To: Hebraic-Foundations@yahoogroups.com
From: "Pastor Buddy Martin" <Bro.Buddy@ChristianChallenge.org>
Date sent: Fri, 22 Mar 2002 18:53:29 -0600
Subject: Bible Study HF058 - Discerning the Spirit of the Age
Hebraics,
Jesus Himself, along with the prophets of old, and the apostles of the
new
covenant, warned that the end of the age would bring with it great
mixture.
Error would be mixed with truth. False prophets would speak in the name of
the
Lord. And the message of the gospel would become distorted. With all these
warnings, would it not pay a believer to be spiritually alert in the times
we
now live in. I say yes.
This brings us to an important issue with regard to the believer who
has been
born from above. To live in the truth of God is to be aware of things that
belong to Him. Only those truly born from above have the ability to
recognize
the things of God. This ability to discern becomes more acute as the child
of
God grows in knowledge and wisdom. I will conclude this study by sharing
some
things that can help the child of God know the things that are truly of
the
Lord.
This is Bible Study HF058 - Discerning the Spirit of the Age.
I'm not going to give a lot of New Testament Scriptures that warn us of
the end
time deceptions. Most of you are likely familiar with these Scriptures.
Let's
begin with an Old Testament prophecy the Lord gave through Jeremiah,
concerning
the last days. The Lord says, "In the last days you will clearly
understand it."
What is it we are to understand? Listen on: "I did not send these
prophets, but
they ran. I did not speak to them, but they prophesied." (Jeremiah
23:20,21)
Then the Lord says, "But if they [false messengers] had stood in
My council,
then they would have announced My words to My people, and would have
turned them
back from their evil way and from the evil of their deeds." (Verse
22)
Notice that the false prophets are not preaching a message of
repentance.
According to the context, they are saying, "'The Lord said, 'You will
have
peace,' And as for everyone who walks in the stubbornness of his own
heart, they
say, 'Calamity will not come upon you.'" The message of the false
prophet has
always been a message of peace and prosperity, where white becomes black,
and
black becomes white. Where God is love, and nothing bad will ever come
from Him.
The false prophet places an emphasis on God's love, to the expense of a
walk of
righteousness. God speaks through Malachi and spells this out; "You
have wearied
the Lord with your words. Yet you say, 'How have we wearied Him?' In that
you
say, 'Everyone who does evil is good in the sight of the Lord, and He
delights
in them,' or, 'Where is the God of justice!'" (Malachi 2:17)
Notice that the message centers on God's love and God's delight? They
were
saying, "Everyone who does evil is good in the sight of the Lord, and
He
delights in them." This is the message being distributed today. New
age cults
carry the message of God's love at the expense of God's justice. And this
isn't
a matter of being negative. The gospel is a powerful message of love. But
the
love message does not negate the message of God's justice.
Well, lets leave the Old Testament prophet. Since most of our
membership are
more familiar with the New Testament warnings concerning the last days, we
can
simply return to the subject at hand. How then are we to discern the
spirit of
the age, and the false messages that are going forth in the name of the
Lord?
The Lord said His sheep would 'know' His voice. The apostle said that our
spiritual lives make a provision in this area.
Paul said, "But a natural man does not accept the things of the
Spirit of God,
for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because
they are
spiritually appraised. But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet
he
himself is appraised by no one." (1 Corinthians 2:14,15)
The apostle said that the spiritual man 'knows' and 'appraises.'
Earlier in this
setting Paul said that we have received the Spirit who is from God, so
that we
may know the things freely given to us by God. The word know is eido
in Greek.
It means to see, perceive, to turn the eyes, the mind, or the attention
to
anything; to get knowledge of; to be skilled in, or to know the meaning
of. The
spiritual believer has a built in ability to see things as they really
are.
In verse 15, Paul says, But he who is spiritual APPRAISES all
things, yet he
himself is appraised by no one. The word appraises is anakrino
in Greek. It
means to examine, to ask questions, search, discern, and enquire into, to
scrutinize, to sift. In a forensic sense it means to hold an investigation
to
determine the excellence or defects of any thing.
In this setting the apostle brings out the beauty and strength of a
believers
spiritual life. The crown of a believers walk is his knowing the things
of the
Lord. This ability protects the believer from deception and the activity
of
darkness.
There are two other Greek words that relate to knowing the things of
the Lord.
They are 'ginosko' and 'epignosis'. Jesus said, I am the
good shepherd, and I
know (ginosko) my own and my own know (ginosko) Me. (John
10:14) Then Peter
says, Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge (epignosis)
of God
and of Jesus our Lord. (2Peter1:2)
Ginosko means to be personally acquainted with; to understand;
to have
knowledge. Epignosis speaks of a deepening knowledge. It means
precise and
accurate knowledge. This kind of knowledge is the result of living a life
of
communion with Jesus.
The ability to know if a thing is truly of God is important because the
supernatural realm makes up more than merely the things of God. Satan is a
spiritual being. And the hallmark of Satans work is deception. Paul
said, For
our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers,
against the
powers, against the world forces of this spiritual darkness, against the
SPIRITUAL forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. (Cf. Eph6:12)
We are especially warned that in the last days there will be a great
increase of
deceptive at work in the earth. The Lord said that this deception would be
so
acute that even the very elect would have to maintain a special guard. How
can
this be? It can be because the deceiving influence will mimic the things
of the
Lord. It will use 'Jesus-loves-you' language. It will speak of lofty
things, and
yet at its heart will be a deceiving activity.
