave 138 00:12:52.299 --> 00:12:58.259 Evil Things, we love division, we love base things. We run after 139 00:12:58.379 --> 00:13:01.889 securing our own positions, our own wealth, of pushing others out of the 140 00:13:01.970 --> 00:13:07.210 way of elbowing people in the side so that we can attain our high positions, 141 00:13:07.409 --> 00:13:13.639 or at least so we think. That's what people in the flesh want. 142 00:13:15.320 --> 00:13:18.559 We have to remember that, partly for ourselves, so that we wouldn't 143 00:13:18.840 --> 00:13:24.360 excuse any goodness in ourselves, or so that we might remember to go to 144 00:13:24.600 --> 00:13:28.750 Christ as we see evil within us. It's not to be messed with, 145 00:13:28.309 --> 00:13:33.110 it's not to be nurtured or played with or ignored. But it also serves 146 00:13:33.149 --> 00:13:39.350 as a warning that there are people out there who desire US real harm. 147 00:13:41.259 --> 00:13:48.980 Why? Because that's what sinners do, that's what people do who are against 148 00:13:48.940 --> 00:13:58.289 God and his savior and his people. Warning, Paul says, watch out, 149 00:14:00.090 --> 00:14:03.409 watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles. Contrary to what 150 00:14:03.570 --> 00:14:07.730 you have been taught, they do not serve the Lord Jesus Christ, Our 151 00:14:07.929 --> 00:14:16.879 Lord Christ, but their own appetites. Now, the great difficulty we face, 152 00:14:16.000 --> 00:14:20.720 of course, is that they cover all of this evil, they cover 153 00:14:20.960 --> 00:14:33.710 themselves as flatterers with this cloak of friendship. A person who does the things 154 00:14:33.789 --> 00:14:37.750 you do, is interested in the things you're interested in, talks the way 155 00:14:37.870 --> 00:14:41.419 you talk, thinks the way you think, is interested in the things you're 156 00:14:41.419 --> 00:14:48.220 interested might be a friend. Right. That's why we gravitate towards people that 157 00:14:48.259 --> 00:14:52.649 are similar to us in all kinds of ways, because we get truly close 158 00:14:52.809 --> 00:14:58.450 with them. This is what flatterers know. This is the end that they 159 00:14:58.490 --> 00:15:03.929 use, and this is why it's tricky. Of course, there are people 160 00:15:03.049 --> 00:15:11.200 that are fawning and fat there there they treat you perhaps like you are some 161 00:15:11.399 --> 00:15:16.759 celebrity. This happens sometimes. Those people are are somewhat easy. Don't be 162 00:15:16.120 --> 00:15:20.549 fooled by them. You'd be a very super fool to be fooled by someone 163 00:15:20.549 --> 00:15:26.149 who's doing this. We're not exactly talking about that kind, although they're dangerous 164 00:15:26.230 --> 00:15:30.950 too, and many kings and people have fallen by them. I'll give example 165 00:15:31.110 --> 00:15:39.179 some other time. Now I'll give you one king, Darius. You remember 166 00:15:39.179 --> 00:15:43.379 Daniel, and Daniel believe it's chapter six. Daniel rises to a high position 167 00:15:43.460 --> 00:15:50.330 of authority, right, who becomes jealous? Other prefects and sattraps and whatnot. 168 00:15:50.970 --> 00:15:56.370 What do they do? They go to the king, not because they 169 00:15:56.450 --> 00:16:00.809 love the king, but because they want to secure from themselves a better position, 170 00:16:02.889 --> 00:16:04.720 because they want to take Daniel down a notch. And so what do 171 00:16:04.840 --> 00:16:07.759 they say to the king, almost, Wonderful King, we think that you 172 00:16:07.879 --> 00:16:11.360 should have a law that no one would bow down to you or serve any 173 00:16:11.399 --> 00:16:17.120 God. For thirty days. They do what. They flatter him. They 174 00:16:17.240 --> 00:16:21.629 don't say anything about Daniel. Right. Why? Because their tricksters, their 175 00:16:21.710 --> 00:16:25.509 deceivers. This is what flatterers