(Disclaimer: This transcript is auto-generated and may contain mistakes.)

all right hey man again it's good to see everybody here this morning I do want to thank you again brother George for the pulpit and brother Chris I want to thank you again for the one that you made you know I I really love everybody in this church and you guys have all sacrificed a lot you know over the last year to to make this thing work you know and I really am proud I don't want to start some kind of a pulpit war between Chris and George so I wanted to say you know I appreciate you guys all right so anyways let's let's move on here so I'm probably gonna preach as long as I normally do this morning because the other day I was working on the stacked washer and dryer and I took the top off in about 30 years worth of lint shot up right in my nose and I've kind of felt weird ever since then and so I don't know if I inherited a cold from this thing or what but I don't feel like I have a cold but you know I woke up this morning with no voice and so I'm just not feeling as good as I normally am but we'll get through it so if you look down there you're first Samuel 21 look at verse number 13 it says and he changes behavior talking about David it says and he changes behavior before them and feigned himself mad in their hands and scrabbled on the doors of the gate and let his spittle fall down upon his beard if you're wondering what that word feigned means it means to pretend right it means to fake that's what he's talking about so what this verse is saying is that David was in fear and he pretended in this moment to be somebody who he wasn't he pretended to be a madman he pretended to be crazy now the title of my sermon is are you real or real fake are you real or real fake he see there's nothing worse well there's a few things that are worse but there's maybe not much more disappointing than getting to know somebody and realizing that they're nothing but a fake you know what I mean and we've all seen that you know and and I hate to bring this up again but it needs to be brought up again you know the family that just left our church you know guess what they were fake you know what they were they were fake and oftentimes when a situation like this happens we have to spend some time just make you know sweeping up the house a little bit just making sure that everything is his clean and ready to go and I don't think that anybody in here is fake and I'm not preaching against anybody in here and you know what I don't care about people's feelings as much as some do so you you know you can trust you can believe me huh you know if I had a problem with you I would tell you or I would preach against it you know it's so don't think that I'm getting weak or soft on you right I just wanted to preach this just to just to make sure we don't have a problem but nonetheless there's a lot of good things that we can learn from these stories in the Bible about being fake right we should never be fake right the Christian that you portray yourself on Sunday should be the Christian that you portray yourself to your co-workers on Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday and Friday amen so we need to make sure that we're always real right we don't want to be perceived as fake I remember when I used to work for the government right there was always these people that always talked about you know oh so and so man he's such a great worker and and he's gonna he's gonna rise through the ranks he's gonna get promoted and and this and that and where he's coming to our crew and this is great and then you go work with them and the guy is gone half the day at McDonald's or going bowling it comes back and tells the boss what a great job that we did under his leadership and it's not it's just frustrating you know it's just disappointing and it's sad and it's angering you know but but I'll tell you what though those type of people they always get found out always right you just bide your time fake people always get caught they always get what's coming to them and so you say what's one of the mean reasons why people pretend to be someone they're not well I'll tell you right now it's for fear look at back up one verse to verse number 12 so first Samuel 21 look at verse 12 it says and David laid up these words in his heart right because he sees he sees these these guys here right gath the king of gath and he's afraid because of what they say they realize who he is right oh this is David he's killed a lot of people you know and and he's at this moment like oh you know I've already been dealing with Saul trying to kill me I've already been on the run and now I've got to face these guys and so in his mind the only way out is to pretend to be somebody else but look at the verses and David laid up these words in his heart it was sore afraid of Akish the king of gath so I would like to tell you this morning that the main reason why people pretend to be somebody they're not is because of fear right in this situation it's a physical fear but you're gonna see other situations where it's not a physical fear but maybe a mental fear of not being accepted right or maybe you're high-minded and you think that you're somebody special but in reality you know you're not and you want to protect that image and so you have a fear of maybe losing that image now keep your place in Samuel because we're gonna kind of come back to this neighborhood throughout the sermon but go to first Kings chapter number 14 first Kings chapter number 14 so that's the main reason why people feign themselves to be somebody they're not it's because of fear you know the reason why that your co-workers who's always you know you're you're you're your top dog co-worker that's always going to the boss and telling him how good he's doing and how he's motivating you for the day and and whatnot the reason why he feigns himself is because he's lazy right he would rather portray himself somebody's not because that's easier than actually working hard and earning a reputation you know and we're gonna kind of see that here as we go through this study so first Kings chapter 14 look at verse number one we're gonna see another reason why people feign themselves it's because not only a physical fear but in this situation it's fear of learning the truth so look at verse 1 it says at that time Abijah the son of Jeroboam fell sick and it's talking about Jeroboam the son of Nebat verse 2 and Jeroboam said to his wife arise I pray thee and disguise thyself that thou be not known to be the wife of Jeroboam and get thee to Shiloh behold there is a high to the prophet which told me that I should be king over this people right so in this situation here Jeroboam's about to lose a son his son sick and he's afraid and I believe at this time he finally for the first time in his life probably realizes he is somebody he has become somebody that he wishes he wasn't and he wants to get help he wants to save his son but he knows that he's a wicked man he knows that he set up a false religion in the northern kingdom of Israel and so he knows that you know