BEWARE OF FACEBOOK PROPHETS – Part 1.
“Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will freely pardon.” (Isaiah 55 vs.6-7 )
I am sure that this is an usual introduction because it comes from a scripture which sounds a warning and a curse as well. So I would not be surprised if you are wondering what this is about. I would say that if you can have the mind to read this piece, you would understand the message therein and I am very sure that it would bless you as it has blessed me.
The scripture quoted above were warnings from God through his Prophet Jeremiah to lying Prophets in Israel who claimed the Lord spoke to them when he did not. The Prophet Jeremiah who was also called the weeping Prophet lived from the first part of the sixth century BC to the latter part of the seventh century BC which saw the reign of reign of four Israeli Kings: Josiah, Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin and Zedekiah respectively. The lies of these prophets brought untold hardship to the Israeli nation which included the fall of Jerusalem to the Babylonian King, Nebuchadnezzar and the exile of the King of Judah and others to Babylonia according to the prophecy of Jeremiah. The same warning is also coming to us today who are called or claim to have been called as Prophets of God and speak in the name of the Lord in that capacity. Considering the fact that our God is the God of truth and holds his name in very high esteem, it is important that we do not loose sight of the fact that God would never let anyone who drags his holy name to the mud go unpunished.
It is also important that we do not forget that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. This therefore means that a wise person is the one who fears the Lord and do his will, which includes speaking the truth at all times, especially in the name of the Lord.
In this piece, I would be dealing with what I call Facebook Prophets. The essence is to expose some of the error going on in the body of Christ via Facebook specifically in the area of prophecy in order to help brethren avoid the punishment that usually comes with certain practices. Therefore, this piece has been written for both those who prophesy in the name of the Lord as well those seeking prophecy from the Lord.
We all know that God is truth and his word is Truth. We also know that Satan is the Father of all lies and his word is nothing but lies. Since Satan is out to deceive and put people in bondage, he is busy faking everything God does in order to deceive the ignorant and the dull in the spirit. In these last days, one secret strategy the devil is using seriously to deceive Christians is Prophecy. Prophecy is so important to Christians because it reveals the mind of God to his children. From time immemorial, the Lord has always spoken to his children through the mouth of his prophets. Even the coming of the Saviour was prophesied by the prophets of old. A very outstanding prophecy about the coming of the Messiah was given by the prophet
“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.” (Isaiah 9vs. 6-7)
This prophecy was fulfilled so many years after Prophet Isaiah was dead and gone, yet the Lord still made sure it came to pass. It came to pass because the mouth of the Lord had already spoken it through his prophet. Prophecy is such an important means of communication between God and man that Prophet Amos recorded that the Lord does nothing without revealing it to his prophets.
“Surely the Sovereign Lord does nothing without revealing his plan to his servants the prophets.”According to the Bible, the word of God is God himself. So God does not joke with what proceeds out of his mouth. Neither will he take it kindly with those who speak falsehood in his name.” (Amos 3:7)
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” (John 1:1)
By implication, God brings himself out any time his word goes out. The word of God is anything that proceeds out of the mouth of God either directly from him or through his prophets. However he chooses to speak, directly or indirectly, one thing is very sure; his word is very important to him. God values his word so much that he even made a vow that any word that proceeds out of his mouth shall never go without being fulfilled.
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, “declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” (Isaiah 55 vs. 8 – 11)
A good examination of the above scripture tells us how much God values his word and how far he would go to make sure it does not fall on the ground and waste. God is not like man who talks before he thinks; neither is he a man who says something today and denies it tomorrow when he realizes that he can no longer fulfill what he promised to do.
“God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?” (Numbers 23: 19)
God is a God of truth and his word is truth. God is all knowing, all seeing and all powerful. God does not make a mistake and he will never make a mistake. God thinks over what he will do before he says it out. That is why it is said that, “What God said he would do is what he has done or would do.” This means that God is very sure that nothing would stand on the way of accomplishing whatever he says before he says it. But man is not like that. Man is full of lies and unreliable. It is difficult to trust a man. Even the Bible pronounces woe on anyone who puts his trust in man. Look at the way Prophet Jeremiah described man:
“This is what the Lord says: “Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who depends on flesh for his strength and whose heart turns away from the Lord. He will be like a bush in the wastelands; he will not see prosperity when it comes. He will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives.” (Jeremiah 17: 5-6)
Now hear what the same Prophet says about God:
“But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.” (Jeremiah Jer 17:7-8)
Now, hear the conclusion of the matter for man:
“The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” I like the way the New King James Version puts it: “The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9)
Now hear what he says about God as well: “I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind, to reward a man according to his conduct, according to what his deeds deserve.”( Jer 17:10)
All of the above shows us the difference between God and man and tells us that whilst man can’t be trusted, God on the other hand can be trusted and totally relied upon. This is why it is important for us to be careful before we speak in the name of the Lord because it is God that we are representing and not ourselves. The Lord himself knows that to speak in his name carries a lot of weight and chooses his prophets carefully and trains them to hear his voice loud and clear to make sure that he is not misrepresented. Sadly enough, we have many self appointed and self ordained prophets today, especially on Facebook and many of them are doing a lot of harm to the body of Christ taking the name of the Lord in vain and speaking what the Lord has not asked them to speak.
