Exposing False Gifts in the Church of Today

[PrisonerOfHope]

Exposing False Gifts in the Church of Today

I am going to be very bold in this matter!

It is time for the church of the living God to come out of their dark age of deception and begin to operate in the TRUTH. There is way too much “faking” going on. Before you go much further into this study, make sure you read the Message to Pentecostals. These two studies go hand in hand.

This is going to be a plain language, non-technical (as much as possible) study. The sum of this entire message is basically this: STOP FAKING SPIRITUALITY.

Surely no one would “fake” the gifts of God, you say. No one would try to do it and get away with it, would they? There are simply too many Holy Ghost filled people around that would "discern" the false ways, you say. Those who are filled with the Holy Ghost would be able to expose the fakes in a heartbeat, wouldn’t they?

Don’t be so sure of yourself. I am going to list the gifts, including the ministry gifts and I’ll examine them one by one. I am going to expose quite openly, the abuses and the manners in which some in the church of today are being heralded as a champion when the absolute truth is that they are a FRAUD, and the Church today is sitting idly by and is being Deceived!

Paul gives us a list of Spiritual Gifts in 1 Corinthians 12. There seems to be an enormous amount of confusion over exactly what the “Gifts of the Spirit” really are. Let’s examine the passages, define the gifts and give examples by the Word of God if possible to see when or how these gifts operated.

First, the passage in question, then I’ll break it down verse by verse (sometimes only a portion of the verse):

1 Corinthians 12:7-11 “But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal. For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues: But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.”

Verse 7 tells us that the manifestation (public show, demonstration) of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal (and this is in NO WAY referring to financial "profit" as some have apparently tried to do with the gifts today). This in no way states that every man has one of these gifts, but rather tells us that the gifts are given for every man to profit (or be benefited) thereby. For example, if you were sick and did not have the gift of healing, could you “profit” from that gift in your local church? Sure you could. If someone had the gift and used it to get you healed, you would have “profited” from that gift. You would now be well. THAT is the meaning of this scripture.

Let's begin our study as we examine the first of the gifts listed: The WORD of Wisdom.

The Word of Wisdom

Verse 8: “For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom…..” Notice, this is not simply “wisdom” as the wisdom Solomon asked for. That type of wisdom is covered in James 1:5 “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.”

The wisdom spoke of in verse 8 is called “the WORD of Wisdom”. Far too many pulpits today are claiming that this is simply natural wisdom (or good sense) to make good judgments. This is simply not so. In fact, none of the gifts mentioned in 1 Corinthians 12 are natural gifts. Wisdom (natural) can be defined as the ability to apply knowledge, experience, understanding, common sense and insight.

The Word of Wisdom, however, is not natural wisdom, not even natural wisdom sanctified and consecrated or enhanced by God. It is not a deep, spiritual understanding of the Scriptures that some claim, nor is it having the ability of a Bible expositor (or teacher if you will).

The Word of Wisdom is Not

It is not natural or learned by the natural mind. Many people have wisdom, but not the “gift” of the Word of Wisdom.

It is not simply “spiritual insight”. Years of experience in rightly dividing the Word of God and being mature in the Lord brings about the ability to give spiritual insight. This “insight” is a result of the Fruit of the Spirit; it is not a GIFT of the Spirit. There is a vast difference between the two. The fruit of the Spirit is what every believer must produce and will produce when they give themselves to fully serving God. The Gifts of the Spirit are given as the SPIRIT wills.

It is not just for Preachers, or elders. This gift can be bestowed on any Saint of God at anytime and possibly only for one time.

It is not just a “sudden new idea” that pops into your head. Even the vilest of sinners have that happen to them.

So, what is the Word of Wisdom?

It is God-given wisdom, such as Solomon revealed when dealing with the two women who both declared themselves to be the mother of one child (see 1 Kings 3: 16-28).

In 2 Kings 3, we see the story of Elisha standing before three kings who told him the Moabites were coming to capture them. At first Elisha didn’t know what to do until he called a minstrel, one who would play an instrument and praise God. It was then that Elisha received exactly what he should do in order to stop the Moabites. He dug ditches and as a result Moab was defeated and the kings were spared.

In Acts 27:31-34, Paul received a Word of Wisdom that allowed many men to have their lives spared as well as allowing the Gospel to be spread further.

It is a supernatural insight into how God Himself would act. It is a revelation, by the Spirit, of the divine purpose of God concerning a particular situation. It can concern individuals or nations, people or places. It can be conveyed to the Church through one of its Spirit-filled members in a number of ways, such as by a vision, a dream, a prophecy, by tongues and interpretation, or even by Spirit-anointed ministry of the Word."

The Word of Wisdom is “knowing exactly how to act, what to do, what to say in any given situation, BEFORE the situation arises

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[PrisonerOfHope]

Exposing False Gifts in the Church of Today

The Word of Knowledge

Back to verse 8: We read “…to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit;…” . As in the word of wisdom, this is not just simple “knowledge”, but is knowledge of something, someone, some event, that the speaker could not possibly know. Note also that this gift is not the “gift of knowledge”, but the gift of the WORD of knowledge.

There is great abuse in the church of today concerning the Word of Knowledge. Let me give you some examples:

There are many preachers (and others also) who DO NOT have this gift but who THINK they do. Sadly and tragically, the church also THINKS they do. Why? The reasons are many.

The people who claim to have this gift don’t want to acknowledge the absolute truth in that much of their speaking is pure speculation and it ends with speculation only.

I have been in more than one service where things are spoken such as (and please do let me quote): “God said to tell you that this “thing” you’ve been praying about will shortly come to pass” (or be answered, or be taken care of, etc).

At other times it will go something like this “You’ve got something you’ve been praying about for a long time and God’s going to answer”, or “God said to tell you that it’s going to be Ok”.

Others go further than that: They will say things like “There is someone in here that has a problem (although they cannot personally reveal the problem), and if you’ll come up here, God will heal you (or take care of the problem, etc.). They will say "Someone here has a medical problem and if you'll come up here, God will heal you".

The sad part is that with absolutely NO Specifics being spoken, the Church will be "amazed" and folks will flock to the altars for prayer. Let me ask you, If I stood in YOUR church (unless it is very tiny), chances are pretty good that If I said (exactly with these words) "someone here has some financial difficulty" or "someone here has a problem in your body" or even "there is someone who has been praying for something for a long time", could YOU identify with any of those? MOST people could identify with those statements, BUT, friend, regardless of what you think, THIS IS NOT GOD. IT IS THE SPIRIT OF MAN (OR WORSE), and it should not be heeded.

LET ME WARN YOU: ALL MANNERS OF SUCH THINGS ARE FALSE. I do mean ALL!

IF God does decide to give someone a Word of Knowledge, it is NEVER, EVER, “generalized”. You cannot support a “generalized” statement concerning any problem or situation by the Word of God.

God is always very specific in giving a Word of Knowledge. Let me give you some REAL, TRUE examples:

What if I were to say (and of course it would have to be from God and truthful) "Someone here has liver disease and the doctors can't do any thing for you"......THAT'S pretty specific now, isn't it? How many people would come up? Most likely ONLY the person to whom it pertains. I have seen the Word of Knowledge get much more specific. I recall one time in the early 1990's that an Evangelist was ministering in Muncie, Indiana when the Lord had him speak to a church of about 50 people and it was revealed that Someone there, a lady, had suffered with migraine headaches for 12 years. He said that she had suffered a fall and hit her head on a bedrail and had headaches since that time. He also said that she had been to specialists and they had no clue what was causing it. When he asked that person to step forward, guess what? Only 1 person came forward, a lady, and do you know what she said? She said she had suffered with migraine headaches for 12 years since the day she fell and hit her head on a bedrail. God healed her instantly, and she has not suffered with any further headaches.

A young man had been “Laid Off” from his job for an indefinite period. After 2 months, his finances had dwindled to the point where he could not even provide the next meal for his family. He did what he should have done in the first place, he prayed hard, effectually and earnestly. Later that afternoon, a knock came at the door and a man from the church said, “Brother, I was praying this morning and God told me that you needed groceries”. The young man received 7 large boxes of groceries, enough to last until he went back to work and got his first paycheck. Was this just a Coincidence? You be the judge of that as you consider more examples.

A Preacher was holding revival services in a local church and on Friday night of the revival, the church was packed. Several people came in more than a half hour late including one young teen. About 5 minutes after the late-comers were seated, the preacher stated, “God has been dealing with me all night about a particular issue and I feel I should speak it to you now”. He continued “There is someone here that is considering suicide and you have come here as a last resort. God is ready and able to change your mind and to heal your broken heart”. That young teen boy who had just walked in burst into tears and exclaimed “I just drove 80 miles. I was running away from home and was going to kill myself tonight. I drove by here and I thought to myself “God, if you are really real, then you will care about me and you can speak to me”. Additionally, he said “I’m going to go to this revival thing and if you are God, then you have that preacher speak to me in a way that I know it is from you”. More coincidence? Again, you decide.

