Participants: John Lomacang (Host), John Stanton
Series Code: HCL
Program Code: HCL100020
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00:01 Hello friends, grab your Bible and a friend
00:03 and sit back as we explore God's word together 00:05 on this edition of House Calls. 00:22 Welcome to another edition of House Calls Bible program, 00:25 so glad that you've chosen to join us. 00:28 As you can see I'm not here by myself, 00:29 I have my very good friend John Stanton, 00:31 good to have you in the saddle today John. 00:33 It's great to be here. It's good to be able to 00:35 dive into the word of God together and every time 00:38 we get together like this, we always see how exciting 00:40 and how fulfilling this is to share the word of God 00:43 with those who are viewing and listening. 00:45 Yeah, it really is, and what a privilege it is to be able 00:48 to serve the Lord this way, that's right, so I'm excited. 00:50 And you know we always have prayer, 00:52 so I think it would be good if you just dove into the 00:55 prayer and invite the Lord to be here with us. 00:57 Let's do that. Gracious Father in heaven, 00:59 you are so good to us and we pray that as we open 01:02 up your word today that you'd be leading and guiding 01:05 us through its pages that we may understand 01:08 your word and that the Holy Spirit may descend 01:11 upon each one who is prepared for a message 01:14 from you. And we thank you Lord for the word that 01:17 you've given us a light that shines in this dark place, 01:20 that we may shine brighter and brighter, 01:22 until that day where we will see Jesus again, 01:24 in his name we pray, amen. Amen. 01:27 And friends as you know our Bible program is made 01:30 more complete by your Bible questions, 01:33 you may be stimulated by something we say even now, 01:36 even though we did not dive into the program but 01:39 you have a question that comes to your mind, 01:41 you may want to send those questions to 01:42 housecalls@3abn.org, that's 01:46 housecalls@3abn.org and what we do is we go 01:49 to the website and download those questions 01:51 and we try our best to cover as many as we could, 01:54 thank you for your faithfulness and some 01:57 of you send it by letter, actually by physical letter, 02:00 you can send those to P.O. Box 220, 02:02 West Frankfort,Illinois-62896, but thank you for 02:06 your faithfulness and sending those questions to 02:09 to challenge our minds. But we always try 02:11 to answer them by going to God's words, 02:13 so John what do you have for us today. 02:15 Well, I've got a question here from Natasha. 02:17 Okay. And she has a friend that she has been talking 02:21 with and he is a Latter-day Saint, she says and there 02:26 they have a prophet she says and she was wondering 02:29 with regard to prophets, is it you know why is it that 02:34 the prophets are not necessarily alive and active 02:37 constantly throughout the church dispensation, 02:40 in other words where is our live prophet, 02:44 and so she is kind of wondering okay, well we are 02:47 you know how do we resolve this because as you 02:50 know the Mormon Church teaches that they are 02:53 active prophets all the time, right, during the 02:55 function of their church and so that's the 02:57 conversation that she's had with him and she is 03:00 basically saying you know what is our teaching 03:03 basically on prophets and their activity. 03:05 I brought this one up because we're going to talk 03:08 today in our lesson study, right, 03:10 about the false prophets and so in the discussion 03:14 of prophets in general today, let's go ahead 03:17 and maybe dive into this here a little bit 03:18 and see if we can provide some answers. 03:20 You know just recently as you're getting the answer 03:22 for the audience, just recently I was in Utah, 03:25 in Salt Lake City, Utah and I had a chance to go 03:28 to see the you know the Visitors Center there 03:31 at the Mormon Temple, a lot of nice lovely people 03:33 and I had a chance to go to one of their kiosks 03:36 and truly they are telling you the truth, 03:39 they are live living prophets appointed by the Mormon 03:43 Church and you can go to kiosk and listen to some 03:45 of the messages from their live appointed 03:48 prophets. So, it is very interesting to find out 03:52 what the Bible says about prophets and whether 03:56 prophets are living today, whether prophets 03:59 are just only dead, how does that all fit in then, 04:02 as we're going to cover in our program today 04:04 how to know the difference, right because 04:07 many prophets have gone out into the world, 04:09 right, well let's start off with something very basic, 04:11 okay, and this is just common sense stuff. 04:15 Jesus talked about the law and the prophets 04:17 testifying as to him, as to who he was, 04:20 what his mission was and if you consider that 04:23 he was talking about prophets who had passed 04:26 away, who were dead, right, who were still 04:28 testifying as to what the ministry of Jesus 04:31 was during his first advent, so just because 04:35 a prophet is dead it doesn't mean that his 04:37 voice or her voice stops, right, now this is a key 04:41 aspect because God calls forth or calls his prophets 04:45 to speak a word to the people, 04:47 to give them a message specifically from him 04:50 so they can be or at least can provide direction 04:54 as to their course. The role they're taking, 04:56 how they're going, where they're headed and 04:59 maybe correcting a right or a wrong, 05:00 or excuse me correcting a wrong, he would call 05:03 his prophets then to speak a word for him to his people. 05:06 And so he don't have to necessarily have a living 05:09 prophet to have the word of the prophet active. 05:13 Right, so that's an important distinction 05:16 because if someone is telling you that if there 05:19 is no live prophet then within that church 05:22 then it can't be the true church led by God 05:24 at that time, because that's not simply not true, 05:26 because Jesus said, I said again Jesus will or 05:30 when he came the first time said that the 05:33 prophets testified of him and so the question 05:36 is then in these last days as you are studying 05:40 the word, as you are looking at the law, 05:42 the prophets, that Jesus spoke about God's word 05:46 what is the word telling you, what if past prophets, 05:50 what are they telling you to keep you on the right 05:53 track and so you know I think one of the verses 05:55 we'll bring up here in a little while is to the law 05:57 and to the testimony that they not speaking 05:59 out according to this word, there is no light in them 06:02 that means there is such a thing as a prophet 06:06 that might claim to be or have a message 06:08 from God that speaks contrary to this word 06:12 and that could end up misleading the people 06:15 even though they claim to be a live prophet it 06:17 doesn't mean necessarily that they are a prophet 06:20 so these are just some common sense 06:22 things to realize according to how God's what 06:24 his MO is, you know how he deals with things. 06:26 We read in another text God doesn't do anything 06:29 unless reveals his secretes first to his servants 06:32 the prophets, right. 