Tag: False teachers

Wednesday's Word

Wednesday’s Word ~ Galatians 1

Michelle Lesley

gal 1 23 24

 

Galatians 1

Paul, an apostle—not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead— 2 and all the brothers who are with me,

To the churches of Galatia:

3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, 4 who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, 5 to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

6 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— 7 not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. 9 As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed.

10 For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.

11 For I would have you know, brothers, that the gospel that was preached by me is not man’s gospel.12 For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ. 13 For you have heard of my former life in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God violently and tried to destroy it. 14 And I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people, so extremely zealous was I for the traditions of my fathers. 15 But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by his grace, 16 was pleased to reveal his Son to me, in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with anyone; 17 nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went away into Arabia, and returned again to Damascus.

18 Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas and remained with him fifteen days.19 But I saw none of the other apostles except James the Lord’s brother. 20 (In what I am writing to you,before God, I do not lie!) 21 Then I went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia. 22 And I was still unknown in person to the churches of Judea that are in Christ. 23 They only were hearing it said, “He who used to persecute us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.” 24 And they glorified God because of me.

The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.

 

Questions to Consider:

1. Who called Paul to be an apostle, and by whose authority does he address the churches at Galatia? (1-3)

2. The Galatian churches (6-9) were being drawn away from the gospel by the Judaizers, who insisted that the new Gentile Christians could not be saved unless they were also circumcised, observed Jewish law, feasts, festivals, etc. Why did Paul call the Judaizers’ ideas “another gospel”? What did Paul indicate would be the Judaizers’ fate? (8,9) Why would God be so harsh with these false teachers?

3. What are some ways false teachers today try to add requirements to the gospel (repent of your sin and place your faith in Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection as payment for your sin, and you will be saved)? Does God take false teaching as seriously today as He did in Paul’s time?

4. In verse 10, whose approval is Paul seeking by saying the things he said in verses 1-9? Why does he say he wouldn’t be serving Christ if he were trying to please men?

5. How did Paul learn the gospel? (12) What was the purpose of his three years in Arabia and Damascus (17)? What point is Paul trying to make to the Galatians by telling them the things in verses 11-24? (Hint- Read through Galatians 2:2)

Wednesday's Word

Wednesday’s Word ~ Jude

Michelle Lesley

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Jude

Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James,

To those who are called, beloved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ:

2 May mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you.

3 Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. 4 For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.

5 Now I want to remind you, although you once fully knew it, that Jesus, who saved a people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe. 6 And the angels who did not stay within their own position of authority, but left their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness until the judgment of the great day— 7 just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire.

8 Yet in like manner these people also, relying on their dreams, defile the flesh, reject authority, and blaspheme the glorious ones. 9 But when the archangel Michael, contending with the devil, was disputing about the body of Moses, he did not presume to pronounce a blasphemous judgment, but said, “The Lord rebuke you.” 10 But these people blaspheme all that they do not understand, and they are destroyed by all that they, like unreasoning animals, understand instinctively. 11 Woe to them! For they walked in the way of Cain and abandoned themselves for the sake of gain to Balaam’s error andperished in Korah’s rebellion. 12 These are hidden reefs at your love feasts, as they feast with you without fear, shepherds feeding themselves; waterless clouds, swept along by winds; fruitless trees in late autumn, twice dead, uprooted; 13 wild waves of the sea, casting up the foam of their own shame; wandering stars, for whom the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved forever.

14 It was also about these that Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied, saying, “Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of his holy ones, 15 to execute judgment on all and to convict all the ungodly of all their deeds of ungodliness that they have committed in such an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things that ungodly sinners have spoken against him.” 16 These are grumblers, malcontents, following their own sinful desires; they are loud-mouthed boasters, showing favoritism to gain advantage.

17 But you must remember, beloved, the predictions of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. 18 They said to you, “In the last time there will be scoffers, following their own ungodly passions.” 19 It is these who cause divisions, worldly people, devoid of the Spirit. 20 But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, 21 keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. 22 And have mercy on those who doubt; 23 save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh.