A young woman visited a church of about 80 people. She had suffered from headaches for more than 3 years. She had a very severe headache as she sat there listening to a message stating that God is Always Right On Time. She wrote a small note to her family sitting right beside her with the words “I’m hurting really bad. I’m going to go now”, and handed it to her mother. Immediately, the preacher said “Let me show you that God is always right on time.” He said “One of you in here tonight is hurting very badly. In fact, you just wrote a note that says “I’m hurting really bad. I’m going to go now” and you are getting ready to leave. I tell you now that if you will come forward for prayer, God will immediately heal you.” She came, God healed her. Still skeptical? That’s ok, remain that way, it’s your choice.

I could write volumes over this matter and still not ever write it all. You will see in every single example above, though, the Word was very specific and is nearly always accompanied by an action from God. If God knows the issue, the problem, he is most certainly not afraid to reveal it and he is immediately ready to do something about it.

How do I know the above examples are true? I was that Evangelist, I was the young man who was laid off and I was also the preacher in the other two examples. You are certainly welcome, though, to believe whatever you wish.

The word of knowledge can enlighten and encourage us, however, it can also expose hypocrisy (as in the case of Ananias and Sapphira in Acts chapter 5. ). It can show the needs of God's servants (such as missionaries) many thousands of miles away.

One thing is certain, however, the GLORY will ALWAYS GO TO GOD.

DON’T YOU EVER LISTEN TO ONE OF THESE PEOPLE WHO WANT TO “GENERALIZE” ABOUT ANYTHING. WHEN GOD DOES SPEAK, IT WILL BE UNDENIABLY AND UNQUESTIONABLY GOD.

The Word of Knowledge is NOT:

It is not natural knowledge, or education (the accumulation of natural knowledge). It is not teaching (the conveyance of natural knowledge).

It is not “fortune telling” or “divining”. Divining is what is being done by those who “generalize” and this is expressly forbidden by God. It is not knowledge about God or about his Word. These things are natural to a BORN AGAIN believer.

It is not necessarily always spoken. Many times God gives a Word of Knowledge to someone but instructs them to remain silent at least for a season.

What is the Word of Knowledge?

It is knowledge or facts gained by the supernatural gift of God. It is knowledge about someone, something, events, circumstances, etc. supernaturally revealed to one of His servants for the express purposes of exhortation, confirmation, instruction, and encouragement.

We see a biblical example of the Word of Knowledge in Acts 9:11-16. God told Ananias where to go, which house to go to, whom to look for and what to do when he got there. God also told him that his name had already been revealed to Paul as well as what was going to happen and told him that Paul was waiting for him.

We have a similar account in Acts 10:19. The Spirit spoke to Peter and told him that 3 men were looking for him and that God was going to bring salvation to the Gentiles.

All the school knowledge, bible knowledge, natural knowledge in the world could not account for these revelations by God unto these men.

The next time you get in a Pentecostal (or Charismatic for that matter) service and someone begins to speak “generalizations” in an attempt to make themselves look good (and this is exactly what the problem is), YOU need to understand that they are FALSE and DO NOT have the Gift of God in them.

YOU as a church member need to reject this as counterfeit and as damnable. Will you be popular for doing this? No. Not at all. Will people be mad at you? Yes. Will they try to “warn” you about “touching God’s anointed?” Of course they will. The fact is however, NO “Anointed” man of God would ever operate in generalizations if they had the real gift of God.

Perhaps it’s time for you to do two things:

1. Seek the Spirit of Truth

2. Find another Church

Whatever you decide, one thing is certain. If you are giving heed to, supporting, or otherwise believing such false workers that cannot reveal specifics, then you, friend, are deceived and you need to repent, come out of it and seek the truth of God.


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[PrisonerOfHope]

Exposing False Gifts in the Church of Today

The Gift of Faith

In verse 9 we see the reference to faith, but not just any faith. Remember Romans 12:3 speaks of “the measure of faith” that is given to every man. The faith in verse 9 is not the same as in Romans 12, but is rather “Faith by the same Spirit" …a “Gift” of faith.”

The gift of faith is divinely given faith for a particular and specific thing or time. It is the supernatural, strong, unshakeable belief in or for something that is without evidence of proof. It is different from saving faith and distinct from the faith which is the fruit of the Spirit. It very often overlaps into the working of miracles and the gifts of healing, but can stand of its own accord.

We see this sort of supernatural faith in many descriptions in Hebrews 11:33-37.

The Gift of Faith is Not

It is not merely natural courage or confidence. These are great and can keep someone going in hard times, but they are not “the Gift of Faith”. Sinners can possess courage and confidence!

It is not faith to be saved (or “saving faith”) In fact the Gift of Faith is NOT AVAILABLE to one who is not already a Christian. Romans 12:3 tells us of the saving faith (the measure of faith that was given to every man).

The gift of Faith is not just “hoping”. It believes against all appearances to the contrary.

The gift of Faith is NOT defined as “that which allows you to believe a particular dogma, tradition, theory, doctrine, etc.

As examples of what Faith is NOT, let me submit this:

I’ve known of several instances where people say “God is calling me to go (or to do)……..” (Fill in the rest for yourself). They will then say “I only need X amount of dollars” or “I’m just waiting on God”, and I’m believing God for it!

Folks, THAT is nowhere near Faith and is certainly NOT the gift of Faith. Those kinds of examples are more closely related to UNBELIEF.

Faith says, God said it and I’m doing it. Faith says I’m stepping out on nothing, and I AM GOING TO find something there!!! Faith, REAL Faith lies in knowing that it is absolutely impossible for a particular thing to happen, yet Faith is KNOWING GOD SAID IT and HE WILL PERFORM IT.

What is the Gift of Faith?

The Gift of Faith can be equated to the fig tree that Jesus cursed. It is knowing that the roots are cursed and dead before you ever see the tree die.

It is knowing that the prayer is already answered (the key here is in KNOWING, not HOPING) before you ever see the evidence.

Faith ceases to be Faith the moment you see it come to pass.

I know of a prime example of faith. A young couple had a little girl that developed spinal meningitis. The doctors prepared them for the worse and indicated that their little girl was going to die. You can imagine the tears that were shed as they braced for the worse. The young man went to his father, a man of great faith who looked at his son and said “Son, that baby is NOT going to die. I’ve talked to the Devil, and I’ve talked to the Lord and the Lord said that baby is going to live”. That little girl is now a 6th Grader.

There are many other examples that could be given, but just ONE is sufficient to show that the gift exists and is in operation.

The reason many people today do not see God moving like they want is that they have a lack of faith. Their faith is not faith at all, it is UNBELIEF. I for one still believe that God can do ANYTHING at all! How about you?



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[PrisonerOfHope]

Exposing False Gifts in the Church of Today



The Gifts of Healing



Before I get further with this one, let me very boldly say something about all the "so called" healings that go on in today’s churches.

A Healing from God is NOT your body’s natural fighting off of an illness. Don’t even try to say that God healed you from the Flu when you’ve been on medication for days or weeks on end after going to the doctor several times. Don’t tell me God healed you of your stomach problems miraculously at the same time you had your Gall Bladder removed. Don’t tell me God healed you of high blood pressure when you are still on the medication. All those are NOT TRUE. God DID NOT “heal” you.

The Gifts of Healing in EVERY SINGLE INSTANCE in the Word of God were either immediately or very, very shortly after the prayer for healing (in most cases, from “that hour” as the Word of God records). There is no other instance in the Word that someone was healed “over a period of time, little by little”. All such statements as this are false. You are only trying to rationalize to make some false prophet look good. STOP IT. God wants TRUTH.

I know a lady who went for several months having chemo and radiation treatments for cancer (successfully) who now says “God healed me of Cancer”. I know of yet another one who says “God healed me of Endometriosis”, who by the way, had never been to a single doctor to confirm that she even had Endometriosis. Not only was the original claim of healing a lie, it was a lie upon a lie. THAT is not God!

When God heals, there is NO doubt that it is God.

The gifts of Healing are supernatural and given of God. Period. Now I do have to say and I believe you will agree that not all “healing” is physical. I do believe that healings could be psychological, emotional or physical.

The Gifts of Healing are Not

They are not simply “Science” or Medical Science. Don’t get me wrong. If you are sick, I strongly encourage you to seek the Lord Jesus concerning your sickness and IF he doesn't answer or doesn't heal, seek a doctor. . I DO believe God gave us enough common sense to seek a doctor!