he's not gonna get God's favor and so in his feeble mind at this time he thinks well if I just lie if I just have my wife lie and pretend to be somebody she's not maybe God will hear me maybe the Prophet will bless me look at verse 3 and take with thee ten loaves and crackles and accrue in a cruise of honey and go to him he shall tell thee what shall be coming the child and Jeroboam's wife did so and arose and went to Shiloh and came to the house of Ahijah but Ahijah could not see for his eyes were set by reason of his age right and so maybe maybe they knew this maybe they didn't maybe they thought well he's blind he can't really see so if you just pretend to be somebody or not you know it's really gonna get us a blessing it's really gonna get us some help verse 5 and the Lord said unto Ahijah behold the wife of Jeroboam cometh to ask a thing of thee for her son for he is sick thus and thus shalt thou say unto her for it shall be when she cometh in that she shall feign herself to be another woman and you're gonna see that if you study this subject out you know in in great detail in the Bible you're always gonna see that God always manifests somebody who's fake every single time it may not be the next day it may not be when you find out but at some point in time God will make sure that the truth comes out now look at verse 6 and it was so when Ahijah heard the sound of her feet as she came in at the door that he said come in now wife of Jeroboam why faintest thyself to be another for I am sent to thee with heavy tidings and maybe if you're familiar with the rest of the story the child winds up dying he tells her the truth hey you're not gonna fool me you're not gonna fool God you say I might be physically blind but I'm not spiritually blind I'm not stupid I wasn't born last night and another thing that you're gonna find as you go through this is that the more you study God's Word the more you meditate on these stories the more wisdom that you'll get in the more understanding you'll get in discernment and you'll be able to understand right when you're dealing with somebody who's being fake so go to 2nd Samuel chapter number 1 2nd Samuel chapter number 1 you know what else comes to mind is Abraham right when he lied about his wife why did he do that because of fear right you know he said well you know my wife's really beautiful these guys are gonna overtake me and they're gonna take her and so we'll just lie and tell them you know hey this is my sister and guess what that passed on to his son because Isaac did the same exact thing you know they feigned themselves to be people that they really weren't why did they do that because of fear right because of fear and so that's another reason why people pretend to be someone or not because they're afraid of the truth they're afraid of being exposed and that's why these people do this so here's another one a fear of not being accepted 2nd Samuel chapter number 1 look at verse 1 says now it came to pass after the death of Saul when David was returned from the slaughter the Amalekites and David had abode two days in ziklag and so this is after Saul has already fell upon the sword he's already committed suicide his sons died he's already done all this wickedness right the Bible tells us the Holy Ghost tells us that that's how he died and now we're gonna learn about this Amalekite who wants to find acceptance he wants to be accepted by David and by his kingdom he probably has some amount of knowledge and he probably knows okay well David's probably gonna take the throne this is a good opportunity for me to slide in here and maybe get some get some blessings get some get some promotion get ahead in life and so what he's gonna do is he's gonna tell David a lie but as you're gonna see he gets exposed look at verse 2 it came even to pass on the third day that behold a man came out of the camp from Saul with his clothes rent and earth upon his head and so it was when he came to David that he fell to the earth and did obeisance so you know right off the bat what is he doing he's creating a dramatic scene you know and and of course even if this guy was being genuine maybe he would have done the same thing I don't know but he's really pointed on hard with David and look at verse 3 and David sent him from whence cometh thou and he said unto him out of the camp of Israel am I escaped verse 4 and David said unto him how went the matter I pray thee tell me and he answered that the people are fled from the battle and many of the people also are fallen and dead and Saul and Jonathan his son are dead also verse 5 and David sent him to the young man that told him how knowest that or how knowest thou that Saul and Jonathan his son to be dead and the young man that told him said as I happened by chance upon Mount Gilboa behold Saul leaned upon his spear and lo the chariots and horsemen followed hard after him and when he looked behind him he saw me and called unto me and I answered here am I and he said unto me who art thou and I answered him I am an Amalekite he said unto me again stand I pray thee upon me and slay me for anguishes come upon me because my life is yet whole in me so I stood upon him and slew him because I was sure that he could not live after that he was fallen and I took the crown that was upon his head and the bracelet that was on his arm and have brought them hither unto my Lord now right off the bat here you got to kind of wonder this guy's an Amalekite he's not of the children of Israel he was probably a servant he was probably you know just just somebody who was taken from his own land you know if you read first Samuel 20 or chapter 19 rather and so David's probably trying to process this information you know and he's like wait a minute why would he have you kill him you know you're I don't think Saul would want to be remembered as going down by the hand of an Amalekite somebody who we'd conquered but anyways you know he goes on here verse 11 and says then David took hold on his clothes and rent them and likewise all the men that were with him and they mourned and wept and fasted until even for Saul and for Jonathan and son and for the the people of the Lord and for the house of Israel because they were fallen by the sword and so you got to understand a lot of times you know when you're in a high stress situation an emotional time like this your discernment is probably going to be lowered right that's why it's important not to be a fake person that's why it's important to hone your skills and to learn the Bible and to really have these things sunk down deep into your heart because you know what the time that you're gonna need them isn't gonna be the perfect time it's gonna always be in a time where things are hectic where the the ideal situation is just not there and that's what you're gonna see here with David no look at verse 13 says and David said unto the young man that told him whence art thou and he answered I am the son of a stranger in Amalekite and David sent him how was thou not afraid to stretch forth thine hand to destroy the Lord's anointed you see David didn't