How will we know if a word is of the Lord, or out of the flesh? This question could possibly be one of the most critical questions for believers today to ask themselves . . . and even more to the point . . . to be able to answer correctly. As the confusion and chaos in the world increases, so increases the pressure being put on our faith. There has never been a time in our lives when it was more important that we know what we believe, why we believe, and that we live our lives accordingly.

Our status quo may be acceptable among our peers, but it won't stand up before a Holy God. We are inundated with all manner of prophecies today, coming from all kinds of sources. We need to step back a bit when 'getting a word' starts to become something we can shop around for. What was indeed a rare event even 50 years ago; getting dreams, visions, and prophecies, has dramatically increased in just this generation. In part, we know that this is but another fulfillment of what is written,

"And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions" Joel 2:28.

We are in living in the days when we will see the fulfillment of all the prophecies recorded in God's Word. There has already been a mighty increase in God-given dreams, visions and prophecies in recent years, just as foretold in Scripture. At the same time, it is imperative that the people of God actually mature and develop the ability to discern those things that are sent forth from God, and those that are counterfeits sent forth from the enemy, as well as those that are just plain mixture, being polluted by the carnal understanding of the vessel who received them.

"But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ" Ephesians 4:15. "And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness" Ephesians 4:23-24.

We are far too prone to looking to the source, giving greater credence to those who have attained a measure of prominence in the eyes of the people, as if those who are involved in some form of 'ministry' are more likely to receive instruction from God than someone who is an 'unknown.' This view in itself is purely carnal thinking, which should give us a clue as to how dependable such presumption is.

The purpose of prophecy is to give us direction and instruction, not to give us goose bumps and tickle our ears. The purpose of our being called is that we might be changed, from a carnally minded man or woman, to a spiritually minded man or woman. That we might give God the pre-eminence in all things, being conformed to His image, and fellowshipping with Him in spirit and in truth.

"For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure" Philippians 2:13. "Wherefore also we pray always for you, that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfill all the good pleasure of his goodness, and the work of faith with power" 2 Thessalonians 1:11.

"For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness" Hebrews 12:10.

We must never lose sight of why we were called out of the world... that we might know God! In our carnal state, we are subject to all of the weaknesses of this flesh . . . something which we must continually recognize, resist and lay down. Yes, we can boast along with Paul that . . . "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me" Philippians 4:13. But far too often, we start out in the spirit and end up purely in the flesh; especially when doing the work of the Lord is involved. Why? Because we do the exact opposite of what we were commanded to do . . . we do what seems right in our own eyes.

"Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding" Proverbs 3:5. "There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death" Proverbs 16:25.

We see in Deuteronomy 12:8-9 what the Lord God said to the Israelites while they were still outside of the place He desired to bring them into . . .

"Ye shall not do after all the things that we do here this day, every man whatsoever is right in his own eyes. For ye are not as yet come to the rest and to the inheritance, which the LORD your God giveth you. " And again in Judges 17:6 "In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes. "

Only God, by the power of His Holy Spirit, can lift us out of our carnality, transforming us into His sons and heirs . . . the joint heirs in Christ that we so long to become.

"For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace" Romans 8:6. "Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God" James 4:4. "Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his" Romans 8:7-9.

"Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish" Ephesians 5:25-27. "This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church" Ephesians 5:32. "To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory" Colossians 1:27.

It is the Spirit of Christ within us that does it all.

"He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth" John 1:10-14.

Christ is most definitely coming back, and soon, to receive HIS Bride unto Himself. And His Bride will be pure, spotless, without any blemish of any kind, a direct reflection of His Own Glory! It is only His Grace that we are being given this time to prepare our hearts to receive Him, that when we see Him we may be likened unto Him. It is all a work of the Spirit, no flesh shall glory in any way.

Even now we are witnessing the speedy formation of the one world government, with the exclusion of the true Gospel from all arenas of our society. If there was ever a time when believers needed spiritual discernment, it is now. We can not acquire spiritual discernment from intense study, nor can it be imparted from one person to another. Spiritual discernment is the operation of the Holy Spirit within the heart and mind of the believer. It is a gift of the Spirit as set forth by Paul in 1 Corinthians the 12th Chapter. We do not automatically have total, accurate discernment the moment we give our heart to the Lord. We must first grow up in Christ.

"But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil" Hebrews 5:14.

We must be confronted with the false, (which there is an abundance of everywhere we turn today), in order to develop our discernment. Yes, we are taken in and fail to recognize the errors in the beginning. We need to recognize that the enemy is a master of disguise (presenting himself as an angel of light) and deception. Jesus was addressing the Jews in the Temple when he said,

"Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word. Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it" John 8:43-44.

Holding a ministerial position is no guarantee of being a man of God. Being eloquent of speech and showing forth signs and wonders does not mean that God is the source of power behind the works. We are living in the gross darkness (Isaiah 60:2) the Prophet Isaiah forewarned us of. Things are not what they appear to be. We cannot give the benefit of the doubt to those who claim to be speaking in the name of the Lord. We are charged to judge all things by the Spirit of God within . . . "But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man" 1 Corinthians 2:15. This means that we scrutinize, closely examine, investigate, search out all things. There is no place in the believer's life for just accepting a word as being from God based solely on who it comes through or because it makes sense to our carnal understanding.

"For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God" Romans 8:14.

This is the crux of the matter. We must be led by the Spirit of God. Today we have hundreds, if not thousands of prophetic words set before us . . . and we must determine which ones are true and which ones are false. This is not something that we can accomplish in our own strength; from our own understanding and intellectual capacity. We cannot even do this within the scope of our beliefs. "For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away" 1 Corinthians 13:8-9. Our beliefs are full of mixture . . . good and bad, truth and error, traditions of men, vain imaginations, and even doctrines of devils.

The revelation of Jesus Christ does not first occur in our mind, but in our heart.

"Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom" Psalms 51:6. "Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ" 2 Corinthians 10:5.

Just be acutely aware . . . that not everyone that claims to be a servant of God, are what they claim to be. Neither is every prophetic word that is put forth a word that God sent. And it is our responsibility to judge what we hear: by how it lines up with God's written word recorded for our benefit, and by our inward witness. Does the spirit of God within immediately respond in positive affirmation . . . or is there no response or even a negative response? This is part of the process early referred to in Hebrews 5:14 " . . . even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil" This kind of discernment cannot be manufactured. It is a gift of God to those who are following His Son. It is the responsibility of each and every believer to exercise our spiritual discernment. Properly discerning can mean life or death, both spiritually and physically. May we all strive to enter in, not being deceived by the multitude of deceptions that are running rampant in this hour.

"I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus" Philippians 3:14.

Cathy's web site: http://lovestthoume.com/
Cathy's blog: http://lovestthoume-outofthefire.blogspot.com/