I believe there are illnesses that could be caused by a Spirit of Infirmity. These cannot be dealt with at a doctor. You need Jesus to do that. There is no doubt that worry, fear, hatred, and other negative emotions can cause physical problems and may prevent a person from the natural recovery from an illness. Many times, removing these negative factors and stresses can have a healing effect on a person if the illness is psychosomatic. This method does not work on real sickness and disease and is NOT a manifestation of the Gifts of Healing.

The Gifts of Healing are NOT “Spiritism”. There are many deceived ones out there who operate by Spiritism and not by the Word of God. In Spiritism, someone is, let’s say, prayed over for a stomach problem. The stomach problem goes, but suddenly they are having headaches. They get prayed over again and the headaches disappear, but no they are having sinus problems. Does this sound strange to you? What do you think is happening? Let me explain. The Word of God is very clear that Satan will not “stand against himself” Spiritism uses demons to produce a “false” healing in which the infirmity simply moves to another part of the body. This is NOT to ever be associated with ANY gift of God.

What are the Gifts of Healing?

The Spiritual gift of healing is the supernatural manifestation of the Spirit of God that miraculously brings healing and deliverance from disease and infirmities whether emotional, psychological or physical.

It is the power of God that destroys the work of the devil in the human body. No other explanation is acceptable.


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[PrisonerOfHope]

Exposing False Gifts in the Church of Today



The Gift of the Working Of Miracles

In the first portion of verse 10, still speaking of spiritual gifts, we read “To another the working of miracles;…”

A miracle is an event so extraordinary it defies the laws of science and nature. It is literally, the hand of God intervening in human affairs. In other words the miracle could not be produced by natural agents or means.

There is no other explanation of a miracle except that the sovereign power of the Lord is at work. It was a miracle of intervention that prevented the death of Paul from a serpent's bite (Acts 28) when he shook off the serpent that had gripped his hand."

It is amazing that not one single instance of the so called “miracle crusades” has been verified. There are many claims while folks are on stage and in front of a camera, but I have not, in 10 years of research and digging, been able to find one single documented piece of evidence from all the THOUSANDS of claims from the Benny Hinn Crusades alone that a Miracle took place.

I do know very personally of a child born dead, and for the next 23 minutes, in addition to the prayers of a handful, the doctor and 2 nurses attempted to cause him to breathe and he would not take a breath. They pronounced him dead, pulled the sheet over him and walked away. As the last nurse walked across the room, she heard a gasp, turned around and found that the little baby boy was breathing. You can find a picture of him with his parents on our home page. He is now 14.

I know of another instance where a fully loaded .44 Special Revolver was pointed at a man's head and the trigger was pulled 5 times. Not a single round fired, however, when the revolver was examined, every round had a firing pin dent in the primer. The same 5 rounds were subsequently fired without one failure. An interesting note is that the remaining rounds in the box all fired with the first pull of the trigger and none misfired.

Miracle? Most likely. Hard to prove? Sure, unless you were there to see it for yourself. Even then, today's church wouldn't believe and would have guessed that it was trickery, or sorcery, etc..

I do not doubt miracles, nor do I question whether they are valid. It is when one on whom a “miracle” was supposedly worked is no better than before their supposed miracle, that I question greatly.

God does NOT perform a miracle while you’re onstage only to allow you to “relapse” when you get home. There is NO scripture at all for that.

Many try to explain a "relapse" of a miracle or of a healing by telling the recipient that they have somehow "lost faith". Ongoing, continual faith IS NOT A REQUIREMENT in order to "stay healed" or in order for you to "keep" your miracle. I don't really care what your Pastor or anyone else tells you about it. There is NOT ONE SINGLE VERSE IN THE ENTIRE BIBLE that tells us someone was healed but "lost" their healing (or their miracle) because they didn't have "faith" to keep it. NOWHERE in the Word of God is that found. Any teaching otherwise is FALSE.

I do believe God can and does supernaturally intervene in the affairs of man. I believe in miracles, but not as has been portrayed on many of the so called television evangelist’s programs.

A Miracle is Not

The gift of the working of miracles is not what some call "miracles of science." Natural science is not a supernatural miracle. That would be rather, a natural man using natural intellect to deal with natural laws.

Natural wisdom is foolishness when compared to God's wisdom. Some preachers stand in their pulpit attempting to explain 1Cor.12:10 and refer to the "marvelous miracle age" in which we are now living in attempt to explain medicine, technology and science as miracles. These things are NOT miracles and they have nothing to do with a manifestation of the Spirit of God which is known as "the working of miracles."

This gift is not a “wonder of Nature”. Many people look at the wonders of nature and say, "Oh, that is a miracle."

Some who are unlearned in the things of God attempt to reduce "the working of miracles" to a time in the distant past when God created the world, or they attempt to limit miracles to the days of Jesus

What is the Working of Miracles?


The Spiritual gift of working of miracles is a supernatural manifestation of the Spirit of God intervening in the affairs of man so as to cause an unexplainable, undeniable outcome.

It is considered a “sign or a wonder” (something that makes people marvel).

It is always supernatural and contrary to nature. It is used to confirm the Word of God preached by God's servants. God works these miracles to build faith in His Word.

Miracles are performed to deliver people in danger, to perform judgments upon those who interfere with His work, to calm storms, to cast out devils, to bind up broken hearts, to deliver the captives, and to deliver people from natural stubbornness and rebellion so they may receive the Holy Ghost. Miracles are also an intervention by God himself to protect or to shield one of his servants or to preserve their life for a divine purpose that has yet to be fulfilled. Miracles cause people to be saved, while denying obvious miracles does not!

Through the gift of working of miracles, Peter went into a room and found the people weeping over a corpse. He first knelt and prayed; then he arose and commanded the woman to arise. She was restored to life. This miracle resulted in many turning to God (Acts 9:39-43).

Through the gift of the working of miracles, Paul raised a man to life after the man fell out of a window and was killed (Acts 20:6-12).

Through this gift Paul wrought special miracles through handkerchiefs and aprons, strips of clothing torn from his body. (Acts 19:1-6).

Through this gift, Ananias, who held no known office in the church, laid hands on Paul for Paul to be healed and to receive the Holy Ghost.

Through this gift, Paul struck a man blind (Acts 13:11).

These are instances where God trusted men with miracles. The Bible is a book of miracles and God is a God of miracles. We have the full assurance that God never changes and that he is no respecter of persons.


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Exposing False Gifts in the Church of Today



The Gift of Prophecy

This is the one gift that MOST people misunderstand, misuse, and wrongly label!

There is MUCH abuse in the church of today over this issue, and MOST of those who are doing the abusing wouldn’t know the gift if it came up and bit them. They are false prophets, fakes, deceivers. I’ll cover this a bit later after the “basics” of the gift.

As we continue in verse 10, we read “…to another prophecy;…”

Do NOT confuse this with the OFFICE of a PROPHET. They are two entirely different things. One with the gift of prophecy may not be a prophet and vice versa. A Prophet may not have the gift of prophecy. As a small example, a child may have a fireman’s hat, but it doesn’t mean he is a fireman. In other words, operating in the gift of prophecy does not qualify you to hold the office of a Prophet. The ministry calling of a Prophet, though a gift, has to do with one’s life calling. Though the gifts are given for life, (Romans 11:29), one may operate in the gift of prophecy only one time or hundreds of times, it is God’s leading and will in that area. As we continue, I’ll show you the differences.

Prophecy is a supernatural utterance, speaking forth the counsel of God in a known language. It has NO connection with human intellect, reasoning or thought. Prophecy can concern current or future events and is also used to exhort, to encourage and to comfort the Body of Christ (1 Corinthians 14:3). Note there is no mention in these passages describing the gift of prophecy that one with the gift would “predict” (or foretell future events). There is no scriptural basis to assume that one with the “Gift of Prophecy” would “predict” any future events.

Prophecy is NOT

PROPHECY IS NOT “POETRY” and it is not disguised in prose. When you hear someone "rhyming their sentences, discount it immediately, they are pretentious and they are false.

Prophecy is Not Fortune Telling. Fortune telling is forbidden in the Word of God.

If you have ever heard of so called “Psychic” Jeanne Dixon, you may remember that at one time she wrote a book called “The Gift of Prophecy” and attempted to claim that her “ability” to tell the future was from God.

Anyone who has followed her predictions knows that she is far from being right even 1% of the time.

However, even if she could have accurately foretold the future 100% of the time, this would still not be any reason to follow her according to Deuteronomy 13:1-4.

One of the accusations which the Lord brought against the evil King Mannaseh was that he used fortune tellers. 2 Kings 21:6 says concerning Mannaseh: "And he made his son pass through the fire, and observed times, and used enchantments, and dealt with familiar spirits and wizards: he wrought much wickedness in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger...."

Then there were false prophets or supposed fortune tellers in Jeremiah's day. God said concerning them:

Jeremiah 29:8-9 “For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Let not your prophets and your diviners, that be in the midst of you, deceive you, neither hearken to your dreams which ye cause to be dreamed. For they prophesy falsely unto you in my name: I have not sent them, saith the LORD.”

