Watch out for FALSE PROPHETS!
Matthew 7.15-27
Jesus was aware of the challenges that the church and believers would face. He also knew that the enemy would use every tactic at his disposal to defeat the church. The enemy knows that the leader of a group can do more damage from the inside than an enemy can do my attacking from the outside. That is why he has placed as many of his workers in church leadership as he can.
WHAT IS A PROPHET?
Whether it is the Old Testament or the New Testament the responsibility of the prophet or preacher who is called of God is always the same. He or she is to tell the truth for God and in some cases to foretell the truth about the future for God. They are messengers for God. The problem is when the messenger begins to see themself as more important than the message.
THREE TYPES OF PROPHETS
The prophets can be broken down into three groups. The first are the Major Prophets. These were the ones who wrote the large books and did the big miracles. Guys like Isaiah, Ezekiel, Elijah and Elisha. They are will know by everyone. In our modern times these are the pastors of the large churches and authors of popular books. They head multi-site churches and run large staffs. The second type of prophets are the Minor Prophets. They wrote small books or were unknown to almost everyone. They may have only preached one great or important message. They were guys like Hosea, Jonah and my favorite Amos. Here is the typical minor prophet. He spends most of his time taking care of a small herd of sheep and preaching to his small group in the middle of nowhere. Then he gets the call to preach one key message of God and he responds. In our modern times minor prophets are the pastors of small churches. They don't have a staff and rarely write a book. They do everything and anything to keep the church going and they fly under the radar and are usually not known outside of their local church. Then there is the third type of prophets. These are the ones Jesus warned us about. These are the False Prophets placed by the enemy in church leadership. They may be pastors of small or large churches. On the surface they look like the real thing but they feel they have enough personal knowledge to speak for God and they rely on their feelings and what the people want them to say to determine their messages.
HOW TO TELL THE DIFFERENCE
Jesus knew that it is not easy to tell the difference but he knew how. He said we should check their fruit. The false prophets will have rotten fruit. The end result of their ministry will not be changed lives and people living closer to God. They will produce soft believers without commitment and with a true knowledge of God, his Son and without a personal relationship with the Holy Spirit. Jesus said we should ask questions and check the results of the ministries of the pastors and leaders of the church we attend. This is about checking the fruit and being sure that that they are serving God and not themselves. Fruit is not about the size of the church or ministry. A false prophet can be a major or minor prophet. They can pastor a small or a large church, but how do you check the fruit?
FRUIT CHECKING
It may not have been something you have thought about but some of the pastors you hear preach will not spend eternity with God. Jesus was clear that some would get in and some would not. The criteria that is used is simple. The ones who do the will of God who is in heaven will get in. Now some prophets are serving a smaller god. They may be serving the god of pride or money or popularity but that will not get them into heaven. Anyone can preach but only the prophet of the true and living God can preach for him. James warned that "not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly." James 3.1 No one should presume to represent God. It takes a call from God.
Jesus knew what they thought would be most important to God. They would say that they had preached, taught and prophesied in his name. Using God's name and actually representing God are two different things. "For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths." 2 Timothy 4.3-4 Preaching and teaching what people want to hear is not doing the will of God. They will tell God that they dealt with evil, that they have driven out demons in his name. Standing against real evil is more than a publicity stunt. They will point to the miracles they have done in his name. They will point to large churches, books written, budgets and their personal accomplishments. These false prophets think that their personal actions cover their dark hearts. They will say to Jesus, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ His reply will shock them. ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’
Bad fruit is never used to make a pie in heaven! Jesus says about false prophets that no matter how much they can claim they have done he will still say, "I never knew you, away from me you evildoers!" They have received everything they deserve while here on earth preaching to etching ears.
Everyone is warned to beware of false prophets or wolves in sheep skins.
THEREFORE
Every believer needs to answer questions if they are going to stay safe from false prophets.
- Are you listening to Jesus? There are real false prophets in the world. They are in pulpits of churches and need to be avoided. You need to be able to tell the difference. You are supposed to check their fruit. You should not look at the glitter or how popular they are but if they really speak and live for God.
- Are you living for Jesus? This is about the spiritual house you are building. You get to choose the materials and you get to choose who builds in your life. The preacher and church you attend is the foundation of your learning and makes a difference in how you live.
- Are you getting ready for the storms? Jesus said that the rains, wind and floods would come. The foundation of your life will determine if you survive the spiritual storms. Either you are ready or you are not ready when the storms of life arrive. When the rain starts falling it is too late to think about building an ark.
This last year Harold Camping predicted the end of the world, twice. On May 21st I did not feel any difference. The world was the same. Then Camping said it only started on May 21st and would finish with a visible return of Jesus on October 21st. It is now November and we are still here. Jesus did not return and Camping is a false prophet, and yet he has many followers. His, oops, seems to be enough for them. His response was unique and telling. “If people want me to apologize, I will apologize…I did not have all that worked out as accurately as I should have had it. That doesn’t bother me at all because I'm not a genius.” He is not a genius and he is not a prophet of the living God either.
BOTTOM LINE
- Watch out for False Prophets.
- Always check the fruit.
- Prepare for the Storms now!
