“Now, brothers and sisters, I have applied these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, so that you may learn from us the meaning of the saying, ‘Do not go beyond what is written.’”
1 Corinthians 4:6
“God told me...” But did He?
If I had a nickel for every time I’ve heard that, I'd probably be a millionaire.
In Acts 17:11, the Berean Jews are referred to as “more noble minded” than the Thessalonican Jews. Why? Because they listened first, then they went to written Scripture, i.e. the whole of Scripture - not for some random proof text ripped out of a verse and taken completely out of context.
Instead, they searched Scripture in order to see if what the Apostle Paul said was true, valid, and in perfect alignment with God-breathed, inerrant, divinely inspired truth. Many today use the Bible for nothing more than to justify making a name for themselves with their building projects or convincing congregations a private jet is absolutely essential for ministry.
It's still critical for us to search Scripture for God's truth today. It's essential for us to listen and confirm, rather than carelessly toss about -or- believe anyone telling us about their "fresh word" from God through visions and dreams about what God supposedly told them to do. Why is critically essential? Here's something to consider:
Paul warned Timothy in 1 Tim 4:1-5, "Now the Spirit expressly states that in later times some will abandon the faith to follow deceitful spirits and the teachings of demons, influenced by the hypocrisy of liars, whose consciences are seared with a hot iron. They will prohibit marriage and require abstinence from certain foods that God has created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. For every creation of God is good, and nothing that is received with thanksgiving should be rejected, because it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer."
It's important because there are more liars, deceivers, and false prophets following the teachings of demons and deceitful spirits than legit ones following Christ. Satan and his crew are more committed to their mission of corrupting Christ's Body & Bride than the average consumer Christian is committed to Christ and His mission of building it up.
If we readily accept every though, idea, dream, and vision without carefully discerning and confirming it with Scripture, the Father's will, and the mission of God through a cohesive, solid, and comprehensive biblical theology... we can, and will, literally fall for anything from those saying, “God told me.”
Scripture commands us to consider others more important than self (fetuses included)... to love our enemies (even people in the other political party)... that our attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus (humility)... to give all our attention to Christ... to make every effort to confirm our calling and election... to wash others’ feet (not just metaphor)... to disciple all nations (starting with our own family and community)... to produce a harvest 30, 60, 100 times that which has been sewn... and stop the consumer-minded variety of pseudo-church.
What if we camped out there and stop ascribing God's holy Name to our narcissistic and corrupt plans? What if we stopped bearing His Name in emptiness to justify our personal sin-preferences by attaching, “God told me to...” to our plans. What if we truly believed King Jesus' words, "Apart from Me you can do nothing."?
If we can’t find evidence that lines up with the WHOLE of Scripture (in context), I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say someone else is doing the whispering in your ear - not God.
The one whispering, speaking, or singing to you is the father of lies... the eternally defeated one who poses as an angel of light... the one who deceives the whole world... the one who convinced Adam to neglect... and Eve to eat... the one who still convinces mothers to abort precious unborn babies or to drown their own children. He's still convincing folks to murder one another over a chicken sandwich or a neighbor's yappy dog.
That crafty serpent, like the Pied Piper, is still convincing false preachers and greedy pastors to lead mindless sheep over the edge into an everlasting abyss of torment. He's convincing selfish fools and cowards that those impulses, dreams, and words are coming directly from God himself. It happens because they're not noble minded. They're not listening to the right stuff the right way and they're not confirming it with God's Word.
If we don’t follow the Acts 17:11 model: listening first and searching Scripture second for eternal truth forever established in the Way, the Truth, and the Life - in King Jesus - then we'll find ourselves listening to the wrong voices and following the one who merely masquerades as an angel of light on a wide path of destruction and everlasting torment.
Lots of folks are quick to say, “God told me...” But did He?
“There is a way that seems right, but in the end it leads to death.”
-Proverbs 14:12
Blessings & love,
Kevin M. Kelley
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