Prophecy is not simply the ability to preach. Many uninformed, mostly spiritually ignorant preachers of today claim that the gift of prophecy is merely the gift of being able to preach the gospel. To preach means to proclaim, to announce, to cry to tell. Politicians, lawyers, and teachers can do that, even though they may have never received the Holy Spirit. The word prophesy means to “bubble up”, to “flow forth” or to “drop like rain”. Teaching and preaching are a result of careful study, prayer and devotion. Prophecy, on the other hand comes solely by the inspiration of God, whether you’ve studied or not.

Prophecy is not the ability to quote scripture. Scripture quotes may be a part of prophecy from time to time, but the gift of prophecy should not be confused with the natural ability some people have to remember and quote Scripture. Even the devil can quote Scriptures: he did it with Jesus, he can do it with you.

Prophecy is not the laying on of EMPTY Hands on EMPTY Heads. Many Charismatics have a practice of going around laying hands on everyone and then saying whatever comes to mind. You should be extremely careful about just who you lay hands on AND about who lays hands on you.

Tragically, this is EXACTLY WHAT IS HAPPENING IN MANY PENTECOSTAL CHURCHES TODAY. Friend, Prophecy is NOT just “speaking whatever comes to your mind” That is wrong, and it is false. It is the mind of man and is much closer to DEMONIC than anything else. People have been taught that this is the gift of prophecy.

This is not the Spiritual gift of prophecy as given by the Holy Ghost.

At a Charismatic meeting, a certain woman was told that her husband was running around on her. The rest of the group was so sure about this that they even tried to determine just who it was that he was running around with. When the angry wife went home and confronted her husband concerning this supposed sin in his life, it almost destroyed their marriage. He was totally innocent, but it took a great deal of prayer, counsel, and explanation to convince his wife of his innocence.

At another such meeting, a woman was told that her mother was going to die very shortly (those at the meeting were led to believe it would be just a matter of days), but she hasn't died yet, and it’s been 16 years!

They "prophesy" a lot of things which never come true at such meetings, and often people are hurt emotionally and spiritually, left confused and bewildered. People often turn away from God, assuming that ALL such claims to “gifts” are false. Folks, This is not the Biblical gift of prophecy.

I know of MANY such false prophesyings that have cause people to completely leave the church and to stop serving God altogether. I can 100% assure you that GOD does NOT want you to stop serving him.

If that is true (that God does NOT want you to stop serving him), and it certainly IS true, then the only source of these types of prophecies is Satan himself. Period.

This kind of Garbage is PREVALENT in the Pentecostal churches of today. Truth has given way to the “spectacular” and many churches feel that unless they have someone prophesying every service then they haven’t ‘had church’.

Friends, this is hogwash, it is garbage and the church today needs to wake up and discern the real from the false!

Why do I say such things?

Take for example, some of these “prophecies” heard around Pentecostal circles recently:

“There is something about to happen to you and you’re going to be in trouble”. Really? You mean God can’t be more specific than that?

How about this one: “God is going to resolve this problem that you’ve had”. Whoa....perhaps it’s the one at the top of my list.... or could it be number 8 on my list?

I once heard someone prophesy to a lady “Your financial worries are over, the check is in the mail!” Well, I guess someone else got that check because that prophecy was given 15 years ago and she hasn’t received the check yet...!

I have a very hard time with Pentecostals who hear such nonsense and believe it. IF God is going to speak to you, he can and WILL be very specific. Where is the accountability today? Have we turned to lies simply because we want to feel good?

I’ll tell you quite frankly. The church is afraid to hold anyone accountable because they (1) enjoy the sensationalism and (2) don’t want to have to make some of their elders sit down for prophesying FALSELY.

That, my friend is Unacceptable in ANY CHURCH.

JUST ONE false prophecy is enough to brand one a false prophet. JUST ONE.

While I’m on the subject of prophecy, let me also, as I promised to do, cover the subject of Prophets.

Prophets

This is another area in the church of today that is extremely abused with MANY men today calling themselves “Prophets”.

Bear with me as I expose them for the deceivers they are. You are about to see very quickly this is one area that I will stand very boldly against. I am 100% against ANY man who calls himself a Prophet and has even ONE false prophecy. You can rationalize all you wish, but the truth of the matter is that ONE, JUST ONE false prophecy makes you a false prophet. PERIOD. There is no “missing the mark” “heard it wrong”, “didn’t hear clearly”, lame excuses.

Does it make you angry when I say that? Good. It is my full intention to do just that. If you are going to prophesy falsely, the I am going to be your worst nightmare and I will expose you AND all your methods of deception. Perhaps you will think twice before you claim to be a Prophet (or even claim to be prophesying for that matter). I guess by now, you have me figured out: I cannot stand a false prophet...period. Why? Because he is a liar and causes the Holy People of God to believe in a lie.

Anyway, first things first. Just what is a prophet? Let’s examine the character of a prophet.

Before answering that, let me rule out about 99.9% of the so called prophets today.

A Prophet of God is ALWAYS 100% correct in their prophecies. Always. Anything less, and it rules out all probability that they are of God.

Much like you view a pastor or an evangelist, a prophet is also a ministry calling. It is not as the “gift of prophecy” in that it may only operate one time, it is rather a Life’s Calling. A prophet MAY only be used one time, but it is the demeanor, the actions, the thinking, the heart of the man that is different. Prophets are perhaps the most misunderstood of all the offices of ministry and MOST churches would not recognize one immediately if they saw one.

We are all familiar with the Old Testament prophets and thinking of the very word prophet conjures up images of sackcloth and ashes, of men wandering around with no particular place to go standing on tree stumps proclaiming “gloom, doom, and destruction”. Although these thing are very much associated with Prophets only, there is yet so much more to it than that. A prophet has a deep rooted love and sense of protection for the People of God. He is ALWAYS concerned with encouraging people to just do the “right thing” in the eyes of God.

A prophet may very often be dragged into conflict between the will of man (or the will of a church) and the will of God, but he will, if he is a REAL prophet, be more concerned with the will of God and will follow God at the expense of his own life.

A prophet’s life often is filled with misfortune, tragedies, hard times, and extreme stress, both inside and outside the church.

THIS is one of the main reasons that churches will quite often reject a true Prophet.

The church of today, especially has been taught that if someone is really going through tragedy, hard times, stress, etc. then that person has obviously done something wrong and can’t possibly be blessed of God. (This is exactly how Job's friends viewed his misfortune). How wrong you are my friend. It would do you well to take a look at Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Job and the life of our Apostle, Paul. It is this type of life experience that allows a prophet to know and to be more sensitive to the burdens and the plight of the people of God.

A Prophet has a passion for exposing and correcting doctrinal errors.

A prophet speaks exactly what he has seen, heard, or received from the Lord (even in dreams and visions). He does not add to nor take away from the facts. He realizes that what he speaks will many times NOT be accepted and could result in him being treated as an outcast among, especially, the religious circles. He DOES however, speak what God has given him.

A true prophet always takes 100% Responsibility for his prophecies. (Thus it behooves him to be absolutely certain that what he is speaking IS from God). As I've already stated, a true Prophet is always 100% right.

The Prophets are NOT the SOURCE of the message. They are the MESSENGERS. In fact, they may not always understand everything they are prophesying until after it comes to pass. (Again, if it does not come to pass, mark that man as a false prophet and AVOID HIM like the plague).

A true prophet will often be rejected even in his own church if the time ever comes to reveal or speak something that people don’t want to hear. I know of an instance where a man prophesied to a church congregation that unless some of them repented, the church would split. He spelled out exactly what was going to happen, how it was going to happen and warned them to repent. They did not. MOST of the church present at the time rejected that man and regarded him as a false prophet and he was shunned by many who before, would at least be somewhat friendly with him. Within a few short months, the church split exactly as the man had told them it would and in the manner he had told them. After that, many believed him (although, it was too late to do anything about it).

Many today believe that the prophet passed away with the Old Testament. That’s an interesting stance, since Acts 11:27-28 show the workings of NEW TESTAMENT prophets. They warned of a dearth to come. Then there is Agabus (again) in Acts 21:20 who warns Paul, although he didn’t realize it was Paul he was warning at the time. Acts 13:1 also mentions prophets and in Acts 15:32 tells us of two more prophets by name: Judas and Silas.

A Prophet’s Ministry

As we mentioned, a prophet has a great passion for truth, for doctrinal correctness and hates error. They will at times be involved in prophecy, or the “foretelling” of events. The will be involved in Warnings, in Encouragements, in Exhortations and in Comforting the church.

