Recently the Holy Spirit spoke to my heart after a Christian really judged another Christian leader through a tweet, saying that he was a false prophet. I don't know him very well, but my first thought was: "Wow that is a hard judgment to place on anyone!" Then they asked me to watch one clip of this man from a Youtube video and make the same judgment. I watched it, but did not see from my perspective anything that would warrant calling him a false prophet! I have to agree to disagree with them. I can't judge by what I see in this video! Sorry. I just can't do that! I can't judge at all! Can I know the heart of a man from a video clip? I do not walk in that man's life circle. I do not know this man personally. I have heard about his ministry, watched it a couple of times on TV and was blessed by his preaching. I am not a part of his ministry. (the video clip from my point of reference, did not even substantiate this claim that he is leading people away from God as a false prophet)
God says we will know people by their fruit. This man in my perspective has visible kingdom fruit in his ministry. Yet, how can I judge someone or their fruit from a distance, when I only see in part? How can I judge someone who I don't walk in a personal relationship with; a person I only know from a distance? That is why judging people belongs solely to Jesus and rightly so, because He sees the inner heart, the motivation and the internal character, all of which we cannot know and this is His approved kingdom authority.
I am not equipped to judge someone in such a harsh judgement as saying they are a false prophet. If this Christian Leader is a false prophet, then Jesus is his judge and Jesus can handle it because there is no greater, mightier or just judge. Jesus is Omnipotent and I am not! I am not Jesus, nor am I equipped to make a judgement on a man's life-reputation-or ministry. If someone is a false prophet, God does not need me to tweet it, He can handle it. Because 9 times out of 10, my judgement of others will be imperfect and wrong because I can only see in part.
I believe for me to step into a position where I take on the role of Jesus is something, that I as human being, am not outfitted to do. Judging other Christians hurts the Kingdom, hurts you, hurts them, hurts us and doesn't achieve lasting Kingdom purpose. I have seen some people take judging others to an extreme, because of their own life perspective, which is tainted in hurt, bitterness and betrayal. Sometimes, people's perspectives are formed through the adulterated eyes of their own personal life experiences and they shout judgment out of their inner pain, dashed hopes and dead dreams. If someone does things differently than we would do it, then we judge them by the opinion of our personal comfort level. Maybe we would see differently if we walked in their shoes? Who knows, God has called people to all kinds, shapes and forms of Kingdom Trades and we really won't understand them unless we have to try on their shoes and walk in them! Our judgements of others can never be perfect, we all walk in the same human condition as one another and I know this is why the Father God wisely made Jesus our only Judge. If we are obeying God and respecting His right to appoint Jesus as the only judge, then we are not to judge people, or place judgement on them! Why? Because Jesus asked us not to because He knew we only know in part, we cannot see the true heart of a person, we cannot know their true inner motivations. Judgment is to me having a haughty spirit, that steps into a position human beings are not designed for and not able to fully carry out.
Our judgement is incomplete, because we are not equipped to see in whole and not destined with Kingdom authority to judge. Judging others is disobedience to God, because He asked us to take our disappointments in one another to the person involved and work them out, speaking the truth in love to that person face to face. If you don't like a TV interview that a Christian did, go to God and pray and ask Him for a Godly appeal and then talk to them and express your concern and if they don't listen take it to the next higher authority. Deal with your disapproval in Godly ways, ask God what to do with your displeasure, but don't judge their whole life, especially if you truly do not "know" them.
God has asked us to love with a love that bears each other's humanity, through truth spoken in love, face to face. Would you be willing to go to the person you think is a "false prophet" and talk to them face to face, confronting them with the love of God, taking God's charity to the greatest height? This is the narrow path God asks us to walk on, the broad path is writing out a twitter tweet accusing a person of being a false prophet. This is an arrogance that will take a fall when that judgment rolls flipside as the backlash of sowing an opinion and reaping the same on your life, hits you square in the face of your kingdom trade. God simply said: If you judge, you will be judged.
Christians are far from perfect, they are human beings with a creature condition, flesh that likes to raise its ugly head and that is why we can't step into the role of God's Son and judge someone who may have had a bad hair day at a television interview and because of that, we take it upon ourselves to protect others, we take on God's role, place a huge judgment on their reputation by stating they are a false prophet. How can you know this to be true? To examine a piece of fruit, it has to be up close and personal, out of a relationship with the palm of your hand! And even then, you can hold fruit and it can look flawed, you don't know if it is good until you bite into it and taste the goodness of God contained at the center. Have you tasted the fruit of this man's heart? Do you know his heart? God does.
