Gifts of the Spirit 5- ¡§To another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits¡¨ 1 Cor 12:10 WBC 19/9/4 pm
- How can I become more discerning about what is from God and what isn¡¦t?
- How can I be wise about mistakes made in the prophetic yet completely open to what God might be saying?
- Do I have to believe everything that someone says is ¡¥from the Lord¡¦?
Illustr: A young lad, fresh out of university was employed by the US treasury department in their fraud and forgery section. He looked forward to learning all about how forgeries were made: the paper and ink used, the most common routes by which mass forgeries were distributed, the flaws in their designs. But when he arrived on his first day he was sent into a darkened room, filled with hi tech magnifiers and measuring devices ands simply given a wad of $5, 10, $20, $50 and $100 bills- and left on his own with the words: ¡¥study and inwardly digest. Get on with it, then!¡¦.
This happened for 6 weeks to the point where he was concerned he was going to go out of his mind. He stormed out of his cubby hole and complained to his supervisor: you¡¦ve locked me in that room for 6 weeks and then, today, you have the audacity to slip a forged $50 bill into the wodge of notes!
I¡¦m going to share some ways of discerning things, esp prophecy, tonight- but, honest truth, in the end it¡¦s as simple as spending time with the master and getting to know Him through His word. There is no substitute for this.
- Then you¡¦ll just simply KNOW
THE THREE SOURCES (SPIRITS)
Do we have to, unquestioningly accept something that someone says is from the Lord
- can feel a high obligation to do so when someone says ¡¥the Lord told me¡¦
- felt this myself on am of 5th when I shared about a picture I had. ¡¥test this¡¦ (as otherwise how do you deal with it if you disagree?)
Well , 1 John says this:
1JN 4:1 Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God
So- you must NEVER become closed or cynical to prophecies, etc,
- but you SHOULD test and weigh them
- otherwise you ARE going to come unstuck and end up deluded or disappointed!
1TH 5:19 Do not put out the Spirit’s fire; 20 do not treat prophecies with contempt. 21 Test everything. Hold on to the good. 22 Avoid every kind of evil.
What does this 1 John passage mean when it talks bout ¡¥testing the sprits¡¦, and in 1 Cor ¡¥distinguishing between sprits¡¦?
Basically, there are seen as 3 spiritual sources:
- the Holy Spirit (God¡¦s Spirit)
- our spirits (inside us)
o 1 Cor 2:10 shows and distinguishes between these two:
o The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. 11 For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man’s spirit within him? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.
- And the third spirit is some other fallen, deceptive spirit
And the ¡¥discernment of spirits¡¦ is a manifestation of the Spirit (the Holy one!) to discern in a moment what the source of some ¡¥supposed word¡¦ is
- THIS is a God-given spontaneous thing
- but there is also a skill that can be developed through ¡¥knowing the note maker and studying the notes¡¦
o and that¡¦s what I¡¦m trying to teach you tonight
So ¡V there are three areas
- can overlap in one prophecy! Start in the Spirit and end up in the flesh!
o I remember this at LBC (Uxbridge show)
- Some are v sensitive in the spiritual/prophetic realm and so pick up from both sides! Not that they intend to
o Often they are sensitive, personally, as well
„X So there¡¦s something of their spirits in there
o Can be quite complex!
In my experience- it¡¦s this middle area that is a source of confusion to people
- but I believe it¡¦s fairly simply discerned: by KNOWING yourself
o (or the person giving the word)
- do you¡K do they¡K have a ¡¥leaning¡¦, ¡¥prejudice¡¦, ¡¥scar¡¦ in this area? Do they keep going on about this area?
o Then ¡¥take it lightly¡¦. Have caution. It probably comes from within
- Illustr: me & revival with BK in 97. One friend ¡¥they¡¦re hurt in this area¡¦ (they had a hurt in that area!)
These things are not evil. They are neutral- but can be unhelpful as they don¡¦t produce the fruit of a message from the Spirit
- hence disappointment
Illustr: The (wrong) confusion caused by Evan Roberts and Jessie Pen-Lewis (War on the saints) who attributed ANYTHING not of the HS to evil. ¡¥Total depravity¡¦= EVERY area tainted, not every area EVIL.
So- you can sift out self by self knowledge and accountable community- but how about a ¡¥deceptive source¡¦? The revelation might be genuine!
- cf philippian slave girl in Acts 16:16 (read?)
You¡¦ll see it¡¦s ¡V not something to be jumped at (Paul waited 3 days)
- there are some revelations that I¡¦m only prepared to say ¡¥I¡¦ll wait and see on that one¡¦. ¡¥Keep an open mind- but I have my cautions¡¦
THE THREE STANDARDS
But to help you- there are 3 standards, benchmarks, against which you can measure prophecies
- will help you know whether to accept or reject
- may not help you with our general level of words, as they are usually harmless and biblical
o but once you become a magnet to spiritual people you DO have to apply these tests stringently as you¡¦ll get people and revelations from all sources!
o These help with the 3rd source as they seek to confuse and distract
The Bible
I know this sounds obvious- but it¡¦s fundamental
- God won¡¦t contradict Himself
- Might bring a fresh, new perspective. Remain open to that
o But not a contradictory one. (Innovative one?)
