TEST EVERY SPIRIT : OPEN HEAVEN

OPEN HEAVENS BY PST ENOCH.A. ADEBOYE

SUNDAY 22ND SEPTEMBER

TEST EVERY SPIRIT

MEMORISE:
Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. 1 John 4:1

READ:
1 John 2:18-24
2:18 Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time.

2:19 They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us.

2:20 But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things.

2:21 I have not written unto you because ye know not the truth, but because ye know it, and that no lie is of the truth.

2:22 Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son.

2:23 Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also.

2:24 Let that therefore abide in you, which ye have heard from the beginning. If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye also shall continue in the Son, and in the Father.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:
2 Kings 10-11,
Daniel 5:29-6:13

MESSAGE:
When I hear stories of how some children of God are being deceived by evil spirits and false prophets, I  wonder if they read their Bibles at all. Deceptive evil spirits were not just created some years ago, they have been in existence and have been operating since the fall of their master, Lucifer, from heaven (Isaiah 14:12-15, Revelation 12:4&9). These evil spirits were in operation in the Old Testament and were called by many names, such as "lying spirit", "familiar spirit", and so on (1 Kings 22:23, 2 Chronicles 33:6). Knowing that their operation will be rampant in these last days, the Holy Spirit clearly forewarned us of the coming of false prophets who will be controlled by lying and other evil spirits. He told us that they will seek to deceive many by using the Lord's Name. For you not to become one of their victims, the Holy Spirit says to us in 1 John 4:1:

"Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world."

In light of this scripture, it is your duty as a child of God to test every spirit operating in anyone who claims to be a prophet of God. By His grace, God has given me some signs by which I recognise false prophets and the spirits under which they operate. I believe that every child of God should be equipped with such knowledge, based on God's word, in order not be deceived by the signs and wonders of these imposters. After all, the magicians of Egypt replicated the miracles that God performed through Moses.

In 1 John 2:19, we are given a sign to look out for when testing the spirit operating in a fellow. This scripture says:

"They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us."

When you discover rebels who came out of the Body of Christ doing strange things that have no basis in God's word or are based on strange interpretation of its message, you must be wary of such people. For example, they might say you need to kill a goat to ward off evil. Beloved, what can be said of a "prophet" who thinks that the Blood shed at Calvary is no longer effective and is seeking to replace it with the blood of goats? Such a person must definitely be operating under the influence of the devil. In order not to be deceived, you need to immerse yourself in the totality of God's word, relying on the Holy Spirit to guide you into its truth. Beware of false prophets!

PRAYER POINT:
Father, please guide me into all truth by Your Spirit in Jesus' Name.

HYMN 17:
1 Ho! my comrades, see the signal,
Waving in the sky!
Reinforcements now appearing,
Victory is nigh!

Chorus:
“Hold the fort, for I am coming,”
Jesus signals still,
Wave the answer back to Heaven,
“By Thy grace we will.”

2 See the mighty host advancing,
Satan leading on;
Mighty men around us falling,
Courage almost gone.

3 See the glorious banner waving,
Hear the bugle blow;
In our Leader’s Name we triumph
Over every foe.

4 Fierce and long the battle rages,
But our help is near;
Onward comes our great Commander,
Cheer, my comrades, cheer!