Category Archives: False Prophets / Teachers

Can God Use Me?, Character of God, False Prophets / Teachers, Hearing from God, Humility, Miracles, Prayer, Pride, Suffering / Adversity

Relying on God’s Power In Our Weakness

In 2 Corinthians, Paul is telling the people of Corinth about a vision God gave him. He is trying to make a point that although he had much he could brag about, he will not. Indeed Paul had much to brag about given his passionate and selfless submission and service to Jesus Christ and the divine revelation he received.

Paul then shares in 2 Corinthians 12: 7-10 about a specific issue from which he suffers that God has chosen not to heal, despite several requests by Paul. We know that Paul is not a “complainer”. His ministry documents much suffering and he endured it all with minimal or no complaints, to the glory of Jesus Christ. The issue must have been significant for Paul to mention it, though we are not told about the details.

… So to keep me from becoming proud, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from becoming proud.

8 Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. 9 Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. 10 That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Paul is revealing a great way to view our own weaknesses. Accepting our weakness and looking to Christ for strength is powerful. In our weakness, His power works best. This does not mean we should not strive to change our behaviors and grow to be more like Jesus… of course we should! But God knows we are weak and can use that to His glory if we are fully submitted to Him. Then we know all was accomplished because of Him and not because of ourselves.

This scripture is also a powerful reminder that those who preach that it is a matter of our personal faith alone that can deliver us from all illness or challenges are teaching false doctrine. Even Paul, who had tremendous faith, still experienced a “thorn” which he could not get rid of. “Name it and claim it” teaching is false. We are to come humbly before God with our needs and submit to His will, even if His answer is “no”.

All of us have to work to overcome our sin nature. All of us are subject to injury and illness. All of us have limitations in our abilities. It is fine to seek healing and help from God to overcome these challenges, but if the answer is “no”… then give glory to God and let His power work through your weakness.

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Consequences of Sin, False Prophets / Teachers, Heaven and Hell, Jesus Christ / Yeshua, Parables, Wickedness / Evil

Parable of the Fishing Net

Jesus continues to teach about the Kingdom of Heaven through  parables in Matthew 13:47-52 using a comparison to a fishing net.

47 “Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a fishing net that was thrown into the water and caught fish of every kind. 48 When the net was full, they dragged it up onto the shore, sat down, and sorted the good fish into crates, but threw the bad ones away. 49 That is the way it will be at the end of the world. The angels will come and separate the wicked people from the righteous, 50 throwing the wicked into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 51 Do you understand all these things?”

“Yes,” they said, “we do.”

52 Then he added, “Every teacher of religious law who becomes a disciple in the Kingdom of Heaven is like a homeowner who brings from his storeroom new gems of truth as well as old.”

It is important to recognize once again that not all of us will go into heaven to spend eternity with God. We must choose the offer of grace through Jesus which also leads to repenting from our sin and changing our behavior and thoughts. We can not just keep sinning and ignoring God or outright rejecting Him and then expect Him to accept us into heaven.

We must not claim to be His followers and wear the label Christian, but then not submit to His leadership and follow Him. God calls us to change our behaviors to be righteous, not to change the interpretation of scripture or laws of man to accept our sins.

The good news is that we do not have to be perfect! We can put our faith and hope in Jesus Christ and genuinely repent of our sins (yes, imperfectly) and seek to follow Him wholeheartedly. We can proclaim His message loudly and try to bring others with us to Jesus.

One final observation… Jesus calls out the teachers of religious law that become disciples of Kingdom of Heaven… these are two separate things. Many who are or just seem knowledgeable as religious leaders are not disciples in the Kingdom of Heaven. Even Satan knows the word of God very well. The difference is a matter of the heart and the desire to serve God or serve themselves.

Praise God for those teachers and church leaders who are disciples of Jesus! They are messengers bringing joy to the world.  Please look for opportunities to thank and encourage those who teach God’s whole word according to the Bible. Many will reject them for it, but the encouragement is great when receiving it genuinely from their flock.

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Consequences of Sin, Discerning / Judging, False Prophets / Teachers

Beware of False Prophets Disguised As Sheep

In Matthew 7:15-20, Jesus once again warns His followers to use discernment and wisdom to judge the motivations and heart of others. We are only able to judge based on actions and words where God judges from the heart and intentions. Though our assessment will be imperfect, we are called to judge the intentions of others wisely and apply that knowledge to protect ourselves and others.

15 “Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep but are really vicious wolves. 16 You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act. Can you pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit. 18 A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit. 19 So every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire. 20 Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions.

It really seems quite obvious in the context of con men or criminals who may wish to rob or harm us for their selfish gain. We naturally identify a need to discern their intent from their actions and use judgment to protect ourselves.

However, Jesus is warning about something much more sinister. His warning applies to those who pretend to be His followers… or pastors or church leaders that pretend (often convincingly) to be serving Jesus when they really serve only their own selfish ambition and greed. Often these wolves know the Bible well, as Satan does… they just twist the scripture when they teach it to mislead their followers to do what they want instead of what God wants.

One of the best ways to recognize these false prophets is to be consistently reading and studying God’s word in the Bible ourselves. Add to your study by using multiple different resources from different, independent Christian leaders. Those who allow themselves to rely solely on a once a week trip to church to listen to someone else talk about the Bible and never or seldom study it themselves are easy prey to false prophets.

Some of the most effective wolves preach from the Bible but intentionally only teach part of the gospel… the part that God is a God of love… the part that makes people feel comfortable in their sinful lives rather than leading them to change. Some even openly say that they do not wish to talk about things that make people sad or uncomfortable. Does that sound like the Jesus of the gospels? No it does not. Jesus confronted sin, made people uncomfortable, and challenged them to change. When we read the Bible we see that while God is a God of love, He is also a God of righteousness and judgment. We are accountable for what we do and what we fail to do.

When a flock is led astray by false prophets, they do not get all that God wants them to have.  They may live their lives missing out on large parts of God’s word… they often become a powerful tool for Satan… a person identifying themselves as Christian, pointing to the Bible, but not living righteously. While the false prophets are accountable to God for their deception, so too are the people responsible for allowing themselves to be misled due to failure to study the scriptures themselves.

It is urgent that we each study God’s word consistently and connect with objective study tools to help us in addition to seeking out a godly church and godly counselors.

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False Prophets / Teachers, Jesus Christ / Yeshua, Share the Good News

What if Teaching Scripture Offends People?

In John 6:35-68, Jesus teaches truth, even when it is hard. He never compromises the message of scripture just to make people feel more comfortable. People may choose to leave if they refuse to accept God’s word or it offends them, but if we refuse to teach the truth of God’s word then there is no purpose to anyone staying to listen. They may as well listen to the message of the world.

35 Jesus replied, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. 36 But you haven’t believed in me even though you have seen me. 37 However, those the Father has given me will come to me, and I will never reject them. 38 For I have come down from heaven to do the will of God who sent me, not to do my own will. 39 And this is the will of God, that I should not lose even one of all those he has given me, but that I should raise them up at the last day. 40 For it is my Father’s will that all who see his Son and believe in him should have eternal life. I will raise them up at the last day.”

41 Then the people[h] began to murmur in disagreement because he had said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” 42 They said, “Isn’t this Jesus, the son of Joseph? We know his father and mother. How can he say, ‘I came down from heaven’?”

43 But Jesus replied, “Stop complaining about what I said. 44 For no one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them to me, and at the last day I will raise them up. 45 As it is written in the Scriptures,[i] ‘They will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who listens to the Father and learns from him comes to me. 46 (Not that anyone has ever seen the Father; only I, who was sent from God, have seen him.)

47 “I tell you the truth, anyone who believes has eternal life. 48 Yes, I am the bread of life! 49 Your ancestors ate manna in the wilderness, but they all died. 50 Anyone who eats the bread from heaven, however, will never die. 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will live forever; and this bread, which I will offer so the world may live, is my flesh.”

52 Then the people began arguing with each other about what he meant. “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” they asked.

53 So Jesus said again, “I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you cannot have eternal life within you. 54 But anyone who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise that person at the last day. 55 For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. 56 Anyone who eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him. 57 I live because of the living Father who sent me; in the same way, anyone who feeds on me will live because of me. 58 I am the true bread that came down from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will not die as your ancestors did (even though they ate the manna) but will live forever.”

59 He said these things while he was teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.

60 Many of his disciples said, “This is very hard to understand. How can anyone accept it?”

61 Jesus was aware that his disciples were complaining, so he said to them, “Does this offend you? 62 Then what will you think if you see the Son of Man ascend to heaven again? 63 The Spirit alone gives eternal life. Human effort accomplishes nothing. And the very words I have spoken to you are spirit and life. 64 But some of you do not believe me.” (For Jesus knew from the beginning which ones didn’t believe, and he knew who would betray him.) 65 Then he said, “That is why I said that people can’t come to me unless the Father gives them to me.”

66 At this point many of his disciples turned away and deserted him. 67 Then Jesus turned to the Twelve and asked, “Are you also going to leave?”

68 Simon Peter replied, “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words that give eternal life. 69 We believe, and we know you are the Holy One of God.[j]”

Simon Peter replied with both simplicity and great wisdom. Once we know that Jesus is the Holy One of God, then we should not reject His hard teaching, but seek to understand it. To whom else will we go?

Sadly, many churches choose not to teach the full gospel or change it to avoid offending their flock with hard teaching.  Leaders may even rationalize that it is for the good of their flock, to keep them in church and not have them leave. Some just want to fill the seats and get donations. Jesus shows us to teach the truth boldly is to truly love God’s people. Some will reject it, but those who accept it will understand the truth of the good news.

A parent could tell their children it is safe to play in the street and the children may be happier, but they are in danger. So too is it important to preach the full gospel in its full truth to the body of Christ!

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