"If there arises among you a prophet or a dreamer of dreams, and he gives you a sign or a wonder, and the sign or wonder comes to pass, of which he spoke to you, saying, 'Let us go after other gods'..., you shall not listen to the words of that prophet...." (From Deut. 13:1-3)
My purpose is not to encourage rejection of "prophetic words" or prophets. But there is a reality which has plagued the Church since the beginning, viz., false prophets, people who do everything seemingly right, many of their prophecies "come to pass," but they are false nonetheless.
Our text tells us that prophets can arise among us who can foretell things which come to pass. The conclusion to the naive is that, "Well, that's the confirmation." Such reasoning is a non sequitur. Miracles, healings, deliverances, giving people "words" which come to pass, the popular intro to a "word" for people, "There's someone here tonight who........," all can be counterfeit and false. Now most false prophets today would never think of prophesying, "Let us go after gods," not at least that obviously. But their spirit is saying exactly that. And I can assure you that if any of us is not a regular reader of, "the words of God," we can all "be had."
I have been writing regular devotionals for almost 14 years. Of course one is going to repeat oneself with that much writing over that period. I have said it before, but I hope you and I realize that the Bible is God repeating Himself. We have the Words. We are warned not to subtract anything nor add anything. In other words, the Book was closed many centuries ago. Many "prophets," though, are really attempting to appeal to those who would like something beyond the Word of God. To put it another way, they are bored with reading the same words over and over again year after year; therefore, they provide words which are a cure for that boredom. The antidote to this is judging all prophesy in and by the Scriptures. Moreover, prophecies should always be judged, "in the mouth of two or three witnesses." I have seen individuals and local congregations destroyed who did not follow these two basic principles.
The last part of verse three says, "....for the Lord your God is testing you to know whether you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul." Do we love Jesus, does the love of Jesus in our hearts rule over all? If so, we will be very jealous of that love and never allow anyone, no matter how smooth, to deceive us away from our Lord Jesus Christ. If any "word of the Lord" given by anyone, no matter how loved or popular or how big their "ministry," if that "word" is not rooted in the "God-Breathed" Words, avoid such. I don't mean that a prophet can only stand and quote Scripture. The essence, however, is the spirit and principles innate and foundational in the Word of God. If we run our race, "Looking unto Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith," we will not be deceived. If His Words are our words, our thoughts, our modus operandi, then no false prophet will destroy our lives. The principle discussed today will be tested from time to time in all our lives.
Father, in Jesus' Name, may Your Words always prevail in me. Amen.
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Right now, I'm looking at the week of September 14 to be in DC.
When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"
"Looking unto Jesus"
Hebrews 12:2
"Looking unto Jesus"
Hebrews 12:2
