Steering Clear Of Deceptions

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~GodsMouthpiece~

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In these last days we see much confusion concerning which voice of reason among us is truth, and which is error. Lets take a fresh look at what the scripture teaches us concerning how to guard ourselves from being deceived.

Jesus himself gave us command in Matthew 24:4-5 that the burden is upon the hearer to test what he hears.

"And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. 5For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many."

The words, "take heed" are very significant, and show great importance. Its like saying "listen carefully"..In todays world of technology we have many ways to socialize among other believers. Telephones, emails, message boards like this one, etc. Therefore its imperative we take the time to pay close attention to what we take into our hearts that is purported as truth by others who want to "guide" us.

In Matthew 7 we see Jesus command that we beware of false prophets.

Matthew7:15Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. 16Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? 17Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. 18A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. 19Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. 20Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.

Jesus says we shall know them by their "fruits". I live in an area that produces many types of apples. Although each apple is from a particular apple group, the taste varies at times from tree to tree..Depending on how well the tree has been pruned and cared for through the years, depends on how sweet the fruit is, and how the fruit retains its original flavor..

With true children of God we are also pruned if we abide in Christ, for the husbandman(The Father) desires fruit abounding unto His glory.

John 15:1I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. 2Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. 3Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. 4Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.

But what kind of fruit does a false prophet have? Lets go back to the scripture quoted in Matthew 7:21 "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven."

What is the will of the father?..It is to bring glory to himself through His Son Jesus, whom our lives are hid within.
In other words as He has said in 1 Corinthians..29That no flesh should glory in his presence. 30But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: 31That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.

A false prophet always wishes to drawn men to himself, for he has his own agenda..He may not even know it..It may be the pridefulness that he has a special calling that no-one else has, or that he has some special message that the Lord himself has for the body..But the fruit of his message is that it draws men back to himself for more of this special knowledge, or direction through the false prophet for the Lords work..

2 Timothy 3:13But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived. 14But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them; 15And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

False prophets are themselves deceived. It could be for many reasons. Rebelliousness, pride, anger, bitterness, or anything they have allowed to defile them and have not brought under the LORDSHIP of Jesus Christ!..(not allowing pruning)

Paul was so concerned about this that before he left for Jerusalem that he warned the elders at Ephesus about deceptions coming from within their own ranks..

Acts 20:28Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood. 29For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. 30Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them. 31Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears.
 
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~GodsMouthpiece~

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True prophets are only true if the retain a fear of the Lord, and keep the love of the truth close to their heart. Proper doctrine does NOT mean that a minister/prophet is speaking for God, for they must speak as "DIRECTED" of the Lord with no hidden agenda's..We find many times ourselves that we "hear" something, and then want it to be true because it sounds good. But does it sound good to us because we want it to be true, or because it IS truth? Sometimes our own selfish desires can influence our heart in a way that we deceive ourselves, and will lose our reward if not kept in check..

Jeremiah 17:9The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? 10I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.

Doctrine, or knowledge of the Lords ways mean little, if we do not walk the path laid out by that doctrine, for the whole reason for doctrine is to point us towards Jesus that we may be conformed to His divine nature, or image. Some may have walked with the Lord very close and been given great revelations, but if they don't continue to fear the Lord, and retain that love of the truth for "THEMSELVES" at all times, they can become unprofitable for the kingdom, and eventually false prophets who have their own agenda.

2 Peter 1:2Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, 3According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: 4Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. 5And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; 6And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; 7And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. 8For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins. 10Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall: 11For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

Now lets go back a bit and examine the "fear of the Lord"..
This phrase is better translated as a "moral reverence", knowing there are rewards for obedience, and repercussions for disobedience. After Moses had delivered the ten commandments for God, the people asked that Moses only speak to them and not God, "lest we die"..God never intended for the Israelites to have any one person speak to them as Moses was asked. This was because they didn't have a "PURE" heart..They saw God through the eyes of defilement, only seeing God as a punisher of men, rather than the God of love and mercy.

