Test Every Spirit

As I was trying to prepare this message, I remembered that the year is just one week away from closure. A lot has really taken place this past few months, so I decided to revisit some of the 2012 prophecies of some General Overseers with very large congregations in Nigeria and overseas to see which of them came to pass, especially prophecies concerning Nigeria. Here are two that I found to be specific and measurable for all to see.

Prophecy 1: He said before this year ends, it will be said of Nigeria; all is well that ends well.

My comments: I remember that early this year, we wrote an article titled “Can God bless a nation whose leaders drink blood like water?” We stated in this article that no matter what your GO, Bishop, Pastor etc would have said about God blessing Nigeria in 2012, that such will never happen because God is angry with the country Nigeria. This is because of the much innocent bloodshed and is still being shed, injustice, wickedness among others that are prevalent in the land. We pointed out to our readers that God sees a nation through the eyes of its leaders. As long as we Nigerians including our leaders both spiritual and temporal remain the way they are, there will never be a change.

It is very clear to everyone that the present situation in Nigeria nullifies the validity of prophecy 1. The situation in Nigeria is actually worse now in 2012 than it was in 2011. It will not get better in 2013, except we repent as a nation. We have to humble ourselves, seek God’s face and repent of our wickedness. The pastors have to repent of their wickedness of not preaching the truth to their friends in government and their congregations. The people in government have to turn a new leaf by doing justice and living righteously. They have to live by examples for the citizens to follow.

Prophecy 2: A year of intensive angelic visitation (massive disgrace for kidnappers, wherever deliverance looks impossible angels will appear to the rescue)

My comments: I really don’t know how many people were visited by angels this year. I know that none visited me or members of my family. Since the prophecy says that it will be intensive, then it would have been something that will be more than ordinary. But this I did not see nor hear. The second part says that kidnappers will be disgraced and angels will rescue kidnapped victims. I know from what I read from online newspapers there has been a lot of people in Nigeria who have been kidnapped this year. Among the most prominent ones are the mother of one of Nigeria’s Ministers and a Nollywood actress who is a Special Assistant to one of the South East governors. None of them was rescued by an angel. Infact their families paid some ransoms for their release. In the case of the Nollywood actress, her family coughed out N8 Million before she could be released. No kidnapper has been disgraced in all of these and many more, rather they are waxing stronger and smiling to their banks with ransoms paid for by victims’ families.

My brethren according to Proverbs 14:34 “Uprightness and right standing with God (moral and spiritual rectitude in every area and relation) elevate a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people.” A nation is not made right by mere rhetoric of church ministers or the wishful thinking of its citizens.

I have decided to point out some of these prophecies not that I am interested in any of these prophecies but to help us expose falsehood that has bedevilled the church of Jesus Christ today. I know of a Pentecostal church where during every end of year watch-night service, cards on which some prophecies have been written with Bible passages are passed round for members to pick from. Whatever is written in the paper you picked gives you an idea of what awaits you in the coming year. There is another Pentecostal denomination that I know of where the members burn candles first thing in the New Year. They explained that this is to brighten members’ lives for the New Year. These are unscriptural practices and are therefore demonic or at best occult.

Brethren, not everyone who says “thus says the Lord” is actually speaking by the power of God. This is the reason the Bible tells us in 1 John 4:1 “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.” We should never assume that a ministry or spiritual experience is from God merely because one claims it is. No teaching or doctrine should be accepted as true solely on the basis of success, miracles, or apparent anointing (Mt 7:22). All teaching, prophecies etc must be tested by the Word of God and must be supported by sound Biblical exegesis (2 Pet 1:19-21). It is very important to note that aside speaking the mind of God by the Holy Spirit, a person may also teach or prophesy from the mind (1 Kings 13:18). He may also do this by demonic influence through mediums (1 Sam 28:11-12) or by the spirit of divination (Acts 16:16). You can now see the reason why it is extremely important for us to test every spirit.

Every prophecy originating from GOD will:

i. never contradict the Word of God
God will never contradict His Word because His Word is Him (John 1:1). He is not the Author of confusion (1 Cor 14:33). Every prophecy must therefore conform to His Word and character. A prophecy that says for example that Nigeria will get better in spite of the wickedness prevalent in the land is not from God. God will not bless a sinful country whose leaders are wicked, full of iniquity, blood suckers and irredeemably callous. I read recently that Nigeria’s president attended a denomination’s congress where he was prayed for. He was told after the prayers to go and be blessed: that the country Nigeria will prosper in his hands. But the God of the Bible does not act this way. His blessings are conditional and not automatic. The Nigerian leader has to repent of his sins, shun all evil vices, turn a new leaf and take a stand against all forms of unrighteousness and oppression in his government.

His being told to go and be blessed by the ministers of the gospel reminds me of the false prophets in the days of Ahab, king of Israel who told Ahab to go and fight against Syria as the Lord will prosper him (1 Kings 22:11-12). But God never prospered Ahab; rather his dead body was brought back to Samaria for burial.

All you false prophets who prophesy ‘peace, peace’ when the Lord has not declared ‘peace’ beware. The hand of the Lord is about to stretch forth against you (Jeremiah 6:11-14; Ezekiel 13:9-10; Deuteronomy 18:20).

ii. seek to elevate CHRIST and bring glory to Him
Every prophecy from the Holy Spirit will seek to glorify Jesus (John 16:13-14). Part of the Holy Spirit’s work is to awaken and deepen our awareness of Christ’s presence in our lives. He draws our hearts to Him in obedience, communion and worship. How can believers experience this if they keep picking ‘prophetic cards’ to know what the year has in stock for them? Or they keep lighting candles to ‘brighten’ their lives?

iii. promote God’s righteous standards
How can somebody living wickedly be told ‘go in peace and God will bless and prosper you’? Does this promote the righteous standards of God? My brethren don’t be deceived God does not bless the wicked. Infact He is angry with the wicked every day (Psalm 7:11; 5:5-6; 9:5-6; Isaiah 1:15). The only business that God have with the wicked is for him/her to repent and come to Him to seek His mercy and forgiveness and live a life of holiness (Isaiah 1:16-18). It is after repentance that blessings come (Deut 28:1-14; Joel 2:12-14).

iv. enhance God’s kingdom and its principles
Any prophecy that does not promote the kingdom of God and its principles is not from the Holy Spirit. The Bible in Romans 14:17 “For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.” We don’t show that we belong to and subject to the kingdom rule by what we eat and do not eat. The evidence that God is our King and that He reigns in us is through righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Any prophecy that for example says to you do not eat this or that in order to get your deliverance is not of God.

v. edify the body of CHRIST, that is the church
Prophecies and spiritual gifts are meant to edify the body of Christ and not to scatter the church (1 Cor 12:7; 14:26; Eph 4:11-13). They are meant to make us grow in grace, advancing in spiritual maturity and growing up in all aspects unto Christ.

vi. reveal the mind and plan of God
The Bible says in Amos 3:7-8 “Surely the Sovereign LORD does nothing without revealing his plan to his servants the prophets. The lion has roared— who will not fear? The Sovereign LORD has spoken— who can but prophesy?” The Lord did nothing with regard to His people Israel without first revealing His plans to the prophets. When the Lord did so, the prophets were compelled to prophesy and warn the people of God’s threatened judgement. This is God’s expectations of the ministers of the gospel in this generation: warning the people of God’s indignation against sin, the revelation of His righteousness to all who will ask Him for grace and His coming judgement upon all inhabitants of the earth.

vii. come to pass
A look at the Bible shows that prophetic utterances by true prophets both in the Old and New Testaments came to pass. For example, Samuel was described as one whom God never allowed his word to fall to the ground (1 Sam 3:19). Elijah decreed that it should not rain on the earth for 3½ years (1 Kings 17:1; James 5:17). Joshua commanded the sun to stand still over Gibeon and moon in the valley of Ajalon (Joshua 10:12-14). In the New Testament, we see Agabus prophesying that there would be a great famine throughout the whole world. This came to pass in the days of Claudius Caesar (Acts 11:28). Let us also read what the Bible says in the following passages:

Deuteronomy 18:21-22 “You may say to yourselves, “How can we know when a message has not been spoken by the LORD?” If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the LORD does not take place or come true, that is a message the LORD has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously, so do not be alarmed.”

Jeremiah 28:9 “But the prophet who prophesies peace will be recognized as one truly sent by the LORD only if his prediction comes true.”

Conclusion
For close to a year we have by the grace of God tried to share with you brethren the truth of the gospel. We have endeavoured to declare to you the whole counsel of God as delivered to us in the Holy Scriptures by the prophets, the early apostles and our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ in the gospels. Our aim is not to ridicule any minister but to expose the evils being perpetrated from the pulpits by them. The Bible tells us in Romans 16:17 to watch out for and be on the alert for those who do damage to the church by corrupting the doctrine and teaching of the Bible. We are to mark these proponents of false doctrine and avoid them and their ministries. We are therefore acting in obedience to God’s commands unto Whom we owe all allegiance. We will not stop from doing this as we shall continually point out the evils of these ministers for all to see.
Secondly, we desire to see you our readers grow in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus, to possess the fullness of Christ and to be spiritually mature and not infants who are unstable, easily deceived by human doctrines or susceptible to crafty showmanship. In doing this we have tried to present the truth of the gospel in love and contended for it in a spirit of love (Eph 4:14-15).
He, who has an ear to hear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
If you desire to give your life to the Lord Jesus Christ, please do the following to commit yourself to the Lord.

A - Acknowledge that you are a sinner and has fallen short of the glory of God (Rom 3:23).
B - Believe that the blood of Jesus Christ is able to cleanse you from all unrighteousness and redeem you from all iniquity and purify you unto Himself (Romans 4:25; Galatians 1:4; Titus 2:14; Hebrews 9:14).
C - Confess your sins to God and ask for His forgiveness. Invite Jesus Christ into your life as your personal Lord and Saviour, while asking His Holy Spirit to come into you (1 John 1:8-9; Psalm 32:5; John20:22).
D - Ask the Lord for deliverance from sin and grace to deny all ungodliness and worldly lusts. But to live soberly and righteously in this world because as He Who has called is holy so you have to be holy (John 1:12-13; Titus 2:11-12; Ephesians 1:4; Ephesians 4:24; 1 Peter 1: 14-16).

Till we meet again on this platform do have a Merry Christmas and prosperous New Year in advance.

God bless you.

hahaha God has disgraced you and Okonjo iwealas mothers kidnappers. check FrontPage for the story. you think God is not real? so Dr Olukoya of mfm was not lying with his prophecy plus angelic visitation is a private thing hope u know