act hastily he didn't act right away he asked questions right he listened to the information he processed it even though you know his his heart went out for Saul because he still loved him remember I mean he respected the position that Saul had right and not to mention Jonathan was his best friend this guy's crushed here but nonetheless he was a man after God's own heart he was somebody who loved the Lord in you know what in this situation it really paid off it really gave him the discernment to tell that this guy you know what this guy's lying to me right now this guy is fake he's not being real look at verse 15 and David called one of the young men and said go near and fall upon him and he smote him that he died and David said unto him thy blood be upon thine head for thy mouth hath testified against these saying I have slain the Lord's anointed and that's another thing these fake people they always wind up getting themselves into a snare that they just can't get out of right because they said they sit at home and they think okay well I'm gonna say this and if he says this I'm gonna say this then they play this game with themselves right but they don't have real wisdom they don't have real discernment and so what happens is they wind up exposing themselves but you know what you got to be smarter than that you've got already have done the wisdom right you have to gain the knowledge and use it and apply it so that you can become wise like David if he hadn't done that if you hadn't been a man after God's own heart in this situation he would have been fooled he probably would have believed this here and you know what this reminds me of it reminds me of these people that go around and claiming that there are special forces or claiming that their Navy SEALs when they really aren't you know what not everybody is born with the physical and mental capabilities to do that so it's a lot easier to go down to the PX or to go down to the Navy Exchange you know these stores on base and buy the ribbons and come to your hometown and put them on your uniform and tell everybody that your Ranger like Terry was you know and it's funny but you might laugh but it just happens all the time I remember I was at SeaTac Airport and I saw a guy from my for my platoon right I was on leave and I saw him and he had ribbons like down to his ribcage I'm like you've been in the army for a year I know you I'm like what are you doing and he's got a Ranger tab and a Special Forces tab I'm like what do you do he's like it gets the girls man you know what but this like what do you you oh man you gotta be kidding me but you know our world's full of people that do stuff like that you know stolen valor they just it's just easier in their minds to make themselves to feign themselves to be somebody they're not than it is to actually go and do the hard work you know people that really are like that they don't always talk about it they have a different countenance you know and and that's just the way it is I remember when I was in Japan those last time I went to the special Brazilian jiu-jitsu classes a big guy I forgot his name that came in and taught this class and there was a black belt guy there and I remember I rolled with him and I beat him and I was like I should not be able to beat you you know you're this guy's a black belt and I was like that's weird come to find out he'd never done Brazilian jiu-jitsu in his life he just wanted to be accepted he just figured in his mind well if I put this on I'll get respect to the guys and they're gonna like me and they're gonna you know I'm gonna gain a whole new set of friends but really all that happened is he got spiritually smoked basically he just everybody shunned him nobody wanted to talk to him anymore he wasn't allowed to come to any of the classes and he just made a fool of himself you know he could have just avoided that by being real by showing up saying hey I don't know anything I want to learn you know that's more honorable and more respectful than lying about who you really are you know and that's disgusting and it's so disappointing when we find that happening to people that we know it's just disgusting you know I think about Facebook right think about Instagram think about social media you know I have Facebook I'm not against you if you have Facebook but you know what I'm not gonna go put my bad days on there you know I mean I mean look I'll admit it you know if I have a bad day or if you know Jessica's yelling at me and trying to beat me up I'm not gonna tell you guys about that stuff you know I'm gonna tell you the good stuff why why would I put my dirty laundry out there you know I mean it makes no sense but you know with that being said right there's a lot of people that make themselves I mean they look perfect all the time you know what I mean I mean they've everything they do touches to go our turns to gold rather I mean it's just they could do no wrong all their friends are perfect I mean if you're not perfect it's like you can't even look at their page and then all of a sudden God brings it around to where you meet these people inside whoa wait a minute man this is this is not what I see on Facebook you're actually quite different in fact you're real fake rather you know and on Facebook you know and in these other other social media outlets I mean you can make yourself look you know ten years younger and Jessica showed me these videos of these ladies were they in Japan or somewhere in Asia but they looked a certain way you know they look like guess who characters you know how they have like a real narrow chin and the big cheekbones and they just look like normal you know healthy healthy ladies and then all of a sudden they start peeling off their mask I'm like man that's some good stuff I couldn't just by looking at them I couldn't tell that they had a mask on you know and they start peeling off this makeup and it looked whoa you know that would be a trap I mean could you imagine like marrying somebody like that and then all of a sudden they're like oh by the way I got to tell you something they pull this mask off and look completely different you know look Japanese look like I don't know I better just stop where I better just stop while I'm at you get the point right you know we don't want to be like that right we don't want to be fake just be real you know it's just always I mean if you want to gain friends just be who you are you know what I mean and for us we that's not always just good enough we need to be people that are striving to do better striving to always grow and gain knowledge and gain wisdom why because we serve God you know what it's not it's not for us to be like the world right they love to portray themselves and feign themselves to be you know these high-speed heroes when in reality they really aren't you know and let's say they are you know let's say okay take these Hollywood actors take these major league baseball players you know what these a lot of those people they don't have any interest in the things of God at all so what shall it profit a man you know to gain the