Exodus 20:18And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off. 19And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die. 20And Moses said unto the people, Fear not: for God is come to prove you, and that his fear may be before your faces, that ye sin not.

In Deuteronomy we see this a bit more clearly from Gods perspective towards His people. Moses whos heart was true, and pure before God could hear, as well as speak with Him. But the people who did NOT desire to be "morally pure" (fear the Lord) wanted a "go between"....Another words they wanted no direct accountability to God..They desired darkness rather than light..

Deuteronomy:22These words the LORD spake unto all your assembly in the mount out of the midst of the fire, of the cloud, and of the thick darkness, with a great voice: and he added no more. And he wrote them in two tables of stone, and delivered them unto me. 23And it came to pass, when ye heard the voice out of the midst of the darkness,(for the mountain did burn with fire,)that ye came near unto me, even all the heads of your tribes, and your elders; 24And ye said, Behold, the LORD our God hath showed us his glory and his greatness, and we have heard his voice out of the midst of the fire: we have seen this day that God doth talk with man, and he liveth. 25Now therefore why should we die? for this great fire will consume us: if we hear the voice of the LORD our God any more, then we shall die. 26For who is there of all flesh, that hath heard the voice of the living God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as we have, and lived? 27Go thou near, and hear all that the LORD our God shall say: and speak thou unto us all that the LORD our God shall speak unto thee; and we will hear it, and do it. 28And the LORD heard the voice of your words, when ye spake unto me; and the LORD said unto me, I have heard the voice of the words of this people, which they have spoken unto thee: they have well said all that they have spoken. 29O that there were such an heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always, that it might be well with them, and with their children for ever! 30Go say to them, Get you into your tents again. 31But as for thee, stand thou here by me, and I will speak unto thee all the commandments, and the statutes, and the judgments, which thou shalt teach them, that they may do them in the land which I give them to possess it. 32Ye shall observe to do therefore as the LORD your God hath commanded you: ye shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. 33Ye shall walk in all the ways which the LORD your God hath commanded you, that ye may live, and that it may be well with you, and that ye may prolong your days in the land which ye shall possess.

After this God instituted sacrifices..Yet he always desired obedience rather than sacrifice..

1Samuel:22And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.

Obedience to Gods commands are as giving ourselves as a living sacrifice..When we continually do this in fear of the Lord we shall continue to walk uprightly the way He desires, and in turn we continue to keep the lines of communication open with Him. We will be able to look through the eyes of a pure heart and see how He sees..Those who have lost this ability see only the bad in people, and are judgmental in their dealings with their siblings..True discernment is cast aside and unknowingly replaced with a judgmental outlook. They use the written word to justify themselves and their hateful actions.

Titus 1:15Unto the pure all things are pure: but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled.

So without the fear of the Lord and the love of the truth (transparency with God), our heart doesnt remain pure, and our outlook towards God and others is defiled. This in turn causes us to see the God and His scriptures differently. Judging, harsh, and condemning.

If the love of the truth within(accountability to God, and others), is cast aside by a true prophet or minister, it will lead to deceptions...Everything they say applies to everyone but themselves..Although they ran the course well in the beginning, they became defiled, and see through suspect eyes of instead of love.

This will happen soon for the whole earth who receive not the gospel of love and truth.

2 Thessalonians 2:10And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 11And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: 12That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

 
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~GodsMouthpiece~

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The call of a true prophet is to be obedient to the Lord's call. It doesn't matter if the way God wants things done by the prophet is hard or not. The Lord's omniscience is part of the "fear of the Lord", and He looks for obedience..Sometimes when we are moving along in a direction the Lord has set forth, we grow weary..But if we do not faint, we will receive a reward for our obedience..After all, the Lord always knows the best way to accomplish His own will..