The will also be involved in REVEALING THE THOUGHTS AND THE INTENTIONS OF THE HEART, as God reveals it to them. Most true prophets also operate with the Word of Wisdom and the Word of Knowledge, but not all. The key difference between the gift of prophecy and a prophet is the revealing by a prophet of the THOUGHTS and the INTENTIONS of the heart. In fact, a true prophet will work in this area on a regular basis. He will reveal what someone was intending to do, or what they were thinking about doing and also will reveal what they thought they had hidden. Many times, it will be something that only the person involved and God could possibly know. It will NOT BE SOMETHING THAT IS COMMON KNOWLEDGE TO ANYONE. Don’t confuse this with the “Word of Knowledge”.

A prophet knows and is FULLY AWARE that ANY prophecy made MUST line up with the Word of God. Obviously, if a prophet says “Sir, you are going to be in a Car Wreck next week”..the Word of God will have nothing to say about that particular thing. In this case, I believe you need to examine MOTIVES. Is his motive personal gain or prestige? Is he just “prophesying for the moment...(you know..in the heat of a service just to have something to say....If he’s doing this, he is most certainly false!). Then, you have a choice. Believe it and try to avoid it, or Don’t believe it and see if it happens. (Of course, if it does, then he has made himself at least ONE true prophecy, hasn’t he)? If the man has a reputation for being right, I promise you, I would NOT ignore this!

Try ALL THINGS BY THE WORD OF GOD and Prove them.

Marks of a False Prophet

A False Prophet will prophesy about NATURAL things, MATERIAL things. A true Prophet is more concerned with the condition of man’s heart and spirit.

A False Prophet is often arrogant, self centered, and brags on his prophecies in an attempt to make people around him believe that he is a “true” prophet.

A False Prophet is often “very pious” in his actions toward others. He often feels like he must be “RELIGIOUS” all the time.

A False Prophet will often ‘rationalize’ or try to explain away his “missed” prophecies or mistakes.

A False Prophet will often proclaim himself a prophet and attempt to get others to agree with him. A true prophet is more often extremely humble about it and will be reluctant to call himself a prophet, despite the clear evidence.

A False Prophet wants an audience. He wants everyone to know that he has “just prophesied” about something or someone and it appears to be genuine (whether it is or not). For Example: If I were to prophesy that California is going to be struck by an earthquake, chances are pretty good that at some time in the next several years, it will. I would then be able to claim that I predicted it and it came to pass. Likewise, If I claim that Florida, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, or Alabama, or any number of East Coast states will be struck by a Hurricane, what do you think the chances of that happening are? You will NEVER hear a false prophet bringing up his past failures. He doesn’t want you to remember them. It is tragic today that the CHURCH itself doesn’t want to remember them. I know of a man that has prophesied MANY wrong prophecies and his church still considers him a prophet. I’m willing to guess that someday he will get ONE right (like the earthquake thing) and the entire church will praise him as a prophet and “spread the word”.

Friends, this is happening in the church today on a REGULAR basis. IT MUST BE STOPPED.

Examine the Prophet and the Prophecy BY THE WORD OF GOD

Does this prophecy agree with the principles of the Word? Is it in harmony with the character and nature of the bible?

Has the person ever prophesied before? If so, have the prophecies come true? If they have, then you stand a good chance of this one coming true also and as long as it is in harmony with the nature of the Word of God, it probably should be heeded. Why? The Word of God gives the answer:

1Thessalonians 5:20 "Despise not prophesyings.”

Sometimes a Spirit-filled believer may be witnessing to someone when the Lord suddenly anoints the witness to say things which he or she didn't plan on saying

This is “the gift of prophecy”. It does not make one a prophet. They are inspired by the Holy Ghost to say it, and it almost always causes the person to break or to repent.

I would say this: If you know someone who regularly tells you that an event is coming or “about to happen” and describes that event, and these things do happen: If you have someone who reveals hidden things that he could not know, such as an event that happened to someone, or that regularly reveals YOUR OWN thoughts or intentions: Then you should very much look at that person as possibly being a Prophet. They very likely are. However, as I keep telling you...TRY THEM BY THE WORD OF GOD.

Remember something concerning the gift of Prophecy: Prophecy always exalts Jesus as the only Savior of men. Neither Prophets nor those with the gift of prophecy will exalt anyone other than the Lord Jesus Christ (not themselves nor another person who prophesies).


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[PrisonerOfHope]

Exposing False Gifts in the Church of Today



Discerning Of Spirits

As we continue in 1 Corinthians 12:10, we read “...to another discerning of spirits…”

I want to stress something: THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A “GIFT” OF “DISCERNMENT”! .... The gift is properly termed: “DISCERNING OF SPIRITS”.

Many people use the term “discernment and get this confused with the “Word of Knowledge”. We should all use discernment (the ability to detect truth or lies, also the ability to understand a difference, or to identify as separate or distinct). Discernment, however, is not the same as the gift of the Holy Ghost which is properly termed “DISCERNING of SPIRITS”.

Discerning of Spirits is literally, the ability to recognize or perceive SPIRITS in any given situation. It is “seeing” into the spiritual realm and knowing by which spirit SOMEONE IS SPEAKING OR by which someone is ACTING UNDER THE INFLUENCE at any given time.

Discerning of Spirits is Not

It is NOT the ability to detect "attitudes, character flaws, or motives” in people, nor is it some sort of “psychological” insight.

It is my firm belief that if there were to be just one gift in a church, this would be a most important one to have, especially in this age of deception in which we live. This gift is properly used as PROTECTION to God’s people against the counterfeits of the enemy (our adversary, the Devil).

It is vital that we always remember that Satan is a deceiver (see Revelation 12:9; Revelation 20:1-10, and that he transforms himself into an angel of light (see 2 Corinthians 11: 14). It is also VITAL to note that Satan's ministers CAN APPEAR as "ministers of righteousness", yes, even PENTECOSTAL PREACHERS that claim to have SPIRITUAL GIFTS. This is why it is so vital to understand the true operation of the gifts of God and to reject anything that does not fit the description of their operation as seen in the Word of God.

We know that Satan is the leader of all evil, rebellious spirits and in fact took 1/3 of the angels of heaven with him when he fell.

The most subtle means of deception is to counterfeit, and this is exactly how Satan works. The greatest danger for the believers is to accept anything and everything in the realm of the supernatural as being from God. Not everything that shouts is a Christian. Not everything that you see professing Christ is really Christ’s. Satan is a master at counterfeit and will cause people to appear to be a Christian.

For example, in Acts 16:16-18, we have the story of a young lady who followed Paul around crying that these were men of the most High God and that people should listen to them. There are many men today in the pulpits who would just love to have this. Paul, though, acting with the gift of DISCERNING OF SPIRITS, “discerned” that she was NOT of God and commanded a demon spirit to come out of her. The men around Paul apparently didn’t have a problem with her and COULD HAVE even enjoyed the “prestige” it appeared to bring.

Let me caution you before you begin thinking that just anyone and everyone can cast out devils. I'll not get into that particular teaching at this moment, but you should read Acts 19:13-16.

YOU need discerning of spirits. You need to know by which Spirit someone is operating at any given time. It is with this gift that a church can effectively wage Spiritual Warfare.

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[PrisonerOfHope]

Exposing False Gifts in the Church of Today



Divers Kinds Of Tongues

Let’s read further into 1 Corinthians 12:10 “...to another divers kinds of tongues...”

Here is the one that gets most people. It is the one gift that has cause so much controversy in the church of today but It should not cause ANY controversy.

1 Corinthians 14:33 “For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.”

Some have claimed that the gift of tongues is nothing more than the ability to learn foreign languages. They have claimed that this is an ability which God sometimes gives those who are preparing themselves to go into a foreign country to preach the gospel so they can communicate with those whom they are going to witness to. However, this idea does not line up with the Word of God in 1Corinthians 14:14 where Paul plainly states that he doesn't know what he is saying when he speaks in tongues.

Paul says his spirit (the inner man) knows, but Paul's mind did not understand it and records for us in 1 Cor 14:14: "For if I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prayeth, but my understanding is unfruitful." This plainly rules out the ability to learn a foreign language because a person who speaks in a foreign language is both able to speak it and understand it.

Speaking in different kinds of tongues is the supernatural utterance in an unknown tongue or language that is unknown to the speaker. Just as there is a variation in the scope and types within other gifts the same is true with other tongues.

First there different types of languages spoken and these would include:

Speaking in a language known to a hearer of the words such as on the day of Pentecost.

