United Kingdom of Christ Illuminating the Darkness
Wolves in Sheep's Clothing
Thank you for taking time to join me for our Sunday Sermons. Hope these sermons have been beneficial for improving your understanding of the Bible, your spiritual growth and strengthening your relationship with our Heavenly Father. Please feel free to join me for our Bible study sessions or our show Illuminating the Darkness as well. If you'd like to connect with me, you can call or text me at 720-805-8886. I can also be reached via email at uk.christ@outlook.com. So today I want to discuss wolves in sheep's clothing. So in Matthew 7, Christ warns of wolves in sheep's clothing. This particular example is actually about false prophets. And although Paul tells us to listen to prophecies but to avoid false prophets, the Lord tells us in the Old Testament that prophets who speak for him should be put to a test. And if they truly speak for the Lord, they will never be wrong no matter how odd or unbelievable their prophecies may seem. Although many of the prophecies provided in the Old Testament are calls to repentance so that the Israelites wouldn't suffer great losses and exile. Our example is going to be a little bit different, but I'm sure if you were to do a little search on Google for individuals that lead churches or members of churches that claim to be prophets. And I'll be honest with you, they probably can't prophesize themselves out of a paperback. That being said, that's a really bad example, but what I'm trying to explain here is be extremely careful with these people. Maybe you attended a church, maybe you attend a church where they will claim to be prophets. And maybe certain things have come to actually occur. But once again, I'm very skeptical, very skeptical indeed. But today, our discussion is actually going to go beyond false prophets and we're going to discuss something a little bit different. In Matthew 10, Christ tells us, "You're being sent out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves." So the definition of shrewd is to have a great – it's like having a skill of judgment that is extremely honed, it's extremely sharp, it's really profound. You're able to observe or to listen and you're able to be able to tell who someone is. So that is how we are to be shrewd, right? That's having a great ability to judge. And it's not condemning people. What I'm more talking about when I'm saying that I want people to be shrewd is that I need you to watch someone. Because always, what we say versus what we do are typically different things. And I'm not saying that you should condemn these people based on their actions. That's not your responsibility, right? That's not what we're doing here. But observe them. And unless you are capable of inspiring them to change through Christ, it's probably time to actually create a little bit of distance between yourself and those individuals. Is that understood? It's pretty easy context or easy going, right? I think that's pretty simple for all of us. Although a lot of people aren't as great at actually observing others, and unfortunately they will get involved with people who may end up harming them or their loved ones. And we're not talking about the deep stuff either. It could be extremely what I may define as petty, like they stole a candy bar or something else like that. But once again, we need to be more observant in how we interact with people and our own actions as well. It doesn't just say, hey, it's other people that are going to be the wolves. Maybe ourselves. We are being the wolves. Even though we may think that we have the best intentions, we're out there actually causing more harm than being innocent as doves. And second Corinthians 11, it says, "Even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. It isn't surprising if his servants disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their ends will be according to their deeds." So let's look at that. And it makes complete sense, right? I think anybody that is actually a Christian could say, yeah, this does make sense. Satan is the great deceiver. His servants are deceiver as well. He is a liar. He is someone that will actually go to as far a length to deceive you as possible. I've heard it said, and I don't know where this quote comes from, but Satan's greatest deception is to make people believe that he does not exist. So if Satan does not exist, then God does not exist. And a lot of people are walking around in our world with that deception in their lives, believing that many of us who do have great faith are actually a little bit, you know, a couple screws lose, a crayon short, however you want it described, but that is his greatest deception. And I do believe it's an amazing, an amazing, an amazing quote because truly that is a great deception to actually get people to stop following because they don't believe it actually exists. The Lord or Satan, heaven or hell. They don't even have any bit of faith. All they trust is what they actually see right in front of their face. And as we know, faith is belief in something that is not seen. And I'm hoping that many of you have a great deal of faith that is strong, that is on the foundation of Christ that will never wash away even when the storms come. But I think you would agree with me that if we look