Yesterday while walking our dog I definitely had one of those "whoever has ears, let them hear" experiences (Luke 8:8). I was walking and thinking and praying, like normal, and I had a "thought" pop into my mind, unrelated to my other thoughts, and it was a really clear and simple revelation that I hadn't had before. I immediately decided to jot that down when I got home. No more than 5 minutes later the "thought" was completely gone, as in I couldn't even recall the theme. Once I got back home, I almost immediately started thinking about work, etc. and that simple and clear revelation was forgotten.
A short while later, when I took a break I remembered that I had meant to write something down from the Lord, but for the life of me I couldn't remember anything other than that. I started praying asking the Lord to bring back the "thought" to mind, as I believed it came from Him originally. As I tried to reconnect the neurons of that memory of thought and moment I remembered it had to do with relationship. That gave me enough of the theme to start tracking backwards and soon I remembered the "thought":
Here it is... "Relationship with me (The Lord) is essential for guarding and protecting against offenses caused by other followers of Christ!"
I hope that rings in your spirit like it did mine! I know so many people who have lost their zeal for the Lord, walked away from church, and in some cases walked away from the Lord because of something someone did, in the Lord's name, that offended them or wounded them. I saw in that instant that having a real living breathing relationship with the Lord would allow us to realize that the injuring, offending individual was NOT representing the Lord!
Putting this in another context, if someone were to come up to me and tell me my honey did something terrible and mean, I would know that they were lying, for I know my wife's character, and that is just not in her, and has never been in her! I could tell immediately that they are misrepresenteing her, and I certainly wouldn't get mad at my wife, for someone else misrepresenting her!
Yet, this is often the case in the church! We believe all sorts of things about the Lord because we don't know Him well enough to reject those accusations.
This is yet another reason why it is so important to cultivate our relationship for the Lord! We must know Him intimately! We must know His word, His character, the way He speaks and acts!
I have heard it said that training on counterfeit money involves spending tons of time examining real money, touching, feeling, examining the bills under different light, etc. The knowledge and intimate experience of the real thing, allows the people to more quickly identify the counterfeit.
We must have this same mindset personally, and as a church, for there are many who say they represent the Lord, and some who are even ordained ministers who are not representing the Lord well. They might have a message that seems to come from Him, but deliver it in the wrong spirit or character! It is very difficult to separate out one's own personality, one's "self", when preaching, when speaking or writing, and sometimes that "self" gets represented as "The Lord". While it is absolutely the responsibility of the one speaking to do everything they can to remove their "self", it is also the responsibility of the hearer to be able to discern rightly the Word of the Lord! Our best protection for this is to know Him!
We must learn to distinguish and discern what is from the Lord, and what is not!
We must learn to distinguish when someone is representing the Lord, and when they are not!
The time is coming when more and more voices will try to convince us that they speak for the Lord, and yet they are false!
We are warned to guard against false prophets, false teachers and even the anti-christ spirit, all of which are alive and well today in our present culture.
I am reminded of a several verses just now. Here are just a few of the many verses that have popped into my memory:
2 Timothy 4:2-4 NIV:
[2] "Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage---with great patience and careful instruction. [3] For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. [4] They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths."
Matthew 24:23-24 NIV:
[23] "At that time if anyone says to you, 'Look, here is the Messiah!' or, 'There he is!' do not believe it. [24] For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect."
2 Peter 2:1 NIV: "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."
I could continue quoting scripture, but suffice it to say that our ability to know the Lord, our relationship with Him, our intimate knowledge and experience with Him, knowing His voice, Knowing His character, knowing how He acts is going to be more and more important! Let us stir up in ourselves and in our brothers and sisters a hunger to know Him more! We want to be able to correctly discern the truth of what we hear and believe!
Whoever has ears, let them hear, and discern!
One last note, for those who have been wounded by someone in the church, or in the name of the Lord, please know that WAS NOT Jesus! He is the good shepherd, He is the one who laid down His life for You, He is the one sent to the sick, the lowly, the poor, the sinner and He had mercy and compassion on all!
Amen and Amen! Lord help us to hear and discern!
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