Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world – I John 4:1 NKJV.
“Now it happened, as we went to prayer, that a certain slave girl possessed with a spirit of divination met us, who brought her masters much profit by fortune-telling. This girl followed Paul and us, and cried out, saying, “These men are the servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us the way of salvation.” And this she did for many days. But Paul, greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And he came out that very hour. But when her masters saw that their hope of profit was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to the authorities,” Acts 16:16-19.
The above Scripture is a good example of what it means to test the spirits, the slave girl was in essence telling the truth about who Paul and Silas were, but her source was not the Spirit of GOD. I believe that this is one gift that we really have to ask for as children of GOD, the gift to discern spirits. Most of us are attracted to people that tell us what we want to hear in “the name of Jesus” but Jesus makes it clear in Matthew 7 verses 22 and 23 that, “Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’”
It is the ones that are led by the Spirit of GOD and walk in obedience that ultimately glorify the Father, the accuracy of a prophecy does not determine the source, and in the long run, it is the fruit that will determine whether the Word was from GOD or not. Dare I say if the source is not GOD, it is the devil and if it is the devil, there’s a hidden agenda and that agenda is to take us out of the will of GOD, instill fear or even cause division and strife in families and in the church. Test every spirit, it is your GOD given responsibility.
If the source is not GOD, it is the devil and if it is the devil, there’s a hidden agenda and that agenda is to take us out of the will of GOD, instil fear or even cause division and strife in families and in the church
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