Modern man gets very puffed up about the things he makes. Nations pride themselves on their great technology and scientific achievements. This is nothing new. Back in Isaiahs time, the nations were pretty proud of themselves as well. But lots of clever inventions wont protect anyone from Gods discipline. But God will bring down their pride, and all the clever things they have made will mean nothing. (Isa. 25:11) Here God is talking to the nation of Moab, but He says similar things to many other nations as well throughout the Bible. Arrogance is a theme that always resurfaces whenever God starts prophesying about the future because whenever God raises up prophets to speak about the future, Hes mostly warning about discipline thats going to come. True prophets of God warn people that their great pride is going to be their downfall. False prophets tell people that God is pleased with them just as they are and that theres no need for any repentance. True prophets say, If you dont turn from your evil ways, God will make you sorry. False prophets say, Your ways are wonderful, and God is going to rain down the blessings. Before you get too enamored with some so-called prophet, always check their message with the Holy Spirit and remember these critical points: 1. God doesnt make a habit of telling us the future, because He wants us to depend on Him, not think we can control our own lives. He strictly forbids us from trying to see into the future through human mediums or fortune-tellers, so any prophet who tries to build fame by claiming he has special insights into the future is from Satan. God does give His prophets visions of the future, but this is not something they try to capitalize on. Real prophets are more concerned with the content of Gods message than His method of delivery. 2. Future speaking prophets from God always predict that terrible discipline is headed our way if we dont repent. They also tell us what heart changes we need to make in order to get back in alignment with God. Because they are speaking for the Holy Spirit, their messages have the same characteristics as His convictions: they identify specific sins, they educate people about Gods priorities, they urge people to repent and return to a life of honoring God. 3. The purpose of future speaking prophets is to convict souls about sin, not to stroke egos. Today we see thousands of prophets in the church who go around gushing compliments on everyone in Jesus Name. When they make predictions about the future, its always to say that brighter, more blessed days are coming. These people are speaking for Satan. 4. God always convicts us directly first. Its only when we refuse to listen to Him that He resorts to speaking through a third party. Being a future speaking prophet of God is no picnic. It has zero glamor--instead its guaranteed to make you unpopular and disliked because God is always saying harsh things through you. People who go around flaunting the prophet title like its some impressive badge are proving that they arent real prophets at all. Real prophets dont enjoy delivering their nasty messages but they are compelled to do so by the Holy Spirit, who will not let them rest if they remain quiet. Real prophets tend to be grim and sober because they find it very frustrating and sad that people are so caught up in sin. False prophets, on the other hand, wear big grins on their faces and just cant wait to get in the spotlight and have everyone stare at them in awe. When God is really speaking through someone, that person doesnt need to tell everyone that hes a prophet--the Holy Spirit makes it obvious. And this brings us to the last key point: 5. Real prophets from God never exalt themselves. They only exalt God.
Posted on: Wed, 30 Oct 2013 20:05:15 +0000
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