06:34 So in the last days we will find that prophets, 06:37 there will be a prophets and prophecies that will 06:40 arise that will help again guide and direct the Church 06:43 through the last days, the time of the end, 06:47 the great tribulation at the end of time and 06:50 I want to read a verse about this John, okay. 06:52 It's from Joel chapter 2 verse 28, that's my verse but 06:56 go ahead. It is, well then you read it and then 06:58 I'll commentate, actually I'm going to go in the book 07:01 of Acts, but go ahead and read it simply there, 07:03 okay, it's Joel 2:28 it says it shall come to pass 07:06 afterward that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, 07:09 your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, 07:12 your old men shall dream dreams, your young men 07:15 shall see visions and on my men servants and on 07:19 my maid servants I will pour out my Spirit 07:21 in those days and it talks about those days 07:25 wherein the wonders shall be shown from the 07:27 heavens, blood and fire, pillars and smoke, 07:29 sun turned into darkness, moon into blood, 07:32 during the great and awesome day of the Lord, 07:34 so at that time prophets will arise to declare 07:38 message from God, that's right, and it's interesting 07:41 here that he calls these prophets servants, 07:44 men servants and maid servants and if you look 07:47 at that. The word servants God seems to have 07:52 a common theme here throughout the calling 07:56 of his prophets, he refers to them as his servants, 07:59 his special servants, if I invite you to get on to kind 08:04 of a like a word search on the Internet or maybe 08:09 you have one at home that's a concordance 08:12 and type in there servants the prophets and see 08:15 how many times that comes up, over and over again 08:17 the prophets are called or referred to by God 08:19 as his servants and in the end in the last days 08:22 he calls them again his servants in Revelation 7, 08:25 we find 7:1 through 4 he will call forth his servants 08:29 which he numbers the 144,000 to proclaim a 08:33 message in the very last days and I think there 08:34 is a link there of course to Joel chapter 2 08:37 which we're talking, the verse we just read here, 08:40 so just some things to share with you about 08:42 prophets because they don't have to be alive 08:46 to be, to have a voice, right, and this is a 08:49 key point but it doesn't mean that in the end 08:52 there will not be live prophets that proclaim 08:55 a message for God to the people of the earth. 08:58 And John to add to that truly there is going 09:03 to come a time as just was read by John in 09:05 Joel chapter 2 and also in Acts chapter 2, 09:08 it's amazing both of those references about 09:11 pouring out God's spirit in the last days 09:13 and sons and daughters will prophesy, 09:15 dream dreams, see visions, and he says the word 09:19 prophesy or the word prophets has a dual 09:22 application or dual meaning sorry, 09:26 one it means those who speak prophecies, 09:28 things that are to come, but the other word it 09:31 means is also preach, they proclaim the word 09:35 and what that means is that they proclaim 09:37 the word of God as it already is and how 09:40 do you know, I think a part of the questions 09:42 was how do you know whether or not a living 09:45 prophet is a real prophet, if they lead you by the 09:50 word of God, if what they say is in harmony 09:52 with the word of God you can trust what they say, 09:55 I want to try not to say too much at this point because 09:57 we're gonna really break this egg open and fry it. 10:00 In the second portion of this program but 10:02 any time a person comes up because there are 10:05 many movements today and I have to give you 10:07 a peek into our topic for today to answer this 10:10 question, there are many moments today that says 10:12 hey the Lord just gave me a prophecy, 10:13 and they'll stand up in the middle of the church 10:16 and start saying things and because they profess 10:19 it by saying the Lord just gave me a prophecy 10:21 they refer to themselves as prophets and 10:24 prophetesses. And so they now a days it's becoming 10:28 so prevalent it's just like the horoscope business, 10:33 but the problem with that is you have nothing to 10:35 measure them against when they says I know 10:38 the Bible says, but here's what God told me. 10:41 So they tend to make their words supersede 10:43 what the Bible says, but if you look at the prophet's 10:47 word it never supersedes or speaks out of harmony 10:49 with what God has already said, it never does, 10:52 and so thereby whether it's a Mormon, 10:56 whether it's a Pentecostal, 10:58 Presbyterian, Adventist, whatever the case maybe, 11:01 everything that a person who says he or she 11:03 is a prophet it must be measured by the written 11:07 word of God and it cannot be given to supersede 11:11 the word of God and I want to add this since 11:13 the question was given by a Mormon young lady, 11:15 when I was there I asked a question I said 11:19 and you set the stage wonderfully for this 11:21 question to come forth. I said when the Mormon 11:24 missionaries go out and do their missionary 11:27 work they give out the King James version Bible 11:29 but then they also give out the book of Mormon 11:31 and I said well now, do you believe that the Bible 11:33 is true, I am refereeing to the 66 books of the Bible, 11:37 the Holy Writ and the young lady responded yes, 11:40 only as it is properly interpreted, and I said okay 11:44 the one that you give out when you go out to give out, 11:46 when you do missionary work is that one 11:48 properly interpreted? She says yes, 11:51 I said this so why is it that the Bible, 11:53 Genesis to Revelation, completely contradicts 11:57 what the book of Mormon teaches. Now John, 11:59 I don't know if you knew this or not, 12:00 but one of the books in the book of Mormon, 12:02 the name has been changed but it's almost been 12:05 a replica of the book of Isaiah some minor 12:09 changes but it's like it's been struck in there 12:12 to give legitimacy to the other books that have 12:14 dates and names and cities and places and coins 12:17 and references. Because there is no historically 12:20 written record to even support it. 12:22 So, if you ask yourself, the question was Joseph 12:24 Smith a true prophet, you have to come up with 12:26 a conclusion, he could not have been, 12:29 because his book completely contradicts the Bible. 12:33 And so therefore what I am saying is whatever 12:34 a person who says he or she is a prophet whenever 12:37 they speak, when it's out of harmony 12:39 with the Bible you cannot say well but in my heart, 12:43 there is a burning in my blossom that convinces 12:46 me that this is true. No, there's not a burning in your 12:49 bosom, there has to be a verification in the word 12:51 of God, you can't push off the word of God 12:53 by saying well this is what I think and if you really 12:56 study the book of Mormon you will come to the 12:58 same conclusion, it does not give that kind of leverage. 13:01 You know I had a chance when I was in Springfield 13:05 to meet with a friend a new friend of mine he came 13:09 to the church and he said he really wanted to study 13:12 the word with an Adventist pastor and in fact 13:16 the first time he came to the church I wasn't there, 13:18 so I received the message and I followed up 13:21 and I met with him, a few miles he lived in a town 13:23 that was a fairly close town near Springfield, 13:26 we got together and I found out very, 13:28 you know fairly soon that he was a Mormon. 