Sermons

Introduction

Well, I'm ready to look into the Word of God with you. We find ourselves in the gospel of Luke, you know that, and we are in a section of Luke's gospel that is known as the Sermon on the Mount. It is the greatest sermon that's ever been preached in the history of the world, obviously, by the greatest preacher, Christ Himself. And whether or not it's the same Sermon on the Mount that we see in Matthew 5, 6, and 7, or if it's the same message given in a different location, either way, it is very much worth our time as we are digging into it. 

So, we're in Luke chapter 6, Luke chapter 6, and today, verses 39 to 45. The title of this is "Blind Leaders, Blind Followers." So, I want to begin by reading the passage. 

Jesus is the preacher, and He says, beginning in verse 39, "And He also spoke a parable to them: 'A blind man cannot guide a blind man, can he? Will they not both fall into a pit? A pupil is not above his teacher; but everyone, after he has been fully trained, will be like his teacher. Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, "Brother, let me take out the speck that is in your eye," when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother's eye. For there is no good tree which produces bad fruit, nor, on the other hand, a bad tree which produces good fruit. For each tree is known by its own fruit. For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they pick grapes from a briar bush. The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart.'" 

We've got a lot on the table here with these verses, a lot for us to get our arms around. So let's go to the Lord in prayer. 

[Prayer] Father, these verses are so rich and so full, have so much to say. They sound a warning, of course. And I pray that as we look at these verses, Your Holy Spirit would shine light upon our minds, help us to understand what our Lord is teaching and what implications it has for our lives today. So, Father, we ask now for Your help and for Your assistance. We ask that Your blessing would attend the ministry of your Word. We pray this in Christ's name. Amen. [End] 

In these verses, the Lord Jesus issues a very strong and stern warning to the crowd that is following Him that, at this point, numbers easily in the thousands. He conveys that there is great danger, a great danger to their soul that will have eternal consequences, that there are leaders who have had an influence upon their life, in fact, who are even present as Jesus preaches, who are leading them astray, who are false teachers. And He's referring to the scribes and to the Pharisees, that they have come under the influence and come under the sway of the religious leaders of Israel, and they are on a path headed for destruction. 

The scribes are the lawyers of the day. They are experts in the law of Moses, in the law of God – Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. It's known as the Pentateuch. And they devote their entire life as professional lawyers, scholars, to studying the law that was given to Moses and then to teach the people. 

The Pharisees, as you know, were the strictest adherents of the law, and they were so committed to keeping the law that they added hundreds more injunctions and statutes to the law of God that became known as the tradition of the elders. And the basis of their teaching was salvation is by law-keeping, that salvation belongs to the self-righteous, that salvation belongs to those who earn it and deserve it. They had no comprehension and no understanding of the grace of God and the free gift of salvation that is in Jesus Christ. 

And so, Jesus will address these leaders as blind leaders of the blind. Jesus addresses them as hypocrites. And He says to those who are following them, which is the vast, vast number, "You too are blind, and you are being led by blind leaders. And though you have specks in your eyes, they have a forest in their eyes." And so Jesus was a very outspoken preacher. He was a very to-the-point preacher, as He now is addressing what is the spiritual state of the nation, that they are in spiritual darkness, and they are in blindness. 

I think that you and I can relate to this very easily today. You live in a nation of spiritual blindness, and you have leaders who are blind. They are blind spiritual leaders that populate pulpits and seminaries and cults. We have blind political leaders who do not know right from wrong, who cannot even tell a man from a woman. We have blind judicial leaders who cannot render justice, but instead reward the guilty and punish the obedient. We are surrounded by blind leaders of the blind. And so what we are looking at here in these verses has much relevance for you and me today. 

As we look at these verses, there are five truths that I want you to note about blind leaders, about false leaders. And this whole section that I have just read to you, verses 39 to 45, is what we call a literary unit. It's a paragraph of thought, it fits together. And the thread that is running through these verses is Jesus' exposing of these false leaders. 