whole world but to lose his very own soul you know do you really want to model your life who's you know born again a Bible believing Christian do you want to model your life after somebody like that and the answer should be no no that's vain that's gonna profit you nothing in fact it's gonna bring God's wrath on you because you're a child of God so let's move on here let's move on here turn go to Luke chapter 20 Luke chapter number 20 so why do people feign themselves why do people put on a front why do people want to be somebody or portray themselves to be somebody they're not and point number one I said is because of fear you know whether it's a physical fear or whether it's a fear protecting the image that they built of themselves in their own minds or whether it's because they're afraid of the truth it doesn't really matter the point is it's always going to be because of fear that's why people feign themselves to be somebody they're not now number two why do people feign themselves to be somebody they're not is because they want to cause hurt and they want to cause damage Luke chapter 20 look at verse 19 it says in the chief priests and scribes the same hour sought to lay hands on him and they feared the people for they perceived that he had spoken this parable against them verse 20 and they watched him and sent forth spies now don't miss this which should feign themselves just men that they might take hold of his words that so they might deliver him unto the power and authority of the governor you see that these Pharisees these religious scribes these non-denominational repent of your sins preachers of their day they sent people into the midst of Jesus and his disciples and they fade themselves to be just men and you know what we've talked a lot about this the last couple weeks I mean pastor men has preached about this on Friday that was a great sermon if you haven't heard it please go back and listen to it you know but this is just something that we have to deal with there are people that come to churches or even people that have come to your work that it was a little you that'll try to to cause hurt and damage I'll try to pretend that they are somebody who they really aren't to make you look bad I've seen this a lot in the workforce I don't care where you guys work I guarantee you there's people like this there they want to make you look bad they'll look at you and they'll know something is different about you you know what they'll all this guy's being honest they know in their minds eventually you're gonna make them look bad and guess what now they've got to come find a way to destroy your image to the boss and to the rest of the co-workers so that they can gain an advantage so that they can get over you because it's easier to do that in their minds than it is to actually just put forth the hard effort that's required to be a good worker so look at verse 21 and they ask them saying master we know that thou sayest and teaches rightly neither acceptest thou the person of any but teaches the way of God truly is it lawful for us to give tribute unto Caesar or no but he perceived their craftiness and said unto them why tempt ye mean now you leave your place there and go back to go to 2nd Samuel chapter number 14 2nd Samuel chapter 14 then I don't know how many of you guys know this but was about a month ago or two months ago we had this idiot come into our church he came in here what maybe three or four times with a guy Travis you know this guy's so stupid he couldn't even put his wolf costume or his sheep's costume on all the way I mean he's got his tail and like half his fangs sticking out you know when he comes in here and we all know something's up but you know you want to give people the benefit of the Dow you want them hope you know that's not true this guy comes in here I don't know like three or four times but he tried to feign himself to be a just man you know why he did that so that he could go on Facebook so that he could go on YouTube and be like I pulled my family out of this cult I pulled my family out of this church because they preach hate they preach against gay people they preach and they they're they're a cult and their pastor he yells and he gets mad and he called my wife a beast and he calls brothers reprobates yeah you see he came in here not because he was interested in the preaching not because he wanted to serve God not because he wanted to get along with anybody or grow or anything like that they came in here for one purpose and that was to cause hurt and he didn't do it because he was stupid and thank God for that you know I like some of these false prophets that are just so dumb they can't even get their costumes on straight and that was the case with this guy you know and so finally Kayden just banned him from our YouTube page and he's probably listening today but you know that guy's weak but you know he's just somebody they wanted to come in here and cause issues you know and it's just stupid we just have to deal with this from time to time you know he feigned himself to be a just man and it turned out he was just an idiot so you know what that's another reason why bullies are the way that they are right it's because if they can make you feel bad then they can make themselves feel better you know this guy he was on on YouTube and all this stuff saying you know they they preach hate against the gay people and they do this and they do that and it's like you don't even go soul-winning when was the last time you knocked on somebody's door pal never never you know what they did they rented a kid and came here now and I'm half joking about that I don't know if that's true it's just my suspicion you know I I don't know you know and try to I pulled my family out of that church yeah right after every time that guy came here he bounced as soon as the service was over you know the first service that we had in this building here when I saw him come in here I ran through that door right there and I and I stood at the main entrance out there and waiting for him to come out so I could shake his hand and just try to talk to him and try to get a little bit more insight on this guy and he's just like you know he just just couldn't get out of here fast enough and that's why I asked this guy is definitely trouble and sure enough brother David found him you know it's funny you know don't mess with this church the acres will find out don't mess with that family I don't tell them well they'll catch you I promise thank God for that all right so number one why do people feign themselves to be somebody or not it's because of fear number two it's to cause hurt and to do damage and number three it's to gain sympathy for attention's sake so if you're there in 2nd Samuel look at 2nd Samuel 14 look at verse number one it's kind of a long story we're gonna but we're gonna go through it because there's a lot that we can learn in this situation here so if you're familiar with Absalom and and and that whole situation you you might understand or you might know that that Absalom's half-brother Amnon right he forced his