God gives us tests to use to determine whether a message we hear came from him or from somewhere else. Most of these tests apply regardless of whether the message comes from an internal voice or through the mouth or writings of another person who claims to speak for God. They start with the overarching test “do I recognize my Shepherd’s voice in what is said?”
Once again, this blog post and its accompanying video will mostly collect and organize Scriptures. Each passage will be more completely explained, by itself, in a later post.
Here is a link to the video that accompanies this blog post:
I will later correct a few small errors in verse citations in the video which I discovered while preparing this blog post.
Slide 2. We Are Given Tests
- God gives us tests we can use to determine whether a message we hear came from him or from somewhere else.
- Most of these tests apply regardless of whether the message comes from an internal voice or through the mouth or writings of a person who claims to speak for God.
Slide 3. Very Broad Applicability
- These tests apply regardless of the label on the voice and its message. They apply equally to a purportedly “expository” preacher who says prophecy ceased 2,000 years ago, to someone who calls himself a “prophet,” and to my internal voices. If the speaker claims to speak for God, the tests apply.
Slide 4. The Great Overarching Test
Do I recognize my Shepherd’s voice in what is said?
This is the great overarching test that overshadows all of the others.
Slide 5. The Sheep Know their Shepherd’s Voice, but Not a Stranger’s
“Most certainly, I tell you, one who doesn’t enter by the door into the sheep fold, but climbs up some other way, is a thief and a robber. But one who enters in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name, and leads them out. Whenever he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. They will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him; for they don’t know the voice of strangers.”
John 10:1-5 (WEB)
Slide 6. My Sheep, and Only My Sheep, Hear My Voice and Follow Me
The Jews therefore came around him and said to him, “How long will you hold us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.” Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you don’t believe. The works that I do in my Father’s name, these testify about me. But you don’t believe, because you are not of my sheep, as I told you. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give eternal life to them. They will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father who has given them to me is greater than all. No one is able to snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.”
John 10:24-30 (WEB)
Slide 7. God’s Anointing Teaches Us, and Remains in Us
As for you, the anointing which you received from him remains in you, and you don’t need for anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is no lie, and even as it taught you, you will remain in him.
1 John 2:27 (WEB)
I guess the question is, do we believe this?
Do we believe that we can recognize, that we can know, when it is our Shepherd speaking?
Slide 8. First Test: What Does the Voice Say About Jesus?
- Does the voice say Jesus came in the flesh, as a human just like us?
- Does the voice say Jesus was the Son of God?
Slide 9. Test the Spirits–Do They Agree Jesus was Fully Human?
Beloved, don’t believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit who confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, 3 and every spirit who doesn’t confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God, and this is the spirit of the Antichrist, of whom you have heard that it comes. Now it is in the world already.
1 John 4:1-3 (WEB)
Slide 10. In Another Translation, Witha Slightly Different Emphasis–On People Who Claim to Speak for God
Here’s the same passage in a different translation, which states some things a little more directly:
Dear friends, don’t believe everyone who claims to have the Spirit of God. Test them all to find out if they really do come from God. Many false prophets have already gone out into the world, 2 and you can know which ones come from God. His Spirit says that Jesus Christ had a truly human body. 3 But when someone doesn’t say this about Jesus, you know this person has a spirit that doesn’t come from God and is the enemy of Christ. You knew this enemy was coming into the world and now is already here.
1 John 4:1-3 (CEV)
Slide 11. The Liar, the Antichrist, is the One Who Denies Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God
Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son. No one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also. Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you too will abide in the Son and in the Father. And this is the promise that he made to us—eternal life. 26 I write these things to you about those who are trying to deceive you. But the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie—just as it has taught you, abide in him.
1 John 2:22-27 (ESV)
Slide 12. God, and the Love that is in Him, Remain in the One Who Confesses Jesus is the Son of God
Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God remains in him, and he in God. We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who remains in love remains in God, and God remains in him.
1 John 4:15-16 (NASB)
Slide 13. No One Can Truthfully Say, “Jesus is Lord,” Except By the Holy Spirit
Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be unaware. You know that when you were pagans, you were led astray to the mute idols, however you were led. Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus is accursed”; and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.
1 Corinthians 12:1-3 (NASB)
Slide 14. Second Test: other gods?
Second test: does the message urge me to worship other gods or give me an excuse to place other things ahead of God in my priorities?
