June 30                                                       Hos 11 - 14

DETERMINING GENUINE PROPHECIES

MEMORISE: ‘Wherefore, brethren, covet to prophesy, and forbid not to speak with tongues.’ (1 Cor 14: 39)
READ: Isaiah 8: 18-22

‘Wherefore, brethren, covet to prophesy, and forbid not t speak with tongues’ (1 Cor 14:39). Every child of God is encouraged to desire the gift of prophecy. The Holy Spirit reveals past, present and future events through prophecy, visions and dreams. It is beautiful to hear from God. There are three major sources of prophecy: the Holy Ghost, a lying spirit (demons) and the human spirit.

‘Beloved, believes not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world’ (1 John 4:1). This verse warns us not to accept prophecies from just anyone. Your have to subject both the prophecy and the prophets to certain Scriptural tests. Where these fail to meet up with the standard of God’s Word, discard them. To test a prophecy, take these steps:

Verify if it aggress with Scripture. Isaiah 8:20 says any prophecy that contradicts the Scripture is full of darkness and should be avoided. If someone tells you God said to divorce your wife and marry the ‘right’ woman he is a false prophet. A true prophecy cannot contradict God’s Word. Analyse the spirit of the message. How was it given? According to revelation 19:10, any prophecy that does not glorify Jesus, revolves around salvation or is contrary to what Jesus teaches, is from the pit of hell. Similarly, consider the accompanying conditions. In 2 Chronicles 7:14 God gave four conditions before he would be three things. People like to hear sweet things. They don’t like to hear of the need to meet with conditions.

A prophecy must also be publicly acknowledged – other prophets can judge the prophecy. The one who tells you not to let anyone hear his prophecy may just be performing an illegal operation. Besides this, check out the vessel. What are his fruit? If the prophet is an adulterer, a prayerless person, a glutton or a self-made prophet, it is likely those prophecies are not from God. Watch that prophet and check out for the fulfillment of previous prophecies. If a prophecy is from God, he will bring it to-pass. Do not allow anyone to cage you in the name of prophecy. Do not let false prophets manipulate you. Stick to the Word of God.

ACTION POINT
Ask God to neutralise and reverse every prophecy working
Against his will for your life, by the blood of Jesus.