sister Tamar and we don't have time to get into that but basically like any brother would he was angry when he found out and eventually conspired to kill him David was angry about the situation Absalom had to flee and in chapter 13 it leaves off telling us that they could perceive that David's heart was towards Absalom and so now Joab is trying to get Absalom to come back into the into Jerusalem to come back into the area and so he comes up with this plan to have a wise woman pretend to be somebody she's not so let's pick this up here verse 1 it says now Joab the son of Zairiah perceived that the king's heart was toward Absalom and Joab sent it to Koah and fenced thence a wise woman and said unto her I pray thee feign thyself to be a mourner and put on now morning apparel and anoint not thyself with oil but be as a woman that had a long time mourned for the dead so you can see this little plot that Joab's got going on here he's concocted this scheme and he's gonna go ahead and go for it now jump to verse number five and what we're gonna see here is we're gonna see some things to watch out for okay and number one is giving it is when people are giving way too much detail that you didn't ask for if you remember the story that we read in the beginning of the sermon with the Amalekite remember how he really poured it on and he really kind of brought forth a lot of extra details and David's just kind of like come on get to the point get to the point not always but many times when somebody is giving you a lot of extra details that you didn't ask for it's because they're trying to sucker punch you they're trying to hoodwink you they're trying to get you to buy the story that they've made up about themselves and you're gonna see that here in verse number five it says in the king's senator what aleth thee and she answered I am indeed a widow woman and mine husband is dead and thine hand my I'm sorry and thy handmaid had two sons and they two strove together in the field and there was none to part them but the one smote the other and slew him and behold the whole family is risen against thine handmaid and they said deliver him that smote his brother that we may kill him for the life of his brother whom he slew and we will destroy the air also and so they shall quench my coal which is left and shall not leave to my husband neither name nor remainder upon the earth and then in verse 8 it says and the king said unto the woman go to thine house and I will give thee charge concerning thee so she gives us long dissertation right and and she's giving all these details that the king just needs to know the problem like what's what ails you what's going on right but she gives a lot of extra details and sometimes that is necessary so don't get me wrong okay sometimes you know when somebody comes up and asks you hey what's going on sometimes you might feel the need to give a good backdrop story I get that I understand that but in this situation here remember that she under the order of Joab has feigned herself to be somebody that she's not right and what does she do she says a bunch of extra stuff why is that because Joab sat around and he thought about this story and he dreamed up all these things and put these words in her mouth so that the king would believe her okay that's what's going on here so number one giving way too much detail when asked questions if you ask somebody a question and maybe you're suspicious of a situation and they just really beat around the bush you know you might be dealing with somebody who is fake now number two what you're gonna see here is when they don't ever let you get a word in okay when they never let you get a word in because look at verse 8 says and the king said unto the woman go to thine house and I will give change I'm sorry charge concerning me in verse 9 and the woman of Tekoa sent unto the king my lord o King the iniquity be on me and on my father's house and the king and his throne be guiltless so she's cutting him off right he gives her a solution and she doesn't want to take it right away she doesn't wanna lie she's like whoa wait wait wait wait right she's got an agenda here that's why she won't let him get a word in now look at verse 10 and the king said whosoever sayeth odd unto thee bring him to me and he shall not touch thee anymore then she said I'm sorry then said she I pray thee let the king remember the Lord thy God that thou wouldest not suffer the revengers of blood to destroy anymore lest they destroy my son and he said as the Lord liveth there shall not one hair of thy son fall to the earth right so she's really trying to pour it on here well don't let the Avengers of blood kill my son but he's already told her what to do you see what's going on here she won't let him get a word in why because she has an agenda she's pretending to be somebody else and she wants him to buy it hook line and sinker look at verse 12 then the woman said let then handmade I pray these speak one word unto my lord the king and he said say on so he's like all right fine you're not gonna let me talk you're not gonna buy my advice then keep keep running your mouth look at verse 13 the woman said wherefore then hast thou sought such a thing against the people of God for the king doth speak this thing as one which is faulty and that the king doth not fetch home again his banished so she's talking about Absalom here right she's having to slide that in in the middle of this bubble of just babbling garbage that she's made up because she has pretended to be somebody that she's not right and then verse 14 for we must needs die and are as water spilt on the ground which cannot be gathered up again neither doth God respect any person yet doth he devise means that his banished be not expelled from him now therefore that I have come to speak of this thing unto my lord the king it is because the people have made me afraid and thine handmaid said I will now speak unto the king it may be that the king will perform the request of his hand maid so you can see what's going on here right she had to slide that little thing in there about Absalom she did it very subtly but David again obviously he had his issues we all know that but he was a man after God's own heart he did have a lot of discernment and he does have a lot of wisdom look at verse 13 as the rest of the story we're gonna learn how we can deal with somebody who's fake somebody who's not real and the woman said wherefore then hast thou thought such a thing against the people of God for the king doth speak this thing as one which is faulty in that the king doth not fetch home again his banished sorry look at verse 8 look at verse number 18 so I wanted to read verse 13 again go to verse 18 it says then the king answered and sent to the woman hide not for me I pray thee the thing that I shall ask thee and the woman said let my lord the king now speak so David's now suspicious but why is he suspicious because she came to him with this big dramatical story right about her son about how they strove together and one died and all of a sudden now she kind of switches it