24 Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, 25 to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.

The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.

Questions to Consider:

1. What is the overall theme of Jude?

2. According to verse 4, why did Jude feel it necessary to write on the topic of contending for the faith instead of the topic of salvation?

3. What are “the way of Cain” (Genesis 4:5-8), “Balaam’s error” (2 Peter 2:15), and “Korah’s rebellion” (Numbers 16), mentioned in verse 11? What led Jude to give the false teachers these labels?

4. According to verses 17-19, who is it that causes division in the church, the false teachers or those rebuking the false teachers?

5. How does the book of Jude apply to the church today?

False Doctrine, False Teachers, New Apostolic Reformation, Top 10

Top 10 NAR* and Seeker-Driven Buzzwords

Michelle Lesley

I study false teachers pretty often. I watch their videos, listen to their sermons, and read their articles. And I’ve noticed that there are some common buzzwords that New Apostolic Reformation* and Seeker-Driven false teachers tend to use over and over again. Naturally, these words are just that: words. Just because you hear your pastor, Sunday School teacher, or favorite Christian celebrity utter one or more of them doesn’t necessarily mean he or she is a heretic. But if you’re constantly hearing these words and phrases, it could be a red flag that you need to vet the person you’re listening to more carefully and see whether or not his or her theology matches up to what the Bible says. So, here, in no particular order are 10 such buzzwords and some of the false teachers who are fond of them:

1. The Glory

Photo Credit: Revival Magazine
Photo Credit: Revival Magazine

 

“Sometimes as I stand in the glory my hands and feet will begin to drip with supernatural oil, representing the miracle anointing of God.” ~ Joshua Mills

 

 

 

 2. In The Natural

Photo Credit: Awesome God Ministries
Photo Credit: Awesome God Ministries

 

“I learned that even when we are in a place of obedience, we often have no way in the natural of knowing for sure whether we are right or wrong.” ~ Joyce Meyer

 

 

 

3. Shaking/Shifting

Photo Credit: Apprising Ministries
Photo Credit: Apprising Ministries

“If we continue to pray and call out to God, the nation will shift.”

“There is terror in Tampa, Tallahassee and Miami – a ring of terror; but, God has a ring of fire. Shaking, shaking, shaking.” ~ Cindy Jacobs

 

4. Decree

images
Photo Credit: Do Not Be Surprised

 

“Decree and declare… THE FAMINE IS OVER!” ~ T.D. Jakes

 

 

 

 

5. Declare

Photo Credit: Amazon
Photo Credit: Amazon

 

“I declare that I am a ‘no lack’ person and receive every blessing You have prepared for me.” ~ Joel Osteen

 

 

 

6. Spirit-man

Photo Credit: Jennifer LeClaire Ministries
Photo Credit: Jennifer LeClaire Ministries

 

“Pray always and when you catch your mind trying to reason out a prophetic revelation, let your spirit man rise up and take control.” ~ Jennifer Leclaire

 

 

 

7. Holyspirit

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A number of NAR personalities refer to the third Person of the Trinity as “Holyspirit” -as though that were His first name- instead of the Holy Spirit. For example, “Holyspirit said to me the other day…”

It is nearly impossible to isolate a text example of this as a) it is usually verbal and b) search engines always include the word “the” in search results.

 

 8. In the heavenlies

Photo Credit: The Elijah List
Photo Credit: The Elijah List

 

“War in the heavenlies. We can battle against the enemy’s strategies through prayer and declaration of the Word. This wins the battle in the heavenlies before it hits the earth.” ~ Patricia King

 

9. Come into agreement/alignment

Photo Credit: The Elijah List
Photo Credit: The Elijah List

 

“…the Bible states that God, before time, determined your zip code—that spiritual place and geographical location; when you get into that spot, everything around you will begin to come into alignment.” ~ Cindy Trimm  

 

 

10. Cast vision

Photo Credit: FBC Jax Watchdogs
Photo Credit: FBC Jax Watchdogs

 

“Sure, I cast vision—but it has taken every staff member and volunteer we have to pull it off.” ~ Perry Noble

 

 

 

What are some common words and phrases
you often hear false teachers use?