13:31 But he really wanted to study what Adventists believe, 13:33 because he wanted to share his faith too, 13:35 so his motive really was to show me as an Adventist 13:39 pastor what the Mormon church teaches on several 13:42 subjects, but he, but the entering ledge, 13:44 but entering ledge was what do you see about 13:46 this and he said he has been kicked out of church 13:48 after, church after church. Because there just 13:51 wouldn't dialogue with him about this, 13:52 and I said well, let's not, I'm not afraid to dialogue 13:54 with stock and so he shared some things and he 13:58 said basically well what, how do you interpret 14:02 those because I see that those things are in the Bible 14:04 and I said well really it comes down to this there 14:07 are a few things that I see that the book of Mormon 14:10 has that are in direct contradiction to what the word 14:12 of God says. And in fact those two things are 14:15 foundation to the teachings of your church and he say, 14:18 wow, what are those, I said number one, 14:22 I said what happens when you die, the state of 14:25 the nature of man upon death. 14:27 What is going on, because the Mormons teach that 14:30 as you die you then immediately go to a place 14:33 if you are a Christian to preach to other souls that 14:37 perished without God about the message of Christ, 14:40 so that they may be converted and then enter 14:42 into the heavenly realm or a higher realm. 14:45 And so he said well that's in the Bible and he showed 14:48 me a couple things and I proceeded to show him 14:50 that yes in a verse that he uses within Peter about 14:54 the souls or Jesus that went to preach to the, 14:57 preaching the Spirits, Spirits in prison that if you take 15:00 that verse and interpret it the way that he interprets it, 15:04 that then it makes the rest of the scriptures on that 15:07 subject contradictory. Right, because the multitude of 15:11 scriptures in the Bible say that when the soul dies, 15:14 when a man or a woman dies they rest in the grave 15:17 until the resurrection and then Christ calls them forward 15:21 or until the last judgment if they're the wicked and he 15:23 calls them forward there, fine. And so I said there 15:26 is no preaching to people in prison after you're dead 15:29 in fact everything, even the stories of the Bible, 15:32 Noah's day in the ark and all those things 15:33 contradict that. So you can't interpret Peter and his 15:37 words as saying or endorsing what the book 15:41 of Mormon is teaching, right, so that makes 15:43 the book of Mormon right there in contradiction 15:46 to the word of God. The second thing I said the issue 15:49 of the Sabbath, it's one of the ten commandments. 15:53 You're honoring Sunday, a day that the God 15:54 has not set up and the book of Mormon say endorses 15:58 that day as a day of worship, the Bible doesn't. 16:01 Right, so there are two predominant right there 16:04 contradictions in the book of Mormon among others 16:08 that as we talked he had a tough time answering 16:13 to the point where he finally said I never talked to a 16:17 pastor who actually give me an answer for that before, 16:21 I said well, study the word my brother, 16:22 I said study the word, because this is what matters 16:27 and this is the test, the ultimate thing that you must 16:28 test, that's right, so anyway that's what 16:31 we want to encourage you to deal with, 16:33 study the word, make sure any prophet or prophecy 16:37 or any other book that claims to have some special 16:39 knowledge, make sure that it harmonizes with the word 16:42 and if it does not let me tell you, you shouldn't 16:44 just stop reading that book, toss it out. that's right. 16:48 It should not be in your library and I would say, 16:52 it would even put you in harm's way to study and to 16:54 read that because you know our minds, 16:56 our fleshy minds have a way of rationalizing things 17:00 and the faster you can put that out, the better, 17:04 yeah as a matter of fact, the real Bible, 17:06 God's word is like a dust filter, it filters out those 17:09 particles no matter how fine they maybe, 17:12 because Satan wants to get into your mind with points 17:15 that he feels have become final points that have been 17:18 narrowed down through the centuries and it sounds 17:21 legitimate to a great degree but allow the word 17:24 of God to be the filter between, 17:26 what someone says, what someone teaches, 17:29 and what the Bible actually says. And there by you 17:32 won't find yourself in a predicament trying to figure 17:35 out whether or not this is true or how is it that 17:38 it does not relate to what the Bible teaches 17:41 and then you get caught in a pickle so to speak, 17:43 we have to decide whether the person's sincere 17:46 and friends there are many people that are sincere 17:48 here but they are sincerely wrong, so don't even 17:51 make sincerity the measure of whether or not a person 17:54 is right, always make it the word of God, a matter 17:57 of fact somebody asked a question here and I could 17:59 continue on this topic of, you know, 18:01 the Mormon position but I want to be kind about 18:03 it and but truly the preexistence spirits 18:08 in heaven coming to earth and entering bodies 18:11 to go back to heaven later on, it's not scriptural, 18:13 it's nowhere found in the Bible to be supported. 18:16 But here is a question where did Lucifer get 18:19 his pride from that cause his downfall, 18:23 because he was in God's holy presence 18:27 and they was supposed to be no evil there? Well, 18:29 I am glad you say that because there is no evil 18:33 in the presence of God now, but here it is and 18:37 there is no evil that exists in God and God 18:40 does not create evil. So to answer your question, 18:43 let's go to the book of Ezekiel chapter 28, 18:47 Ezekiel chapter 28, and let's look together at verse 15, 18:52 and I'm going to cover verse 15 and verse 18 18:55 because those are the two verses that primarily give 18:58 the direct answer. Speaking about Lucifer 19:02 the Bible says in Ezekiel 28:15, you were perfect 19:07 in your ways from the day you were created, 19:11 let's stop there before I go further. 19:14 Notice when God created him he was perfect. 19:17 Now, a calculator, let's use a calculator 19:23 for this example, a calculator could be used to add 19:27 up numbers, a calculator could be used to multiply 19:31 numbers, to subtract numbers, 19:34 it has a number of functions, 19:35 but once the information is input, 19:40 the machine is perfectly designed to what it's intended 19:43 to do, to function in a particular way. 19:47 As in the sense of Lucifer, God created him with 19:51 a mind somewhat like a calculator, 19:54 which means it functions exactly the way God 19:57 intends for it to function but what happened like 20:01 a person who is a thief who wants to shave 20:05 the books, they input the numbers to reflect 20:09 only what they desire that is to bring an outcome 20:13 that is in harmony with their deep dark desires, 20:16 greatest illustration note, but here is the point God 20:19 created Lucifer with the ability to think, 20:23 the ability to make decisions, God did not give him 20:26 evil thoughts but the rest of the verse makes it 20:29 very clear where this evil came from. 20:32 Verse 15 of Ezekiel 28, you were perfect in your 20:35 ways from the day you were created till inequity 20:39 was found in you, in the same way we have families 20:45 that have children, John this is always amazing 20:48 to me lot of people say well, why is that one year 20:51 children is so obedient and the other one is just 20:54 so rebellious? And sometimes a mother 20:57 or father will say I don't know where they get that 20:59 from. Well, you know what, it may not be something 21:02 that's completely hereditary, but it could be 21:05 something that's cultivated, sometimes there are 21:08 influences, the crowds that they expose themselves 21:11 to, the materials that they put in their minds 21:13 could then bend their will to go in a particular 21:17 direction by their choice and that's what happened 21:20 if you want a direct answer Lucifer chose to question 21:24 the authority of God and it says here in verse 18. 21:28 I don't know if you are in Ezekiel 28, why don't 21:30 you read verse 18 for us. You defiled your sanctuaries 21:35 by the multitude of your inequities, 21:37 by the inequity of your trading, 21:39 therefore I brought fire from your midst, 21:41 it devoured you, and I turned you to ashes upon 21:44 the earth in the sight of all those who saw you. 21:47 And as you can tell the second part is yet to be 21:48 fulfilled, but once again the multitude of his inequities, 21:52 it was his own decision, his own choice, 21:54 his own actions that led him to be the one 21:57 who is the father of lies and the Bible says that 22:00 in the book of Matthew, you are of your father the 22:03 devil for he was a murderer from the very beginning 22:05 and the truth did not abide in him. 22:08 So it never refers to God as a father of lies, 22:10 it never refers to God as the author of confusion. 22:13 So lies, confusion, sin, inequity was something 22:16 found in Satan by his own ability to choose, 22:22 pretty simple and to the point. 22:23 You know and the freedom of choice always has, 22:26 leaves a door opened for the choice of bad or good, 22:31 so you can be perfect and still choose to do bad, 22:34 for example, Adam and Eve, right, 22:37 they were perfect, God created them as perfect 22:39 human beings yet they chose to do wrong, 22:44 they chose to distrust God and walk away from him, 22:47 they sinned and it wasn't that the sin was in them 22:50 prior to that time but when they opened that door 22:52 sin came in and now they pass on that sin 22:55 to the rest of the human race. 22:58 So yeah, the devil was perfect, he is the one that 23:01 devised inequity. Yeah, I was, I always view this 23:04 as a very far fetched example and I, 23:06 sometimes it sounds offensive to people that may be 23:08 on the other side of the coin, but I doubt when Hitler 23:12 was born that his mother looked down at this 23:15 little tender baby and say oh I am so glad 23:17 that you were born, I am looking forward to the day 23:20 when you become the leader of mutilating 23:22 and killing millions of Jews, oh what a perfect 23:26 litter murderer, but you don't look at a child 23:28 and see that, it sounds really, doesn't it sound 23:30 strange. But that child grows up and starts making 23:34 choices and makes his own decisions and his 23:38 future is then shaped by his own actions, 23:40 John 8 verse 44 I alluded to it, but here it is what 23:43 it says you are of your father the devil and the 23:48 desires of your father you want to do, 23:50 he was a murderer from the beginning and does 23:53 not stand in the truth, because there is no truth 23:56 in him, when he speaks a lie, he speaks off from 23:59 his own resources, get it, didn't come from anybody else, 24:04 it didn't come from God, God did not create it. 24:07 He speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar 24:12 and the father of it. God the Father is not the father 24:15 of lies, God the Father is the Father of love 24:18 and truth and every good and perfect gift comes 24:22 from him. Okay, what else do you have for us. 24:25 Do you have another one. Let's see here, 24:27 I'm sure I have another one, okay, a question come on. 24:33 Let's see here, here we go. As a Seventh-Day 24:37 Adventist member I'd like to know if it's wrong 24:41 to buy and sell the Sabbath, and there by the way 24:45 new Seventh-Day Adventist member. 24:46 So they honestly inquiring here as to what's appropriate 24:49 to join the Sabbath. And so you know can you 24:53 provide some instruction or direction on this. 24:55 Well let's just read the fourth commandment, okay, 24:58 and let's find that in Exodus chapter 20:verse 8, 25:03 it says remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy, 25:06 six days shall labor and do all your work, but the 25:09 seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. 25:13 In it you shall do no work, you nor your son, 25:16 nor your daughter, nor your male servant, 25:18 nor your female servant, nor your cattle, 25:21 nor your stranger who was within your gates, 25:23 for in six days the Lord made heavens and the earth, 25:26 the sea and all that is in them, 25:28 and rested the seventh day, therefore the Lord blessed 25:31 the Sabbath day and hallowed it. 25:34 So, in here we find a command from God to work 25:38 to do our business, to do everything that we have 25:40 to do and then to sustain ourselves and then 25:44 on the seventh day to spend that time in rest from 25:47 that work, to give honor and glory to God, 25:50 to spend time, special time with him, to commune 25:54 with him to show or to reveal not only to him but 25:57 to others that we depend upon him for our 26:00 sustenance, he is our provider, 26:01 he is the one that gives us strength, he is 26:03 our redeemer, he is our friend, all these words 26:05 that pertain to him are in compass within that day 26:08 that he calls his Sabbath, notice, it's not our Sabbath 26:11 it's his Sabbath day so that day is set aside for a special 26:16 time with him. So the six days, let's talk about 26:19 that the six days that are given to working don't just 26:24 point to labor for wages working involves other things 26:29 that sustain who you are, in your life preparing, 26:35 okay that's why in fact Friday the Jews have long 26:39 called Friday the preparation day, and so they'll spend 26:42 of that, that is carried on to even the Seventh-Day 26:44 Adventist faith, where we use Friday especially 26:46 as a day of preparation, more like final preparation 26:49 for the next day, the Sabbath that begins 26:52 on Friday night with sundown. 26:54 And so what do we do on the day of preparation, 26:56 well we make sure that well many of us work because 26:59 we work those five days maybe Monday to Friday, 27:03 when all of a sudden done with labor for wages, 27:06 we also work in the area of getting our clothes 27:09 cleaned up and ready to go, the house cleaned up, 27:12 so we don't have to do that on the Sabbath, 27:15 we also go shopping at the store because we want 27:17 to make sure we have the food ready, 27:19 we prepare our food and get that as far as we can 27:22 ready for maybe a fellowship lunch on Sabbath, 27:26 you know all these things we do in preparation for that 27:29 wonderful day, the holy day of the Sabbath. 27:31 So we can commune with God on that, 27:32 so it doesn't come in between us or interrupt that 27:36 quality time that we can have him now. 27:39 So buying and selling, just to say for instance, 27:42 you go to the store and you buy and you sell. 27:44 Well, if I am to buy and sell or if I go and engage 27:48 in that business what am I making someone else do to 27:51 work for me, right, I am causing them to or forcing 27:55 them to actually earn labor, earn wages and to break 27:59 the Sabbath as far as the condition of don't work 28:02 labor for wages on the Sabbath, 28:05 but that work there is more to it John, 28:07 it's not just laboring for wages, it involves many 28:10 things and so you probably have another scripture 28:13 to add there too, because I know Isaiah 58 talks 28:17 about this as well and we can turn to that, 28:20 do you have one there, before I get there to Isaiah, 28:22 let me give let me give a different perspective of that, 28:24 well actually an additional perspective to that, 28:27 what happens sometimes is we are in situations 28:30 where we are confronted with helping someone 28:36 or ignoring a person who has a particular need, 28:39 let me use a couple of examples and this doesn't 28:43 necessarily require the spending of money, 28:47 but sometimes it would. I was on my way to church 28:52 and this was in New York and there was a gentleman 28:54 that broke down in the intersection right his car, 28:57 was making a turn and died in the almost bulls-eye 29:01 in the intersection. And he got out to push his car 29:05 and it's a big car, this was back in the 70s, 29:08 and it was a huge honking vehicle, if it's hard to push 29:11 a car today just imagine back then with those 29:13 engine blocks that were just made of iron. 29:16 Anyway, I went over and helped him and then 29:18 some other people joined in and pushing the car 29:20 and somebody would say as it was in the days 29:23 of the Jewish, they would say well people you know 29:25 you're perspiring and you know perspiration falls 29:28 on the ground and calls the germination of the seed 29:30 that's there by violating the Sabbath, 29:32 but the Bible points out in that context it's lawful 29:36 to do good on the Sabbath, the Lord uses some 29:40 examples where there was a lady he freed from 29:42 bondage that she had been under Satan's bond 29:45 for 18 years and he freed her on the Sabbath 29:48 day but he was accused of violating the Sabbath 29:50 and there was another situation with Lord healed 29:52 somebody and the Pharisee said you've violated 29:54 the Sabbath, he said if your sheep fell into the pit 29:57 would you take him out? 29:58 Of course, well how much more is this man whose 30:01 hand I restored, how much more valuable is he 30:04 than a sheep? Sometimes we have to be in a situation 30:07 where we have to say if we know of a neighbor, 30:10 now we are not talking about going out and 30:11 painting people's houses or mowing their lawns. 30:15 So I want to get something clear, some people just 30:17 got involved in community service and they go out 30:19 mowing lawns, painting houses, those are things that 30:22 could be done other days of the week not the Sabbath. 30:25 But say your neighbor is ill and you find out and 30:29 you go to that person's home and there is no 30:31 food in the house, their particular need that they 30:33 have or the medication of some particular sort and 30:37 they need it right then and there and you don't 30:39 have that medication in your house, to go out and 30:41 to purchase that medication is not the violation of the 30:45 Sabbath, right, that person has a particular need and 30:49 you are lifting that person's burden on the 30:51 Sabbath day. So, the principle of it is what the Lord 30:56 is talking about is the premeditated approach to 30:58 the Sabbath not bearing somebody's burden and 31:01 freeing someone from a particular need that they 31:03 have on the Sabbath day. Yeah and there's some 31:04 things necessary for doing God's work, yeah, 31:08 that even are done at camp meetings or large 31:11 gatherings of things to create and serve food so 31:14 the people gathering for the purpose of being 31:16 spiritually fit can be nourished and strengthened, 31:19 I mean even Jesus with the feeding of the 5000 31:22 and other things, you know those kinds of activities 31:25 should be, and can and should be done to make 31:29 sure that people are, their needs are met on the 31:32 Sabbath day. Like the disciples going through the 31:34 field and picking food and eating. Yeah, and eating 31:38 the grain and so forth, listen to what it says and 31:41 I am glad, that's a perfect segued, what you're sharing 31:44 there is a perfect segued with Isaiah 58, okay, 31:47 and look at verse 13, it says if you turn your foot 31:51 away from the Sabbath from doing your pleasure on 31:54 my holy day and call the Sabbath a delight, 31:57 the holy day of the Lord honorable and shall 32:00 honor him not doing your own ways nor finding 32:03 your own pleasure or speaking your own words, 32:07 notice here, self serving, right. This is the key doing 32:12 self serving activities in pleasure, in your ways, 32:16 in your words, but you shall delight, verse 14, 32:19 yourself in the Lord and I will cause you, 32:22 look at the promise here, I will cause you to ride 32:24 on the high hills of the earth and feed you with the 32:26 heritage of Jacob your father, the mouth of Lord 32:29 has spoken. So, but what the Lord wants the people 32:32 to do is not be burdened down with these rules 32:36 and regulations as to how far you walk on the 32:38 Sabbath or what you can do, you can or can't 32:40 you know can't drive a car, you can't go this 32:42 far and all this stuff, we even find some of this 32:45 coming into the Seventh-Day Adventist 32:46 church, which is very sad. But we should guard 32:50 the borders to make sure that we understand is 32:54 what I am doing self serving, am I doing things 32:57 I can do for my own other days of the week, right, 33:00 to work, to sustain, not necessarily, 33:02 it's not necessary talking about serving others and 33:05 meeting their needs on that day with regard to 33:08 necessities. That's right. Not painting the house, 33:11 mowing the lawn, all those things, those can be 33:13 done as well other days of the week. So there is a 33:17 principle here that goes beyond the rules and 33:19 the regulations that are written down that we 33:21 should follow. That's right and thank you very much 33:24 and I think on that note we are going to segued 33:25 to our topic for today, but as you know we may 33:28 have activated something in your mind or maybe 33:30 a question you have already you want to submit 33:32 to us, you can send those questions to 33:35 housecalls@3abn.org that's housecalls@3abn.org 33:40 and as mentioned early we will try our best to 33:43 get the answer and just to let you know that 33:46 we're not coming up with these things in our 33:47 head, we'd like to use the Bible the safest book 33:50 to follow. Well John we talked about this briefly 33:54 earlier but I have been, my motto I'm gonna use 33:58 this word here, my motto was ignited by something 34:04 that I saw on television and I was incensed to 34:09 the sense to the point of I think it'd be righteous 34:12 indignation here and maybe somebody will 34:15 understand what I mean by this, but truly when 34:18 the Bible talks about how important it is for 34:20 us to be guarded by the word of God, to have on 34:24 the whole armor of God because we are living 34:27 in the day in age where Satan has so diversified 34:30 his art of deception that people don't go to, 34:36 Christians never will go to a palm reader or 34:39 a fortune teller, I hope they don't or soothsayers 34:42 or people in dark rooms with candles and 34:44 crystal balls, it just sounds completely contrary 34:47 to the path a Christian would take. So Satan has 34:51 changed after the modern order of things and 34:54 he's hired dark magicians, dark prophets and 35:01 have given them a job under the cloak of religion 35:04 and now you have people nowadays that are calling 35:06 themselves master prophets, prophetesses, 35:12 male and females and they are setting up 35:14 ministries and if you follow what they do they are 35:17 nothing more than a polished soothsayer 35:24 or a fortune teller that has metamorphosized him 35:30 or herself and on the cloak of a religious person. 