In this era of the Holy Spirit, a Prophet of God must be one who is born again, duly filled with Holy Spirit. After all, the Holy Spirit is the one who reveals the deep things of God to believers. The born again Christian who has the Holy Spirit living in him has been translated from the fallen man who could not be trusted. The new man in Christ should be trusted because he is no longer of the world. The Bible says that if a man is in Christ, he has become a new creation. To qualify as the mouth piece of God, one must first of all things be born again and filled with the Holy Spirit.
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come.” (2 Cor. 5:17-18)
The above scripture is a testimony that the man in Christ has been restored to the original man God put in the garden of Eden who was made in the image of God. This man should be trusted since he is the image of God. After all, a true child can only take after his father. Therefore, as Children of God, that is born again Christians, we are expected to resemble our Father, because we were created in his image.
“Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” (Gen 1:26-27)
In the Garden of Eden, God always had communion with Adam whom he made in his image. There was no separation between God and man. The Spirit of God was dwelling fully in man. Adam could sense the presence of God around him all the time. Problem came after man disobeyed God and the Spirit of the Lord left him. Through Christ, born again Christians once again have communion with the Lord. He lives in us, speaks to us and directs our path. Therefore, we are no longer the old fallen man who could not be trusted. We are a new creation with the Holy Spirit of God living in us.
“If you love me, you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever— the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.”( John 14:15-18)
This is our heritage as born again Christians. The only reason the Holy Spirit also referred to as the Counselor or Comforter cannot be felt around us or be in us is when we refuse to obey what the Lord tells us to do. When we disobey God, we take up the old sinful nature of the fallen man who cannot be trusted. If not, when a born again Christian speaks, his words should be seasoned with salt and should be relied upon. It does not matter if he prophesies or not. What matters is that he speaks the truth and gives glory to God.
However, it has become very clear even to unbelievers that most people who call themselves Christians can’t be taken seriously anymore because their words are empty and full of lies. I have observed with keen interest and utter dismay that there is so much lies going on in the body of Christ these days that it has become almost difficult to distinguish a Christian from an unbeliever. The life style of most Christians today is no different from that of the unbeliever. The dress code is the same; the mode of speech is the same, the music played in most churches is not different from what is played in night clubs and the dance steps are the same.
These days, there is hardly a difference between the lifestyle of most Christians and those we refer to as unbelievers. Lies have become the daily bread of most Christians. The saddest part of it all is that most of these lies are garnished with so called prophetic words told directly from the pulpit by people who claim to be Men and Women of God.
So much lies are coming from the pulpit that many Pastors are no more conscious of how much shame they are bringing and doing to the body of Christ. Everybody is now interested in miracles, signs and wonders. No one cares about the needs of the flock that the Lord has given to their care. Prophetic conferences are all that matters now. All is in the bid to exercise power and make money.
The Bible exhorts us to seek the Lord whilst he is near and when we can find him. Running after miracles and signs and wonders will only take us running after false prophets who will alienate us from God.
“Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will freely pardon.” (Isaiah 55 vs.6-7)
Prosperity message has sacked salvation message from the church. It is a dangerous trend and many would pay dearly for it. Don’t be one of them. This is a warning to save your soul from hell. Don’t sell your soul to the devil by running after Facebook Prophets whose mission is to deceive and destroy. If you become a victim, you would have yourself and no one else to blame. Salvation does not lie in prophecy, neither does your future. The solution to all your problems lies in the word of God.
Like Isaiah said, seek the Lord whilst he may be found and call on him while he is near. I know that these are all signs that the end is near, after all, Apostle Peter warned believers of false teachers who will rise up in the last days and make merchandise of people.
“But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them — bringing swift destruction on themselves. Many will follow their shameful ways and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. In their greed these teachers will exploit you with stories they have made up. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping.” (2 Peter 2:1-3)
There is no doubt that these lying people who call themselves prophets shall surely get their reward on the last day. But the question is, “Why are today’s Christians so insensitive to the things of the Spirit? Where is the spirit of discernment that the Lord gave to his followers? Has spiritual gifts ended with prophesying and speaking in tongues? How have Christians become so spiritually dull and blind that even when an unbeliever says, “Thus says the Lord, we can’t even discern the source?” But we jump up and say amen to whatever and from whomever? What has gone wrong with us?