Blog #2 How Do I Know If It's A True Word For Me?

Pearls of Wisdom by Merry Streeter

Blog#2   How do I know if I've received a true word?  (Revised)

Today dear readers, I want to address how to know whether a word of Knowledge, Wisdom, or a forth-telling comes from God or just human thought. How do we really know?

As a young married Christian woman, I visited a large Bible Study within our church.  My husband (of three years) was busy serving, and there I found an extra hour in my schedule, so I decided to attend this study.  Sitting rather uncomfortably in the metal chair with my pregnant tummy easily seen from a tent-like top, I wished Rick was with me.  At some point, the teacher/speaker asked all to stand in a group of two or three and pray for each other.  I felt cautious as an outsider but allowed the person next to me to pray.  This man, a complete stranger, began to pray for my repentance.  That I was to flee fornication and lust, repent of my sin, and come clean.  Appalled and stunned by his words, I sat in disbelief.  Didn’t say a word to correct him but felt intimidated by this forty-something man speaking falsely to this naïve twenty-one-year-old married, pregnant woman. After the meeting, I promptly left with a dark cloud over me.

This was an unfortunate case of a false prophetic utterance.  I was married, living a faithful life with my husband of three years now expecting our first.  His words made no sense.  I could only guess he made an assessment based on his first impression.  Young pregnant woman.  Never mind I wore a wedding ring!   I decided to be much more prayerful about where I found myself. This experience was NOT to be the norm from then on, however.

From blog #1, we’ve established that God does speak outside the Holy Bible through His communication gifts from followers of Christ, BUT, and a big but is that the Bible is the last word of the final authority to test that spoken word.  In other words, if the word given through someone else cannot be backed up by scripture, we should toss it to the proverbial mental trash bin.  Or, if someone is using Biblical principles but misapplied as in, “this is not true of me,” we need to disregard such a false word when it’s blatantly wrong. 

But what If it DOES pass the Bible test, and we are still unsure? We can file it away in our mental file cabinet because there are times a word from the Lord of a forth-telling nature, may not come to pass for years to come.

If the word outside the Bible, brought by a follower of Christ (who believes Jesus Christ is God and that He came in the flesh), is given to you and it matches the character of God in the Bible and doesn’t veer outside the Scriptures BUT you’re not “feeling” it, what then?  Do you need to FEEL it?

In some Christian circles, the expression, “bearing witness in your spirit” was used to help Christians sift through words spoken over them.  The question would be asked of you, “Does this bear witness in your spirit?”

In these circles, if you felt a ring of truth or agreement inside, then you could receive it as a true word to you. This came from Romans 8:16 where it’s said,

 ” The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. “, context being:

…” For you did not receive a spirit of slavery that returns you to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. And if we are children, then we are heirs: heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ—if indeed we suffer with Him, so that we may also be glorified with Him.…”

Although I appreciate this validation of sonship from the Holy Spirit, I’m not sure this is the only test when it comes to words of prophecy.

So, what does the Bible say about personal words or general words of prophecy?  I’ll let Paul the Apostle speak to that issue from Corinthians.

 “Pursue love, and desire spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy. 2 For he who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God, for no one understands him; however, in the spirit he speaks mysteries. 3 But he who prophesies speaks edification and exhortation and comfort to men. 4 He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church… but even more that you prophesied; [a]for he who prophesies is greater than he who speaks with tongues, unless indeed he interprets, that the church may receive edification.”

Paul clearly explains the motive and purpose of the word of prophecy.  But how do you test it?

How is it then, brethren? Whenever you come together, each of you has a psalm, has a teaching, has a tongue, has a revelation, has an interpretation. Let all things be done for [h]edification. 27 If anyone speaks in a tongue, let there be two or at the most three, each in turn, and let one interpret. 28 But if there is no interpreter, let him keep silent in church, and let him speak to himself and to God. 29 Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others, judge. 30 But if anything is revealed to another who sits by, let the first keep silent. 31 For you can all prophesy one by one, that all may learn, and all may be encouraged. 32 And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets. 33 For God is not the author of [i]confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints.  I Cor. 14:26

Apostle Paul wants the expression of the gifts to be done as a group, so all can judge.  Yes, he said judge.  That is giving others the opportunity to evaluate if a word is true or not, or what it may mean if it’s unclear.  Each one is not left up to their own understanding.  I think this is the ideal setting by which we operate in and receive the gifts so that anything false can be kept in check like the checks and balances in our government.