- This is his revealed word
o = His vocabulary. Saturate yourself in it
o = ¡¥when there is no word from God there is the word of God¡¦ (Prov 29:18)
- everything is small time compared to this (book)
Fascinating insight in Rev 12:6
6 We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith.
- = HIS faith. You can only prophesy as your level of faith allows
- = THE faith (see NIV footnote)
- ie if you¡¦re prophesying, use the gift in line with historic orthodoxy. The faith.
¡§But I wouldn¡¦t prophesy something heretical!¡¦
- YOU wouldn¡¦t. But deceiving spirits do. Really sensitive people can encounter that
- Cf William Branham, Branhamites
Cf 1 Jn- 1JN 4:1 Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3 but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God.
¡§Aha- so all I have to discern is whether the revelation confirms that Jesus was actually a full human- then I know it¡¦s from God?¡¨
- nope. Not as simple as that. This was the issue in THEIR days (doceitism)
- in other ages it¡¦s been denying his divinity
Basically- it mustn¡¦t deny the central creeds of the Bible
- the personality and deity of Christ & HS
- salvation by faith and grace etc
the main work of fallen spirits is to distort and distract over Jesus
- hence deny Him as God
- or ¡¥I¡¦m Jesus¡¦ (delusions of grandeur) ¡§we¡¦re all Jesus¡¨ (reduces His uniqueness)
Cf- the philippian slave girl. What she said was true- but Paul discerned it was eventually a distraction from the word
Fruit
Won¡¦t say much here as spoke so much about it last sun pm
- but Jesus says of prophets ¡¥by their fruit you shall know them¡¦
o ie quality of their lives. Humility. Love. Holiness.
o Anyone who has a real encounter with God will show that
’The revelation itself does not make me good. I am only good if as a result I love God more... it is of more value to you than me.... I know for certain that there are many of us who have not had any revelations or visions outside the ordinary teachings of the holy Church and yet love God better than I do’
Julian of Norwich, ’Revelations of divine love’ p20
The fruit of a love for Jesus
- REV 19:10 At this I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, "Do not do it! I am a fellow servant with you and with your brothers who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy." (the essence of prophecy)
But also the fruit it produces in people¡¦s lives
- that¡¦s why you sometimes have to wait a long time, and keep ¡¥open¡¦
Common sense
Gotta be careful here- as God does say some things that defy (but not deny) common sense!
- message of the cross is foolishness!
But, experience and common sense will teach you to treat certain things with caution-
- ie anything with dates or that hypes/whips people up
- ie if not even Jesus knows the dates of His return
o he¡¦s not going to tell a Christian!
- Similarly: wrt revival etc. Not that these things don¡¦t happen but SO many times it leads to damage and cynicism it¡¦s better jut not to have it
o HTB: ¡§no dates, mates, correction or direction¡¨
Common sense says ¡V it¡¦s just more edifying to be cautious
- put it in a sealed envelope and give it to someone (me?) for safe keeping
THE THREE STAGES
Now- you might say ¡¥but I believe it WAS a genuine word form the Lord¡¦, but it ended up ¡¥strange¡¦ or ¡¥not happening. What might have happened there?¡¦
Well- there are 3 stages in a prophecy and error can creep in in any of them
- I¡¦ve mainly dealt with discerning the first stage. The source of the revelation
o But there are 2 stages after that, and discernment is needed in them as well, as you could be wrong with either
Stages are;
- Revelation. But then there¡¦s the
- Interpretation (what do I reckon is actually being said). Then
- Application (how do we act on this)
That¡¦s why it¡¦s important to actually record or write down a revelation without any interpretation, embellishment or application as you may have to go back to it and ask
- ¡¥now, what did God actually say. Not what did I THINK He said¡¦
Illustr: money signs above man¡¦s head. Sensed ¡¥embezzlement¡¦. Hauled him out and accused of embezzlement! Protested innocence. Later found his colleague was embezzling
- revelation was correct. Interpretation wrong. Application was way out
Error creeps in most often at the interpretation and application stages because this is where ¡¥self¡¦ influences most easily: our cultural and sociological conditioning
- so: if you have a word that goes ¡¥wrong¡¦ go ¡¥back to the book¡¦ before you deliver it or dispense with it
But in closing: I¡¦ve spoken to you tonight about skills for discerning. Skills developed by God¡¦s nurture
- but there is no substitute for closeness to Him-
- knowledge of the one who made the original genuine bank note plates and knowledge of the notes themselves
Then, if and when necessary, He will manifest discernment in an individual for the sake of the body
