3 Indicators: True Prophet
August 2, 2013 Leave a comment
“BELOVED, DO not put faith in every spirit, but prove (test) the spirits to discover whether they proceed from God; for many false prophets have gone forth into the world. By this you may know (perceive and recognize) the Spirit of God: every spirit which acknowledges and confesses [the fact] that Jesus Christ (the Messiah) [actually] has become man and has come in the flesh is of God [has God for its source]; And every spirit which does not acknowledge and confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh [but would annul, destroy, sever, disunite Him] is not of God [does not proceed from Him]. This [nonconfession] is the [spirit] of the antichrist, [of] which you heard that it was coming, and now it is already in the world. Little children, you are of God [you belong to Him] and have [already] defeated and overcome them [the agents of the antichrist], because He Who lives in you is greater (mightier) than he who is in the world. They proceed from the world and are of the world; therefore it is out of the world [its whole economy morally considered] that they speak, and the world listens (pays attention) to them. We are [children] of God. Whoever is learning to know God [progressively to perceive, recognize, and understand God by observation and experience, and to get an ever-clearer knowledge of Him] listens to us; and he who is not of God does not listen or pay attention to us. By this we know (recognize) the Spirit of Truth and the spirit of error.” 1 John 4:1-6 AMP
“False prophet-one who falsely claims the gift of prophecy or divine inspiration or who uses that gift for evil purposes; someone who perfectly promotes a theory but the theory is false.”
The other day, a friend of my daughter came to the house and I had the opportunity to asked her about the church and how she felt. I was just looking for a reaction if she would continue to come on a regular basis. Two weeks ago, she came to the church with us. It was a very rare occasion because even my wife and kids does not come very often with me on Sundays and there she was with us.
She told me that she used to go to the same church a long time ago but never really liked the church or the pastor. But that weekend, she said she will give it a try but then her conclusion was – she does not like the pastor (again). But as soon as she ended her dislike statement, she pulled out her iPad mini and told me “but I’m listening to this guy in North Carolina and I’m really enjoying and connecting to his teachings”. Then she showed me the Elevation Apps and the contents of the site, “see these, I’ve watched almost all the videos”, she interestingly pointing out all the free video sermons to me. (She is by the way 21, a college student but also works at the same time).
Honestly, I enjoyed watching her hunger for God. It looks like my footsteps when I was still at the beginning of my Kingdom journey. To my daughter’s friend, please keep going and don’t stop!
Later, I looked up Elevation Church on the web and even watched two sermons in one setting (I was just curious). Indeed, she was right, this pastor is gifted to preach. I’ve watched two sermons only and I kinda’ know why she was so excited to listen or watched him online. We are in Texas and North Carolina is thousand miles away from us. Me too, how I wish I am with that church. There were so many things I’ve learned in just two sermons. Please visit their website at http://elevationchurch.org/sermons , your cup will be filled. Watch the “Permission Slip” first.
Let me count the churches that I’ve attended in my lifetime. The Protestant church (very early age), the Catholic Church (my high school was a Catholic school), Maranatha Christian Fellowship in Cebu Philippines (the place where I started my journey), then I immigrated to the US in 1991 and attended The Time Square Church, the Military Chapel in US Forces Korea, Potter’s House in Ft Hood, Victory Christian Center, Shoreline Christian Center then lastly Celebration Church. So the count is almost a handful.
There were a few geographical reasons why I changed venues but also there were reasons that I considered unique in terms of my liking and preferences and so I choose to be where I am right now and will continue to be with this church until further notice.
The reason why I’m telling you all these “church liking stuff” is to let you know that this is normal. Just think of it us a “school selection”, you just want to learn something from that particular school and I prefer to go to this school. The learning or education is the same – the Gospel of Christ.
Will I get offended that you stopped coming with me to church? Will I get offended when you say “I don’t like your worship team or the songs they sings or the people or the message or the sermon or the length of the service or the clapping and raising of hands or the quietness or the taking of the offering and tithing or the building or the parking or the air conditioning is too cold or too hot. Absolutely not, because the church of Christ is not the building or the structure or the institution that man built, the church of Christ is “us”, the members and no single building can contain us, it will be too small. The church is the movement of the Gospel in us and it comprises not just our beliefs in Christ but also the ways in which we respond to his movement and the way we reach out to others. So if you are in a different school out there but yet studying the same thing then I am glad because we are expanding the Kingdom by learning His ways (just in a different school)
You will sometimes say or hear this from someone, “oh, he is a false prophet or a false teacher or a false leader”.
How can you know that your pastor or priest or leader or the author of the book that you are reading is a genuine messenger for Christ and not a false prophet?
Reading and studying the passages today brought me these 3 indicators. Many Bible scholars might be able to crack more but with my humble and limited scholarly Biblical knowledge, I came up with these:
1. He/she clearly confesses or declares that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God
2. He/she uses the Bible as “the source” of information
3. He/she loves God so much and also loves his/her brother so dearly.
I believed that #3 would be the greatest test. The first two are just inputs – meaning the direction is towards self. The #3 is more comparable to an output signal – meaning it is coming out from you and it is directed as a reflection of #1 and #2 which is towards others. All 3 indicators must be there though.
The mathematical formula is:
1 x 2 x 3 = true prophet; if one item is zero, then the equation is false, therefore false prophet.
Ok, it 9am in the morning, Day003 of my 6 days vacation. Let me get some of my todo moving.
See it at YouVersion.com: