JESUS THE TEST
1 Thessalonians 5:20-22 NIV
[20] Do not treat prophecies with contempt [21] but test them all; hold on to what is good, [22] reject every kind of evil.
Every other day, I receive prophetic messages about current events, most of them rambling theories about what God is about to do to remedy bad situations.
Paul counsels us not to despise prophecies but to test their authenticity before we dismiss them as false. How do we test them? I have discovered a very simple test which any believer can apply to any prophecy that claims to be from God.
Firstly, Heb. 1ff makes it clear that Jesus is God’s final word to the world and especially to the church. This means that God has nothing more to say to us. He has entrusted the entire universe to His Son, which includes everything about the past, the present, and the future.
Everything that has happened and will happen is in Jesus’s hands. He is the Word. He speaks the Word. He accomplishes everything He plans through His Word. He sustains the universe by His Word.
Therefore, anything people predict will happen must relate to Jesus. God the Father says or does nothing except through Him and what Jesus says is accomplished by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Revelation 19:10 NLT
[10] Then I fell down at his feet to worship him, but he said, “No, don’t worship me. I am a servant of God, just like you and your brothers and sisters who testify about their faith in Jesus. Worship only God. For the essence of prophecy is to give a clear witness for Jesus.”
Did you get that! “For the essence of prophecy is to give a clear witness for Jesus.”
When we receive prophetic messages that ramble on about what God is about to do in vague terms with no reference to the Word, we have a sure test of its authenticity. JESUS! How does He fit into the picture? Does the prophecy in any way mirror His words and works? Does it match what He says and does?
PRAYER
Father God, so much is being said in your name that it is difficult to discern the difference between truth and error. You have given us a simple test to ensure that we believe and hold fast to what is true. Your Word says that Jesus must be the centre of everything, even every prophecy spoken today.
Your Word and your Spirit help us to safeguard our hearts so that we are not deceived. Help us Lord, amid times of terrible deception, to stay grounded in your truth by filling our hearts with your Word.