Wednesday's Word

Wednesday’s Word ~ Jeremiah 23

Michelle Lesley
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Jeremiah 23:

“Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture!” declares the Lord. 2 Therefore thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning the shepherds who care for my people: “You have scattered my flock and have driven them away, and you have not attended to them. Behold, I will attend to you for your evil deeds, declares the Lord. 3 Then I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the countries where I have driven them, and I will bring them back to their fold, and they shall be fruitful and multiply. 4 I will set shepherds over them who will care for them, and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall any be missing, declares the Lord.

5 “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. 6 In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is the name by which he will be called: ‘The Lord is our righteousness.’

7 “Therefore, behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when they shall no longer say, ‘As the Lord lives who brought up the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt,’ 8 but ‘As the Lord lives who brought up and led the offspring of the house of Israel out of the north country and out of all the countries where he had driven them.’ Then they shall dwell in their own land.”

Lying Prophets
9 Concerning the prophets:

My heart is broken within me;
all my bones shake;
I am like a drunken man,
like a man overcome by wine,
because of the Lord
and because of his holy words.
10 For the land is full of adulterers;
because of the curse the land mourns,
and the pastures of the wilderness are dried up.
Their course is evil,
and their might is not right.
11 “Both prophet and priest are ungodly;
even in my house I have found their evil,
declares the Lord.
12 Therefore their way shall be to them
like slippery paths in the darkness,
into which they shall be driven and fall,
for I will bring disaster upon them
in the year of their punishment,
declares the Lord.
13 In the prophets of Samaria
I saw an unsavory thing:
they prophesied by Baal
and led my people Israel astray.
14 But in the prophets of Jerusalem
I have seen a horrible thing:
they commit adultery and walk in lies;
they strengthen the hands of evildoers,
so that no one turns from his evil;
all of them have become like Sodom to me,
and its inhabitants like Gomorrah.”
15 Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts concerning the prophets:
“Behold, I will feed them with bitter food
and give them poisoned water to drink,
for from the prophets of Jerusalem
ungodliness has gone out into all the land.”

16 Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you, filling you with vain hopes. They speak visions of their own minds, not from the mouth of the Lord. 17 They say continually to those who despise the word of the Lord, ‘It shall be well with you’; and to everyone who stubbornly follows his own heart, they say, ‘No disaster shall come upon you.’”

18 For who among them has stood in the council of the Lord
to see and to hear his word,
or who has paid attention to his word and listened?
19 Behold, the storm of the Lord!
Wrath has gone forth,
a whirling tempest;
it will burst upon the head of the wicked.
20 The anger of the Lord will not turn back
until he has executed and accomplished
the intents of his heart.
In the latter days you will understand it clearly.

21 “I did not send the prophets,
yet they ran;
I did not speak to them,
yet they prophesied.
22 But if they had stood in my council,
then they would have proclaimed my words to my people,
and they would have turned them from their evil way,
and from the evil of their deeds.

23 “Am I a God at hand, declares the Lord, and not a God far away? 24 Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him? declares the Lord. Do I not fill heaven and earth? declares the Lord. 25 I have heard what the prophets have said who prophesy lies in my name, saying, ‘I have dreamed, I have dreamed!’ 26 How long shall there be lies in the heart of the prophets who prophesy lies, and who prophesy the deceit of their own heart, 27 who think to make my people forget my name by their dreams that they tell one another, even as their fathers forgot my name for Baal? 28 Let the prophet who has a dream tell the dream, but let him who has my word speak my word faithfully. What has straw in common with wheat? declares the Lord. 29 Is not my word like fire, declares the Lord, and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces? 30 Therefore, behold, I am against the prophets, declares the Lord, who steal my words from one another. 31 Behold, I am against the prophets, declares the Lord, who use their tongues and declare, ‘declares the Lord.’ 32 Behold, I am against those who prophesy lying dreams, declares the Lord, and who tell them and lead my people astray by their lies and their recklessness, when I did not send them or charge them. So they do not profit this people at all, declares the Lord.