up to Absalom and he's like wait a minute what you're in distress you're in trouble you're aren't you supposed to be worried about your son now you want to worry about my issues and my family problems and so he catches on to that right he's not stupid he's wise now look at verse 19 in the king said is not the hand of Joab with thee and all this and the woman answered and said as thy soul liveth my lord the king none can turn to the right hand or to the left from aught that my lord the king hath spoken for thy servant Joab he bade me and he put all these words in the mouth of thine handmaid so just remember this if you think you might be dealing with somebody who's faker maybe you're not sure you need to ask questions listen process the information but you know what it's not gonna really help you much if you don't learn to gain experience I mean think about that you know everybody in here goes soul winning right and I'll bet you if you were to talk to yourself ten years ago if you could go back in time you would probably notice a big difference in your people skills I mean think about it you learn a lot about people by soul winning you could tell when people are being fake right when you ask somebody hey are you 100% sure you're on your way to heaven oh yeah I'm sure nice what are you trusting to get you there oh you following the commandments treating others like I want to be treated not judging people not hating you know they say all those those those wrong answers right what are they doing they're trying to feign themselves to be on your side right but you know what what makes a good soul winner right is asking questions listening right listening to what they're saying picking up on those things because maybe they don't mean to be but in many cases they're being fake they just want you to leave or or maybe they've just got a little bit of pride that you might need to just kind of knock down and chip away so that you can give them the gospel but you're never gonna do it if you don't gain wisdom and you've got to learn God's Word you got to gain that knowledge and then you've got to apply it in your life that's the only way you're gonna get to the point like David was here where he was like wait a minute isn't Joe having this I mean think about this Joe our David he had to have known his men real well right he because I mean why why else would Joe abs name come to his mind probably because he knew how he was maybe he knew how he had a heart or had a had a thing you know how to had a friendship with Absalom he knew his men he wasn't oblivious he watched he was a vigilant King he was a vigilant person he likes it of course he had his mistakes but nonetheless he asked the questions he listened to her right he processed the information and he had the experience that's how he was able to tell the Amalekite was lying because of the same thing because he had experience ever since he was a child right he was always after God's heart and you know what it would have been very difficult to pull something over King David you know when God's on your side you know what you're gonna be a better soul winner you're gonna be a better Christian you're gonna have more discernment you're gonna have more wisdom you're gonna be able to tell when people are playing you like a fiddle now real quick let's finish up here look at verse number 22 Samuel 14 20 says to fetch out this form of speech hath thy servant Joab done this thing and my Lord is wise according to the wisdom of an angel of God to know all things that are in the earth and so I love how the Bible tells us these things here you know it says in my Lord right is wise the same my boss this King you know you King David you are wise according to the wisdom of an angel of God to know all things are in the earth David was aware right he had situational awareness down pattern was not oblivious to what was going on in his kingdom and so he was able to tell when people were lying to him and you know what you want to be a leader in your work you want to be a leader in your home I don't care if you're you know mom dad brother sister you need to apply these things in your life you need to gain knowledge and you need to use it daily that's the key you need to use that stuff and that's how you're going to get that level of discernment now turn to Hebrews chapter number five Hebrews chapter five we're getting close to being done Hebrews 5 so Hebrews chapter number five look at verse 14 Hebrews chapter 5 verse 14 says this it says but strong meat belongeth to them that are a full age even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil and what are we talking about right now we're talking about how to be real right not how to be real fake but also how to spot somebody who's being fake how are you gonna do that how are you gonna learn to discern both good and evil well first of all you've got to get to the level where you can digest some strong meat right there's now what the verse says but strong meat belongeth to them that are a full age so you need to progress in your Christianity obviously right even those who by reason of use so that means you have to use it right you have that's why we have this memory challenge for the kids so that they can learn these verses right they can memorize them and then they can put them to use right that's why we go to church three times a week so that we can learn the things that are in the Bible and then on the very next day use those things you see what I'm saying apply those things that's how we're going to have our senses exercised to discern both good and evil that's why these bozos that left our church didn't have any discernment because they couldn't digest meat in fact I'm wondering if they could even digest milk yeah for that fact turn to Psalms chapter 139 Psalms 139 why are you turning that Marie for you Colossians chapter 3 verse 9 which says lie not one to another seeing that you have put off the old man with his deeds and have put on the new man which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him so you're saved you're born again you are Bible believing Christian that new man inside of you is ready to go is ready to work all you have to do is make the decision to put it on and walk in the new man every single day you know what when you do that when you do that you're going to get discernment you're gonna get to this level here and you're not gonna be played like a fiddle says lie not one to another look we don't want to be real fake we want to be real we want to be the same Christian every single day of the week and I'll tell you part of that you know part of that boils down to just being who God made you being who God made you and you know what this is getting really bad in our world today for example Genesis 1 27 says this so God created man in his own image in the image of God created him male and female created he them you know what act your gender you're a woman don't desire to be like a man you know you're a woman you should desire to be as feminine as is humanly possible you should be who God created you to be you should