Bible Reading: 1 Kings 8, 9, Luke 21:1-19.
“And he said, Take heed that ye be not deceived: for many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and the time draweth near: go ye not therefore after them.” – Luke 21:8 (KJVS).
Jesus was in the church and he spoke to the people on some of the things that will happen before his second coming. The people asked him when the events will be and he responded to them in Luke 21:8 (KJVS), “And he said, Take heed that ye be not deceived: for many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ ; and the time draweth near: go ye not therefore after them.” He warned the people and those of us that believe him subsequently that we should be aware there will be fake people who would claim to come in his name. Indeed, there are a lot of them deceiving people and depriving them of their hard earned income. However, you are warned of what to do in the case of every prophet or man of God. 1 John 4:1 (KJVS) says, “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world”. Every proclaimed man of God who manifests the works of the flesh instead of bearing fruit of the Spirit as stated in Galatians 5:19-23 is not of God.
Someone gave an account of how a man of God came for a program in their church and they found out that people were just falling down supposedly under anointing anytime the man waived his hands. Expectedly, people felt he was highly anointed. But God proved Himself as the man forgot the bottle of anointing oil he brought which had some oil left. When the host pastor used part of the oil, he found out that people were just falling down anytime he waived his hands. They had to pray for deliverance for the hands to stop causing people to fall. Well, that was the last time the man was ever invited by the church. But do you know how many churches had invited the man and how many people he would have deceived? That’s why you should stop chasing miracle workers but focus on God and build a relationship with him. When you do, you will realize not only can you get whatever you want from him, you can also get a discerning spirit so that you will know those who are of God and those who are not.
The problem is that most of our Christian brethren are not focusing enough on God but more on men of God that can give micro-wave (instant) miracles. But our God says in Jeremiah 33:3 (KJVS), “Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.” He is ready to answer you only if you can devote time to fellowship with Him regularly. Whenever you ask Him anything and you seem not to be getting answers, begin to thank Him for what He had done for you and what you are expecting Him to do and also shower praises on Him. You will give a testimony in Jesus name.
Prayer: Father give me a discerning spirit to differentiate true men of God from the deceivers in Jesus name.
Bro. Biodun Oyapero