Do You Have Discernment? :: By Geri Ungurean

Published on: January 21, 2020 by RR7

Originally written in 2015, I felt once again to bring this article out. Having just written the article with Thomas Littleton’s “Betrayed: An Open Letter to the Church” I realized that more than ever before, many Christians have no chance to understand if they are sitting under heretical teaching.

We are in the middle of the “Great Falling Away” and no wonder. Corrupt leadership in many churches with congregations filled with people who do not read God’s Word, and therefore lack discernment. This is a dangerous combination.

When I think back to when I originally wrote this piece, I never would have imagined that the church would be in the condition it is in today.

Original Article

As we observe the aberrant and mystical teachings in so many of our churches, my heart breaks for the members in these congregations who are either not yet born again, are babes in Christ – or are lacking discernment. They are prey for the evil one – they have no spiritual armor to defend themselves, and to distinguish between God’s Truth and counterfeit, satanic lies.

Discerning of spirits

From gotquestions.org

Question: “What is the spiritual gift of discerning spirits?

Answer: The gift of discerning spirits, or “distinguishing” spirits, is one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit described in 1 Corinthians 12:4-11. Like all these gifts, the gift of discerning spirits is given by the Holy Spirit, who disperses these gifts to believers for service in the body of Christ. Every believer has a spiritual enablement for a specific service, but there is no room for self-choosing. The Spirit distributes spiritual gifts according to the sovereignty of God and in accordance with His plan to edify the body of Christ. He gives His gifts “just as he determines” (1 Corinthians 12:11). (Emphasis added)

When it comes to the gift of discerning spirits, every born-again believer has a certain amount of discernment, which increases as the believer matures in the Spirit. In Hebrews 5:13-14 we read that a believer who has matured beyond using the milk of the Word as a babe in Christ is able to discern both good and evil. The maturing believer is empowered by the Spirit of God through the Scriptures to tell the difference between good and evil, and, beyond that, he can also distinguish between what is good and what is better. In other words, any born-again believer who chooses to focus on the Word of God is spiritually discerning. (emphasis added)

There are certain believers, however, who have the spiritual gift of discerning spirits—that is, the God-given ability to distinguish between the truth of the Word and the deceptive doctrines propagated by demons. We are all exhorted to be spiritually discerning (Acts 17:11; 1 John 4:1), but some in the body of Christ have been given the unique ability to spot the doctrinal “forgeries” that have plagued the church since the first century. This discernment does not involve mystical, extra-biblical revelations or a voice from God. Rather, the spiritually discerning are so familiar with the Word of God that they instantly recognize what is contrary to it. They do not receive special messages from God; they use the Word of God to “test the spirits” to see which line up with God and which are in opposition to Him. The spiritually discerning are diligent to “rightly divide” (2 Timothy 2:15 ) the Word of God. (emphasis added) – source

I’ve heard it said that discernment is the ability to tell the difference between right and almost right.

We know that Satan takes a little bit of truth and then twists it with his lies. We read about this in Genesis when he deceived Eve into disobeying God. The devil’s tactics have not changed since the beginning.

Our Lord Jesus was tempted by Satan in the Wilderness:

Satan attempted to deceive our Lord Jesus in the wilderness. Jesus came back at him with Pure Scripture “It is written” He said, and the evil one finally departed. Jesus was teaching us to do the same. The Bereans did it, and it won them a mention in the Book of Acts:

“These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so” (Acts 17:11).

We are admonished to study the Scriptures to keep us safe:

“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works” (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

“That we henceforth be no longer children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine by the sleight of men and their cunning and craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive” (Ephesians 4:14).

The Gift of Discerning of Spirits

I’ve been a believer since January of 1983. In 1984 I made a friend in our neighborhood who attended my church, and we would ride together to choir on Wednesday nights.

One of those nights she gave me a bunch of cassettes and told me “You will love this preacher.” I told her that I would give him a listen. The next day I put the first cassette in while I did dishes. The preacher was Kenneth Copeland. I listened to about ten minutes of this man and turned him off.

I was a babe in the Lord and no one told me that Copeland’s teaching was questionable. I just knew that God did not want me listening to that man. He talked about never being sick – NEVER. He said he never even got a cold. Then he made jokes about a man who was feeling blessed because God had allowed him to get a used Chevy that he had wanted. Copeland said, “I told that man that if that was truly from the Lord, he should have asked for a Cadillac – and a brand new one!” He laughed at his own lame joke.

That’s when I turned it off. That’s when I knew that Kenneth Copeland was not someone that my Lord Jesus would want me listening to. I should never get sick? I should be rich because I’m a Christian?