do. They go and they appeal to the 176 00:16:25.590 --> 00:16:27.830 king and they say, listen, this is wonderful, this is a great 177 00:16:27.830 --> 00:16:30.909 idea. He says, yeah, sounds pretty good, I like it. 178 00:16:33.179 --> 00:16:37.379 And so he creates a law. Yes, no one shall serve anyone other 179 00:16:37.580 --> 00:16:41.740 no one shall pray to any other person except for me for the next I 180 00:16:41.899 --> 00:16:45.220 think it was thirty days. And then next thing you know, hey, 181 00:16:45.299 --> 00:16:49.210 guess what, we found somebody who's breaking your rule, Daniel, and the 182 00:16:49.250 --> 00:16:56.289 king goes, oh no, and that that kind of wisdom coming back and 183 00:16:56.809 --> 00:17:03.879 biting you and going Aha, that's what I told you. I warned you 184 00:17:04.160 --> 00:17:07.319 I wouldn't. The Bible doesn't says, but I wouldn't be surprised if there 185 00:17:07.359 --> 00:17:12.200 was something in Darius that said seems a little like flattery, because it usually 186 00:17:12.279 --> 00:17:15.470 does. In us. We see it, we know it to an extent, 187 00:17:15.630 --> 00:17:19.710 but we're deceived by it. Why? Because of self love. There's 188 00:17:19.750 --> 00:17:25.470 that little bit in us that holds onto that. The sad traps in the 189 00:17:25.509 --> 00:17:29.190 prefects. They came like counselors, they came like friends, they came as 190 00:17:29.470 --> 00:17:33.859 people that had the interests of the king and mind. Of course they didn't. 191 00:17:34.819 --> 00:17:37.859 What happened to the king? Well, he was bound, he felt, 192 00:17:37.940 --> 00:17:45.609 to a decision that he couldn't retract. He had to now take the 193 00:17:45.730 --> 00:17:49.009 person that he had promoted, his trusted adviser and ruler, and put him 194 00:17:49.009 --> 00:17:53.849 into a lions den. He's facing embarrassment and all kinds of other things. 195 00:17:53.890 --> 00:18:00.920 He's risking his own political power having seeking to show it up. This was 196 00:18:00.079 --> 00:18:06.279 not in the interest of the king. This is how flatterers work. They 197 00:18:06.480 --> 00:18:11.279 come in the cloak of friendship, they look similar, and so we have 198 00:18:11.359 --> 00:18:15.349 to be aware, we have to be on guard. How do we do 199 00:18:15.509 --> 00:18:19.509 that? Well, the first step is being aware that this happens, not 200 00:18:19.750 --> 00:18:26.109 being naive that there are and thinking that there are people out there that we're 201 00:18:26.190 --> 00:18:30.019 thinking that there are not people out there like this. The second thing we 202 00:18:30.099 --> 00:18:36.099 can do is don't wait until it's too late to trust the people that are 203 00:18:36.180 --> 00:18:40.339 close to us. Now, of course, we don't want to be constantly 204 00:18:40.380 --> 00:18:48.049 suspicious or constantly wondering, but especially early on in friendships, especially as people 205 00:18:48.049 --> 00:18:52.210 are getting close to us and we're getting to know people, there is room 206 00:18:52.410 --> 00:18:57.839 for for testing, for seeing and asking questions about what is the fruit of 207 00:18:59.000 --> 00:19:03.799 this. This might be true in a romantic relationship and a business relationship. 208 00:19:04.119 --> 00:19:08.680 It might be true and somebody who wants to join the church or someone who's 209 00:19:10.430 --> 00:19:18.190 trying to win our our vote for office, a certain amount of testing is 210 00:19:18.710 --> 00:19:23.109 is appropriate. What kinds of things might we ask? Well, one thing 211 00:19:23.339 --> 00:19:30.019 that this text suggests is consistency. There is an inconsistency in these people. 