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Thus Saith the Lord
by Steve Countryman Matthew 7:15-16 15 "Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. 16 By their fruit you will recognize them." "They come to you in sheep's clothing" means that they will try to act, talk and look like your fellow brothers, preachers, teachers and church leaders. But they have their own hidden agendas. They believe in one of three things, that God exists but doesn't care what goes on, that He doesn't exist or that they hear a voice just not God's. All of which means that those who will listen will be lied to, deceived and taken advantage of. Jesus also said, "By their fruit you will recognize them", the fruit of their lips, their lies. False prophets prophesy "thus saith the Lord", "the Lord told me this", "God gave me a vision", "God said", to give themselves credibility. They want everyone to think that God speaks ONLY to them. Most often to give themselves position of authority or recognition. But their prophecies seldom ever correspond with the Word of God. That's how you'll know them by their fruit, if ANY of their prophecies contradict the Word of God then it is not from God. All false prophets prophesy lies and try to tie them to God, thus saith the Lord. Their prophecies contradict God's Word and that makes God a liar. They do so telling the people what they want to hear, "tickling their ears". Or telling them about some pending disaster that only the false prophets can instruct them on what to do. When times get bad false prophets come out of the woodwork. One church that I used to attend had this woman who would stand up during service and give "a word from God". She considered herself to be a holy woman of God because God spoke to her. Most church going Christians know what I mean about the "flow of a service". You can tell based on the worship and the atmosphere what type of service is happening. If the flow of the Holy Spirit is one of healing then people are being healed. If it is a service of forgiveness and reconciliation then hurting hearts are delivered. Whatever type of service was occurring she would stand up and give her "God given message". The problem was that the messages were all the same. They always carried a warning or threat of impending judgment. That is what made her fruit known. It was always out of place, out of touch and never about God's love. Not that God wouldn't use someone to give those types of messages at times, but knowing that God is the God of love means that most of His messages should be more like His Word. The messages should be of encouragement, of exaltation, of hope, of healing and of manifested power. We serve a loving and caring God of the Bible! "Thus saith the Lord" is a heavy responsibility for it must always be confirmed by the Word. God hates those who misrepresent Him to others and try to put words in His mouth. I don't know anyone who enjoys having someone quote them wrong or right out lie about what they said. God is the same way. He hates false prophets! He watches over His Word to completion. His Word is true and He is true to His Word. God never changes and neither does His Word. But there are those preachers, bishops and heads of churches who are saying that the church cannot stay the same and most change to keep up with society, alternate lifestyles and world beliefs. I just can't find that in God's Word which is supposed to be our daily guide. God's Word is what should always guide His church but more and more churches are afraid to even quote scripture for fear of offending people. How can you trust a "word from God" from a church who won't even quote His Word? God's Word is THUS SAITH THE LORD! Never take a "word from God" from anyone without testing it through the Word! Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com |