There is a story in the old testament of a prophet of Judah who was sent to Bethel to prophesy to king Jeroboam..Jeroboam's name literally means "the people contend", or "he pleads the peoples cause"...Quite the contrary when dealing with the Lord and obedience..We would call such a person a people pleaser, a yes man, etc..He used his influence after being appointed by Solomon over most of his kingdom, to take up the cause of the oppressed..The people had grown weary of the taxes and had become discontent with Solomons imposing personality..He had the blessings as well of the Prophet Ahijah. He had rent his mantle into twelve pieces and giving ten of them to Jeroboam, and informed him that he was to become king of the ten tribes. So Jeroboam tried a coup but failed...He fled to Egypt until Solomon died and then Jeroboam came back by popular demand to become one of the most evil kings of the Jews. He led them into idolatry...

This young prophet of Judah was sent with a message that the king did not like, for it foretold of the blessing of the Messiah to come through the lineage of David and not Jeroboam. What I want you to see is that God sent this prophet to speak, gave him specific directions that he eat not or drink, nor return the way that he came, but at some point the word of the Lord became a constraining force to him, instead of a wonderful desire to complete..The reason was a deceptive lie told by another prophet of old..


1 Kings 13:11Now there dwelt an old prophet in Bethel; and his sons came and told him all the works that the man of God had done that day in Bethel: the words which he had spoken unto the king, them they told also to their father. 12And their father said unto them, What way went he? For his sons had seen what way the man of God went, which came from Judah. 13And he said unto his sons, Saddle me the donkey. So they saddled him the donkey: and he rode thereon, 14And went after the man of God, and found him sitting under an oak: and he said unto him, Art thou the man of God that camest from Judah? And he said, I am. 15Then he said unto him, Come home with me, and eat bread. 16And he said, I may not return with thee, nor go in with thee: neither will I eat bread nor drink water with thee in this place: 17For it was said to me by the word of the LORD, Thou shalt eat no bread nor drink water there, nor turn again to go by the way that thou camest. 18He said unto him, I am a prophet also as thou art; and an angel spake unto me by the word of the LORD, saying, Bring him back with thee into thine house, that he may eat bread and drink water. But he lied unto him. 19So he went back with him, and did eat bread in his house, and drank water. 20And it came to pass, as they sat at the table, that the word of the LORD came unto the prophet that brought him back: 21And he cried unto the man of God that came from Judah, saying, Thus saith the LORD, Forasmuch as thou hast disobeyed the mouth of the LORD, and hast not kept the commandment which the LORD thy God commanded thee, 22But camest back, and hast eaten bread and drunk water in the place, of the which the LORD did say to thee, Eat no bread, and drink no water; thy carcase shall not come unto the sepulchre of thy fathers. 23And it came to pass, after he had eaten bread, and after he had drunk, that he saddled for him the donkey, to wit, for the prophet whom he had brought back. 24And when he was gone, a lion met him by the way, and slew him: and his carcase was cast in the way, and the donkey stood by it, the lion also stood by the carcase.

Notice the last time the young prophet said "I may not", before it was I will not eat and drink with you, even if the king gave him half his kingdom..Surely the young prophet was wearied..He may even desired to "fellowship" with the old prophet..Possibly he thought wow, I could hear some great stories from this old salt..

The old prophet however lied to him, to get him to do his own agenda..What was the old prophets reasons for lying?..Could it have been that he was jealous after his sons had come and told how the kings hand had withered and then been restored at the word of the Lord through this young prophet?..Maybe his jealously was caused because of pride?..After all why wouldn't the Lord have a prophet who lived right in Bethel deliver this word to the king?..Was it that he was already defiled by the sin of losing his fear of the Lord?..We have no answers, so we are left to speculate the "reasons"..But clearly this prophet heard the true word of the Lord even after he lied!!..But just another point of reference, he had the young prophet buried in his own tomb..Jeroboam decided to defile the tombs of the prophets of Bethel, but the old prophet had himself covered, in that outside the tomb he put a monument that read.."the prophet of Judah"..See, he was still concerned about self..Self, Self, Self..

Point is..Proper doctrine, nor fulfilled prophetic words, indicate a true prophet..The fruit that comes from what a mans mouth speaks is what we are to judge...This old prophets brought a lying word to this young prophet that caused him to stumble..