The use of two or three witnesses is a guiding principle Paul examples here:

“This is the third time I am coming to you. EVERY FACT IS TO BE CONFIRMED BY THE TESTIMONY OF TWO OR THREE WITNESSES” II Cor. 13:1 NASB In the context that this verse is written, Paul the Apostle is begging the followers of Christ in Corinth to examine themselves.  He was concerned that he would find strife, jealousy, angry tempers, disputes, slanders, gossip, arrogance, disturbances among them that would cause him to mourn over those not repentant of past sins of impurity, immorality, and sensuality which they had practiced.

I believe Paul’s instructions from I Corinthians 14 is the most optimal in which the gifts of the Spirit are used so we can be sure by two or three witnesses, whether it is true and understood.

Now you may ask, have I ever had a true word from the Lord.  The answer is yes, many times.  One most significant was receiving a word that I would publish books.  The prophecy came around 2003, and it has begun to come to pass, and when I heard it, I knew inside it was true, but was hard to believe because I’d never seen myself as a writer, but here we are.  I have published my first book called, Lolly’s Fish Tale; When She Meets A Bully Face To Face!  I’m still surprised by this publication, but deep in my heart of hearts, this is from the Lord.   I praise God for the word that came in 2003 because it was a constant encouragement to press into writing.  Also, the body of Christ to which I belong, have validated this word several times.

So, in conclusion, how do we know if a personal word of prophecy is true for us, or a word of knowledge, or wisdom?

1.      Does it agree with the character of God?

2.      Does it agree with the Bible’s characterization of the people of God?

3.      Does it ring true as a “witness in my spirit”?

4.      Does it build you up, comfort you, or admonish, entreat, or challenge you in

         your walk?

5.      Does your local body of Christ come into agreement with it?

I believe all these five points are a safe way to test the spirits to see if they are of God for you, dear follower of Christ and hope this helps. 

Words of the Wise

"The words of a [discreet] and wise man's mouth are as deep waters [plenteous and difficult to fathom]; and the fountain of skillful and godly Wisdom is as a gushing stream [sparkling, fresh, pure, and life-giving]." Proverbs 18:4 Amplified Bible

There's something beautiful about a waterfall.

As a group of us hiked Forest Falls one year, we could hear the sound of rushing water.   Our trail turned toward a trickling stream, but as we ascended, the stream's mist became exciting while our eyes dazzled at the sparkling trail. We continued up the dirt path, and the rocky incline eventually became treacherous.  Although tired, the deep, rushing water sent a thrill into our souls which kept us going. Sometimes our foot slipped on rocks, but we steadied, determined to reach our destination.

After two hours of climb, we finally made it! We had reached the falls. Some wanted to go right under it, some wanted to touch the misty edge, some just wanted to look at it from a distance, but we all enjoyed the rush of its powerful pounding flow!

And just like that, the sound & power of wisdom has its rush.  When we are dry, empty, and tired, words that come from Life bring refreshment and an "ahhhhh."  They're like a glowing stream that makes alive dead days. They shine a light on dark paths, sometimes like cold pulsating falls rushing over our heads.

The powerful flow of wise words lifts us when we are downtrodden.  They give direction and purpose when we feel aimless too. It straightens a crooked path when we're weaving in and out; and hope when we have none. Are there any better words than those?

Gaining wisdom or finding others who speak with it are also likened to finding a waterfall.  Not easy to get to, yet with effort and a seeking heart, it's reachable; as you hear, it's sound.

Do you need wisdom like that?  Ask Him!

Blog #1 Troubling Conflict Within the Church

Hi dear readers,

I have sensed God prompting me to start writing a biblically based blog.  I hope to not only grow more in my own knowledge of God's Word and what it means to me but hopefully will help you, my readers, as well.