33 “When one of this people, or a prophet or a priest asks you, ‘What is the burden of the Lord?’ you shall say to them, ‘You are the burden, and I will cast you off, declares the Lord.’ 34 And as for the prophet, priest, or one of the people who says, ‘The burden of the Lord,’ I will punish that man and his household. 35 Thus shall you say, every one to his neighbor and every one to his brother, ‘What has the Lord answered?’ or ‘What has the Lord spoken?’ 36 But ‘the burden of the Lord’ you shall mention no more, for the burden is every man’s own word, and you pervert the words of the living God, the Lord of hosts, our God. 37 Thus you shall say to the prophet, ‘What has the Lord answered you?’ or ‘What has the Lord spoken?’ 38 But if you say, ‘The burden of the Lord,’ thus says the Lord, ‘Because you have said these words, “The burden of the Lord,” when I sent to you, saying, “You shall not say, ‘The burden of the Lord,’” 39 therefore, behold, I will surely lift you up and cast you away from my presence, you and the city that I gave to you and your fathers. 40 And I will bring upon you everlasting reproach and perpetual shame, which shall not be forgotten.’”

The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.

Questions to Consider:

1. What is the purpose of the book of Jeremiah? Which genre(s) of biblical literature (prophecy, epistle, narrative, wisdom, etc.) is the book of Jeremiah? What is the historical backdrop for this book?

2. Who are the “shepherds” in 1-4? Compare these shepherds to the “thieves and robbers,” “strangers,” and “hired hands” (false teachers), the gatekeeper (faithful pastors; also here), and the Good Shepherd (Jesus; also here) in John 10. What have they done that they should not have done? What have they failed to do that they should have done?

3. Who is “the righteous Branch” (5) and “the Lord is our righteousness” (6)?

4. How does this chapter of Jeremiah point us ahead to Jesus’ first and second coming? Take note of all of the instances in this chapter in which God says, “I will” do thus and so, such and such will happen, and “the days are coming when…”. Which of these things were accomplished in Jesus’ first coming, and which will be accomplished when He comes back?

5. Make a chart with the following columns and fill it out as you start at the beginning of chapter 23 and work your way through to the end:

False prophets characterized:

Things false prophets say:

How God says things should or will be:

God’s true word characterized:

God characterized:

God’s judgment on false prophets:

How God’s people should respond to false prophets:

Do you see any similarities between the false prophets of Jeremiah’s day and the false teachers of today? What do today’s false teachers promise and “prophesy”? Does God characterize today’s false teachers the same way as the false prophets of Jeremiah’s day, and will He judge them the same way? What should be our (the church, and individual Christians) response be to false teachers today?

Idolatry, Old Testament, Sunday School

An Overview of Hosea ~ Sunday School Lesson ~ 7-27-14

Michelle Lesley

Overview of Hosea

 

These are my notes from my ladies’ Sunday School class this morning. I’ll be posting the notes from my class here each week. Click here for last week’s lesson.

Through the Bible in 2014 ~ Week 30 ~ July 20-26
Hosea, Isaiah 28-43, Psalm 76
An Overview of Hosea

Hosea 1
Hosea was a prophet to the northern kingdom of Israel. God used his family life as a picture of what he was prophesying. Hosea married a woman, Gomer, who would later prove unfaithful to him. God also had Hosea give his children names that reflected God’s message to Israel: Jezreel, No Mercy, and Not My People. But the real story of the book of Hosea is not Hosea or his family, but the love, reluctant wrath, and forgiveness of God towards His unfaithful people.

2:8
Everything Israel gave away -as sacrifices to idols, as tribute to foreign potentates, as bribes for foreign armies to come to her aid- everything had been given to her by God.

4:17
When sinners persist in their sin long enough, God finally gives them over to what they want. (Rom. 1:18ff). Often sinners think the harshest thing God could do would be to try to stop them from participating in the sin that they love, but His wrath is most poured out when He gives them exactly what they want.