Paul tells us that Satan is able to portray himself as an angel of
light. He
also tells us that it is possible to preach another Jesus, that people can
receive another spirit, and that a false gospel can be presented. He
clearly
warned the Corinthian church of Satan's ability to deceive.
It seems that the Corinthian Church is a classic example of an immature
flesh-
driven church. Certainly there were godly people in the Church, but the
Church
itself had such a low level of consecration that many of the members were
unable
to discern evil works. Paul said of them, "And I, brethren, could not
speak to
you as to spiritual men, but as to men of flesh, as to infants in
Christ."
(1Co3:1)
To take this a step further, the work of demonic is closely linked to
the
prideful flesh of man. What the fleshly person attributes to God are
simply
soulish powers that are in cooperation with spirits of darkness. One
early
writer spoke of this activity of the flesh as 'a super heated human
spirit.'
It appears that the Thessalonians believers were more mature. Paul told
these
believers there were certain things they should do in dealing with those
who
claim to speak for God. To them, Paul said, "Examine everything
carefully; hold
fast to that which is good." (1Thess5:21) To examine things carefully
means the
Scriptures must always be consulted. They are to be applied against
teachings
and prophecies. (Cf. 1Co4:1,6)
Paul goes on to say that the believers are to 'abstain from every form
of evil.
Abstain is the word 'apecho'. It means to hold back; be distant
from. The evil
to abstain from is anything that is falsely attributed to the Holy Spirit.
The
Holy Spirit will never give a revelation that runs contrary to Gods
Word. This
applies to both prophecy and a teaching.
Ive heard the complaint that people should not be searching for
Scripture or
verse for everything. While it is true that we should not rush through the
Scripture to find support for something we want to believe, yet we are
required
to be true to God's Word. Any true teaching will stand the scrutiny of the
Word.
Just because a person claims to speak for God is not sufficient. We are to
examine carefully all teachings to make certain they are in agreement with
the
gospel message. And we are to especially examine spiritual operations.
Demonic
spirits bring a false anointing. These spirits love to prophesy. They love
to
provide information about people. Careful examination will often reveal a
deceiving spirit at work.
I counseled a fallen minister some years ago who found out that what he
thought
were gifts of the Spirit were workings of a strange spirit. He knew things
about
people that he could not have known in the natural. But it left him
puzzled.
This anointing always drew him to women. He had had more than one failure
in
this regard. He would actually speak to a woman, and say, "Do you
love me?" It
wasn't, 'Do you love the Lord?"
Why was he carried along by this spirit? Some of it was due to his
religious
background. He was taught that it was not Gods will for believers to
understand
the supernatural. He was taught to do things by faith and let God fill in
the
blanks. Yet all during this time this brother continually had a sensing
that
something was wrong.
Well, let's leave this part of the study for now and get to the issue
of arming
ourselves. There are some things a believer can do that will provide
insight in
regard to activities of error:
First and foremost - Arm yourself with the knowledge that not all
supernatural
things are from God. Dont be afraid of offending the Lord by
questioning
things. Remember that everything the Lord has, the enemy has a substitute.
Secondly - Understand that anyone can be deceived, even if but
momentarily. This
is even more true when a believer is ignorant of how Satan works. This
understanding will help keep you on guard.
Thirdly - Learn to trust your spiritual judgment! This is largely what
the
renewing of the mind is about. As we consecrate ourselves the Lord, we
find our
ability to judge becoming keener. (Cf. Rom12:1-3)
Fourthly - Understand that discernment and testing aren't the same
thing. You
discern by the Holy Spirit. You test by the Word of God. When you sense a
thing
is wrong, dont ignore the sensing. This is how the Holy Spirit works.
And the
more you become acquainted with God's Word, the more you will be able to
determine why what you sense is wrong. [Be willing to test every
experience;
dreams, visions, etc., by the Word of God.]
Fifthly - Be willing to adjust the way you do things. Even the apostles
had to
make changes. Peter would not go to Cornelius house until the Lord
opened his
understanding. Sometimes we resent people trying to share truth with us,
because
it doesn't seem to fit. But when warnings come, we must be willing to take
warnings seriously. (And especially if they are coming from a seasoned
child of
God.)
To bring this portion of the study to a close, we need to remember what
Jesus
told the people who were following Him. He said that if they would
continue in
His Word, they would know the truth, and the truth would make them free!
The
true gospel produces a freedom in the believer that will reveal itself in
every
area of his life. Paul said, It was for freedom that Christ set us
free;
therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of
bondage.
(Gal5:5)
This study is not intended to disturb but to inform. The truth of the
matter is
that the child of God has everything going for him. We just need to find
out
what these 'things' are.
I've left a number of the things left unsaid in the study so that they
can be
brought out in further discussion. The study is open.
Shalom in Christ,
Buddy
Lawrence E. (Buddy) Martin, HF Host
email: Bro.Buddy@ChristianChallenge.org
Web: http://www.ChristianChallenge.org
"See to it that no one comes short of the grace
of God; that no root of bitterness springing up
causes trouble, and by it many be defiled." (Heb12:15)