at our world, the wolves have never run more rampant than they have in our times. Unfortunately, we're forced to interact with people every single day, and some of them may be wolves. That's why we need to be shrewd as Christ instructed us. Being shrewd, remember that is having a sharp ability of judgment. So we need to be able to observe others and understand if their behavior is inspired by Christ or not. And once again, if we can inspire these people to change through Christ, then it's not a lost cause, but we need to be able to determine whether or not that is actually our role as being a member of the body of Christ, and whether or not this person would actually desire that. In this day and age, it's extremely, extremely difficult. I want to talk about something else, a little bit more pop culture, right? I was watching a daytime television show probably a few years ago, and they were discussing style and what's in and what's out. You know, like, oh, these clothes are real hot, these shoes are real not, whatever, whatever, how they were discussing. It mostly came upon jewelry, and they're saying, "Oh, wearing a cross is very stylish right now." And I hated it because it's inspiring people that don't have faith in Christ to wear the symbol that holds so much importance to people around the world, can create the wrong impression. And in reality, they can create a false sense of security just by wearing that cross. It can make people place trust in them because they believe they have common faith. This is truly a wolf in sheep's clothing. I guarantee their sense of style is more important to them than their eternity and their faith. And if their sense of style is more important to their eternity and their faith, I promise you, it's more important, their style is more important than your eternity and your faith. So we're not supposed to judge a book by its cover, right? We've always heard this because wolves, their cover is as a sheep and it's made to deceive others. So if we look around, let's say hypothetically they have clothing that says that they're a person of faith. They have jewelry, the cross, the Jesus piece that some people say, tattoos. But in reality, our actions speak louder in our words, just because you took the action to put that shirt on, just because you took the action to put the cross on, just because you took the action to get that tattoo does not mean that you are actually someone that is trying to follow Christ with your whole heart. And these type of people, like I said, due to that deception, they are actually able to create a great deal of harm. So we need to be shrewd when we interact with individuals and it doesn't mean to be cruel. It doesn't mean to be just spiteful. It doesn't mean to do any of those type of things. It's just to protect ourselves, that's really what it is. And let me give you another example. A few years ago, a family work acquaintance, his daughter, was walking along a river here in the Denver metro area by herself in the middle of the day. And she was actually raped by two men. And the police came by, took the reports, took the sketch and everything like that. And when I saw the police sketch of one of the men, I was furious. This man was wearing a cross as well around his neck. This is a wolf in sheep's clothing. It's not just people with physical crosses or tattoos or fish on limbs on their car though. Many people may not even say anything about faith, but their behavior lulls people into believing that they are benevolent, but they have malicious intent in their heart. This is a much, much more difficult situation to navigate, but because their hearts may not be revealed until the moment that they attempt to harm you. This is what Christ meant by the fruits that they produce. It's also in Matthew 7, and it talks about how their actions will show who people truly are by their fruit. Some people may speak peacefully, but their actions will destroy others. And that is the fruit right there. So unfortunately, these wolves can be found in professions that in the past, many would not consider looking for these types of predators. Their teachers, psychologists, police officers, public servants, coaches, and some may even proclaim themselves to be servants of the Lord. Obviously, it's a name only. These roles are typically considered positions of authority, but these wolves will use their position to get access to and harm others. Their malicious intentions may have been carefully planned scheme like their whole life was building up to this moment to get access to these people. So they've carefully gone to school for certain things, or they've gotten the right training to place themselves in these situations. So society is more likely to trust them, to believe that they are trying to help. And to me, it's so disturbing to see that someone would actually dedicate themselves to a life of service just to gain access. And that doesn't mean every single person that is trying to be a servant that wants to be a servant is doing this, right? We know there are good servants out there still, but some people don't specifically get into it. It's something that creeps up on them, just like temptation. Let's say, hypothetically, you were a guard at a prison guard, and you want to help people. You want to help the