False Prophets, Part II
You may ask why I am discussing this topic at this time. I know this is not the Christmas and the popular joyful season, nevertheless it is Easter, a holiday celebrating the resurrection of Jesus from the grave. For me as a Christian, Easter is probably the most joyful event, but we must always be on our guard especially when we are so engulfed by the celebration of the season. We should listen to the teaching and the preaching and to the rest of the Christian Media. The information released by the teachers and the preachers should at all times be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. This reminder is good for the simple hearted Christians, mostly during the Holiday season when most of us are vulnerable to be extra charitable (Romans 16:18).
In part one of this topic I did not explain what Jesus meant when He said many false prophets will come and will lead many astray. In the Hebrew and Aramaic languages, the word prophet can refer to a teacher, a messenger, and it can refer to a predictor of events. I know that most of us think of the third meaning when the word prophet is mentioned. So Jesus is warning His followers of any of the three that will come into the world after Him. And I can say there are plenty of them around today. These men and women are preaching and teaching everywhere and they have plenty of followers (Matthew 7:15).
My desire is for every believer to enjoy every day God gives us in this life. I am simply reminding those who love the Lord to be on alert at all times, not to accept everything they hear as gospel only because a person they enjoy listening to said it. Remember, Jesus gave the warning for a reason; He does not want to lose any of the believers to false teachers. Christians should study and read the word continuously so that they can discern the truth from falsehood. Remember my brother the banker who could identify the counterfeit dollar bills. The same needs to take place with counterfeit teachings we may hear. I have been walking with the Lord for over forty-five years and I am a very diligent Bible teacher. I can identify plenty of bad sources, even “churches” from first hand experience. If you know someone on drugs, or an alcoholic, and desperately need the Church’s help, I would challenge you to call the five largest churches in the area and see how many of them are ready to help. I have tried it and I was saddened by the response, and the person I called on behalf of nearly killed himself, and the others with him. I am telling you this for the same reason the Good Samaritan story (from the Bible) has been given to us, so that we would all be good Samaritans to each other. The Book of Acts chapter four, verse thirty-four states that no members from the Church of Jerusalem had any needs. The alcoholic that I mentioned earlier was a member of a very large church, yet no one would help him get through his tough times.
May we never be at the mercy of any man. As Christians it is our solemn duty to remember that we are God’s hands, feet, voice, and above all, we are His Ambassadors.
This is a good time to rededicate our lives to Christ’s service and to do thank Him for counting you worthy to belong to His Royal Family!
In part one of this topic I did not explain what Jesus meant when He said many false prophets will come and will lead many astray. In the Hebrew and Aramaic languages, the word prophet can refer to a teacher, a messenger, and it can refer to a predictor of events. I know that most of us think of the third meaning when the word prophet is mentioned. So Jesus is warning His followers of any of the three that will come into the world after Him. And I can say there are plenty of them around today. These men and women are preaching and teaching everywhere and they have plenty of followers (Matthew 7:15).
My desire is for every believer to enjoy every day God gives us in this life. I am simply reminding those who love the Lord to be on alert at all times, not to accept everything they hear as gospel only because a person they enjoy listening to said it. Remember, Jesus gave the warning for a reason; He does not want to lose any of the believers to false teachers. Christians should study and read the word continuously so that they can discern the truth from falsehood. Remember my brother the banker who could identify the counterfeit dollar bills. The same needs to take place with counterfeit teachings we may hear. I have been walking with the Lord for over forty-five years and I am a very diligent Bible teacher. I can identify plenty of bad sources, even “churches” from first hand experience. If you know someone on drugs, or an alcoholic, and desperately need the Church’s help, I would challenge you to call the five largest churches in the area and see how many of them are ready to help. I have tried it and I was saddened by the response, and the person I called on behalf of nearly killed himself, and the others with him. I am telling you this for the same reason the Good Samaritan story (from the Bible) has been given to us, so that we would all be good Samaritans to each other. The Book of Acts chapter four, verse thirty-four states that no members from the Church of Jerusalem had any needs. The alcoholic that I mentioned earlier was a member of a very large church, yet no one would help him get through his tough times.
May we never be at the mercy of any man. As Christians it is our solemn duty to remember that we are God’s hands, feet, voice, and above all, we are His Ambassadors.
This is a good time to rededicate our lives to Christ’s service and to do thank Him for counting you worthy to belong to His Royal Family!
posted by Rev. Alfred Batarse, PhD. | 10:01 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home