Slide 15. The Prophet who Says to Follow Other Gods is False
If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder, and the sign or the wonder comes true, of which he spoke to you, saying, ‘Let’s follow other gods (whom you have not known) and let’s serve them,’ you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer of dreams; for the Lord your God is testing you to find out whether you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. You shall follow the Lord your God and fear Him; and you shall keep His commandments, listen to His voice, serve Him, and cling to Him. But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has spoken falsely against the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of slavery, to drive you from the way in which the Lord your God commanded you to walk. So you shall eliminate the evil from among you.
Numbers 13:1-5 (NASB)
We no longer put people to death, but we should be ignoring them.
Slide 16. Promising Peace and Safety to Those Who Worship their Own Stubborn Hearts
This is what the Lord of armies says:
Jeremiah 23:16-18 (NASB)
“Do not listen to the words of the prophets who are prophesying to you.
They are leading you into futility;
They tell a vision of their own imagination,
Not from the mouth of the Lord.
They keep saying to those who despise Me,
‘The Lord has said, “You will have peace”’;
And as for everyone who walks in the stubbornness of his own heart,
They say, ‘Disaster will not come on you.’
But who has stood in the council of the Lord,
That he should see and hear His word?
Who has paid attention to His word and listened?
Slide 17. Running to Tell People God is Distant and Doesn’t See Us–A False View of the True God
I did not send these prophets,
But they ran.
I did not speak to them,
But they prophesied.
But if they had stood in My council,
Then they would have announced My words to My people,
And would have turned them back from their evil way
And from the evil of their deeds.
“Am I a God who is near,” declares the Lord,
“And not a God far off?
Can a person hide himself in hiding places
So that I do not see him?” declares the Lord.
“Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?” declares the Lord.
Slide 18. Worshipping Our Own Desires–Greed is Idolatry
When Christ, our life, is revealed, then you will also be revealed with him in glory. Put to death therefore your members which are on the earth: sexual immorality, uncleanness, depraved passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. For these things’ sake the wrath of God comes on the children of disobedience.
Colossians 3:4-6 (WEB)
Slide 19. Third Test: What Is the “Fruit”
Third Test: If the message is coming through a human messenger, is the “fruit” of that person’s life consistent with their message?
- How is the messenger living?
- Even more important, what effect does the message have on the lives of the messenger’s disciples? Or what effect would it have, if anyone were listening?
Slide 20. False Prophets: You Can Tell what they Are by what they Do
Watch out for false prophets! They dress up like sheep, but inside they are wolves who have come to attack you. You can tell what they are by what they do. No one picks grapes or figs from thornbushes. A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot produce good fruit. Every tree producing bad fruit will be chopped down and burned.
Matthew 7:15-19 (CEV)
Slide 21: Reiterating: You Will Recognize them by their Fruit
From another translation, so that you can hear that it really is saying what it’s saying:
By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.
Matthew 7:16-20 (NIV)
Slide 22. Converts Who Are Worse Than Their Teachers
“But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you shut the kingdom of heaven in front of people; for you do not enter it yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in. “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel around on sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.
Matthew 23:13-15 (NASB)
Slide 23. Only the One Who Does the Will of My Father
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’”
Matthew 7:21-23 (NIV)
Slide 24. Prophets of the Deceit in their Own Hearts, Who Intend to Make People Forget God
“I have heard what the prophets have said, who prophesy lies in my name, saying, ‘I had a dream! I had a dream!’ How long will this be in the heart of the prophets who prophesy lies, even the prophets of the deceit of their own heart? They intend to cause my people to forget my name by their dreams which they each tell his neighbor, as their fathers forgot my name because of Baal. The prophet who has a dream, let him tell a dream; and he who has my word, let him speak my word faithfully. What is the straw to the wheat?” says Yahweh. “Isn’t my word like fire?” says Yahweh; “and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?”
Jeremiah 23:25-29 (WEB)
Slide 25. God is Against the Prophets He Didn’t Send, Who Prophesy Lying Dreams
“Therefore behold, I am against the prophets,” says Yahweh, “who each steal my words from his neighbor. Behold, I am against the prophets,” says Yahweh, “who use their tongues, and say, ‘He says.’ Behold, I am against those who prophesy lying dreams,” says Yahweh, “who tell them, and cause my people to err by their lies, and by their vain boasting; yet I didn’t send them or command them. They don’t profit this people at all,” says Yahweh.