Speaking in a language completely unknown to men or speaking mysteries to God, which means that no one can understand what is being said, except of course God himself. Let’s examine some of these. In the Bible, tongues are recorded to have accomplished several things:

1. They provided initial evidence of the baptism of the Holy Ghost. These are not the "gift" of divers kinds of tongues. (Acts 2:4, Acts 8:17-18, Acts 10:46, Acts 19:6)

2. Personal edification, building oneself up in the faith. (1 Corinthians 14:4)

3. The edification of the church, when used with the gift of interpretation. (1 Corinthians 14:5)

4. As a sign to the unbeliever as on the day of Pentecost. (1 Corinthians 14:22)

5. As intercession between you and God. (1 Corinthians 14:14-15)

There are many today who are willingly ignorant of the things of God and wrongly ASSUME that since they have never found a deeper experience with God other than repeating some sinner’s prayer and shaking a preacher’s (if you call him that) hand while signing their name to a roll book, then tongues couldn’t possibly exist. Flatly put, They are wrong and they desire to stay that way. I’ll use Paul’s words here .... if any man be ignorant, let him be ignorant...

There are those today who teach that since (in their understanding) everything should be done decently and in order then tongues couldn't possibly exist since it is both indecent and out of order. Just suppose for a moment that God did baptize someone in the Spirit and caused them to speak in tongues, would they object then? Of course they would, because it would violate their “church bulletin” thinking and their tradition. It would be “out of order to them”. When would tongues ever be “in order” to them? The truthful answer to that is NEVER, since they WILL NOT allow it.

They then claim that tongues require an interpretation in every single instance. As soon as you show me where tongues were “interpreted” in Acts 2, Acts 8, Acts 10 or Acts 19, then I’ll show you where tongues should “always” be interpreted. Can you provide the references for your statements concerning interpretation in every instance? You cannot. I suppose they think all those references to tongues in Acts were “out of order” to many people today.

There are others that claim tongues should only be spoken in your “prayer closet” and NEVER in the church. Let’s use the same logic and apply it to our prayer life: Since Jesus taught "when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret" (Matthew 6:6), does this now mean that one should never pray the Lord's Prayer (or a prayer of thanksgiving, blessing, etc.) in the church but only alone in a closed room? Of course not. To think that is to be willingly ignorant of the spiritual things of God.

A good definition of the gift of tongues is that it is the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit enabling one to speak an unlearned language, as the Spirit gives utterance.

According to I Corinthians 13: 1-3, they may be the tongues of men or of angels and have nothing to do with linguistic ability. Now you can argue whether Paul actually spoke in tongues of angels if you wish, but he DID reference “tongues of angels” and if you’ll remember, this is a man that had, before he ever wrote this letter) been caught up into the 3rd heaven and heard things that were unlawful for a man to utter. I suppose if there were tongues of angels and anyone had heard them, it would have been Paul.

It would seem from Scripture and the study of the worship of the Early Church that this was the most liberally distributed of all the gifts, hence the need for the very full instructions relative to its use given by the apostle Paul.

There is an error that is still being purported today: in that the gift of tongues was given to enable the Apostles to preach the gospel to foreigners. Let’s examine that thought:

Those in the upper room who spoke with tongues on the day of Pentecost were magnifying God and only Peter stood up to preach the gospel (Acts 2: 14 ).

Out of 120 to begin with....I wonder why the other 119 didn’t preach to the foreigners? Keep in mind now, not all the other people present were Apostles! If that is true (and it is) that not all present were Apostles, then there must have been some other reason for the gift to have been given. In other words, it was not given to just the Apostles.

The gift was not given solely to enable one to speak to foreigners! This is substantiated by the apostle Paul: "He that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not unto men, but unto God" (I Corinthians 14:2). If one is speaking directly to God in an unknown language, that person is certainly not preaching to someone who speaks a different tongue. He is rather giving thanks and praise unto the Lord God. This element of praise is a distinguishing mark of the gift in its early manifestation. Not only do we see it in the Apostles on the day of Pentecost, but we also see praise in the home of Cornelius (Acts 10:46).


To the disciples at Ephesus (Acts 19:6), speaking in tongues was proof that they had received, the same gift of the Holy Ghost as the Apostles had received on the day of Pentecost. In Peter's account of the conversion of Cornelius, the very same sign (speaking in tongues and magnifying God) assured the Church leaders in Jerusalem that the Gentiles were also called to be part of the Body of Christ (Acts 11:15, 17).

Some say that the Holy Ghost came only by laying on of hands of an Apostle. That doesn’t account for the gift given to the gentiles who received the Holy Ghost before Peter ever laid hands upon them. (Acts 10:44). Even one scriptural account is enough to disprove the "laying on of hands" theory.

Some say tongues are only for “immature” and “new” Christians, and as one grows in Christ, the “need” for tongues diminishes. If this was the case, the Apostle Paul must not have been a “mature” Saint by some standards since he claimed in 1 Corinthians 14:18: “I thank my God, I speak with tongues more than ye all:...”

If you claim tongues are a false gift, you are automatically testifying to the simple fact that the gift is true. There cannot be a false (or counterfeit gift) if there is not a true gift. If I said we don’t even have to follow the teachings of the bible to be saved, would you believe that? Of course you wouldn’t. Only a total fool would believe that. When you consider, though, that Gentiles are ONLY saved because of the grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ, it would seem a likely counter-argument for some today (I’m surprised I haven’t heard that one yet).

Many use 1 Corinthians 14:19 “Yet in the church I had rather speak five words with my understanding, that by my voice I might teach others also, than ten thousand words in an unknown tongue.” as an attempt to claim that tongues don’t belong in the church. It is foolishness to misuse that verse in such a manner and it is clear that those who purport such nonsense do not even understand the most basic meaning of the verse.

Let me put it in very simple terms even a child can understand:

I would rather have five vanilla ice cream cones in my kitchen than to have ten thousand cones in unknown flavors.

Now, I am not against any ice cream, but by using the SAME LOGIC as in 1 Corinthians 14:19, what is this saying? Am I saying that “unknown flavors” don’t belong in my kitchen? If you read it that way, may I suggest that you go sign up for some basic English classes somewhere? The only thing this statement says is that I have a preference and that preference happens to be vanilla.

An attempt to use that passage to say that unknown tongues don’t belong in church is a blatant attempt to twist scripture. In fact, if you would read a little further, you’ll find that Paul stated TONGUES DO have a place in the church and gives instructions for the use of “unknown” tongue. You make yourself less than credible when you attempt to twist scripture to prove your point. Most people I’ve talked to today who are against tongues, have never been in a church where the tongues were being spoken. They only repeat, of course, what they have heard. You may call this what you will, but it is, in fact, BEARING FALSE WITNESS when you speak about things that happen, when you've NEVER been a witness to them!

Even in secular court, their case would be thrown out for lack of proper evidence. You cannot use ‘gossip’ or tall tales in court, you SHOULD NEVER use gossip or tall tales concerning the gifts of God.

The basics are this: If you don’t know personally, you have no business talking about it.

Now for a rebuke to Charismatic and Pentecostal People who think “gibberish” is the same as speaking in tongues. I will speak boldly and forcefully first, and then I’ll explain and give some examples:

Tongues are NOT one or two syllables repeated over and over, this is called “stammering lips” and has nothing to do with “tongues”. Stammering lips are often heard being used by those in the occult and is NOT a viable “test” for whether someone has the Holy Ghost or not. It could be very possible that the “ghost” you have is not HOLY at all.

NO ONE, and I mean NO ONE can “teach” you to speak in tongues. If you’ve learned some “tongues” this way, friend you are in the center of deception and you are NOT “filled” with the Spirit of God.

There is no such thing as your own personal “heavenly prayer language” that you must endeavor to find. Get angry if you will, but you need to learn something: It is NOT your language to begin with.

The teaching that states that the Holy Ghost is already “in” you and you just have to “let it out” is purely blasphemous. There is no such teaching in the Word of God anywhere!

If you believe you can “speak in tongues” at your will, anytime you feel like it or anytime you desire to, you are deceived. The bible does not support this theory in any form or fashion.

Now, before you go stomping off, huffing and puffing, allow me to expound on those statements.

Let me clarify and expose the abusers for what they really are: deceivers.

I stated “tongues are not one or two syllables repeated over and over again”. I know of one woman who will close here eyes and say (and I will quote exactly) “HatatatataShabababababa Homamamamama” every single time. This is usually followed by a rhythmic jerking of her upper torso, subsequently followed by HER EYES OPENING TO LOOK AROUND, then repeating the “Hatatata...thing”, especially if she has grabbed the attention of several others in the church. Don’t you even dare and attempt to tell me that this is of God! It is NOT.

I have seen people with the vilest of lifestyles come to church and all of a sudden, they’re so spiritual, they begin to speak in tongues or try to prophesy. Holy? I don’t think so.

I know a woman who claims to be full of the Holy Ghost, yet her entire lifestyle consists of gossiping, tale bearing and hate mongering. She constantly rebukes anyone and everyone who doesn’t agree with her. She has no problem at all rebuking any Pastor when her own “theology” disagrees with his. She justifies this by claiming that she has been in church for X number of years and says that she is an “Elder” in the church. I sure hate to burst her bubble, but An “Elder” was never female. (If you say there was one, please provide the exact scripture reference concerning “ELDERS IN THE CHURCH” where you find a woman "Elder").