Something that is propelling this article is the troubling conflict within the church regarding what is inspired by God and what is not.  On one hand, we have those who want to replace the Bible with what they deem is God's new interpretation.  And some even have written books as though Jesus himself is talking to the reader.  Yet others have written fictional stories that demonstrate God's character within the storyline, and yet there are some who believe there is no room for inspired writings; that God has only spoken through the canonized Bible and anything else is trash and/or false teaching. I really appreciate those who engage in apologetics and want to explore how we can decide what is false and what is a true word from God.  I hope we can come to some conclusion as we explore this. So, the two questions for this article are;

1. Can or does God speak outside of the Holy Bible?
2. Is the Bible the "last word".

I'd like to start with this verse from the Bible:

Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.  By this, you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God.  And every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God.  And this is the spirit of Antichrist, which you have heard was coming and is now already in the world. ~I John 4:1-6 

I am firmly convinced that there is a standard by which we can measure and in order to test something, there must be a means of comparison.  There needs to be a genuine to see if something is not. 

Here, the writer of I John in the above text is warning believers not to put naive credence to ANY communication through someone, but to TEST it.  Also, the mention of false prophets is brought up to alert the body of Christ that there ARE some who speak in error and have the spirit of Antichrist!  So it is possible that when some talk claiming to speak for God, it is really from the devil himself. How do we know if someone is speaking from the Spirit of God or the spirit of the devil or demon?

As we read further, the writer says one BIG clue is if the speaker claims that Jesus did, in fact, come in the flesh as a man, by this you know the Spirit of God, and the one who denies that Christ came as a man is a false prophet. But is there any other clue?  

All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness;~II Timothy 3:16

Ahhhhh...I'm seeing something here!  It appears that ALL scripture is the guiding light!  The Word of God is the ruler, the measure by which we compare any other communication!  Keywords for that are reproof and correction; therefore, we can use God's Word the Bible as the final authority! Amen and amen!  But, can people speak for God and not use a word for word quote from the Bible?

In 1st Corinthians 12, Paul the Apostle is teaching the church in Corinth that God has given various gifts to the church.  There is a list, but for the sake of this article, I will mention the communication gift:  verse three says,

 "...I want you to know that no one speaking by the [power and influence of the] Holy Spirit of God can say, 'Jesus be cursed,' and no one can say, 'Jesus is [my] Lord,' except by [the power and influence of] the Holy Spirit...  But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit [the spiritual illumination and the enabling of the Holy Spirit] for the common good. To one is given through the [Holy] Spirit [the power to speak] the message of wisdom, and to another [the power to express] the word of knowledge and understanding according to the same spirit; to another...Also, "to another n prophecy,..." Amplified Bible I Cor. 12:3,7,8,10b 

These are called communication gifts because they involve speaking.  A word of wisdom is when someone is being given an awareness of a wise thing to do, to speak that to someone, or a need for spoken discretion.  A word of knowledge is a divinely dropped piece of information not known naturally to help bring understanding or guidance to another.  Sometimes a word of Wisdom and Knowledge can come together. Then there is "prophecy which in the Greek is properly, what is clarified beforehand; prophecy, which involves divinely-empowered forthtelling (asserting the mind of God) or foretelling (prediction)." Biblehub.com 

"All these things [the gifts, the achievements, the abilities, the empowering] are brought about by one and the same [Holy]Spirit, distributing to each one individually just as He chooses." I Cor. 12:11 

So to answer number 1: We see in scripture there are believers who will be given words to speak to someone for the purpose of promoting their spiritual growth, encouragement, and comfort. I Cor. 14:3 See Amplified Version.  

But what is our measuring rod?  When we hear someone speak for God, (which according to the verses in Corinthian 12 can be done by the Holy Spirit's prompting) to what do we compare to test its authenticity? 

So the answer to question number 2: We've just seen it is the Bible, God's written word, the scriptures that is God's final authority by which we can compare and contrast to see of what is spoken or written by others outside the Bible, is good and right, or false.  

Thank God He has given us His Holy Word as the final authority, the last word.  The fact that a word needs to resonate within the person; is that important?  What about articles and books written that have a spiritual flavor but aren't outright from the Biblical Text?  These are some things to address in other blogs to come.

I hope this helps you, dear reader.