Grace Next Door

Grace Next Door | Faith & Culture | October 7, 2026

Matthew 7:16 (KJV)

You shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?

Not everyone who says Lord, Lord will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.

That’s what Jesus said.

There are a lot of people professing to be Christians. A lot of people claiming to know God. A lot of people walking around with religious titles, calling themselves apostles, prophets, pastors, evangelists, and teachers.

But Jesus said you’ll know them by their fruit!

You’ll know if they’re fake. You’ll know if they’re phony.

Drake had an old song called Fake Love.

“I got fake people showin’ fake love to me Straight up to my face, straight up to my face.”

And you know why people show fake love?

BECAUSE THAT’S ALL THEY’VE GOT! FAKE LOVE!

It might resemble love. You might care about somebody. You might even show compassion and empathy.

But without the transforming power of God, it’s still rooted in our fallen human nature.

It might look like love. It might feel like love. BUT IT’S NOT THE GENUINE LOVE OF GOD!

It’s artificial!

IT’S FAKE! IT’S PHONY! IT’S PLASTIC!

WE’RE LIVING IN A PLASTIC WORLD!

Plastic everywhere!

Plastic: cheap, artificial, fake!

AI is everywhere. You can’t even tell what’s real and what’s not anymore.

And it makes you wonder…

What is real?

Is everything fake?

Fake people. Fake personalities. Fake relationships. Fake love.

People have learned how to put on a show. They know what to say, how to act, how to look the part.

BUT IS ANYTHING ABOUT THEM REAL?

And unfortunately, that same artificial, plastic mentality has made its way into the church!

Plastic Christians.

They know the songs. They sing along. They know when to shout, when to raise their hands, and when to say amen.

They praise Him with their lips, but their hearts are far from Him!

Matthew 15:8 (KJV)

This people…honor me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.

They know how to go through the motions!

But where’s the fruit?

WHERE’S THE EVIDENCE OF A TRANSFORMED LIFE?

Jesus said you’ll know them by their fruit.

Not their talent.

Not their popularity.

Not their potential.

THEIR FRUIT!

YOU MAY BE CALLED, BUT ARE YOU CHOSEN?

Matthew 22:14 (KJV)

For many are called, but few are chosen.

There are a lot of would-be Christians.

A lot of would-be saints.

A lot of would-be preachers.

A lot of people with potential!

I know people who are absolutely OOZING WITH POTENTIAL!

They’ve got talent. They’ve got ability. They’ve got gifts. They’ve got everything they need to accomplish something great.

But they never reach their full potential.

Why?

Because they can’t be real!

They can’t be genuine!

They won’t deal with themselves.

They won’t deal with their sin, their lust, their bitterness, their anger, their addictions, their foul mouth, their pride!

They want to be used by God, but they don’t want to deal with the very things keeping them from becoming who God has called them to be!

They want everybody to see what they could be, but they don’t want to deal with who they really are.

And potential means absolutely nothing if you never do anything with it!

You may have been called, but what are you doing with that calling?

Are you growing?

Are you changing?

Are you becoming more like Jesus?

Or are you still the same person you were five years ago, making the same excuses, fighting the same battles, and producing the same rotten fruit?

At some point, your life has to become more than what you COULD BE.

CHECK YOUR SPIRITUAL METER!

Luke 6:45 (KJV)

A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.

You want to know where you are spiritually?

Check your spiritual meter!

Pay attention to what you’re listening to.

Pay attention to the music you entertain yourself with.

Pay attention to what’s coming out of your mouth!

When you find yourself slipping up, letting cuss words fly out of your mouth, or gossiping, or complaining, or getting angry over every little thing…

You might want to check your spiritual meter!

Because something is wrong!

Something is feeding that behavior.

And I’m not saying that every time somebody makes a mistake, they’re fake. We all have things we need to overcome.

But when these things become normal, when they no longer bother you, when there’s no conviction, no desire to change…

THAT’S A PROBLEM!

You can’t continually fill your mind with garbage and expect to produce something holy.

You can’t constantly feed your flesh and expect to grow spiritually.

Galatians 6:7 (KJV)

Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man sows, that shall he also reap.

What are you sowing?

What are you feeding yourself?

And what kind of fruit is coming out of your life?

Because whether you realize it or not, you’re producing something!

YOU’LL KNOW THEM BY THEIR FRUIT!

Galatians 5:22–23 (ESV)

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self control: against such there is no law.

That’s the evidence!

Not how loud you shout.

Not how well you preach.

Not how spiritual you sound.

But what’s actually coming out of your life!

You say you want to be Christlike, but you’re addicted to sin.

You say you’ve got peace, but you’re constantly stirring up confusion.

You say you’ve got the Holy Ghost, but you cuss like a sinner.

You say you’ve been transformed, but nothing about your life has changed.

Something doesn’t add up!

And maybe that’s why Jesus said in Matthew 7:20:

Wherefore by their fruits you shall know them.

Because sooner or later, the fruit is going to reveal what’s really going on inside.

You can pretend for a while.

You can put on a performance.

You can fool some people.

But eventually, what’s inside is going to come out.

WE NEED TO BE TRANSFORMED!

And that’s why we need more than religion.

More than a church membership.

More than a title.

More than the appearance of Christianity.

WE NEED TO BE TRANSFORMED!

We need a new nature.

We need the transforming power of Jesus Christ!

And here’s the beautiful thing about knowing Jesus.

YOU DON’T HAVE TO STAY THE WAY YOU ARE!

You don’t have to keep struggling with the same things.

You don’t have to remain bound by your past, your mistakes, your failures, or your shortcomings.

You can change!

You can grow!

You can become everything God has called you to be!

2 Corinthians 5:17 (KJV)

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

That’s the power of Jesus Christ!

He doesn’t just make us look better on the outside.

HE CHANGES US FROM THE INSIDE OUT!

And the more we grow in Him, the more His love, His character, and His nature begin to show up in our lives.

That’s what this is all about!

Not perfection, but genuine transformation.

Not pretending to be something we’re not, but becoming who God has called us to be.

REAL FAITH. REAL LOVE. REAL CHANGE.

GENUINE FAITH IN AN ARTIFICIAL WORLD

And here’s what I want you to remember…

In a world where so much is artificial, there’s still something genuine, something real, something life-changing—and that’s the transforming power of Jesus Christ!

We can be genuine!

We can be authentic!

We can have real faith, real love, and real transformation through Jesus Christ!

And when people look at our lives, they ought to see something real. Something genuine. Something that reflects the love and the power of God!

Because genuine faith produces genuine fruit!

NO MORE PLASTIC.