35:35 Look the part of an angel of light and they are 35:37 deceiving people by the millions, because people 35:41 are looking for answers and they pray on individuals 35:44 who are poor, they pray on individuals who are 35:48 uneducated in scripture and it sickens me to no end 35:52 to see the people that are calling themselves prophets 35:55 nowadays that have no harmony to the word 35:58 of God, and John when you boil it down, 36:01 they are not prophets, they're concerned with 36:06 profits, that's what they really are. 36:10 They are true profits, profits but false prophets, 36:17 and that's what Satan has done. So today 36:19 I don't want to be general, I want to be very, 36:21 very specific if anybody, if you are associating 36:25 or you run into somebody that calls himself 36:27 a master prophet, run for your natural life because 36:32 there are no master prophets on the earth 36:36 that's a terminology that's used, that's a new 36:39 age, that's a Zen terminology, that's not a scriptural 36:42 terminology, there is no such thing in the Bible 36:44 as a master prophet. The only one that was a 36:47 master and a prophet was Jesus, everybody else 36:52 was under shepherds and God assigned them two 36:54 particular gifts, but there is an entire organization 36:57 where you can get the cosmic economic e-course, 37:01 you can be thought how to become a prophet, 37:03 you can learn the arts and methods of a prophet 37:06 and I looked at some of these, it will sicken you, 37:09 I looked at some of the testimonies and the 37:11 little video clips and it goes like this, 37:14 well you know when master prophet gave me a 37:16 prophecy, he invited me to his birthday party 37:20 and I sowed a seed of thousand dollars when I 37:22 was broken, the next month just like his prophecy 37:25 said I got $12,000 and God's been giving me $400 37:28 a month ever since and another one while you 37:31 know I followed master prophet's word, and now 37:33 I am a prophetess myself, and I'm thinking of 37:36 myself would somebody get up a water hose and 37:40 wake these folk up. And the only time God is 37:43 used is, God bless you. Yeah, but not anything in 37:47 harmony with God's word and people are being 37:49 deceived and pouring money down a well and then 37:53 those who called themselves prophetesses, probably 37:56 just by their fruit you'll them. I was ashamed even 37:59 to look at the television, they were so slightly clad. 38:03 You know and some of these are actually veiled 38:05 in a garb of respect and are upheld as leaders 38:12 of Christian churches and other things too, 38:15 it doesn't have to be so blatant, you know such 38:18 as you know this guy on TV is claiming to be a 38:20 master prophet, he has this program, I mean to 38:22 me that is harder to believe, I wouldn't give you 38:26 the website because I don't want you to go there 38:28 but it's all over the Internet. No, but there are 38:29 even some that put themselves into this role 38:33 of preacher, teacher, oh yeah, that call themselves 38:37 prophets or prophesy a message from God 38:41 at least they say it is and people hold them 38:43 with high respect, we find a great number of 38:47 these also claiming to be able to heal, right, 38:52 you know false healings and other things that we're 38:55 seeing today. So this stuff is rampant and it doesn't 38:58 surprise me. No. Because we know in the last 39:01 days Jesus said, okay, false Christ will come, 39:07 right, and I believe in compass within that isn't 39:10 just those who claim to be Christ but claim to 39:12 serve Christ and the capacity of Christ and we 39:16 need to be aware that this is the condition of the 39:20 world today, and if we're just following these things 39:23 and our only evidence of whether or not they're 39:25 true is that something happens when you try it, 39:30 then we're just kind of like this pond that Satan can 39:33 trick and dupe in the thinking anything that he 39:35 wants to give us, to feed us so, a slide of hand. 39:38 So we need to dispel this notion because you 39:42 use the name of God that somehow you're using 39:44 it accurately and so can I start off with the verse, 39:47 sure go right ahead I think you just, look at this 39:49 verse in Matthew, Matthew let's go to book. 39:52 7, what chapter I should say? Matthew 7. 39:55 Okay, go with us to Matthew chapter 7, 40:02 alright, I'm there. Matthew chapter 7, verse 21 to 23. 40:13 Okay, and we'll do 24 too, 'cause it's good context. 40:15 Well, why don't you just start with 15 because 40:17 that's when, okay, that shows you how, yeah, 40:19 let's go to 15, beware of false prophets, 40:25 a good place to start, okay, who come to 40:27 you in sheep's clothing but inwardly they are 40:30 ravenous wolves. Okay now what is a sheep 40:32 in the Bible, we are, Jesus is the Shepherd, 40:35 we are the sheep, so they look like Christians, 40:38 that's right, they have on our clothing, 40:42 they claim to be connected with the Shepherd 40:44 but inwardly, say that again. They come to you 40:48 in sheep's clothing but inwardly they are ravenous 40:50 wolves. They'll tear your soul. So they will tear 40:53 you apart. And so you know when Jesus says 40:58 beware, what do you do? You beware, 41:01 you're careful, you watch out, you want to make 41:03 sure as to whether or not this is a true sheep 41:07 or if it's a wolf, that's right, verse 16 you will 41:10 know them by their fruits, that's right, do men and 41:14 we can talk about this a lot, do men gather 41:16 grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles, 41:20 even so every good tree bears good fruit, 41:23 but a bad tree bears bad fruit, a good tree 41:26 cannot bear bad fruit nor can a bad tree bear 41:28 good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good 41:31 fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire therefore 41:34 by their fruits you shall know them. 41:37 John, one of the things that I have seen that's 41:39 consistently along the line and you're going 41:40 to read the verse 21 to 23 in just a moment here, 41:43 one of the ways you can tell a false prophet is 41:45 they charge for their prophecy. Did you hear 41:47 what I said, they charge for their prophecies, 41:51 they'll give you the first one free, as a matter of 41:53 fact there is this website, I'm not even going to 41:54 give you the website address because I don't 41:56 anybody even exposed to do it, no, but you can 42:00 click a link, get a prophecy and I clicked that 42:02 yesterday to see whether or not that's really word, 42:04 and you put your name and address and phone 42:05 number and your birth date and when you 42:07 give all this regular statistical information so 42:09 that this person go out and read the horoscope 42:10 somewhere and dump garbage in your head, 42:13 you look at the Bible and you begin to see a 42:15 particular pattern against among the prophets of God 42:18 for example, when Naaman, the leper was told that 42:21 there was a man of God that will give him freedom 42:25 from his leprosy Naaman brought all these gifts 42:28 to give to give to Elijah. He brought all these 42:32 treasures to give to Elijah and Elijah in essence 42:35 says keep your treasure, just go wash in the, 42:38 just go wash in the Jordan, he didn't even come 42:40 out to talk to him but just go wash in the 42:42 Jordan and Naaman was insulted because he 42:46 wanted to pay for the service of the prophet, 42:51 you look at the, and Elijah refused it, you look at 42:54 Daniel, Daniel was promised to place in the kingdom 42:58 of Belshazzar if he would interpret his vision, 43:01 he was promised to give a necklace and Belshazzar, 43:03 and Daniel refused it. So you look at all the 43:07 examples and then in the courts of Babylon, 43:10 all the false prophets and magicians and 43:12 soothsayers and