212 00:19:30.460 --> 00:19:38.890 They they they deceive, but they really are something else. Flatterers tend to 213 00:19:38.970 --> 00:19:44.730 be inconsistent people, the chameleons I described before. They Act one way in 214 00:19:44.849 --> 00:19:48.609 this setting, an act one way in another setting. If you see someone 215 00:19:48.650 --> 00:19:52.650 who is acting in this way around one person in this way around another person 216 00:19:52.690 --> 00:19:56.519 at one moment. They're interested in these things and another problem. That they're 217 00:19:56.519 --> 00:20:02.519 interested in these things, it's something to pay attention to. Of course, 218 00:20:02.559 --> 00:20:07.109 the fruit of their lives is another thing to pay attention to. Paul says 219 00:20:07.150 --> 00:20:12.950 that there the desires for their own appetites and they're causing evil things, divisions, 220 00:20:14.150 --> 00:20:18.630 they're causing their creating obstacles, contrary to the doctrine. People that are 221 00:20:19.029 --> 00:20:26.740 truly pray razing, truly encouraging and supporting and uplifting you and being your friend 222 00:20:26.539 --> 00:20:32.460 will want the things of the Lord. They will want to serve the Lord. 223 00:20:32.539 --> 00:20:37.250 They will want to bring honor and glory to Him and encourage you in 224 00:20:37.450 --> 00:20:42.849 that, and their lives will produce that. But if you see the fruit 225 00:20:42.890 --> 00:20:48.809 of their lives as being base things, evil things, going after not the 226 00:20:48.970 --> 00:20:52.640 Lord with the things of the Lord, but their own aptitudes, this also 227 00:20:52.720 --> 00:20:59.279 should serve as a warning. You might also ask, do they talk to 228 00:20:59.319 --> 00:21:04.230 you out of love and for you and for Christ, or they mostly interested 229 00:21:04.309 --> 00:21:14.910 in gratifying your desires? Is Everything that you say always right? You know 230 00:21:15.109 --> 00:21:21.099 it's not, but do they say it is? That's another warning, something 231 00:21:21.180 --> 00:21:25.740 to pay attention to. A true friend is someone who will tell you the 232 00:21:25.900 --> 00:21:30.980 hard things. The wounds of a friend hurt, but they're blessing to us. 233 00:21:33.569 --> 00:21:37.410 A flatterer doesn't go that way, because they're not seeking to serve you, 234 00:21:37.569 --> 00:21:42.450 they're seeking to serve themselves. Another thing you might ask is what are 235 00:21:42.490 --> 00:21:47.519 they when they do help you? And do they do when they do support 236 00:21:47.599 --> 00:21:52.720 you? Do they bring that attention to themselves? Do they draw the ways 237 00:21:52.839 --> 00:21:57.039 in which they've helped, the ways in which they've served, to your attention? 238 00:21:57.799 --> 00:22:02.750 Are they trying to prove to you over and over and over again how 239 00:22:02.829 --> 00:22:06.750 worthy they are, how important they are, how needful you are of them? 240 00:22:06.789 --> 00:22:11.390 Or they simply just delight in serving the Lord and in serving you? 241 00:22:15.109 --> 00:22:22.900 One last thing to emphasize again this point of of divisions. The flatterer and 242 00:22:22.980 --> 00:22:29.299 seeking to serve themselves, wants to separate you from Christ wants to separate you 243 00:22:29.539 --> 00:22:33.369 from other Christians. They want to and tie you to themselves so that they 244 00:22:33.450 --> 00:22:37.690 can take what they have. If you have a quote unquote friend who is 245 00:22:37.809 --> 00:22:44.319 taking you away from people that you know are trustworthy, that you know are 246 00:22:44.440 --> 00:22:47.720 good, that you know are holy, and, of course, if they're 247 00:22:47.759 --> 00:22:52.200 taking your mind and your heart away from the things of the Lord, then 248 00:22:52.279 --> 00:22:56.640 you just might be dealing with a flatterer, one who has put on the 249 00:22:56.799 --> 00:23:02.710 cloak of friendship, who looks in many ways like a friend, but wants 250 00:23:02.869 --> 00:23:10.349 to serve themselves. This, of