prisoners change their lives. But temptation, slowly, day after day, after day creeps in, and you end up falling to that. And let's say you are bringing in drugs. You are a wolf in sheep's clothing, because you're supposed to be a servant, not just for the state, but for those people that are in prison. So it's very interesting how it can actually, people can adapt or evolve, people like the word evolve, are more of adapt, they'll adapt to their situation. And if they are tempted, they will become predators. Like I said, not everybody, there was a coach that was with a huge college football program. And he was with this program for years, and years, and years. And when former players or former recruits actually stepped forward, and were like, hey, he's been doing this to a lot of kids for a long time. And I can't tell you, the Lord knows maybe his desire in becoming a coach was so he could pray on weaker people, weaker children, children, that's what they were, right? Young teens, young adults, they were children in comparison. And he was a person of authority that they thought, well, hey, if I make him happy, then maybe he will get me into the school and give me a full ride scholarship. And a lot of kids came forward. And from what I remember them talking about the actual trial was how malevolent this man seemed. It's reliving all of the trauma that he had actually put into these people's lives. Unfortunately, even people that, like I said, claim to be servants of the Lord can be wolves and sheep's clothing. Although they may create chaos, mislead others, and even harm others, the Bible tells us that their judgment will be more severe to their because of their position of authority. They wanted to be teachers. They wanted to serve the Lord. You're going to actually do that. You want to be an evil person inside of the church. You're in a lot of trouble, especially in the afterlife. And it could be a charismatic preacher, an elder, or just a member of the congregation that is seeking to create issues for the church. Although I understand that people exist, like these people exist, right? I don't feel that there's anything to gain. Like I understand people gain, we'll say, like, prestige in society. They gain cash, whatever it is. But is it truly worth taking that approach in the Lord's church? Is it really worth it? And the only thing I can think is maybe these people don't even have faith. See that they don't believe that heaven and hell exist, that God and Satan exist. So they don't care. Or maybe they do know, and they've decided to actually serve Satan instead of serving the Lord. And they integrate themselves into that community. It's just a very disturbing people, and I'm sure we could sit here and we could discuss a ton of different situations where there have been predators in the church. Not just, obviously, the Catholics, they've gone through their huge situation. I was listening to another situation where a pastor was a murderer. And it's just like, how in the world can you get into these situations as a servant to the Lord? Are you not frequently honing your relationship with the Lord? Are you not currently or frequently focusing on the Lord? How do you get to that point? Or is it something, once again, that they know what they're doing from the get-go? But they integrate. They are wolves and sheep's clothing. They are able to disguise themselves to actually get that role, to be able to harm people and drive people away from faith, to drive people away from Christ, to drive people away from the Lord. Saying, well, if the Lord is so good, then why does He let bad things happen? Free will. That's what it is. People have free will to do whatever they want. But the Lord reminds us, once again, that people will be judged. And it's not something that we should sit there and be like, yeah, woo-hoo, you know? We shouldn't be celebrating other people being condemned to hell. That should actually scare us and make us extremely sad for these individuals. Because they are choosing to walk this path, right? It's our choice, people. Heaven or hell. Make that decision. But the people that actually are choosing not to serve the Lord and they're in the Lord's house, I just, I throw out my hands. It's disgusting to me, first of all. But second of all, I just don't know why they do it. Like I said, unless they truly are servants of Satan or they have no belief or no faith at all, right? And we got to understand that the Lord provided us with the gift of discernment. And unfortunately, many people don't use to keep themselves or their loved ones safe. Sometimes it's convenient not to actually use these things. And then sooner or later things start happening and they're like, well, what's going on with my kid? Or this person's been acting really weird. Different things are changing in their lives. And parents can tell. I know one of the churches that I attended fairly regularly in the past, one of the, they went to like a huge church carnival or something like that. And it was multiple churches that all ponied up their resources and created this awesome carnival for people. And one of the younger teens went there. And after that situation, the kid kind of lost faith. And it was most likely wolves and sheep's clothing, individuals that impacted that young man's life