Sometimes it is very easy to spot evil.
Other times it is maybe not so easy.
Read Proverbs 6:12-15
Sometimes spotting evil is just a small thing. A false statement. A passage of Scripture twisted just a bit to make a good 'feel good' sermon.
Flip over to the New Testament and read Matthew 7:15-20.
This day in time it really worries me when beloved friends un-knowingly follow false teachers. On the outside these false teachers look like wonderful Christian people. But please, if you are prone to listening to TV evangelists, or reading their books...please go to your Scriptures and check out what they say for yourself.
When I was pregnant I spent most of the time in bed. I am not a tv person, but I got so bored that sometimes I found myself flipping channels. I came across one very well known female speaker, and started to listen. I just could not believe what I was hearing! I don't recall much of what she said. Something about our good deeds now are running up receipts in heaven to be cashed in later or some kind of strange hog wash. I called my husband and researched this person more...and was sickened by some of the things she taught. She still teaches. There is a famous man preacher/teacher that is the same. It really breaks my heart when I hear of someone following one of these people.
I am not going to give out names. If you have some evangelist that you follow regular, some favorite author or some favorite teacher...take the time to check them out. Even your pastor. A good pastor will ask you to not believe him without referring to the Scriptures.
Of course, there are good t.v. evangelists. Just make sure they are the real deal. The Bible is the real deal folks. Nothing more. Nothing less. Either they preach the Bible, or they aren't the real deal. Always be in prayer that you are following the right crowd. And always be mindful of bad fruit.
I know of one place that I can send you in complete confidence that you will be hearing The Real Deal. If you can't make it to church on Sunday, or you need a mid-week pick me up perhaps listen to Bott Radio Network. It is great to have on in the back ground while going through your daily routines. A daily sermon for inspiration keeps your focus where it needs to be! Bott has stations nation-wide, or you can do like we do, and just listen online.
Some of my favorites?
Hank Hanegraaff, Pastor Chip Ingram, Dr Charles Stanley, Dr. David Jeremiah...to name a few to get you started. :)
Interesting, we just had this conversation last week in my study. Preachers that are caught up in fame and power and greed. How the church and the members are the one that suffer when it comes out in the media.
ReplyDeleteYet, there are the 'good one's' like good ol' Billy Graham. He never got caught by the fame bug. And therefore he was the greatest preacher known in modern times. God blessed his ministry because it was all about HIM as opposed to himself.
ReplyDeleteSometimes church members get so caught up in a pastor, they WANT to believe all he says is true. As you said, you MUST compare his teachings to what the Bible says. I think we get lazy in this, and it's just easier to let someone else tell you what to believe. And because we sometimes don't like the true message, we choose to go along with someone who teaches what we want to believe.
ReplyDeleteI wanted to see what the references in my Bible point to from this passage in Proverbs. In regard to verse 13, Job 15:12 says, "Why do your eyes flash?" Flashing eyes...what exactly would that mean? And the translation for "shuffles feet" in my Bible says, "gives signals, or scrapes." How would this reveal to us a false profit?
In regard to 15, Jeremiah 19:11 is a bit scary sounding.
I get Dr. Stanley's devotional every morning. He's always right on target and in his televised services, he carries the Bible the entire time, referring to it repeatedly.
Flashing eyes to me are shifty eyes. And the shuffling feet...maybe the shifting from one leg to another...like impatient maybe?
ReplyDeleteAs for Jer 19:11--I often wonder why it hasn't happened yet...I think there are more and more circumstances where it is happening though, disaster by disaster.
I've been wondering if all the disasters now are the beginning of what He promised in Jer 19. It's scary. I heard Billy Graham say once on Good Morning America that the four horsemen are riding even now. But we can delay them with prayer. Are we praying for our world or are we just praying for personal issues?
ReplyDelete