astrologers were living off of 43:14 the wealth of Babylon, but when the Hebrews came 43:18 to give their prophecy to Nebuchadnezzar, 43:21 they asked for no money at all. And so you 43:24 find in the scripture continually that there is no 43:27 charge for a prophet, when they say things like 43:29 well sow your seed well God has given me a 43:32 word for you, the word that you need to say 43:35 to them is stop or I'm out of here, that's the 43:38 phrase you need to use, because God is not 43:40 working through them but they look like sheep but 43:43 inwardly they are ravenous wolves. But I want to 43:46 lead to you this text, John, I know you are turning 43:48 there, you want to read verse 21 to 23 and then 43:49 we go to the next text and I'll show you how 43:52 deceptive it really can get. Verse 21 and we are in 43:56 Matthew 7 now, right, now everyone who says 43:59 to me Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of 44:03 heaven but he who does the will of my Father in 44:05 heaven. Many will say to me in that day Lord, 44:09 Lord, have we not prophesied in your name, 44:12 cast out demons in your name and done many 44:14 wonders in your name and then I will declare 44:17 to them I never knew you, depart from me 44:19 you who practice what? Lawlessness, 44:22 now notice here, I want you to see an aspect 44:25 of this notice here that these false prophets, 44:32 they are casting out demons, that's right, 44:36 they are doing many wonders, they are 44:41 prophesying, they are giving every possible 44:44 sign that they are a prophet, but they are not, 44:49 so then I liked the test here, it's whoever does 44:54 what God says in his word that's a true prophet. 44:57 That's right. So you can't go by what they do 45:01 or the signs they show you, you've got to go by 45:04 what they say and do according to the word of 45:07 God and this is a key point because in these 45:10 last days there are many people who are turning 45:12 others away from the truth from the word of 45:15 God to follow signs and wonders, things that 45:18 look good, look exciting, look incredible and God is 45:22 not in that, as a matter of fact, Jesus resisted 45:26 didn't he? Showing them a sign over and over 45:28 again, they said to him show us a sign and he said 45:31 a wicked and perverse generation seeks after 45:34 a sign, that's right, they'll be no sign given you 45:36 expect that of Jonah and which was when he 45:39 was in the tomb, but there those who are looking 45:44 for signs and the things that you have to keep 45:46 in mind another text in the book of Matthew chapter 45:49 24 verse 24, it says for false Christ's and false 45:52 prophets will rise and show signs and wonders to 45:56 deceive, if possible even the elect, but we know 46:00 that the elect will not be deceived. 46:02 But they will show signs and wonders, 46:04 in other words, they say you want to see a 46:05 sign I'll give you a sign, but I want you to 46:08 go with me now to Deuteronomy chapter 13, 46:11 because a lot of people say well how can you say 46:13 that they are not true prophets, because what 46:15 they said happened, you got to read this text, 46:19 Deuteronomy chapter 13 verse one to five 46:22 and then after that John I'm gonna have you go 46:24 to Deuteronomy 18 but just stay with me 46:26 right now in Deuteronomy chapter 13 verse 1 to 5, 46:29 because a lot of people think that it's because of 46:31 what they say, well in the very same way, 46:33 if you use that measurement a magician 46:35 then could be a true prophet because 46:37 sometimes right in front of your eyes he can 46:39 make plane appear or a tiger appear in the 46:42 place of one of his, one of his stand in ladies or 46:47 whatever you call them, whatever, 46:49 what do you call them? Assistants. 46:50 Assistants right, assistant deceiver, you know 46:54 he will make a lion show up or a tiger show 46:56 up in the place of his assistant deceiver and 46:58 you'll think she is in a box when she stands behind 47:00 you and tap you on your shoulder, if you 47:01 think that what they do in the front of your 47:04 eyes is evidence that they are really magicians 47:07 then you have really just been duped. 47:10 Well now look at this, because a lot of people say 47:11 well what they told us actually happened, 47:14 but Jesus now reveals the word of God now 47:17 reveals to you what's really behind it. So, follow 47:20 me carefully those of you who are looking 47:22 for miracles and signs, Deuteronomy 13 verse 47:25 1 to 5, I will read, if there arises among you a 47:30 prophet or a dreamer of dreams and he gives 47:35 you a sign or a wonder and the sign or the 47:40 wonder comes to pass of which he spoke to you 47:44 afterwards saying let us go after other God's 47:47 which you have not known and let us serve them, 47:50 notice before we go any further the sign and 47:53 the wonder comes to pass. So it's not unusual, 47:55 what they said, they said it, they said it, 47:58 and it happened exactly how they said it, 47:59 they told you about a wonder and it happened 48:01 exactly as they told you it would happen, 48:03 but notice the, notice the stream, notice how 48:06 you are going get pulled in. It says in verse 3 48:09 you shall not listen to the words of that prophet 48:12 or that dreamer or dreams for the Lord your 48:16 God is testing you to know whether you love 48:20 the Lord your God with all your heart and with 48:23 all your soul, you shall walk after the Lord 48:26 your God and fear him and do what John, 48:29 keep his commandments, keep his commandments 48:32 and obey his voice you shall serve him and 48:36 hold fast to him. And notice what's happening so far 48:39 before we read verse 5, God is in essence 48:41 saying here, there is a substitute, they have 48:42 stepped between you and me, now you're 48:44 listening to their words and all these guys that 48:47 are sitting in their fat cat seats, and these 48:49 prophetesses that are soaking themselves, 48:53 lavishing themselves in jewels and gold's and 48:56 diamonds and big cars and big fabulous houses, 48:59 because they are saying God is pouring and 49:01 you're planting seeds foolishness, lies, deception, 49:06 God is saying I'm gonna see whether or not 49:07 you are willing to listen to my word or their word, 49:10 so God is not going to protect you from them 49:12 but if you listen to his word that word of God 49:14 will be the protection from these false prophets, 49:17 let's finish verse 5 and I'll turn you loose to the 49:19 next one. But that prophet or that dreamer 49:23 of dreams shall be put to death, if that will 49:26 happen in America today, we would have funerals 49:28 like every two days, because he has spoken in 49:32 order to do what to turn you away from the 49:36 Lord your God who brought you out of the land 49:39 of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of 49:41 bondage to entice you from the way in which 49:45 the Lord your God commanded you to walk, 49:48 so you shall put away the evil from your midst. 