to get him to fall away from Christ. And I could guess all day and, you know, probably come up with actually what happened. But it's not something that we have to discuss publicly. And I understand that we need to give people opportunities in life. But sometimes we'll get that feeling in our gut or there's a voice in our head that tells us not to be involved with certain people. And as long as these feelings and the voice in our head isn't being based on prejudices or hatred, hatred for groups of people, and they're based on the Lord's guidance provided in the Bible, we need to use the gifts that the Lord has given us and strengthen these gifts through Bible study in prayer. You know, the purpose of this sermon is to hopefully create a renewed sense of vigilant awareness for followers of Christ. To use the gifts that the Lord gave you. To save yourself and your loved ones from very destructive people and situations that we can avoid altogether if we are using the discernment that the Lord gave us. And we are being more vigilant. We are observing people and we're not taking the actual, it's convenience, right? Sometimes it's just convenience. Parents like, oh, well, I've got so much on my plate. I can't focus on my kids right now, slow down, slow down. These are your children. They are the future, not just of this world, but they are your future as well. And when I say that, what I mean is the relationship that you will have with your children in the future will be determined by the relationship that you have with them currently. If you're an extremely supportive parent, if you're an extremely loving parent and you take care of your children, they will be more willing to love you back and to take care of you in the future. And unfortunately, a lot of kids are, they get disenchanted with parenting nowadays and I know those of you that have kids or teenagers, you're like, hey, I'm dealing with one right now. They don't like me telling them not to wear that. They don't like me telling them, hey, you shouldn't be friends with that person. But hopefully, hopefully, there will be examples throughout their lives. If you are taking that type of role seriously in your children's life that they'll be able to look with hindsight and be like, whoa, you know what? Jane Doe got arrested because they were doing drugs. John Doe got arrested because he stole a car. You were right, Mom. You were right, Dad. I never should have been hanging out with that person. I'm so grateful because I'm not in prison. It's taking the time being patient. And like I said, I understand that we are all so pressed for time. Well, my boss needs that report or, hey, I got to get to the grocery store to feed these kids. I got to get to my second job. And that's why it's so important for us to create a foundation with our children in Christ before we send them out into the world because Christ did it for us. Christ did it for us. He gave us the guidance. It's all in the Bible people. And some people, once again, I'm just too busy to study the Bible. That's another great thing, not that you could just share with your children. You could have a family Bible study, right? Or, let's say, hypothetically, your kids are a little bit out of control or just rambunctious. Just sit there in the kitchen, sit there in the living room, study in your Bible, leading by example. And once again, don't ever give up on your kids, people. Just be more prepared to actually lead them, to guide them, to be their discernment until they are capable of observing individuals. And teach them how to observe individuals as well. It's one of the greatest gifts that we could actually have, where you can see just like, "Oh man, that does not look good." And I've been through some hard times myself. Like I said, I was not the choir boy. I was not raised in the church. Although I did give myself to the Lord when I was very young, I did not grow up in the church, right? And I was doing horrific things too. I was not a great example. I was not someone that, some may even say, "Well, you're a wolf and chief's clothing." That's a possibility, guys. That's a high likelihood. Because things that I thought were innocent, that I didn't think were a big deal. Now I look back as an adult, and I'm like, those were huge decisions that you were not prepared for, to make Glenn, because you didn't have the foundation. And like I said, I've forgiven my parents because I wish that they had taken more time and led me more in a godly manner. But once again, just like I explained, "Oh, I'm too busy. I got to work. I only got one day off this week, man. I got to get to the grocery store. I got to clean this house. I've got other things to tend to. Stop putting yourself first all the time. And I'm not saying that cleaning your house is putting yourself first. So what I am saying is that all of us need to have a renewed focus as Christians to avoid the wolves and sheaps clothing. Once again, this is Glenn Griego for the United Kingdom of Christ Broadcast Network Sunday Sermons. Thank you so much for joining me, and please join me for my Bible study and join me for illuminating the darkness. If you'd like to reach out, I can be reached via call or text at 720-805-8886. I can also be reached via email at uk.christ@outlook.com. Thank you so much. God bless.