They Are Spiritually Blind

So, the first thing that I want you to note is in verse 39, "They are spiritually blind." Jesus says in verse 39, "And He" – referring to Christ Himself – "also" – meaning the sermon continues to flow and He also has this to add to what He just said – "He spoke a parable." 

Now, a parable is an earthly story with a heavenly meaning. It begins, the word "parable," para, parallel. It's two things laid side by side, where the earthly story is to be laid next to the heavenly meaning. It's a very simple parable. 

"He spoke a parable to them." And the "them" refers to this large, vast crowd that is a mixed crowd. There are some true believers in this crowd, there are some true disciples, but for the most part, they are unconverted. For the most part, they too are spiritually blind. And there are also scribes and Pharisees present as well. 

So, "He spoke a parable to them: 'A blind man cannot guide a blind man, can he?'" And it anticipates a negative answer, "No, cannot guide him in the way he should go." Now, let's just break this down. 

"A blind man." A blind man cannot see where he's going. Of course, he cannot lead someone else, much less another blind person. He cannot see the dangers that are immediately before him. And this refers here not to physical blindness, but it represents spiritual blindness. He cannot see the truth. He cannot see the gospel. He cannot see God, nor the kingdom of God. He cannot see himself. He has no self-awareness or self-knowledge. He's just blind. And this refers to the false spiritual leaders of Israel. 

And if you're like me, as I studied this passage all this week, how do I know that this blind man represents the scribes and Pharisees? Because the text does not directly say, "scribes and Pharisees." And earlier in the week I was scratching my head, "How can I know for certain when I stand in front of you today and tell you that this is the blind man who is leading the other blind men?" And so just so that you would know, turn back to Matthew chapter 15. And we always use Scripture to interpret Scripture. Scripture is the best interpreter of Scripture. Thomas Watson, the old Puritan used to say, "As only a diamond is sharp enough to cut another diamond, so only Scripture is sharp enough to interpret another passage of Scripture." 

And so in Matthew chapter 15, we read this: "Then some Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said, 'Why do Your disciples break the tradition of the elders?' – And so here's one of the manmade rules that the elders had tacked onto the Word of God and just pontificated their own set of rules for what a good person would do – 'For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread.'" And so the elders had put into play this fabricated rule that before you could eat food, you have to wash your hands as some kind of a ceremonial cleansing – had nothing to do with hygiene, but just a ceremonial cleansing – and so now you are sanctified because you wash your hands, and now you are now fit to eat. 

Verse 3, "And He answered and said to them, 'Why do you yourselves transgress the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition?'" In other words, "You're not even focused on the commandments of God to obey them, you're riveted upon your own little rules." 

And so He says in verse 4, "For God said, 'Honor your father and mother,' and, 'He who speaks evil of father and mother is to be put to death.' But you say, 'Whoever says to his father or mother, "Whatever I have that would help you has been given to God."'" So in other words, your parents have a need, they're old, they can't support themselves, and you have the means to be able to come alongside of them and provide for their needs at the end of life stage for them, and you say, "Well, I'd really like to help you out, Mom and Dad, but I've already dedicated my money to God, and so I can't help you." So that was that was one of their rules. 

Verse 6 – or, let's just go to verse 7: "You hypocrites," – now that should sound familiar, we just read that in our passage – "rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you: 'This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far away from Me. But in vain do they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the precepts of men.' 

"After Jesus called the crowd to Him, He said to them,' Hear and understand. It is not what enters into the mouth that defiles the man,' – it's not what you eat, it's not what you drink that goes into your mouth and down into your stomach that defiles you – 'but what proceeds out of the mouth, this defiles man.'" 

Verse 12, "Then the disciples came to Him and said to Him, 'Do you know that the Pharisees were offended' – that means You're teaching the truth – 'that the Pharisees are offended when they heard this statement?' But He answered and said, 'Every plant which My heavenly Father did not plant shall be uprooted.'" What He is saying is, "God the Father, My Father, never planted them in His kingdom. They are but weeds. They are not true plantings of God in the soil of saving grace." 