desire that right that is a good thing that is a wholesome thing you know if you're a man you shouldn't be feminine right you should be the gender that God created you but we live in a world today that does the exact opposite of this they think it's okay to blur the genders and to flip them around and turn them on their heads why is that because we live in a world full of fake fake people that's why you know and that's why we need sermons like this because you know what tomorrow we're all gonna go back out into the world where we have to work where we have to do business and we're gonna run into these people and you know what if you're not careful you could get destroyed you know I don't care what anybody says the world's just full of it these trannies there's nothing good about these people they are fake they are beyond fake right wanting and desiring to be another gender that is just just should blow everybody's mind in here that shouldn't offend you right God created male and female and you know what you should never desire to want to be the other way around that is sick that is twisted and perverted and you know what the world's gonna learn that the hard way unfortunately you know when God comes back and says you know what I'm done with you fools and I'm gonna destroy you so Psalm 139 look at verse 13 Psalm 139 verse 13 says this for thou hast possessed my reigns thou hast covered me in my mother's womb verse 14 I will praise thee for I am fearfully and wonderfully made marvelous are thy works and that my soul knoweth right well so he says I will praise thee for I am fearfully and wonderfully made you know what just be who you are look not everybody in here has the same gifts not everybody in here has the same talents so don't get wrapped up into this covetous ideology where you want to be somebody or not look I'm not a good singer I don't desire to be up here leading the songs my godson's brother Jeff you know what I mean I mean I could do it don't worry brother Jeff I can give you a break when you need to right now I can't what I can't control is the people calling you up the very next day saying hey get better you know get back here but I learned a long time ago that's just an avenue I'm not gonna covet I'm not going to you know fade myself to be a great singer you know it's just it's just not gonna not gonna happen in fact if you want to see somebody who's like that just got this uh was like the the worst church singer in history you've seen that right now there's a guy who should have listened to this look some people just don't have that gift you know and you know just just be look realize as a Christian that God has fearfully and wonderfully made you he has made you who he wants you to be and just live with that because you know when you decide to do that that's when you're gonna find real happiness that's when you're gonna be blessed all right I'm not trying to sound like Joel Osteen up here but it's true okay learn to be who God made you you know what Christians need to act like Christians right I keep saying that but it's so true we don't want to be like the world's type of Christian right where they say Sundays for Jesus and football ah no every day is for Jesus and if you want you like football go play it you know sit back eating chips off your chest on the couch on Sunday come on man turn to Romans chapter 12 Romans chapter 12 so you know if you have to change personalities depending on what group you're with just know you've got a problem okay and look this isn't an AA meaning but look it meant you got a problem right and change man be real don't be real fake that we've got enough fake people in the world we don't need anymore right but this church isn't going to be built on a bunch of fake people you know I'm thinking about my past and all these you know Calvary Baptist churches these these other non-denominational Church styles that we went to over the years the Nazarene churches the community churches you know what they're full of they're full of fake people that's what they're full of they're full of people that think they're saved they're full of people that think they're godly that think they're righteous but they really aren't they're nothing but I mean they're just fakes no no we don't want to be like that we want to be real that's why we live stream our services hey here's what we're about you know what it was a couple weeks ago we were talking to somebody and you know she's like I really want to come to church but I just don't want to find out you're like you're rolling around on the aisles or doing this kind of stuff and like look just go to a YouTube channel you know what so we don't have a website we don't have a website yet but that's okay you could still look us up and figure out real quick but we believe no we don't hide anything here you know we don't want to be fake we want to be real and if people don't like that then they don't have to come here there's the door get out it's that simple Romans chapter 12 look at verse number one I beseech you therefore brethren by the mercies of God that you present your bodies a living sacrifice holy acceptable unto God which is your reasonable service you know what Christ died on the cross right the Lord Jesus Christ went to hell for three days three nights rose from the dead he defeated death you know what it's a reasonable thing that we should be holy right that we should separate ourselves from the world that we should present our bodies a living sacrifice to God it's a reasonable thing it's okay right just accept that make that a reality in your mind and plan to live that way the rest of your life that's what Paul's telling the Romans here look at verse 2 and be not conformed to this world so what is the key to not being fake not allowing yourself to be conformed to this world that is a huge portion of this but be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God the only way you're gonna find out what that perfect and acceptable will of God is for your life past salvation is to let yourself be transformed by the renewing of your mind that's the only way you're ever gonna figure that out I remember one time this guy crying in this little church that I went to because he didn't know what God's will was for him in his life and this other guy was trying to console him and you know they're they were talking for like an hour we had this family's house this little family fellowship thing and I'll never forget that I remember thinking like why am I here something is different why is this guy whining about this stuff you know and I didn't know that much Bible but I think of that story when I read this and it's always it's right here be not conform this world but be transformed by the renew of your mind why so that you can prove what is good right so that you can prove what's acceptable right that is your discernment if you want to gain discernment you want to gain with if you want to be able to spot people who are fake you know what you've got to put on that new man you've got to do the work it is the only way it's gonna work out for you real