Jeremiah 23:30-32 (WEB)
Slide 26. There Are Still People Who Teach Lies they Hear from Seducing Spirits–And they Usually Add Hard Rules about Our Works to What God Has Said
But the Spirit says expressly that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to seducing spirits and doctrines of demons, through the hypocrisy of men who speak lies, branded in their own conscience as with a hot iron, forbidding marriage and commanding to abstain from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. For every creature of God is good, and nothing is to be rejected, if it is received with thanksgiving. For it is sanctified through the word of God and prayer.
1 Timothy 4:1-5 (WEB)
Slide 27. Exercise God-likeness–Folk Tales and What “Everyone Knows” Point in the Wrong Direction
If you instruct the brothers of these things, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, nourished in the words of the faith, and of the good doctrine which you have followed. But refuse profane and old wives’ fables. Exercise yourself toward godliness. For bodily exercise has some value, but godliness has value in all things, having the promise of the life which is now, and of that which is to come. This saying is faithful and worthy of all acceptance. For to this end we both labor and suffer reproach, because we have set our trust in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of those who believe. Command and teach these things.
1 Timothy 4:6-11 (WEB)
Slide 28. Those Who Insist on Their Own Titles, Importance or Authority Are Not Following Jesus
Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave—just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”.
Matthew 20:25-28 (NIV)
Slide 29. Envy, Strife, Malicious Talk, Greed and False Teaching All Go Together!
If anyone teaches otherwise and does not agree to the sound instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ and to godly teaching, they are conceited and understand nothing. They have an unhealthy interest in controversies and quarrels about words that result in envy, strife, malicious talk, evil suspicions and constant friction between people of corrupt mind, who have been robbed of the truth and who think that godliness is a means to financial gain. But godliness with contentment is great gain..
1 Timothy 6:3-6 (NIV)
Slide 30. False Prophets’ and Teachers’ Greed and License–Like Greedy Balaam
And a little more about a teacher’s false motives spilling over into the lives of their followers, this:
All they think about is having sex with someone else’s husband or wife. There is no end to their wicked deeds. They trick people who are easily fooled, and their minds are filled with greedy thoughts. But they are headed for trouble! They have left the true road and have gone down the wrong path by following the example of the prophet Balaam. He was the son of Beor and loved what he got from being a crook. But a donkey corrected him for this evil deed. It spoke to him with a human voice and made him stop his foolishness. These people are like dried up water holes and clouds blown by a windstorm. The darkest part of hell is waiting for them.
2 Peter 2:14-17 (CEV)
Slide 31. Fourth Test: Does it Lead to Love?
Fourth Test: If I followed the teaching or instruction of the message, would it lead me toward love?
Slide 32. Freedom to Serve Others in Love, Fulfils the Law
For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but serve one another through love. For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
Galatians 5:13-14 (NASB)
Slide 33. Confessing Jesus and Remaining in Love Go Together
Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God remains in him, and he in God. We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who remains in love remains in God, and God remains in him.
Slide 34. Let Us Love in Deed and in Truth, as Jesus Did
We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers and sisters. But whoever has worldly goods and sees his brother or sister in need, and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God remain in him? Little children, let’s not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth.
1 John 3:16-18 (NASB)
Slide 35. Fifth Test: The “Inverse Popularity” Test
Fifth Test: What is “everybody” saying about the prophet or teacher? The “inverse popularity” test
Slide 36. Beware When the World Speaks Well of You! It Reviles Jesus!
Blessed are you when men hate you, and when they exclude and mock you, and throw out your name as evil, for the Son of Man’s sake. Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven, for their fathers did the same thing to the prophets. “But woe to you who are rich! For you have received your consolation.Woe to you, you who are full now, for you will be hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you will mourn and weep.Woe, when men speak well of you, for their fathers did the same thing to the false prophets..
Luke 6:22-26 (WEB)
Slide 37. A Prophet is Without Honor at Home.
And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own town and in his own home.” And he did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith..
Matthew 13:57-58 (NIV)
Slide 38. A Description of the Present Environment–Given 2,000 Years Ago!
Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. 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. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths..