Now, verse 14, "Let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind. And if a blind man guides a blind man, both will fall into a pit." And so we clearly see the interpretation of the passage that we're looking at when Jesus says, "a blind man," He's referring to the scribes and the Pharisees. 

And as long as I'm going to be obsessive about this, turn to Matthew 23. And Matthew chapter 23 is Jesus' most excoriating, denunciation of the scribes and the Pharisees. And in verse 15 of Matthew 23, "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites." Verse 16, "Woe to you, blind guides." Verse 17, "You fools and blind men." Verse 19, "You blind men." Verse 24, "You blind guides." We know exactly who the blind men are. 

In Luke chapter 6, it is consistent with the other teaching of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is calling out and referring to the spiritual leaders of the nation, the scribes and the Pharisees, "They are as blind as a bat. They can't see their hand in front of their face," spiritually speaking. 

So, come back now to Luke chapter 6, Luke chapter 6, and we pick it back up in our text where we were, verse 39: "A blind man" – a blind scribe, a blind Pharisee – "cannot" – that means he has no ability, he has no insight, he has no spiritual eyes, he has no understanding of truth. "A blind man cannot guide a blind man, can he?" It's a rhetorical question that implies a negative answer: "No, a blind man has no understanding and no insight to lead anyone else, especially other blind men." So these scribes and Pharisees have no spiritual discernment, and this vast multitude now has come under the influence of these false leaders. 

It really matters who's leading you. It really matters who's influencing you. It really matters who is casting and projecting their understanding of God and the way of salvation upon you. 

Now, the second question at the end of verse 39, this one anticipates a "yes" answer: "Will they not both fall into a pit?" And the anticipated answer to that is, "Yes." "Will they not both" – the "both" refers to both the blind leaders and the blind followers. The whole group will fall into a pit. 

Now, as Jesus tells this parable, the land of Palestine was a rugged terrain. They didn't have earth movers like we have here to flatten things out and fill in other things. The land of Palestine is full of pits, full of deep pits that are large holes. And if someone falls into a pit, some of them are almost like a deep cavern, that you fall in, you're not coming out unless someone somehow pulls you out. And the implication here is very clear that these scribes and Pharisees are headed to the pit, and everyone who follows their teaching is headed to the pit. 

And "the pit" here has both a temporal and an eternal meaning, that in this life, you will be living in a dark pit; but if you die in this temporal pit, you will be in an eternal pit forever. In Revelation 9:2, hell is referred to as the bottomless pit, meaning once a person falls into the pit of hell, they will be ever descending and ever going deeper and deeper, and they will never be able to crawl out and they will never be able to escape the flames of hell in this infinitely bottomless pit. In 2 Peter 2:4 we read that "God cast them into hell and committed them to pits of darkness." 

And so the pit of hell, among so many other things, is represented to us as a bottomless pit that the damned souls will never reach the basement, will never reach the bottom. They will be ever-descending deeper and deeper into the flames of this bottomless pit. And it is also a pit of darkness, that in hell they will never see the light of day again, as they are incarcerated in pits of blackest darkness. And so this warning that Jesus issues is to the spiritual leaders: "You're on a fast track to hell," and it's issued to those who are duped by their false teaching that "you too are on the broad path, headed to destruction." 

Now, one more truth to bring to your attention. These blind leaders – and the same is true today – will suffer the severest punishment in hell. They will be confined to the hottest part of hell. Just as there are degrees of reward in heaven – and we're not all going to receive the same reward – there are also degrees of damnation in hell. And God has reserved the hottest part of His vengeance and fury for false teachers because they have become a stumbling block to the many. 

I want to give you three verses. The first one is James 3:1, "Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing as such we shall incur a stricter judgment." And with stricter judgment comes stricter punishment, and that swings both ways. For the good teacher, the orthodox doctrinal teacher, there will be greater reward for him. "Blessed are the feet of those who bring glad tidings of good news." But for the false teacher, it will be a stricter judgment because they influenced so many naive people. 