course, is not always easy. Sometimes 251 00:23:10.390 --> 00:23:15.740 it's extremely difficult. Some people are very deceptive and we don't know until farther 252 00:23:15.900 --> 00:23:22.859 down the road that that is the case. It also takes wisdom. Just 253 00:23:22.059 --> 00:23:27.690 as not ferreting out a flatterer would be a bad thing, so too would 254 00:23:27.730 --> 00:23:33.410 be calling a friend a flatterer and accusing them of being a parasite when they're 255 00:23:33.450 --> 00:23:41.599 really I'm seeking to serve you. Again, wisdom is required, but that 256 00:23:41.839 --> 00:23:48.680 comes by paying attention to God's word, learning how to test ourselves, how 257 00:23:48.759 --> 00:23:52.640 to test the things around us so that we would not stray from the things 258 00:23:52.680 --> 00:24:03.069 that God has given us. How do we do that, especially once we've 259 00:24:04.349 --> 00:24:11.500 sort of once we've, once we've perhaps discovered certain problems, if we've tested 260 00:24:11.700 --> 00:24:17.779 things and we we wonder what to do, if we find flattery in in 261 00:24:18.299 --> 00:24:22.500 our relationships, what do we what do we do? How do we apply 262 00:24:22.740 --> 00:24:26.809 this? Well, of course we apply it by watching out, being careful. 263 00:24:26.890 --> 00:24:33.490 We apply it by testing, but this testing cannot come unless we really 264 00:24:33.609 --> 00:24:44.920 know the truth. Let's start with ourselves. The greatest flatterer, one of 265 00:24:44.960 --> 00:24:49.920 the ancient philosophers says, and not a Christian, but says wisely, the 266 00:24:51.039 --> 00:24:57.029 greatest flatter is internal. The greatest flatterer is self love. Perhaps in this 267 00:24:57.190 --> 00:25:03.150 description of those people out there, you've recognized someone who's in here. I 268 00:25:03.309 --> 00:25:07.900 know I did, and considering this passage, there is a tendency, even 269 00:25:07.940 --> 00:25:12.940 if we may not be a flatterer as a Christian, but there might be 270 00:25:14.019 --> 00:25:21.259 the propensity or the tendency to people please or to have flattery within us a 271 00:25:21.420 --> 00:25:25.410 tool that we use from now and again to get the things that we want. 272 00:25:26.490 --> 00:25:30.369 What do we do when we find that, first of all in ourselves? 273 00:25:32.609 --> 00:25:36.880 Well, the answer is not to cling to yourselves anymore, but to 274 00:25:36.960 --> 00:25:44.920 go to Jesus, who provides US security. The flatterer is focused on themselves. 275 00:25:45.519 --> 00:25:48.920 The flatterer wants to support themselves, feed themselves, take care of themselves. 276 00:25:49.950 --> 00:25:56.430 The Christian, however, does something different. The Christian recognizes that it's 277 00:25:56.670 --> 00:26:00.910 the answer and the solutions and the problems and of their lives are not found, 278 00:26:02.269 --> 00:26:04.259 I'm sorry, the solutions to the problems in their lives are not found 279 00:26:04.299 --> 00:26:11.019 in themselves. They're found in Jesus. It's in Jesus that we have reconciliation 280 00:26:11.180 --> 00:26:14.579 with God. It's in Jesus that we have the hope of heaven. It's 281 00:26:14.619 --> 00:26:18.769 in Jesus that we have, the forgiveness of our sins, the the the 282 00:26:18.890 --> 00:26:22.970 riches of his glory, eternal security and eternal life, all the things that 283 00:26:23.130 --> 00:26:29.250 the flatterer sort of clamors at and an earthly and basically way, Christ gives 284 00:26:29.369 --> 00:26:33.359 to us in an internal way. And you know the thing about Jesus, 285 00:26:33.400 --> 00:26:37.240 unlike all of us, is that he doesn't change. The flatter is one 286 00:26:37.240 --> 00:26:42.119 who's constantly changing, constantly trying to take this angle or take that angle. 