Was this true? Should Christians never be sick? Should we all be rich because we’re children of God? Something didn’t ring true. I had to go to the only place I knew would have the answer: my Bible. I knew that I had a bad feeling as I listened to Copeland, and I knew that God had urged me to turn him off. I wanted to know the truth.

I went to Acts in my Bible. I was sure I’d be able to see how the first Christians lived. I’d find out if they were prosperous and disease-free. What I found was what I suspected to be true. The Apostles were jailed, tortured and ultimately killed, except for John. And he had been boiled in oil, yet lived because of the Lord.

Then I went to the Gospel of John to see what Jesus said about our lives as His followers.

“These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).

Luke wrote:

“And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:27).

Revelation 21:4 says:

“And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.”

We Share in the Sufferings of Christ

Suffering, tribulations, bearing our own cross, pain, crying, and death – well, this was a far cry from what I had heard Kenneth Copeland preaching. That was my first experience with discernment from the Lord. It was overwhelming to me to know that my heavenly Father protected me from the heresy I heard when I was a little more than a year old in Him! Many years later I realized that He had given me the Gift of Discerning of Spirits.

But brethren, don’t forget that every true child of God has some discernment, and as God’s child studies the Word of God diligently, he/she becomes more discerning.

I look around today and I am shocked at the lack of discernment in many Christians. How could someone who was drawn by the Holy Spirit and born-again in Him listen to a motivational speaker like Joel Osteen, and then rave about him as an amazing preacher? Really? Which part of “Your Best Life Now” would not be a big red flag that this man is NOT preaching the gospel of Christ?

How can a born-again believer in the Lord Jesus Christ not know that the Emergent churches and now the New Apostolic Reformation churches/cults (NAR) are not God’s will? There are many reasons why millions have been drawn to these heretical teachers. But I think that the main reason that people are duped so quickly is that they are NOT reading their Bibles.

My Honesty is now called “Hate speech”

People who know me know that I’ll be honest with them, even if that means they might not like what I am saying. When I hear someone talk about Benny Hinn and how much they enjoyed his crusade and how many people were healed, I tell them the truth about him. I tell them that he is a fraud, that he talks to the dead, that he believes we are little gods, and that he says that God takes over his mind at times before he preaches, and doesn’t remember one word he has said. Our God is a God of order – not confusion. We know who is the author of confusion!

Should preachers live like kings in mansions? The only mansions I have read about in the Word are the ones Jesus is preparing for those who love Him. Christians have no problem seeing their favorite “preacher” living in a $10-million-dollar estate. I am not saying that a pastor of a large church should live like a pauper. I am saying that a pastor who is living large is not the kind of shepherd I would ever want to be my pastor.

1 Timothy 6:10 says:

“For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.”

Not “money” itself, but the Love of money. Money can be used in wonderful ways in the body of Christ. It’s when money becomes an idol – that is when it becomes the root of all evil.

The Mine Fields Called Christian Bookstores

Christian bookstores can be a nightmare for someone who lacks discernment. These stores are in business for the same reason anyone goes into business—to make money. One would hope that if one of these stores is owned by a blood-bought, born-again Christian, that they would have a conviction about what is sold in their establishment. I have yet to find one like that.

The Shack

I remember when The Shack came out. I was in a Christian bookstore and picked up the book and scanned through it. I had the urge to hurl it across the store! I resisted that thought and put it down hard. The clerk gave me a strange look. I walked over and asked if she had read The Shack. The girl said, “Oh yes, it’s great, isn’t it?” OY. God give me patience.

If you have not read The Shack, you are blessed. If you, because of my article, decide to look for it, I do hope that you will see it as garbage. I think more people need to be vocal. If you have discernment from God and you see a brother or sister lacking in discernment, help them!

Prosperity Preachers

I have discerned that the “prosperity” preachers are frauds. I have discerned that “name it and claim it” is not Scriptural. I have discerned that we will never be little gods. All of these teachings could be easily detected as heresy by simply looking in the Word.

Again, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works” (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

People with itching ears like to hear what makes them feel good. The Bible is not a smorgasbord; pick what you like and leave the rest. The Bible is God’s Word to us. Everything we need to know about Him and about life is found within its pages. How amazing is that? The Creator of the Universe is our Father, and wants us to know what is good for us and what is not!

“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).

All Scripture is God-breathed and we must trust it – ALL OF IT – regardless of teachers such as Andy Stanley who teaches that the inerrancy of the Word is “selective.” Brethren, this is devilish. If we go down that path, who is to say which Scriptures are inerrant and which are not? That is a very slippery slope and a lie from the pit of hell.

Itching Ears

Perhaps you have placed yourself under false teaching, and have not repented and trusted Jesus alone for the forgiveness of your sin. There are many preachers who love to tickle itching ears. Does your preacher speak about sin, and how it separates us from God? Does he preach repentance – agreeing with God that you are a sinner, and to turn away from it?

