The Spirit Of The Prophet

A SIGN OR A WONDER

It is very obvious the Lord is preparing the Church for the time of the end. This is a time of perfecting and a season of self-denial and sacrifice. The Lord has visited us with much truth that must be applied or we will perish with the rest of the world.

These are the days of great testing and trying of our faith. Men’s hearts will fail due to the calamities they will face in the days ahead. The god of this world (mammon) is being brought low. The people of the world and the church are beginning to panic. They have no place to turn. The governments of the nations cannot deliver them out of the hand of God. Neither can their political leaders save them from the wrath to come upon the earth.

Therefore, lift up your voices, you prophets of God. This is the time of the sons. These are the days of the manifestation of the Sons of God.

The spirit of the prophet must be tried even as the word he declares is tried. When a prophet speaks, that which he puts forth can be tested against the Word of God. As in the scripture below, the sons of God are warned not to be moved by any word that does not bear witness to the written Word.

II Thessalonians 2:2-3

2 That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.

3. Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; . . .

Because we are of God, our spirits bear witness of the truth and also know the spirit of error.

We must believe what the scriptures say. We must not depart from what is written. Any prophecy that directs you away from the truth is an attempt to discredit the Word of God, to justify sin and to forsake the truth concerning the wrath of God which is to be poured out on all those in disobedience.

Warning #1:

Deuteronomy 13:1-3

1. If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder,

2. And the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them;

3. Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the LORD your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul; . . .

In the example above, the Lord speaks of a prophet or dreamer rising up among his people. That implies that he is of the house of Moses. Likewise many in the household of faith, born of the Spirit of God will rise up with signs, wonders, and a word. But their words will be contrary to the purpose of God and will direct the hearers to proceed outside the boundaries of the faith. Thus, another direction is provided for the sons. (Let us go after other gods, and let us serve them.).

A prophet born into the household of faith becomes a “false prophet” when the sign, wonder or word he renders is inspired by Satan. Nevertheless, some will give forth signs and wonders that will come to pass. This will be allowed in that God is trying the hearts of the people as to whether they will remain steadfast in obedience to Him.

False signs, wonders or prophecies are given to make you a believer in those who deliver such prophecies. Their intent is to lead and guide you into darkness. The sign or wonder strengthens your belief in the person through whom the devil is using.

But the Lord cautions us to look for the safeguard in signs and wonders; for they must always lead us to glorifying the Father. If the sign or the wonder exalts flesh in any way, it is of the devil. This will be one of the most effective tools of the enemy used in the latter days to beguile unstable saints.

Take note that these signs and wonders will be performed by spirits working with individuals here on the earth. These are familiar spirits, spirits of anti-christ which are already in the world today and are on assignment to persuade man to follow after “THE LIE.”

Acts 13:6-12

6 And when they had gone through the isle unto Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew, whose name was Bar-jesus:

7 Which was with the deputy of the country, Sergius Paulus, a prudent man; who called for Barnabas and Saul, and desired to hear the word of God.

8 But Elymas the sorcerer (for so is his name by interpretation) withstood them, seeking to turn away the deputy from the faith.

9 Then Saul, (who also is called Paul,) filled with the Holy Ghost, set his eyes on him,

10 And said, O full of all subtilty and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord?

11 And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon thee, and thou shalt be blind, not seeing the sun for a season. And immediately there fell on him a mist and a darkness; and he went about seeking some to lead him by the hand.

12 Then the deputy, when he saw what was done, believed, being astonished at the doctrine of the Lord.

Many saints run after signs and wonders more than they pursue the power of love. Love is the foundational root of our faith. If you are not rooted and grounded in the love of God, then you will become an easy prey for false prophets.

I have heard many say their number one concern is that they be not deceived by men and women in church leadership. But the truth is, if a saint does not walk in the spirit wherein their love for God and man is perfected then they are already deceived. Therefore, usually what they mean by not being deceived is not to be taken advantage of; and that usually refers to their finances. They don’t want to give their money into something they later find not to be the work of God.

Point in fact:

Many saints want to be comfortable in church. When a minister provides this comfort zone they will give generously to the work. But if they find that the minister has misused some of the church funds, they quickly kick him to the curb without a second thought of forgiveness or reconciliation. They become outraged at the fact they were deceived by their pastor, when in essence they were deceived all the time in that they never walked in the love of Christ. They have no long-suffering or forbearing traits. Their money is their god, whether they have a little or a lot. Truly they are deceived.

Love teaches us how to live through offenses, pain and disappointment as well as how to bear the infirmities of others. However, the spirit of anti-christ will beguile many of the people of God unless they become rooted and grounded in the power of love. Love is not blind, nor is it gainsaying. It looks for no reward. It is forbearing and void of wantonness, which brings us to another point.

False signs and wonders are designed also to strengthen wantonness, for they provide hope that the worker of such is able to relieve or make prosperous those who dare to follow.

The Church must at all cost rid itself of all wantonness and learn to live a lifestyle of self-denial. Wantonness is a snare, a trap set by Satan to cause the saints of God to fall from the faith.