49:51 So, God is saying don't listen to them, 49:54 because Jeremiah the prophet said in Jeremiah 49:57 29 verse 9 for they prophecy falsely in my 50:00 name, I have not sent them says the Lord, 50:04 so they even use God's name in a casual way 50:07 saying well God has told me to tell you, 50:11 God has not sent them and the measurement 50:13 we'll tell you in just a moment before the 50:15 program is done, how to measure them not only 50:17 by the word of God but specifically to know whether 50:19 or not they are dealing with truth and harmony 50:22 with God's word. Now it's interesting here 50:25 because we, you mentioned earlier that 50:28 prophesying isn't just for telling something in 50:30 the future that will come true, prophesying is 50:32 also speaking of word, that's right, and this is 50:35 the most common kind by the way today, 50:37 right, of false prophet, someone who says I have 50:40 a message for you from God and it's not a 50:44 message from God, it's not in the word, 50:45 and there is a verse I like this verse from 50:47 Jeremiah 23, okay let's go there. Notice, 50:50 Jeremiah 23, by the way the Bible has a lot 50:55 to say about this subject so it's all over the place 51:00 and they are all warnings from God against 51:03 this kind of activity, that's right, what verse, 51:06 Jeremiah 23 beginning with 25, okay. 51:11 I am there, alright listen to this, Jeremiah 23:25 51:19 I have heard what the prophets have said, 51:22 who prophesy lies in my name saying I have 51:26 dreamed, I have dreamed, how long will this 51:31 be in the heart of the prophets who prophesy 51:34 lies indeed they are prophets of the deceit of 51:38 their own heart, who try to make my people 51:41 forget my name by their dreams which everyone 51:44 tells his neighbor and their fathers as their fathers 51:49 forgotten my name for Baal. The prophet who 51:53 has a dream let him let a dream and he who has 51:56 my word let him speak my word faithfully what is 52:00 the chaff of the wheat says the Lord, is not 52:03 my word like a fire says the Lord and like a hammer 52:07 that breaks the rock in pieces. So, these 52:10 people prophesy dreams and notice what 52:12 happens there, these other people they go to all 52:15 of their friends and they say can believe this 52:18 came true, this happened, right, or this is what 52:22 the prophet said and hey, just watch it's gonna 52:25 happen, this is excitement about this prophet is 52:28 valid or this person who prophesied is speaking 52:31 from the Lord and he is not true, here people are 52:34 being prostituted and I want you to read verse 30 52:36 and 31 because you know this is the very 52:38 thing from the false system of Babylon. 52:40 In Babylon there were false prophets everywhere 52:42 don't forget in the Old Testament, Jeremiah you 52:45 find in the book of Isaiah also in the book of Daniel, 52:50 it shows how they were fault prophets all through 52:53 Babylon but none of them understood nor 52:56 could reveal the word of God, they couldn't 52:59 whenever the difficulty came, the Hebrews made 53:01 God's word clear or Daniel did, when he was in 53:05 the court of Nebuchadnezzar, when he was in 53:06 the court of Belshazzar, I mean Belshazzar, 53:11 the grandson of Nebuchadnezzar, he made it 53:14 very, very clear he showed what God was saying 53:17 and God spoke through the true prophets always 53:20 pointing them to the word of God and these 53:22 prophets don't do that. I went to this website 53:25 and I thought to myself Bible and there is no 53:27 Bible in here, this is like a get rich quick scheme 53:30 and they wear a white color, walk around looking 53:31 like bishops and calling each other prophet 53:34 and they say after every testimony and that's 53:38 the word of prophecy, you know and I'm thinking 53:42 to myself somebody ought to expose this 53:45 foolishness. This is the result, this is the 53:46 consequence of this higher power thinking, 53:50 oh yeah it's prevalent nowadays. It's not what 53:52 is the word of God say, it's I believe in God 53:56 there is a higher power out there and I believe 53:58 he speaks to us and so now all these people are 54:01 coming out of the wood works connecting to 54:02 this higher power, having his word from a 54:06 higher power and no one goes back to the 54:08 word, no one trusts the word anymore. 54:10 No, yet God is saying you've got to test it, 54:13 everything someone says by the word, 54:15 you want me to read 30 to 32 here, 54:17 yeah just read 30 and 32 we are going to have some 54:19 other scriptures to hit before and we'll cover 54:21 this in another program by the way, yeah we 54:23 have one more program on this, therefore behold 54:25 I am against the prophet says the Lord who steal 54:27 my word everyone from his neighbor who steal 54:31 my word, that's right, they got their own words 54:33 not God's word, behold I am against the prophets 54:36 says the Lord who use their tongues and say he 54:39 says behold I am against who prophesy false 54:44 dreams. Those who prophesy false dreams 54:46 says the Lord and tell them and cause my 54:49 people to err by their lies and by their recklessness, 54:53 yet I did not send them or command them 54:56 therefore they shall profit these people that, 54:58 they shall not profit these people at all says the 55:00 Lord. That's right, and it continues to go on 55:03 because the Lord is very upset with the prophets 55:04 that are that way but let me give me you two 55:06 particular tests and I want to go with you to 55:09 First John chapter 2, First John chapter 2 and then 55:12 we're going to go to Isaiah 8 verse 16 to 20. 55:15 First John chapter 2, this is one that's so very 55:17 important because a lot of people say well is 55:20 there any test, these people are not in harmony 55:23 with the word of God, here is First John 55:26 chapter 2 and the Bible says and I am reading 55:29 verse 3 and verse 4, First John chapter 2 verse 3 55:33 and 4, now by this we know that we know him if 55:36 we keep his commandments. Verse 4, he who says 55:41 I know him and does not keep his commandments is 55:46 a liar and the truth is not in him. People that are 55:50 coming to you saying that they are prophets yet 55:52 God's commandments are no longer in 55:54 application they don't apply, they've been 55:55 changed, God is saying that person is a liar and 55:58 the truth is not in them, if a liar is the person 56:01 standing before you then you need to go back 56:03 to the word of God and resist them based on 56:06 what God word says, you see and then Isaiah 8 56:10 verse 20, let me read that just verbatim? Yeah, 56:15 go for it. Okay, the Bible says, to the law and 56:17 to the testimony if they speak not according to 56:20 this word it is because there is no light in them, 56:24 when you go to these ministries that are look out 56:26 for this phrase too, the read my word ministries, 56:30 a word from the Lord, a word to you. Watch out, 56:33 because they're not talking about God's word 56:35 and then what we are going to do in the next 56:36 program John, we are going to unmask those who 56:38 use God's word but they use it partially, 56:42 they use it deceptively, how can you tell when 56:44 they are deceiving you even when they do use 56:48 the word of God. Yeah and this is so, 56:51 this is a time, very timely message and I think 56:55 the Lord wants us to pay a lot of attention and 56:57 be very careful not only to resist this but to 57:00 warn others to watch out for this kind of activity 57:03 because it has become so prevalent, so great 57:06 subject at this time. And a lot of times people say 57:09 well now okay, what difference would there be 57:11 in all these different denominations that are 57:12 out, there everybody claiming one thing or the 57:14 other well here at House Calls, here at 3abn 57:17 our motto is the undiluted message, 57:20 one that will counteract the counterfeit, 57:22 we are counteracting the counterfeit by the 57:24 word of God. So continue trusting God's word, 57:27 continue following what the Lord says, 57:29 so when he comes you will not be deceived. 57:32 God bless you and have a great day in Christ. |
Revised 2014-12-17