The second verse is in Hebrews 2:2 that says, "Every transgression and disobedience will receive a just punishment." So, all sins are not the same. Some sins are greater sins than other sins. And the greater the sin, there will be the greater the punishment. And every sin and every transgression, the Bible says, will receive a just penalty. And the fundamental principle of that is found back in the book of Leviticus, "an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth." Our whole system of jurisprudence is built upon this, and rightly so, that the punishment should match up with the crime: a small crime, a small punishment; a horrific sin, a terrifying punishment. These false teachers, these blind leaders of other blind people will receive the just penalty. 

And then the last verse is Hebrews 10:29. The writer of Hebrews says, "How much severer" – not severe, but severer – "punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled underfoot the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ and insulted the Spirit of grace?" What that is teaching is the greater exposure to the light of truth that you have, if that is rejected, there will be a severer punishment than what will be given to someone else who did not have access to the same amount of truth as you have. 

Now, I said it before, I'm going to say it again. If you're going to go to hell, don't go to hell from Dallas, Texas. Don't go to hell from Trinity Bible Church. Go to hell from someplace where the truth is never made known to you, and the punishment will not be as severe as it will be upon those who come to the house of God and harden their heart and stiffen their neck and refuse to submit to the lordship of Jesus Christ. 

So, verse 39 had a lot to say to us: "A blind man cannot lead a blind man, can he? Will they not both fall into a pit?" 

They Are Directly Influential

The second thing I want you to see is in verse 40 concerning these spiritual leaders: "They are directly influential. They are directly influential." And verse 40, and I'm going to read it right now, is what we call an operating principle. It's what we could call an axiom or an axiomatic statement. This is a general principle that is true across the board. 

So, verse 40 says, "A pupil is not above his teacher; but everyone, after he has been fully trained, will be like his teacher." In other words, the listener who sits under the teacher and listens to the teacher, if he actually takes in the teaching that is coming to him, it will be internalized within him, and he will end up being like his teacher. He will believe like his teacher. He will have a worldview like his teacher. He will begin to imitate his teacher. This is known as the general principle of discipleship. I mean, the apostle Paul said, "Imitate me as I imitate Christ." That's what discipleship is. 

Now, this swings both ways. If you have a good teacher and a sound teacher, it will be the right influence coming upon your life, and you will believe correctly and you will live correctly, at least in the right direction, because there's this trickle down influence. We often say, "The apple doesn't fall far from the tree," and there is this direct correlation. On the other hand, if you sit under a false teacher, a blind man, you're going to be like him also, and he will have a strong influence, whether consciously or subconsciously, upon your life. 

So, look at it again, verse 40: "A pupil," that's one of the blind followers. "Pupil" means "student." Here, it's a disciple. "A pupil is not above his teacher," meaning he's under his teacher, not above his teacher. He's under the influence of his teacher. "A pupil is not above his teacher." No, he's under his teacher and being influenced by his teacher and being shaped into a certain mold. 

"But everyone," – and that means no exceptions to this – "But everyone, after he has been fully trained," – that means fully taught, schooled in the teacher's teaching – "will be like his teacher." And if it's a bad teacher, you will be brainwashed by his false teaching and by his propaganda and by his false narrative, and the unsuspecting pupil will assume the character and the conduct and the conversations of his teacher. At the end of the day, like produces like. So, Jesus addresses the strong influence that these scribes and Pharisees are having upon those in this day; and that day continues to this day. 

You know, it really matters where you go to church. And the fundamental issue is not, "Do they have a game room for my kids?" The fundamental issue is, "Who is Dad sitting under? Who's discipling Dad?" It matters where you go to church because you will soon adopt the teaching that you receive. 

They Are Personally Deceived

Now, third, in verse 41, "They are personally deceived." Jesus now rebukes these false spiritual leaders who were in the crowd that day. He says, "Why do you" – addressing the leaders, the blind leaders of the blind – "Why do you look?" The word "look" here, blepó, it means "to gaze intently at or upon." "Why do you have myopic vision? Why are you locked into? Why do you look at the speck?" "Speck" here is a tiny, little speck of dust. It's a fleck of, like, sawdust; something very, very minuscule, smaller than an eyelash. 

"Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother's eye," – And oh, you can spot it a mile off. You've got 20/20 vision for everybody else's little tiny speck in your eye – "but do not notice" – you're oblivious to; and the reason you're oblivious to it is because you're blind – "but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?" 

A "log" here is "a beam of timber." "And you don't even see the log in your own eye." And this "log" here represents a major sin issue: pride, arrogance, greed, covetousness. "And you can't see the forest that is growing in your own eye, but you want to lock in on the little speck that is virtually unseen by anyone else?" No wonder Jesus says in verse 42, "You hypocrite." 

Now, here's the irony of these false teachers. They are presented by Jesus as being blind eye doctors who try to perform eye surgery on someone else's eye. Would you go to a blind eye doctor and let him operate on you? It's the most foolish thing you could think of. Well, 10,000 times 10,000 more dangerous is for you to sit under a spiritual leader and teacher who is blind to the truth of the Word of God. 

Verse 42, "Or how can you say to your brother, 'Brother, let me take out the speck that is in your own eye,' when you yourselves do not see the log that is in your own eye?" Pharisees are experts on everyone else's life, and it's a control thing; they want to control other people, and they have no self-control. They want to run and rule everyone else's life; and that's one reason they keep adding all these manmade rules, when, in fact, they will not submit themselves to the commandments of God. And they are with us today. 

They Are Morally Corrupt

Fourth, in verse 43, we see that "they are morally corrupt." Jesus says in verse 43 – again, this is axiomatic. This is just a general life principle that is always true. This is like a proverb. He says, "For there is no good tree which produces bad fruit." A "good tree" here represents a "good teacher of sound doctrine and truth." In reality, Jesus Himself is the good tree who brings the truth of the Word of God. And those whom He is training to a lesser degree are like this good tree that brings good doctrine and good truth. 

"For there is no good tree which produces bad fruit." The "fruit" here refers to "their own character," and it refers to "their converts." What comes from their ministry is not bad fruit, it's good fruit, generally, by and large. It doesn't mean that the preacher is perfect, and it doesn't mean that everyone who sits under the truth is perfect either. But it is a general, guiding principle, and it is true that a good tree does not bear bad fruit. 

And then He flips it in 43, "nor, on the other hand," – a complete opposite scenario – "a bad tree which produces good fruit." The "bad tree" here refers to the "blind leaders of the blind." They are bad men. They're not innocent, they know what they're doing. To a certain extent, they are self-deceived. But to another extent, they know how to work the system. They're a bad tree. "They are one of those," as Matthew 15 said, "that my heavenly Father did not plant." Bad heart, bad motives, bad ambitions, bad teaching cannot produce good fruit. You sit under false teaching, it will not end up well with you. 

So, verse 44 begins with the word "for," which, as I've told you before, introduces an explanation for what was just said. So here's the follow-up explanation for verse 43: "For each tree" – each teacher, each leader – "is known by its own fruit," that there is a consistency between the root and the fruit. 

And so He says, ""For men do not gather figs" – which would be good fruit – "from thorns," – those are bad bushes – "nor do they pick up grapes" – that's good fruit – "from briar bushes." Again, that's bad bushes representing bad leaders with false doctrine and false teaching. 

Jesus said this very same thing virtually verbatim in Matthew's account of the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 7, verse 15 and following. Listen to it: "Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves." They look like shepherds, but on the inside they are wolves on the hunt and wolves after prey. 

Verse 16, "You will know them by their fruits." That's what Jesus just said here in Luke 6, "You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes, nor figs from thistles, are they?" Of course not. 

Verse 17. "So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit" – every preacher, every teacher, every leader who does not bear good fruit – "is cut down and thrown into the fire," – the hottest part of the fire. 

So, Jesus concludes in verse 20 of Matthew, verse 20 of Matthew 7, "So then, you will know them by their fruits." Again, this underscores how critically important it is who you choose to sit under and who you allow into your mind and into your heart, because Jesus said there is a direct influence for good or for bad upon your life, and nothing in between. 

