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Test the Spirits
Posted : 2 May, 2011 05:02 PM
We hear and see today many people saying:
- "...we don't have not only the Bible, but other scriptures, also, in the world"
- "...I had vision from God..."
- "...I saw an angel and he told me things, etc.."
Friends, many visions, visitations, dreams, etc. But the question is, what are their origin?
First, we must understand few things. There is a spiritual realm, which existed before the world it was created. The Bible clearly states that.
First, God created the angels, with different ranks and responsibilities. The angels had free will. One of them is the cherub Lucifer. Seems that he was the most powerful and complete created angel.
Ezekiel 28:12-14 �Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyrus, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty� Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created�Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.�
He sinned against God, he wanted to be like God.
Isaiah 14:12-15 "12~ How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! 13~ For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: 14~ I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. 15~ Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.�
He was cast out of heaven, and with him 1/3 of all the angels, who choose to follow Lucifer. So, Lucifer, became Satan, or the Devil, and the rest of the fallen angels, became demons, or devils.
Satan's and demons works are mostly in the realm of religion. Satan is very religious, he wanted always to be like God, and to be worshiped. His weapon is deception.
In the end time, will come the ultimate deception, the antichrist, which will sit in the temple, of God, in Jerusalem, and will show himself that he is God.
2 Thessalonians 2:3-10 � 3~ Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; 4~ Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God. 5~ Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things? 6~ And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. 7~ For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. 8~ And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: 9~ Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, 10~ And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.�
Satan is working hard, in the world, to achieve his goal, to be worshiped. The bible says that he'll achieve it.
Revelation 13:1-8 � 1~ And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. 2~ And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority. 3~ And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast. 4~ And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him? 5~ And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months. 6~ And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven. 7~ And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations. 8~ And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.�
In a multi-cultural society we are taught to be tolerant of one another. To an extent this is appropriate. Our Constitution states that all men are created equally.
Acts 10:34 "...God is no respecter of persons."
He does not show partiality. Therefore we are not to discriminate racially, economically, socially or culturally.
But, We MUST Discriminate Doctrinally. We must "Test The Spirits".
We must Learn to Discern between "the Spirit of Truth" and "the Spirit of Error." These verses are a parenthesis on his discourse about love.
Love Evidences our Fellowship with God but Love Can Never Be Divorced From Truth.
We saw that Satan and his demons are at work, overtime, in the world, to deceive.
Revelation 12:7-9 �7~ And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, 8~ And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. 9~ And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.�
Revelation 20:10 �And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.�
When someone knocks at our doors, we just open it? No!
First, we ask who is it? The same, has to be with any of these messages, doctrines, religions, dreams, visions, etc. We must ask, first, who (what) are they?
The messages may be nice, peaceful, but are they the truth or error? Also, common sense tells us that, anyone wants to know the truth about all things, especially about God and the spiritual realm. We cannot jump to a message, or religion, or doctrine, just because we like the person who says it, or the message.
Remember, friends, Satan and demons deceive with nice words, signs, wonders, and doctrines. Always the truth, which hurts sometimes, is the only solution.
The Christian who Abides in our Lord Jesus Christ and Walks in the Spirit Loves Truth and Hates Error. He Discriminates.
As Christians, we are called "Believers." However, every believer is also called to be an unbeliever when it comes to error. The Bible not only encourages us to believe but also to not believe. Just as we can inhale and exhale at the same time, we cannot believe truth and accept error. You cannot love until you reject hatred. You cannot pursue righteousness until you abandon evil.
With this background in mind, let�s examine the command to test the spirits and three criteria by which we test the spirits.
2 Corinthians 11:13-15 �13~ For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. 14~ And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. 15~ Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.�
1 Timothy 4:1 �Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;�
2 Timothy 4:3-4 � 3~For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; 4~And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.�
2 Peter 2:1-2 � 1~But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. 2~And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. �
1 John 4:1-6 "1~ Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. 2~ Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: 3~ And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world. 4~ Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world. 5~ They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them. 6~ We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error."
2 John 7 � For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.�
I. The Command to Test the Spirits
A. Why We Are to Test the Spirits.
John warns his readers not to "believe every spirit" but to "test the spirits whether they are of God" because not everyone who claimed to be a prophet was divinely inspired.
There was and is the great necessity of critical assessment of spiritual teaching. There are still many false teachers in the world.
B. What it Means to Test the Spirits?
There are two categories of spirits operating in the world. When someone proposes to speak for God, you should "test the spirits" or you might "amen" the wrong spirit! There are some churches where they would "amen" almost anything.
Behind every scripture, or a prophet is a spirit. The great question is does the Spirit of God or an evil spirit lead this teacher, prophet. Before we trust any teacher, we must "test the spirits."
Paul wrote in 1 Thess.5:20-21 "Despise not prophesyings... Prove all things; hold fast that which is good."
Jesus warned in Matthew 7:15-16 "Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves... Ye shall know them by their fruits.�"
Paul warned the Ephesian elders in Acts 20:29~ "For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock."
Peter also offered this warning in 2 Peter.2:1~ "But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction."
Today there is still a great need for biblical discernment and discrimination. Many believers remain biblically illiterate and spiritually gullible. They naively accept any teaching as truth.
In Ephesians.4:14, Paul says that a sure sign of spiritual immaturity is "tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;"
C. Failing to Test the Spirits is Dangerous
If you follow the wrong spirit, you will pay a price. The famous circus entrepreneur, P.T. Barnum is quoted as saying, "There�s a sucker born every minute." Satan has many slick sideshows that sidetrack God�s children and rob them of their spiritual riches.
There are "many" false teachers in the world today. The spiritual candy store is full. Satan has all flavors of teachers and preachers ready to fill your spiritual appetite with a sugarcoated experience that will leave you with a bellyache. Test the spirits!
Remember when Moses first appeared before Pharaoh? He had a rod that turned into a snake. Satan was not to be outdone so the magicians� rods turned to snakes too. He knows how to put on a good show, to entice and lure us away from the truth.
The reformers insisted that even the most humble of believers has "the right of private judgment." John is writing to the "beloved," all Christians. You don�t have to have a seminary degree to test the spirits. You don�t have to attend a spirit-testing seminar. Why? Because the Holy Spirit already resides within you.
In the church we may wear the name of a Denomination or Non-Denomination but our Allegiance is to God, Holy Spirit, Jesus and the Bible. Just because the Teacher has a Name the Teaching Does Not Necessarily Mean It Is A Biblical Teaching. We "Test The Spirits" and the Chief Measuring Stick is the Scripture!
Soured from the Dusty Arhcives
xo
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