Test The Prophets

Test The Prophets

Are you a Christian? Have you truly turned from your sins and turned to Jesus? Or did you come to Jesus for a better life? Did you come to Jesus for your best life now? Did you come to Jesus to gain something? Is it all about you? Have you listened to t.v. preachers or Christian music where all they talk about is you and how wonderful you are? I ask you these questions because the Bible clearly tells us to test the prophets. 

Deuteronomy 13:1-4 says:  If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder, And the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them;

Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the Lord your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. Ye shall walk after the Lord your God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and ye shall serve him, and cleave unto him.

Fornicating Pastor Desiree Allen

I recently read about a woman pastor in New York that is unmarried, she says she has a fiancé, and she is pregnant with twins. Desiree Allen refuses to step down from the pulpit. She says that she has been having sexual relationships on and off since she was 15 years old. This woman is a false teacher. We are to be like the Bereans and test everything against the Scriptures. This woman in New York does not pass the test.

Do you chase after dreams, signs or wonders? We don’t need to chase these things. We have the Holy Bible. We don’t need additional things in addition to God’s Word. We have His Book. But Deuteronomy 13 clearly tells us that God allows false prophets to test and prove people. Are you following false teachers? One way to make sure that you are not following false prophets is to follow Jesus. Our Lord said follow Me and I will make you fishers of men.

God Tests or Proves Us

God tests or proves us to see if we follow Him with all of our heart and soul. Is this you tonight? Do you follow God with all your heart and soul? This is hard to do. We tend to let “life” get in our way. Work, kids, stress and worries, all kinds of things get in our way of following God with all our heart and soul.

So how do we do this? Deuteronomy 13 tells us that we are to walk after God. Enoch walked with God. He surrendered his life completely to God. Enoch habitually walked with God. He was faithful. Does this describe you tonight? Can you say that you walk with God? Do you habitually walk with God? Or are following God one day and living for the devil the next?

Fear The Lord

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. Oh, do you have wisdom tonight? Not worldly wisdom, but wisdom that comes from God alone? Do you fear God? Yes, fear means reverence and respect, but it also means fear!

In the mean time, when there were gathered together an innumerable multitude of people, insomuch that they trode one upon another, he began to say unto his disciples first of all, Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. For there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; neither hid, that shall not be known. Therefore whatsoever ye have spoken in darkness shall be heard in the light; and that which ye have spoken in the ear in closets shall be proclaimed upon the housetops.

And I say unto you my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him (Luke 12:1-5).

Who  Should You Fear?

Jesus said don’t fear those who can kill you, rather fear the One who after He has killed you has the power to cast you into Hell. Jesus is saying fear God! Most pastors don’t talk like this anymore. Everyone loves the modern day version of Jesus that is this cool, hippy savior that loves everybody. Jesus said fear God! Fear the One who can and will cast you into Hell if you die in your sins.

Next in loving God with all of your heart and soul is to keep His commandments. Now none of us have perfectly kept the 10 Commandments. That’s why Jesus suffered, bled and died on the cross for guilty sinners like us. None of us are righteous. But a true follower of Jesus loves Him. A true child of God wants to obey God.

Do Christians Still Sin?

People that are born again desire to live holy We desire to be righteous and it takes the righteousness of Jesus to make you right. Do Christians still sin? Yes we do. But it grieves us when we sin against God. It breaks our heart to break God’s heart. Our desire is to be more Christ-like. Is this you tonight? Do you truly desire to be more Christ-like or are your desires more for satisfying the pleasures of the flesh? You cannot serve two masters.

Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me. (John 14:23-24).

Jesus said if you love Him, you will keep His commandments. The Lord said if you don’t love Him, you won’t keep His commandments. Oh, do you love the Lord tonight? If you say yes, do you keep His commandments? Is it your burning desire to live a life that is pleasing to the Lord? Those who love Him, keep His commandments. Those who don’t love Him, don’t keep the commandments. Do you truly love Jesus or not?

Keeping The Commandments Will Not Save You

Just to clarify, those of us who are born again don’t try to keep the 10 Commandments because we think it will save us in anyway. No, we understand that we deserve Hell. We understand that we have sinned against God. No, we try to keep the commandments out of love. We love Jesus because He first loved us. We love Jesus because He paid the sin debt that we owe. He suffered God’s wrath over our sins for us. He took our place. We strive to keep the commandments out of love for our great Savior.

We obey His voice. How do you hear God’s voice? You read the Holy Bible! God has spoken to us and He continues speaking to us through His word. Are you hearing from God? No you say? Well then read the Bible! God reveals Himself to us. You draw closer to God when you read the Bible. You know what God expects of you, when you read the Bible. Reading Gods’ word is how you know God.

Not a One and Done Event

If you say that you are a Christian and you don’t feed on the Word daily, I challenge you to examine yourself and see if you are really in the faith. There are a lot of pretenders around the world and especially here in America. There are a lot of false teachers that are leading people astray. There are a lot misguided people running around leading people in the sinner’s prayer. They foolishly think that salvation is somehow a one and done event.

So they furiously work to get people to repeat a prayer. But this is unbiblical. The Bible says that those who believeth are saved. Believeth is more than just a one-time intellectual nod to God. Believeth is a continual believing. Look at the most famous verse in the Bible – John 3:16: For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Obeying God is a continual hearing and a continual obeying. It is so opposite of a one and done religious experience. Jesus said you are to deny yourself, pick up your cross and follow Him. You follow the Lord to the end. And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved (Matthew 24:11-13). Are you obeying God? Are you believing and enduring to the end?

Are You Serving God?

Then we are to serve Him. Are you serving God tonight? Are you serving God or are you serving yourself? Serving God or serving Satan? Make no mistake, you are serving someone or something tonight. Are you serving the One True God? The best way I know to serve God is to share the Gospel. If you are truly saved, you have everlasting life. You have eternal life. You are Heaven bound. Why in the world would you keep the greatest gift of all time to yourself? It doesn’t diminish in anyway when you share it. Are you serving God tonight? Do you serve Him every day?

We are commanded to share the Gospel. It’s not an option, it’s a command. And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen (Matthew 28:18-20).

Preach The Gospel

And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned (Mark 16:15-16).  And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem (Luke 24:46-47).

But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth (Acts 1:8). Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me (Isaiah 6:8). Is this you tonight? Do you say here I am Lord, send me? Are you serving the Lord? Are you sharing the Gospel?

Cleave To God

Last of all, we are to cleave to God. Cleaving isn’t a word we use much anymore. When you cleave to someone, you stick to them. The best example is found in Genesis 2:24: Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh. The apostle Paul says in Romans 12:9 Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.

Are you doing this tonight? Are you cleaving to God and forsaking the world? Are you cleaving to the Lord or are you chasing prophets, dreams, signs and wonders? Have you truly repented and surrendered your life to Jesus Christ the Lord? If not, do so tonight. Believeth on the Lord Jesus and be saved. Call upon the name of the Lord and be saved. Turn from your sins and turn to Jesus. Be ye saved. Repent and believe the Gospel.

(This message was proclaimed in downtown Springfield, MO on November 25, 2016)