Folks, if you fit the above example: you need to examine the “tongues” you are speaking in and the “Spirit” that is in you. It could be that there is nothing holy at all “in you”.

I stated that “No one” could teach you to speak in tongues. There is NO biblical basis for these even remotely occurring and friend, you may get mad at me, but this type of “tongue talking” is prevalent in occultist circles.

I have a question for you folks that think you have the ability to “teach” someone to speak in tongues: Where do you find that teaching? How do you justify yourself by the Word of God to do such things? I believe you should read 2 Timothy 3:13 “But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.” and realize that YOU are that person. It is YOU who is deceiving when you think that a natural man can teach or be taught to speak Tongues that are given only by God.

Let me turn my attention to the two remaining items I said I would explain: What is the origin of speaking in tongues? Where does it come from? Is it from Man or from God? I hope that you believe it is from God. Since it is from God, how do you possibly get by with the explanation that someone can just stand and say “Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus” over and over to “get” the Holy Ghost? That (even if you are saying the name Jesus) amounts to nothing more than chanting and vain repetition. Usually what happens in such cases is this: Someone will chant over and over until they finally “miss” the phrase. Someone else will immediately (because they have their ear glued to the other person’s lips) shout “That’s it! You’ve Got it”. To that I say HOGWASH. They no more have the Holy Ghost than standing in a garage makes you a Cadillac. If you believe that, then why don’t you use the old standby tongue twister “The Sixth Sheik’s sheep’s sixth sheep’s sick”? I assure you, they would get the same result as you’ve tried to accomplish, only much, much, quicker.

Pentecostals: You have placed so much emphasis on “speaking in tongues” that many of you don’t have a clue what it would be like to have a real relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. I have watched in camp meetings, revivals, and evangelistic services as you kneel in the pretense of praying with someone only to “listen” to their every word until they finally speak something that “sounds like” what YOU want to hear. What you ought to do is get down on your knees and PRAY for yourself and leave those folks alone. It is called leading by EXAMPLE!

Don't get too mad at me! I am 100% Pentecostal to the core, but I believe we need to return to ABSOLUTE truth IN THE WORD OF GOD. Tradition, Dogma, and Personal Feeling is destroying lives. It would do EVERYONE reading this much good to sit down and examine YOUR personal motivations!

I witnessed personally an evangelist who believes much in the manner I am speaking to you about who came to our church. We were praying for a lady whose native tongue was spanish. She began speaking in SPANISH, “Gloria A Dios, El Senor”. He immediately leaned over to me and said “that’s it, she just got the Holy Ghost! I tried to tell him that this was NOT the Holy Ghost and that IF it was, then HIS spirit should bear witness with the Spirit of God, if he had the spirit of God within himself. He insisted that this was indeed the Holy Ghost. When I told him that her native language was Spanish and that she was only saying “Glory to God” because it was more comfortable to speak in her native tongue, he was shocked and didn’t know quite what to say. Not wanting to be wrong, after the service he walked up to her to exclaim "Sister, you've received the Holy Ghost tonight, I heard you speak in tongues." Thankfully, there were several people around who heard her reply. She said, "No sir, I didn't receive the Holy Ghost, I was only giving glory to God. I was born in Mexico and it is easier for me to speak in my native tongue, especially when I get excited." Needless to say, that young man lost a lot of credibility with the church.

My point is this. QUIT WORRYING ABOUT WHETHER SOMEONE SPEAKS IN TONGUES. You are so worried about an outward sign that you have, even at the expense of your own relationship with God, that you have overlooked the meatier matters of the entire gift. You have forsaken the facts in favor of sensationalism. You have cast aside concern for a soul in favor of your own self-serving ego. In your desire to appear so spiritual, you have forgotten what Paul spoke to us about tongues. Prophecy is certainly MUCH greater, yet I don't see anyone praying today for the gift of prophecy in the church. Tongues seemed to be the least of all gifts. It is for your personal edification while the interpretation is for the edification of the Church.

I think that most of you could care less whether someone is really right with God, just as long as you get to hear them speak SOMETHING that sounds even remotely like a language. What you should do it this: Quit worrying about whether someone speaks in tongues and start worrying about them seeking God to the fullest extent of their life! It is at this point that God will fill them.

I've heard Pentecostals say that they were going to the altar to "tarry" for the Holy Ghost. Friend, NO ONE can "tarry" for the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost was given to the church about 2000 years ago. What we are really "Tarrying" for is for YOU to get your mind on Jesus.

You, sir ...You, ma’am, have completely missed the mark when you place so much emphasis on speaking in tongues. WHEN God GIVES someone the Holy Ghost it will be because HE did it, not because you got on your knees and begged, or coaxed someone into a couple of slips of the tongue.

NOBODY has to tell anyone when they receive the Spirit of God. I solemnly tell you that YOU WILL KNOW beyond any doubt! The fact is that when the Holy Ghost comes, you may not act just like me, but I promise you one thing: you’ll act!

One final note concerning my statement above: You CANNOT turn on and turn off speaking in tongues like you do a water faucet. If you feel you can just begin speaking in tongues anytime you wish, then you MUST be able to back this up by the Word of God since you are very clearly contradicting the Word. Speaking in tongues should ONLY be done when the SPIRIT OF GOD GIVES YOU THE UTTERANCE!

If you're speaking under any other "unction", you need to consider what it is you are doing. If you are speaking just from your memory (or because you are mimicking a sound you heard or made before) I am asking you now, why?

Why would you do this? Are you trying to appear “spiritual”? Are you trying to let the other Pentecostals who have a hang up about tongue talking know that you can speak in tongues too? Why would you possibly mock God?

This, friend is exactly what you are doing when you think you can turn on and off speaking in tongues anytime you wish. You are mocking. If you and I are in a conversation and I begin to repeat everything you say, using the same tone and same inflection, it wouldn’t be long before you realize that I am mocking you. What makes you think God will look the other way and wink at your ignorance?

Friend, the problem is this: When you begin to mock any of the gifts of the spirit, you are VERY VERY close to blasphemy, if you haven’t already crossed the line. You are walking on very dangerous ground...and all this just to be “stylish” in the Charismatic and/or Pentecostal circles.

You had better know beyond any shadow of doubt that the “tongues” you are using and speaking in ARE ABSOLUTELY of GOD and that they are given to you AS THE SPIRIT OF GOD GIVES THE UTTERANCE (or “causes you to speak”). Anything else is near mockery and very near cursing.

Don’t you understand that “speaking in tongues” profits nothing except to edify yourself? Of course in today’s culture, THAT is not surprising now is it? Tongues doesn’t profit the church one iota unless YOU interpret (which we will be covering shortly).

I will speak this as a Pastor and as a Brother in the Lord: If you are speaking in tongues from your memory, speaking from what you “normally sound like”, speaking in what you’ve been told is your “personal prayer language”, speaking in something you’ve been taught or have learned either by listening or by association, STOP IT NOW. THESE ARE FALSE and ARE NOT A GIFT FROM GOD.

If you wish to get angry with me, so be it, but I am issuing you personally, a challenge to show me where any of the above were EVER done OR PERMITTED to be done anywhere in the Word of God.

You need to STOP, repent and call upon God. Who cares what someone else will think. It is YOU who will have to answer to God for your deceit and mockery.

Let me cover some final points on tongues. Are you absolutely sure that you are speaking in tongues as the Holy Ghost gives you utterance? Are you? 1 Corinthians 12:29-30 “Are all apostles? are all prophets? are all teachers? are all workers of miracles? Have all the gifts of healing? do all speak with tongues? do all interpret?”

Paul seems to tell us that NOT ALL will speak with tongues. I realize, of course that he is speaking of the gift of DIVERS KINDS OF TONGUES, but you should examine yourself to see if you have this gift or if you are simply speaking "babble".

Tongues are Not

Tongues are not the ability to learn foreign languages. The vilest of sinners can do that. Some claim that God gives this gift to someone who is preparing themselves to go into a foreign country to preach the gospel so they can communicate with those to whom they are going to witness. This idea, however does not line up with the Word of God in 1 Corinthians 14:13-14 “Wherefore let him that speaketh in an unknown tongue pray that he may interpret. For if I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prayeth, but my understanding is unfruitful.”

Paul plainly states that he doesn't know what he is saying when he speaks in tongues and in the subsequent verses states he needs to pray with the understanding.

This is plainly not any natural ability to learn a foreign language. A person who speaks in a foreign language is able both to speak it and to understand it.

Tongues are not the “putting away of a filthy mouth. (If you can believe that people actually claim this). I’ll tell you this, dear one. If it takes “tongues” to put away your filthy mouth, then what you need to do is quit worrying about tongues and go get saved. You need to get washed and cleansed. The bible is very clear in this matter:

Matthew 12:34 "O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh."