5:6, 15; 7:13-14
Seek the Lord while He may be found (Isaiah 55:6). God was calling Israel to seek Him before He gave them over to a hard heart and a reprobate mind. The Lord is always found by those with a soft heart whose desire is to repent and love Him, but He turns a deaf ear to those who continue in rebellion until it starts raining, only to beat on the door of the ark because they don’t want to die in the flood.

God is not interested in the worldly sorrow that is only grieved over the consequences of sin. That soul still has its eyes firmly fixed on self and how self is affected. The truly repentant heart has her eyes fixed on God and how her sin affects Him.

6:4,6
God doesn’t desire empty rituals, lip service, or going through the motions. He wants worship from the heart.

8:2, 5-6
God will not allow syncretism (the melding of unbiblical worship with biblical worship). He requires, not that He be first in our affections, but that He be ONLY in our affections.
It did no good for Israel to claim that she knew the Lord (2) because she was a) worshiping other gods besides the Lord, b) calling an idol (the golden calves) “God,” and c) not worshiping God in the way He had commanded. None of these were acceptable in God’s sight then, and because He is the same “yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8), it is still not acceptable to Him today.

That’s why false teachers are so dangerous. People like Joyce Meyer, Joel Osteen, and TD Jakes may not be fashioning golden calves and calling them “Jesus,” but they are fashioning false gods with unbiblical words and ideas and calling them “Jesus.” This is what Matthew 7:21-23 is talking about when it says:

Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’

9:1
Just as Gomer has betrayed and forsaken Hosea, Israel has betrayed the Lord. She has loved adultery and the fleeting pleasures (Hebrews 11:25) that go with it instead of the true and lasting treasure that comes from loyalty to the Lord (Revelation 11:18).

10:5-6
The golden calf Israel worshiped would be used to pay off Assyria in tribute. God is sovereign. He will ultimately destroy everything that is raised up against Him. Idols, ideas, individuals.

11:1-4
God is not a cruel taskmaster. He led and cared for Israel with “cords of kindness” and “bands of love” as a parent leads a toddler. They didn’t have to live in fear of Him if they were walking with Him. Not so with other gods. With other gods, they could never be certain where they stood. Had they offered enough? Pleased it enough? Would it bless them with fertility or rain for their crops?

With God, on the other hand, His love for Israel came first. It wasn’t a reaction to whether or not their actions pleased Him. His love for them was there even before they knew Him (1 John 4:15-19). It was because He loved them that He lovingly spelled out everything He wanted Israel to do in worship, in daily life, and in their hearts. He also went into great detail about the things they could expect from Him, and He kept His promises time and again. They didn’t have to wonder how He felt towards them or what He required of them or whether He would come through for them. They could know.

11:8-9
It grieved God to destroy Israel as he had destroyed Admah and Zeboiim with Sodom and Gomorrah. God is not a God who delights in executing His wrath, but, rather, does so with a broken heart and only as a last resort.

“Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked, declares the Lord God, and not rather that he should turn from his way and live?” Ezekiel 18:23

“The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.” 2 Peter 3:9

13:4-6
When Israel was in Egypt and in the wilderness where she had nothing to depend on but God, she was loyal to Him, but once prosperity came, she left Him, just as Gomer left Hosea for something she thought was better.

It is often only when people have no other choice but to turn to Christ that they do so, but when they don’t “need” anything, they turn away from Him. This is why Jesus said “it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” (Matthew 19:24).

By stripping away everything Israel had and sending her into exile, God was bringing Israel full circle to the neediness she had started out with in Egypt in order to bring her back to Himself.

14:1-9
God’s desire is, and always has been, for His people to repent and be reconciled to Him, and enjoy a loving, father-child relationship with Him. We see this in His post-Eden relationship with Adam and Eve, in His blessing of the earth after the Flood, in His bringing Israel out of Egypt, in bringing Israel out of exile, and in the most important way of all, in saving us out of our sin that we might be permanently reconciled to Him through the precious blood of Christ, to love Him and serve Him forever.

I will heal their apostasy;
I will love them freely, for my anger has turned from them.