quick look at verse 3 for I say through the grace given unto me to every man that is among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think but to think soberly according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith and again I say this a lot to people that think more highly of themselves than they are they're not thinking soberly they are spiritually drunk that's that's the case that's what's going on here so if that's you knock yourself down a few pegs and get sober okay look booze isn't the only thing that makes people drunk it's also pride and when you're drunk on pride you cannot spiritually discern good and evil and that's why those bozos left our church again you see how that works they had pride they let that fester in themselves and they were never able to prove that acceptable and perfect will of God right because they thought more highly of themselves than they ought there were not sober look at verse 4 for as we have many members in one body in all members have not the same office so understanding that we don't all have to be pastors you don't have you look sometimes in our moment and in these types of churches people think well I've got to portray myself as wanting to be a pastor otherwise no one's gonna like me otherwise no one's gonna accept me look let's make sure that's not the case not everybody was designed to be a pastor not everybody was designed to be a song leader not everybody was maybe designed to be you know a missionary overseas or an evangelist to go overseas but you know what we were all designed to give the gospel that's that's what I know we were all designed to go out and give the gospel and we need to remember that you know that is one office that we all share look at verse 5 so we being many are one body in Christ and every one members one of another so when we realize that all of our different gifts and talents make a beautiful thing for God make a powerhouse for fulfilling the vision that we have to reach our community for six having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us whether prophecy let us prophecy according to the proportion of faith or ministry let us wait on our ministering or he that teaches on teaching or he that exhorteth on exhortation he that giveth let him do it with simplicity he that ruleth with diligence he that show with mercy with cheerfulness so you could just see the different types of gifts that are listed there right you know if that if you're you're better at one of those things in the other you know run with it go with it use it apply it manifest it because you know what iron sharpened with iron and that's how we're all gonna get better is by realizing who we are not trying to be fake not trying to be somebody we're not but being who God created you to be and that's what's gonna make this thing run like a well-oiled machine so we're almost done here go to 1st Corinthians chapter 7 and keep this in mind you don't have to turn there but 1st Samuel 16 7 says this says but the Lord said unto Samuel look not on his countenance nor on the height of his stature because I have refused him for the Lord seeth not as man seeth for the man I'm sorry for man looketh on the outward appearance but the Lord looketh on the heart look Jeroboam and his wife they learned that the hard way didn't they because they thought you know maybe we can fool a hygienic maybe we can fool the Prophet but God said no you're not fooling anybody because I look on the heart I'm gonna see you for who you really are and I'm will I will expose you so let's move on here you're there in 1st Corinthians chapter 7 I'm gonna read for you a couple more verses here out of John chapter 8 John chapter 8 verse 23 says this says and he said unto them you're from beneath I am from above year of this world I am NOT of this world so we understand that right we know that Christ is not of this world and if we're in Christ we're not of this world either right so there's another example there's another reason why we should not allow ourselves to get conformed to this world John 14 30 says this hereafter I will not talk much with you for the prince of this world cometh and hath nothing in me understand that the prince of this world the devil Satan has nothing to do with God so partaking in his things partaking in his efforts is never gonna help you out at all right and so keep that in your mind you want to learn to be real get the devil out of your life don't pattern yourself after the things that he does John 18 36 Jesus answered my kingdom is not of this world if my kingdom were of this world then would my servants fight that I should not be delivered to the Jews but now is my kingdom not from hence he's saying hey my kingdom is not from here realize that understand that you don't belong to this world you can't play by the same rules that the world does because you have a different father we have a different plan we are in a different family we're in a different nation and so by faking it and trying to be like the world you know what all that's gonna do is hurt you all that's gonna do is hurt your family all that's gonna do is hurt this church it's not going to profit any of us anything at all you know what we are in the world we do have to live in the world you know we do have to use it but we have to also just remember that this world's going in the trash someday 1st Corinthians 7 look at verse 29 he says this but this I say brethren the time is short it remaineth that both they that have wives as though they had none and they that weep as though they wept not and they that rejoice as though they rejoice not and they that by as though they possess not verse 31 and they that use this world as not abusing it for the fashion of this world passeth away so look we have to use the world tomorrow you know Tuesday many of us have to go back to work we have to use the world that's okay but let's understand that the fashion of this world the trends of this world the ways of this world it passeth away when you can keep that in your mind and you can keep that perspective it's gonna make your life a lot easier right because then God's gonna see that he's gonna bless you for that hey here's a guy who uses the world without abusing it that is another key component to being real right I said the title of the sermon is are you real or real fake look let's strive to be a church that's real let's try to be Bible believing Christians that are real all the time not fake if you're a babe in Christ that's fine you know what act your age you know strive to be better don't try to act more mature than you really are because all that's gonna do is let you down when you get exposed so let's keep these things in mind you know this world's gonna pass away we have to use it let's just not abuse it inspire us to have a word of prayer thank you so much Lord for your words I thank you for these teachings in the Bible thank you so much for all these people that came here this morning Lord please bless the soul winning today and the man's preaching night this evening and keep us safe in Jesus name I pray amen