Psalm 105:14-16
He allowed no one to oppress them; for their sake he rebuked kings: 15 "Do not touch my anointed ones; do my prophets no harm." 16 He called down famine on the land and destroyed all their supplies of food;
So I ask you how can you expect me to agree with you saying a man's ministry is that of a false prophet. I won't even venture there because I know I am flawed too. I have screwed up, I haven't done or said everything perfectly correct. The divine anointing has to go through less than divine human beings. We don't do it perfectly, but God is prepared for that! I know I can't rightfully judge another person and if I pointed my finger at him, three of my own fingers are pointed back at me. Be very careful, because God is not happy when we judge others, especially when we speak against those He has anointed. If you don't know, the best thing to do is pray, because God is able to take care of His Bride, He doesn't need us to help him judge or protect-- He asked us to believe in Him and to love in spirit and truth.
AWE-FATHER GOD… How I long for heaven, where we will perfectly love You and perfectly love each other! Until then, help us Father God to walk in the light of the truth You have given us, this way of Your Love:
1 Corinthians 13
Suppose I speak in the languages of human beings and of angels. If I don't have love, I am only a loud gong or a noisy cymbal. 2 Suppose I have the gift of prophecy. Suppose I can understand all the secret things of God and know everything about him. And suppose I have enough faith to move mountains. If I don't have love, I am nothing at all. 3 Suppose I give everything I have to poor people. And suppose I give my body to be burned. If I don't have love, I get nothing at all. 4 Love is patient. Love is kind. It does not want what belongs to others. It does not brag. It is not proud. 5 It is not rude. It does not look out for its own interests. It does not easily become angry. It does not keep track of other people's wrongs. 6 Love is not happy with evil. But it is full of joy when the truth is spoken. 7 It always protects. It always trusts. It always hopes. It never gives up. 8 Love never fails. But prophecy will pass away. Speaking in languages that had not been known before will end. And knowledge will pass away. 9 What we know now is not complete. What we prophesy now is not perfect. 10 But when what is perfect comes, the things that are not perfect will pass away. 11 When I was a child, I talked like a child. I thought like a child. I had the understanding of a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. 12 Now we see only a dim likeness of things. It is as if we were seeing them in a mirror. But someday we will see clearly. We will see face to face. What I know now is not complete. But someday I will know completely, just as God knows me completely. 13 The three most important things to have are faith, hope and love. But the greatest of them is love.
New International Reader's Version (NIRV) Copyright © 1996, 1998 by Biblica
Matthew 7:12-17
So then, whatever you desire that others would do to and for you, even so do also to and for them, for this is (sums up) the Law and the Prophets. 13 Enter through the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and spacious and broad is the way that leads away to destruction, and many are those who are entering through it. 14 But the gate is narrow (contracted [a]by pressure) and the way is straitened and compressed that leads away to life, and few are those who find it.(A) 15 Beware of false prophets, who come to you dressed as sheep, but inside they are devouring wolves.(B) 16 You will [b]fully recognize them by their fruits. Do people pick grapes from thorns, or figs from thistles?
17 Even so, every healthy (sound) tree bears good fruit [[c]worthy of admiration], but the sickly (decaying, worthless) tree bears bad (worthless) fruit.
Amplified Bible (AMP) Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation
God does say: Beware… and the way to beware is to stay aware of God, stay close to God, in a personal relationship with Him. Be responsible for yourself, for the steps your feet take and make sure they are set in the footprints God has left for you. God has made a way for us, He has not asked us to Judge others, He has asked us to beware!
A clear head and a deep understanding, are of no value without a benevolent and charitable heart. MHC
Matthew 10 12-15
"When you knock on a door, be courteous in your greeting. If they welcome you, be gentle in your conversation. If they don't welcome you, quietly withdraw. Don't make a scene. Shrug your shoulders and be on your way. You can be sure that on Judgment Day they'll be mighty sorry—but it's no concern of yours now. 16"Stay alert. This is hazardous work I'm assigning you. You're going to be like sheep running through a wolf pack, so don't call attention to yourselves. Be as cunning as a snake, inoffensive as a dove. 17-20"Don't be naive. Some people will impugn your motives, others will smear your reputation—just because you believe in me. Don't be upset when they haul you before the civil authorities. Without knowing it, they've done you—and me—a favor, given you a platform for preaching the kingdom news! And don't worry about what you'll say or how you'll say it. The right words will be there; the Spirit of your Father will supply the words.