If he does not, then you are playing church. You sign up to help for every event. You may even teach Sunday School. You are a helper at every Vacation Bible School and, of course, you are on the clean-up team. These are all good things!

But if you think that doing these good deeds will get you into heaven, you have missed the Gospel of Jesus Christ. How many good deeds are enough to gain entry into heaven when you die? Have you never seen this Scripture?

“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9).

The Bible says that God is sending “strong delusion” in these end times. The Bible makes it very clear why God is sending this delusion.

“They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness” (2 Thessalonians 2:10-12).

So if you think you lack discernment, could it be that you have neglected the reading of God’s Word? Perhaps after you study His Word, you will begin to apply what you’ve learned to your life. You may see that the preachers you have been relying on to impart wisdom from God’s Word have actually been preaching a different gospel.

That’s a scary thought, but isn’t it scarier to continue listening to empty and deceitful words?

Get right with God! He sent Jesus to die for you so that you could be reconciled to Him.

_____________________________________________

For anyone who did not read the letter by Thomas Littleton – please do yourself a favor and make time to read this. YOU may be sitting in a church where the leadership has traded the truth of the Word of God for the lies of the enemy. Actually, YOU may have fallen for his lies as well. The devil is Evil but he is also crafty:

“Betrayed: An Open Letter to the Church”

Many hymns are like mini-sermons. Look at the words you sing in “Jesus Paid it All”:

“I hear the Savior say,
‘Thy strength indeed is small;
Child of weakness, watch and pray,
Find in Me thine all in all.’”

Refrain:
Jesus paid it all,
All to Him I owe;
Sin had left a crimson stain,
He washed it white as snow.

Trust Jesus for your salvation. Then pray for discernment as you read His Word.

How Can I Be Saved?

Shalom b’Yeshua

MARANATHA!!

grandmageri422@gmail.com

Articles at grandmageri422.me

What Would Happen If Israel and Iran Went to War? :: By Matt Ward

Published on: January 21, 2020 by RR7

The world, it would seem, has stepped back from the brink. Waking up on the morning of Wednesday, 8th January to the news that Iran had fired 22 missiles at two large Iraqi military bases housing United States troops, I was convinced that war was the only outcome.

It now appears that a direct military confrontation between the United States of America and Iran, as close as both sides have come to open war for a generation, has entered a de-escalatory phase.

Yet, on that Wednesday morning, as I considered the likelihood of a direct, full-scale military exchange between the United States and Iran, there was one thing that dominated my thoughts: Israel.

Wednesday’s exchange brought into sharp focus a question I have been considering for a number of years now: “exactly what would be the likely outcome of a war between Israel and Iran?”

It is a war that has been on the horizon for a long time, discussed often in diplomatic circles, usually in hushed tones because of the chaos many believe it would cause. But what might such a confrontation look like? One thing about such an unpredictable conflict is certain; most people outside military, intelligence or academic circles have absolutely no understanding of how volatile such a war would likely be.

Such a war would not merely be something we “tuned in and tuned out” of on CNN, then go about our normal lives completely untouched. It is likely that each of us would be impacted by such a war.

Considering such a potential future Israel-Iran war is no hypothetical exercise either. Immediately after the Iranian missile attack of Wednesday the 8th, Iran made clear their intentions should the United States decide to respond and retaliate. Iran threatened that their response to a United States retaliation to their missile strike would be to attack Dubai, and then to move directly against Israel.

An Israel-Iran war would not be a limited conflict. The chances are that many other countries would be quickly drawn into such a war.

And this war is becoming increasingly likely. It is indeed sobering to note that the immediate actions of Iran, even in this so-called de-escalatory stage, further guarantee that war will one day soon happen.

One of Iran’s almost instant responses post Wednesday the 8^th‘s missile retaliation, has been to fully withdrawn from the already deeply flawed JCPOA, the so-called Iranian nuclear deal. Iran has publicly declared their unwillingness to abide by any of the terms contained within this agreement. This means two things: first, that Iran will now enrich uranium to a point where it can only be used for one thing, in a nuclear weapon; and second, Iran will continue this process now with abandon, at a pace not restricted by international inspections or oversight.

The consequences of this are that Western intelligence agencies now believe that Iran will have enough material for a nuclear bomb in about twelve months from now. So by mid-2021 at the latest. ⁽¹⁾

This one factor alone guarantees war in the near future, short of some astoundingly successful secret sabotage. Israel, and the United States under this President, will simply not allow Iran to become a nuclear weapons state. War is coming, and soon.

So, what would an Iran-Israel war look like? Unfortunately, there is no definitive, publicly available study on just such a war, but what does exist is a plethora of information about the nature and scope of the threats facing Israel currently, in 2020, and how Iran influences and controls these said threats.