2 Timothy 4:2-4 (NIV)
Slide 39. God’s true messengers say what God says, regardless of whether anyone listens
And you, son of man, do not be afraid of them or their words. Do not be afraid, though briers and thorns are all around you and you live among scorpions. Do not be afraid of what they say or be terrified by them, though they are a rebellious people. You must speak my words to them, whether they listen or fail to listen, for they are rebellious. But you, son of man, listen to what I say to you. Do not rebel like that rebellious people; open your mouth and eat what I give you.”
Ezekiel 2:6-8 (NIV)
Slide 40. The “Best Case” Scenario for One Speaking God’s Words in the Present World
One by one, they say to each other, “Let’s go hear what sort of message has come from the Lord.” So they come to you as people do, and they sit before you as my people. They listen to your words, but they refuse to do them. Though they speak of their longing for me, they act out of their own interests and opinions. To them you are like a singer of love songs with a lovely voice and skilled technique. They listen to your words, but no one does them.
Ezekiel 33:30b-32 (CEB)
Slide 41. The “Worst Case” Scenario
The last passage was the “best case” scenaio; now here is the “worst case” scenario!
“All this I have told you so that you will not fall away. They will put you out of the synagogue; in fact, the time is coming when anyone who kills you will think they are offering a service to God. They will do such things because they have not known the Father or me. I have told you this, so that when their time comes you will remember that I warned you about them.”.
John 16:1-4a (NIV)
Slide 42. Sixth Test: Any Predictions Must Come True
Sixth Test: If the message makes a prediction concerning future events–most of them don’t–was that prediction fulfilled?
Slide 43. If the Prediction is False, the Lord Didn’t Make It!
But the prophet who speaks a word presumptuously in My name, a word which I have not commanded him to speak, or which he speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet shall die.’ And if you say in your heart, ‘How will we recognize the word which the Lord has not spoken?’ When the prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, and the thing does not happen or come true, that is the thing which the Lord has not spoken. The prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you are not to be afraid of him..
Deuteronomy 18:20-22 (NASB)
Slide 44. Final Test: Consistency With What God Has Previously Said
Final Test: If the message passes all of the other tests, is it generally consistent with what God has told me in the past?
Slide 45. When to Use This Test.
- I only need to consider this test if the message didn’t flunk one of the first six tests.
I don’t use this as a first test because it is so easy to prove almost anything with a “proof text” from Scripture, as long as I’m willing to take things out of context and twist the words a little bit. It’s that easy for other people to do, too.
- If it is clearly inconsistent with Scripture, stop!
There are a lot of cases in which the inconsistency is really obvious!
- BUT if it is inconsistent with what I think I know about God and his way, it my be telling me my thinking is wrong. But the inconsistency is a yellow flag–use caution, consider carefully whether the new understanding or my prior understanding is right.
Slide 46. If it is Contrary to God’s Written Testimony, it Has No Light
Consult God’s instruction and the testimony of warning. If anyone does not speak according to this word, they have no light of dawn..
Isaiah 8:20 (NIV)
Slide 47. Treacherous Voices Do Violence to God’s Law; the Unjust Have No Shame
Her princes within her are roaring lions. Her judges are evening wolves. They leave nothing until the next day. Her prophets are arrogant and treacherous people. Her priests have profaned the sanctuary. They have done violence to the law. Yahweh, within her, is righteous. He will do no wrong. Every morning he brings his justice to light. He doesn’t fail, but the unjust know no shame..
Zephaniah 3:3-5 (WEB)
Slide 48. God Cannot Lie. What He Says Is Done; Whoever He Blesses is Blessed.
Here are the words of Balaam, after the donkey got his attention, speaking God’s words accurately to his sponsor Balak:
“Arise, Balak, and hear;
Listen to me, son of Zippor!
God is not a man, that He would lie,
Nor a son of man, that He would change His mind;
Has He said, and will He not do it?
Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?
Behold, I have received a command to bless;
When He has blessed, I cannot revoke it.”
Numbers 23:18b-20 (NASB)
Slide 49. We Are Given Birth Through the Word of God, Who Does Not Change
Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters. Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created..
James 1:16-18 (NIV)
Slide 50. It is Because God Doesn’t Change that We Are Not Consumed in Judgment and May Return to Him
I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against the perjurers, and against those who oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and who deprive the foreigner of justice, and don’t fear me,” says Yahweh of Armies. “For I, Yahweh, don’t change; therefore you, sons of Jacob, are not consumed. From the days of your fathers you have turned away from my ordinances, and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you,” says Yahweh of Armies..
Malachi 3:5-7 (WEB)
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