Luke 6:45 "A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh."

James 3:8-12 "But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be. Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter? Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries? either a vine, figs? so can no fountain both yield salt water and fresh."

It’s hard to argue with that!

According to the scriptures, receiving the Holy Ghost has nothing to do with putting away a filthy mouth. You should do that ANYWAY, and it doesn't take a special "gift of God" to cleanse you.

I am going to be blunt (again): If you still have cursing and swearing and profanity coming out of your mouth, I don't really care what you say, YOU DO NOT HAVE A CLEAN HEART. (Again, show me the book, chapter, and verse that would prove otherwise).

Anyway, it is not the putting away of a filthy mouth. To claim that, you must believe that on the day of Pentecost, those at Jerusalem which heard the “speaking in tongues” were amazed not at the tongues but amazed that they were speaking without cursing. That is just downright ludicrous to read the scripture in that manner.

What, then is “Speaking in Tongues all about?

The gift of tongues is a supernatural utterance in a language or languages (earthly or heavenly) which the one doing the speaking does not understand.

The gift of tongues may be used to witness (Acts 2), to pray (1Corinthians 14:2), to sing (1Corinthians 14:15), to give thanks (1Corinthains 14:16-17), and to praise the Lord (Acts 10:46).

According to Paul, tongues with interpretation are somewhat equal to prophecy in that it edifies the church. (1Corinthians 14:5).

God doesn't just take over a person's spirit and force that individual's body and mind to act (or react) accordingly: That would be a manifestation of a demon and is considered POSSESSION. The Holy Ghost is given as recorded in scripture:

Acts 5:32 “And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him.” This is the main reason many people do NOT receive the Holy Ghost: They will not SUBMIT to God completely and unconditionally.

Speaking in Tongues is the initial evidence that one has received the Holy Ghost.

Acts 8:18 "And when Simon saw that through laying on of the apostles' hands the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money..." How did Simon know they had received the Holy Ghost? Because there was something associated with it. He “SAW”...something that convinced him.

It wasn’t just joy, as some claim. Acts 8:8 tells us they already had joy! It wasn’t deliverance, Acts 8:7 tells us they had already been delivered. It wasn’t healing. Acts 8:7 tells us they had been healed. It wasn’t salvation and water baptism. Acts 8:12 tells us they were already baptized. What was the evidence that convinced Simon that the Samaritans had received the Holy Ghost? It was the same evidence that convinced Peter that God had given unto the Gentiles the same Holy Ghost as he had received! Acts 10:46 “For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God....”

The Gift of "Diver's Kinds of Tongues" is NOT this initial evidence and the "gift" does require interpretation.


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[PrisonerOfHope]

Exposing False Gifts in the Church of Today



The Gift of Interpretation of Tongues

This gift is relatively easy to explain and shouldn’t require much thought. It needs to be noted that this is again, not a natural gift. In fact, NONE of the gifts of God deal with the Natural understanding. There is NO mental ability employed in the interpretation of tongues.

The Interpretation of tongues is not the ability to translate languages (there are many unsaved, ungodly, people who can do just that). Natural language interpretation can be done without God’s help!

Interpretation of Tongues is not always a “Word for Word” interpretation as some have supposed. Take for example the interpretation given by Daniel in chapter 5 of the book of Daniel. Daniel recorded that the writing on the wall was written, MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN.

The interpretation covered more than a word for word interpretation:

Daniel 5:26-28 “This is the interpretation of the thing: MENE; God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it. TEKEL; Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting. PERES; Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.”

The interpretation was entirely accurate, but contained more words than were written. It is the same with any interpretation including the Interpretation of Tongues. The words spoken could be more or they could be fewer.

The gift of Interpretation of Tongues is NOT simply the recital or repetition of scripture as some try to do, but it can be.

This gift is NOT used and CANNOT BE USED if there are no supernatural tongues spoken, after all, the gift is called THE INTERPRETATION OF TONGUES. It is not the interpretation of thoughts, hearts, hard sayings, riddles, dreams, etc. It could not be learned if one could live a million years, but it is given by the Holy Ghost and could come at any time to any Spirit filled person.

It IS a vocal, or spoken gift, just like tongues are. Paul told us that if someone speaks in tongues it is HIS responsibility to interpret. 1 Corinthians 14:13 “Wherefore let him that speaketh in an unknown tongue pray that he may interpret.” He also spoke to us telling us that it is the one speaking in tongues that should know whether there is an interpreter present BEFORE HE SPEAKS. 1 Corinthians 14:28 “But if there be no interpreter, let him keep silence in the church; and let him speak to himself, and to God.”

How is he to know whether there is an interpreter? There is only one way he could know: He would know by the Spirit of God and ONLY by the Spirit of God.

This is why it is so critical to operate by the SPIRIT OF GOD ONLY and get rid of all the lies in the church. Let's get back to truth!

Continue to the Conclusion of the Matter on the final page.


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[PrisonerOfHope]

Exposing False Gifts in the Church of Today

Conclusion

In conclusion, I want to plead with ALL of you to be honest, truthful, holy and Godly in your actions, your speech and your demeanor toward God and toward one another.

Speaking in tongues is NOT the “Gibberish” used by many today. Many people are deceived and need to be shown the truth, and told the truth, by the Word of God.

Speaking in tongues, whether you call it Unknown, “of angels” or “other” tongues is NOT the best gift. Paul considered prophecy to be above speaking in tongues.

In 1 Corinthians 12, in the verses we have covered, we see the spiritual gifts described. I realize that many of you have been taught that you can “fast” for these gifts, that you can somehow “harness the power” of these gifts or otherwise obtain them by doing something or saying something. There are certain people in the church today who claim to be the only ones with these “gifts”. There are yet others that claim to have the gifts but have NO FRUIT whatsoever.

The fact is that you are NOT a special partner with God in any gift. God does not esteem you better, or to be in a higher place of power, authority, respect, etc because you may have a gift or two or even all of them.

The gifts of God do not make you “more spiritual” than anyone else and certainly the gift of tongues is far behind the one who has the gift of prophecy. Even evil Saul prophesied when in the company of prophets, but he certainly was not Godly. You are not "more special" or "more spiritual" because you have any of the gifts of God. The scriptures are clear on this.

You may ASK for the gifts and desire them (1 Corinthians 12:31) but it does not mean that you will ever get even a single one. Why? It is because the gifts come as Paul taught in 1 Corinthians 12:11…it is according to the Spirit of God just how the gifts are given and distributed. God decides who gets them and who does not.

It seems that sermons today are continually telling people that “everyone has a gift” and they just need to “find it” or to “stir it up” (perversions of scripture found in 1 Timothy 4:14 and 2 Timothy 1:6). There is much jealousy in the churches because someone really does have a gift and someone else (usually one that is, may I say, “spiritual”) does not. It is not up to the church to determine who can have a gift and who cannot. It is however, up to the Church to STOP the ABUSE.

People today do NOT desire the gifts in today’s church to further the body of Christ, or to benefit the church, they desire them because the church of today thinks it makes them somehow “better” than anyone else to have a gift of God.

The gifts are being desired because of the perceived “prestige” they supposedly bring. Friend, this is wrong, wrong, wrong. With the gifts of God comes great responsibility that many people just cannot handle. It is a perversion of the gifts of God and of the understanding of the gifts to desire or to use them for self gain. It is damnable to your soul and opens you wide open to be used as an instrument of Satan rather than an instrument of God and there are MANY today who are being used by Satan.

The gifts of the Spirit as found in 1 Corinthians 12 ARE NOT given to everyone to use. They are given for everyone to "profit" by. You cannot “make” God give them, nor can you “receive” them by any amount of fasting or other works you might decide to do. The gifts of God are given as GOD determines to do (1 Corinthians 12:11). They are given as God sees fit to place them in the body (1 Corinthians 12:18). It is God who determines their placement, NOT you.

Would you like to know the amusing part? It is often those who are least esteemed in the church who receive such gifts. Why would that be? God does such things in order to slap you in the face. He does it to expose your own haughtiness.

Never be so presumptuous as to think that God “must” give you any gift. He has absolutely no obligation to do so”. Once you have a gift, don’t be so presumptuous as to think that God will wink at and overlook abuses of spiritual power and gifts. Once you abuse the precious and holy things of God, you are only treading on his mercy and it is a matter of time before you will be chastised severely (or worse).

Church, Wake Up.

STOP SPIRITUAL ABUSE IN ANY FORM OR FASHION and RETURN TO THE TRUTH of the WORD OF GOD.

STOP GIVING HEED TO LYING AND SEDUCING SPIRITS AND DOCTRINES OF DEVILS!

“For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.”

2 Timothy 4:3-4



We are in that time!



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