In the near future, somebody will have to act. Whether it be Israel directly or the United States. When that happens, the Iranians will respond. They will simply not allow their territory to be attacked without a significant response.

When this happens, all sides will quickly become locked into a cycle of mutual escalation, with one side attacking the other, triggering a counter-attack, triggering a much greater counter-response.

If, or when, a war breaks out between Israel and Iran, the probability of this war becoming a major regional-wide confrontation within just two days is currently rated as extremely high, as much as 90% by some leading Israeli think tanks.

Iran is certain to activate their proxy assets throughout the Middle East, especially those groups neighboring Israel, such as Hezbollah. Over the past two decades and more, Iran has equipped and paid for a huge force in Lebanon, directly opposing Israel. The 2006 Israeli-Lebanon War, known also as the Second Lebanon War, was an effort by Israel to diminish this Iranian proxy threat. It failed utterly.

In the second Lebanon war of 2006, Israel concluded that if it was going to wipe out and nullify this vast threat, entailing hundreds of thousands of rockets, it would result in the loss of a huge amount of Israeli lives and equipment. Therefore, the Israeli Defense Force concluded that the only way to affectively deal with this threat, without such a catastrophic loss of Israeli lives, was to use a low-yield neutron bomb. They concluded this because a neutron bomb has a higher short-term radiological output, but less blast output than normal nuclear weapons, therefore limiting the widespread damage that would be caused.

The world reaction to such an action would be vitriolic. The Muslim world’s reaction to such an act would be equally vitriolic.

Today, in 2020, fourteen years after the Second Lebanon War, the threat from this same force is now even more significant and malign. A conservative estimate is that the total number of missiles and rockets in Lebanon, currently aimed at Israel, stands at between 40,000 and 110,000 in number. This is a conservative estimate. Many of these rockets are unguided Katyusha rockets; however, many are now longer-ranged, quite sophisticated guided missiles. All of Israel will become the front line in the next war.

Manning and protecting this arsenal is believed to be a Brigade-sized group of Hezbollah Special Forces. These men have been trained and equipped directly by Iran. Additionally, these men answer only to Iran, not the Lebanese government. This means that the trigger, so to speak, for this vast arsenal is in Tehran, not in Beirut. In any strike against Iranian nuclear facilities, or war with the United States and/or Israel, Iran would certainly pull this trigger.

Israel faces a huge throw-weight of missiles and rockets. In any Iran war, they would also be contesting against the extensive forces aligned against them in Syria, which has much longer range and larger missiles available to them, not discounting the combination of small rockets and missiles in both the West Bank and Gaza.

The Jewish State would be attacked from all sides at the same time, impacting the border areas of the country and, this time, the heartland too. Israel would clearly be completely overwhelmed against such a bombardment. They face a truly massive number of rockets and missiles aimed at them.

Unfortunately, their situation can and does get even worse. It is now the belief of Israel, and many in the West, that some of these rockets and missiles have radiological, chemical or biological agents attached to them. Especially so concerning the Syrian threat. In fact, it is now quite well-known that the biggest arsenal of non-nuclear WMD currently on Earth resides underneath one city, in large but distributed underground storage facilities: Damascus.

In any future war with Iran, if any of these weapons do have radiological, chemical, or biological agents in them, and are used against the Jewish State, the Israeli response would be unequivocal: the nuclear annihilation of Syria, Iran and parts of Lebanon. Many, many people would lose their lives in such a scenario.

But the matter would not end there, with unprecedented destruction and death in the Middle East. Iran is and has been the greatest sponsor of state-level terrorism in the world for almost a generation. Such an exchange would no doubt entail the activation of any Iranian sleeper cells in the West, in America and Western Europe. Their objectives would be simple and clear – to wreak havoc on domestic western populations, either through direct attacks, or through any number of malicious manufactured killer viruses potentially being released into general population centers.

When one looks at Bible prophecy and reads the words of Ezekiel, amongst others, and then looks at the events of today, one cannot help but think that these words of yesterday were written about our today. We will live through these events. They are events for our time, for our world, for our generation, now.

In light of such events, how should we live and prepare? We should fix our eyes on Jesus and trust in Him only. He is the author of our salvation, the bringer of hope and our only deliverer.

“He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides in him” (John 3:36).

Approach every day with the unique hope that only those regenerated though faith in Jesus Christ can have, and then be about your business bringing salvation to the lost.

“Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest!” (John 4:35).

Then, when all is done, lift up your heads and rejoice, for your salvation does indeed draw nigh.

“Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near” (Luke 21:28).

https://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Soleimani-killing-Window-of-opportunity-open-for-Israel-against-Iran-614151

wardmatt1977@gmail.com