Romans 14:13Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumblingblock or an occasion to fall in his brother’s way.
 
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JimB

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Wow, 3,448 words. I’ll have to get back with you on this when I have time to read it.

Do you have a Reader’s Digest Condensed Version?

~Val Crow
Sometimes it takes as much faith to let go as it does to hang on.


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~GodsMouthpiece~

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Point is..Proper doctrine, nor fulfilled prophetic words, indicate a true prophet..
The fruit that comes from what a mans mouth speaks is what we are to judge...

If that fruit keeps drawing men to himself because of superior knowledge, or abundance of visions, how is Jesus glorified rather than the man lifted up in the minds of his contemporaries?

How is Jesus glorified when the focus is upon the man?

Seems I see a certain pattern..

An abundance of proper doctrine from a person can cause one to let their guard down a bit and become lazy to study everything out themselves. They can become dependent upon another besides the Spirit of God..Then anything purported as truth gets swallowed up as truth.

But when the work gets put in like they should have in the first place, they realize that there were more questions that should have been asked, instead of just "trusting".

I have seen firsthand however, that at times when people have questioned those who claim superior knowledge, that instead of answering the questions directly, they heap on much more to "wade" through so as to take the questioning person down another road of questions...lol

Lets pound them down with some more of that superior knowledge so they can't disagree with me anymore?

I will bring up some very controversial points later in this thread, and maybe we can get some answers..:)
 
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ARBITER01

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A point of contention about true prophets,..

1 Kings 17:22-24,..

22 (ASV) And Jehovah hearkened unto the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came into him again, and he revived.

23 (ASV) And Elijah took the child, and brought him down out of the chamber into the house, and delivered him unto his mother; and Elijah said, See, thy son liveth.

24 (ASV) And the woman said to Elijah, Now I know that thou art a man of God, and that the word of Jehovah in thy mouth is truth.
 
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~GodsMouthpiece~

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Good scriptures..The true word of God gives life. It doesn't not draw men to men, but men to God. When a mans words are from above they are life and light. But if that life and light create an addiction for others to hang on the prophets apron, more than the hem of Jesus garment we have a problem..
 
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Floatingaxe

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Good scriptures..The true word of God gives life. It doesn't not draw men to men, but men to God. When a mans words are from above they are life and light. But if that life and light create an addiction for others to hang on the prophets apron, more than the hem of Jesus garment we have a problem..

:thumbsup::amen:
 
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~GodsMouthpiece~

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Ever notice how some that call themselves prophets whine all day long about how they are attacked, yet they never stop insinuating and attacking others themselves..All under the guise of preaching against sin..They are too self absorbed to see that the very words they use are SIN because they have judged UNRIGHTEOUS judgment...They think the more people they can convince of their stance the more right they are...Problem is though, their FIRST assessment was flawed..They have "better discernment"..They hear God an no one else does..Quick to point out sin in others if it is CONVENIENT for their own cause...One recently decided to inform me I had one day to repent of something, OR...Now I am supposedly apostate...I never walked away from God, nor has he cast me aside..Matter of fact I have had some of the best times with the Lord as of late...My salvation is NOT dependent upon agreeing with them, my salvation comes from the Lord who has cleansed me from all my sin DESPITE their opinions...You certainly believe in cleansing don't you?..Then get your eyes on yourself, you have needs...Every idle word will be judged..Every innuendo spoken for effect of self justification..Every application of scripture to fit false discernment...If you actually see sin in them and use scripture to restore they cry foul..One is right, the other is wrong...They say they are clean, I say I am bought by the blood of Christ and I belong to HIM ALONE...They attack me, they are attacking HIM..Lying, exaggerating for effect, are some traits of these fellows as well..They need healing..You cant see clearly through the eyes of hurt, whether self inflicted, or hurt propagated upon you..The Holy Spirit is grieved at the flippancy that some attribute their every thought to Him..REPENT!

Proverbs 30:Accuse not a servant unto his master, lest he curse thee, and thou be found guilty.


 
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