The Message (MSG) Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson
In times such as these: Beware… stay alert! This has no connotation to judging others. God assigns us a kingdom trade and we need to stay focused on the Master of this trade. God administrates His Kingdom and we serve it. Judging is an administrative act, loving God, loving others are two of the greatest commands God has given us. Judging others is putting ourselves in an managerial position, when we are called to serve. There will be false prophets and God has shown us how to handle it, He has asked us to draw close to Him, to walk with His mind and to guard our heart with His truth, so it flows out of the issues of our kingdom trade. Judging others is offensive and it calls attention to our opinion, which in all fairness is a perspective that we are not able to fully substantiate with whole truth, because we are not equipped to see a person's heart.
When it comes to false prophets, Jesus said for us to be cunning and inoffensive, yet not naïve! How do we flesh this out? We keep our focus on Jesus, the author and finisher of our kingdom trade, believing and experiencing as we step out in faith that He is simply enough. We don't worry about the administrative details of His Kingdom, we allow Him the right to be the judge of such things and we give our lives completely to the assignment He has set before us, ministering in His Spirit-Truth-Love! It is not our place to judge false prophets, or call attention to ourselves by pointing fingers of judgment at them, it is our place to serve Jesus Christ, by running our Kingdom race among those false prophets of this world, using our time to make an eternal difference by feeding the poor, taking care of the orphans and widows and being about our God-given Kingdom trades. Our judgments of people can't be true justice because we are not equipped to see in whole. Leave the judging to Jesus and treat one another justly and walk the way of God's Love!
James 1:26-27
If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless. 27Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
New International Version (NIV)Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica
Zechariah 7:6-10
God-of-the-Angel-Armies gave me this Message for them, for all the people and for the priests: "When you held days of fasting every fifth and seventh month all these seventy years, were you doing it for me? And when you held feasts, was that for me? Hardly. You're interested in religion, I'm interested in people. 7-10"There's nothing new to say on the subject. Don't you still have the message of the earlier prophets from the time when Jerusalem was still a thriving, bustling city and the outlying countryside, the Negev and Shephelah, was populated? [This is the message that God gave Zechariah.] Well, the message hasn't changed. God-of-the-Angel-Armies said then and says now: "'Treat one another justly. Love your neighbors. Be compassionate with each other. Don't take advantage of widows, orphans, visitors, and the poor. Don't plot and scheme against one another—that's evil.'
The Message (MSG) Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson
1 Corinthians 13 The Way of Love- Help Us Holy Spirit Walk In It:
If I speak with human eloquence and angelic ecstasy but don't love, I'm nothing but the creaking of a rusty gate. 2If I speak God's Word with power, revealing all his mysteries and making everything plain as day, and if I have faith that says to a mountain, "Jump," and it jumps, but I don't love, I'm nothing. 3-7If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don't love, I've gotten nowhere. So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I'm bankrupt without love.
Love never gives up.
Love cares more for others than for self.
Love doesn't want what it doesn't have.
Love doesn't strut,
Doesn't have a swelled head,
Doesn't force itself on others,
Isn't always "me first,"
Doesn't fly off the handle,
Doesn't keep score of the sins of others,
Doesn't revel when others grovel,
Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,
Puts up with anything,
Trusts God always,
Always looks for the best,
Never looks back,
But keeps going to the end.
8-10Love never dies. Inspired speech will be over some day; praying in tongues will end; understanding will reach its limit. We know only a portion of the truth, and what we say about God is always incomplete. But when the Complete arrives, our incompletes will be canceled. 11When I was an infant at my mother's breast, I gurgled and cooed like any infant. When I grew up, I left those infant ways for good. 12We don't yet see things clearly. We're squinting in a fog, peering through a mist. But it won't be long before the weather clears and the sun shines bright! We'll see it all then, see it all as clearly as God sees us, knowing him directly just as he knows us! 13But for right now, until that completeness, we have three things to do to lead us toward that consummation: Trust steadily in God, hope unswervingly, love extravagantly. And the best of the three is love.
The Message (MSG) Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson
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