They Are Inwardly Evil

Finally, we come to verse 45, as Jesus is continuing this same unit of thought about blind leaders. And in verse 45 we see that "they are inwardly evil." Verse 45, "The good man" – and that refers to the good teacher, the good preacher, the good leader who lives a morally good life and who teaches beautiful doctrine and beautiful truth – "The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good." 

Now, the "treasure" here, it's an interesting Greek word, and it comes into the English language – you'll recognize it – as "thesaurus." It's a storehouse of words is what a thesaurus is. The good man out of the good thesaurus, out of the reservoir of his learning, of his study, that's down here in the heart, as he approaches the Word of God and he rightly handles the word of truth as a workman who needs not to be ashamed, "The good man out of the good treasure" – he's been building up good treasure in his heart – "brings forth" – meaning out of his heart, out of his mouth – "what is good," – good words, good teaching, good doctrine, good exhortation, that leads you down the narrow path that leads to life. 

But then Jesus says, "and the evil man" – the evil man is the antithesis of the good man; it could not be any more of a stark contrast. The evil man is unconverted. He is unregenerated. He is untaught by God. He is spiritually blind. He's a hypocrite. He's living in darkness. He can't even see what's in his eye, he's always a fault finder with everyone else. "The evil man out of the evil treasure" – oh, he hasn't been studying the Word of God, he has been lapping up the wisdom of this world: secular humanism and worldly ideology – "out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil." 

He speaks wicked words that are filled with poisonous venom, that lead away from the narrow gate, that leads people through the broad gate that goes down the broad path that is headed for destruction. And they are such good conmen that the many are sucked down this path. 

And the few go down the narrow path, Jesus explains at the end of verse 45. There is the word "for" again, f-o-r, gar. He now gives the explanation for what He just said, "for his mouth" – the teacher's mouth, the preacher's mouth – "speaks from that which fills his heart." The good teacher has a treasury of good truth, and when He opens His mouth, this truth comes out. But the false teacher, the blind teacher, has nothing but dead men's bones inside of him, and He speaks a worldly message; and there are so many blind people who follow him. Jesus is saying that "the mouth is a spigot from which flows what is hidden in the heart." 

He said in Matthew 15:11, "It is not what enters into the mouth that defiles the man," – meaning it's not what you eat or drink that defiles you – "but what proceeds out of the mouth, this defiles the man." "The things that proceed out of the mouth," Jesus said, "come from the heart, and those defile the man; for out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders." 

Conclusion

So as I bring this to conclusion, to make it personal for you, just take this 2,000 years from then till now. Do you see how important it is who you let guide you and teach you? Do you see how critical it is where you attend church, who's preaching you sit under, who's teaching you sit under? Do you see that you will become like your teacher? Never underestimate the effect that a teacher or preacher has upon your life. Choose wisely who you allow to guide you. 

As I bring this actually to a close now, if you have been taught that you have to be baptized in order to be saved, you've been duped by a false teacher. If you have been taught that you have to keep a list of rules in order to be accepted by God, you have been conned by a false teacher. If you see that just because you walked an aisle or raised a hand or parroted a prayer, you might have been deceived; or it might have been real at that point. 

But did you hear the truth that Christ Jesus came into this world to save sinners? He's come to seek and to save that which is lost, and that you are saved. "For by grace, you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, lest any man should boast. Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. There is now therefore no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him would not perish, but have everlasting life." 

If you have never believed in Jesus Christ, I call you this moment to respond in your heart to turn to Christ and to repent of your sins and to believe upon the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be a part of the good fruit to come from a good tree. Let us pray. 

[Prayer] Father, the words of Jesus are so hard-hitting at times. They're so penetrating. Sometimes they whisper words of comfort to us; and we need that. And then other times, it comes rather abruptly and it exposes evil; and that's what we've experienced today. So use these verses to awaken us, to sober us, and to more deeply ground us in where we really need to go to church and where we need to hear the truth. Give us discernment concerning false teachers. May we not allow them any access to our minds, in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. [End] 

As we're dismissed, "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all." God bless you.