287 00:26:42.279 --> 00:26:47.829 Jesus just is who he is. He's always up straight shooter, so to 288 00:26:47.910 --> 00:26:56.750 speak. He always says the truth with perfect wisdom and imperfect righteousness. To 289 00:26:56.869 --> 00:27:03.460 attach ourselves to him is exactly the right thing to do, but we don't 290 00:27:03.500 --> 00:27:07.099 do it seeking to sort of pull something out of him, but to receive 291 00:27:07.140 --> 00:27:11.859 a gift that he is given. When we come to Jesus, we don't 292 00:27:11.859 --> 00:27:18.089 come to him as flatterers and is as people pleasers, as parasites. We 293 00:27:18.210 --> 00:27:23.609 Are United to Christ because he comes to us, because he gives himself to 294 00:27:23.650 --> 00:27:29.650 US freely. All these things he says. Turn away from yourselves, turn 295 00:27:29.730 --> 00:27:34.119 away from all the things that you're clamoring, after all your base appetites and 296 00:27:34.400 --> 00:27:41.400 find your hope in me for the Christian. When we put our faith in 297 00:27:41.480 --> 00:27:48.309 Jesus, life is no longer about self love, it's about love of Christ. 298 00:27:49.390 --> 00:27:56.509 He doesn't change and he graciously gives all things. If you see that 299 00:27:56.789 --> 00:28:03.700 tendency within yourself to flatter to people, please to make angles, to use 300 00:28:03.900 --> 00:28:08.900 other people to advance your own interests, you need to find the Lord Jesus 301 00:28:08.940 --> 00:28:14.410 Christ. You need to find the one who gives you freely all that you 302 00:28:14.450 --> 00:28:18.930 could ever need, so that you would never have to clamor after it on 303 00:28:18.049 --> 00:28:23.769 your own in a sinful way that ultimately separates you from the things of God. 304 00:28:26.369 --> 00:28:29.880 Instead, we receive it in him and we find strength and unity and 305 00:28:30.039 --> 00:28:36.960 hope and life. That's what we do when we find this flatterer in ourselves, 306 00:28:37.279 --> 00:28:41.230 and when we find it another people, we ought to avoid them. 307 00:28:42.150 --> 00:28:45.549 We can pray for them, we can speak to them too. We might 308 00:28:45.589 --> 00:28:51.549 even come into connection with them and minister them and tell them about Jesus, 309 00:28:52.230 --> 00:28:56.140 to to warn them about the path that they are on, to tell them 310 00:28:56.220 --> 00:29:02.220 to turn away from themselves and unto Christ. But if they refuse in these 311 00:29:02.299 --> 00:29:06.779 things, we ought not to cling to them, to find satisfaction in them. 312 00:29:06.819 --> 00:29:11.009 Or our hope in them. Paul says there is danger in this and 313 00:29:11.170 --> 00:29:21.569 we ought to avoid them. The Christian message, again and again, comes 314 00:29:21.650 --> 00:29:30.359 back to Christ. The our hope in our identity, our security in ourselves, 315 00:29:30.440 --> 00:29:37.079 our ability to speak with confidence and integrity, is something that we can 316 00:29:37.279 --> 00:29:42.829 only have truly an eternally when we're united to Christ, because, apart from 317 00:29:42.869 --> 00:29:48.349 him, we are only interested in ourselves. Apart from him, we are 318 00:29:48.390 --> 00:29:55.460 always the clamoring after our own appetites, and so the lifestyle of the flatterer 319 00:29:55.619 --> 00:30:00.019 makes sense, but it's also a trap, a deadly one, that pulls 320 00:30:00.140 --> 00:30:07.490 them down and separates them from God. As we test our own hearts with 321 00:30:07.609 --> 00:30:11.809 these things, as we test our own lives with these things, let us 322 00:30:11.970 --> 00:30:15.930 gain the wisdom of God, and let us do it by learning more and 323 00:30:15.049 --> 00:30:21.089 more who Jesus is, the things that Paul has taught, so that we 324 00:30:21.210 --> 00:30:25.720 may not be divided, so that we might not stumble but find everything that 325 00:30:25.839 --> 00:30:29.359 we need in him. Let us pray