Counterfeit Or Not

Monday, June 09, 2014, 7:13 a.m. – the Lord Jesus put the song in mind, “Only in Him.” Speak, Lord, your words to my heart. I read 1 John 2:15-28 (NIV).

Not the World!

Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.

Who is the Liar?

Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us.

But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth. I do not write to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it and because no lie comes from the truth. Who is the liar? It is whoever denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a person is the antichrist—denying the Father and the Son. No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also.

The Lord Jesus gave me a vivid picture this morning of what these antichrist figures look like. These human vessels oftentimes are not so obviously anti-God or anti-Christ, but will mimic Christianity and will even serve in positions of leadership within the church as shepherds of the people. So, it is not that they literally go out from us, but that they spiritually desert the flock (See Ez. 34; John 10). They serve as hollow receptacles for the gospel of salvation, serving counterfeit spiritual food, i.e. that which is a cheap imitation of the real thing, and for the purpose of deceiving the flock. They went out from us; they do not belong to us, i.e. they do not have their beginning with us, i.e. they are not of God.

What many of these antichrist false shepherds of the people serve the people, which they disguise as truth, is actually other people’s leftovers. Their words are borrowed from someone else. They did not originate with them. They do not come freshly from their times with God in his word, because they are not connected to the head, Jesus Christ. As well, what they teach is more so the opinions, ideas, concepts, values, ideologies and theologies of humankind in place of or over and above what is taught in scripture. They will often add on to the gospel of our salvation, and will add on to God’s grace what is beyond what is proper and morally acceptable; i.e. what is beyond what is good for their adherents’ spiritual well-being. In other words, by the way some of them teach God’s grace, they are encouraging unrestrained immoral behavior and activity which is contrary to grace.

They have failed to wisely make proper use of the scriptures and the teachings of the apostles on the subject of the gospel of our salvation. They are thoughtless and careless in their own use of scripture, oftentimes taking scriptures out of context to support their own theologies, or else they just study the scriptures for their own advantage but they don’t obey them, so what they learn is of no value because they don’t put to good and proper use what they are learning. So, they are being wasteful with God’s holy word, and what they are passing off as truth is nothing more than garbage to be discarded in the trash can.

Another characteristic trait of these false shepherds of the people is that the spiritual food, supposedly from God, which they are disseminating, comes from a much higher source, but not God. In other words, this deception is global, and it comes from very high up within the ranks of religious leaders within the global community, and it is then passed down through the ranks until it reaches the average church member. This food they are serving is also multi-layered, i.e. it is ecumenical. More and more the church is moving in the direction of a one-world religion as they are buying more and more into the teachings of humankind, which are then being passed off as the true gospel. And, this spiritual food is also altered dishonestly, manipulated, doctored, and tampered with in order to deceive their listeners.

This global effort to bring all religions together as one is a unified effort beginning at the very top, i.e. this is of Satan and its purpose and his purpose is to destroy the church from within (See John 10), to do away with the true gospel of salvation, and to replace it with an ecumenical social gospel which would appeal to all religions. In other words, much of what is being taught in today’s church comes not from scripture, and not from God, but from a global alliance of religious leaders who are working together to bring all religions into a one-world religion, free from the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ. If we have eyes to see and ears to hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches, we can see this deception, for it is obvious to the spiritually discerning. Yet, it is masked to the spiritually naïve.

Lastly, much of the spiritual food they serve, which is counterfeit (fake), is also counter (in direct opposition) to God and to his word, i.e. counter to what is fit (right). So, although these antichrists (false shepherds) may verbally acknowledge that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, they deny him in their hearts, and they deny him by the words they teach which contradict what scripture teaches in many cases. They also deny him by their lifestyles. Yet, their words are often a mixture of truth and lies so as to deceive unsuspecting minds, and their lies are often cleverly disguised and altered to make them look, smell, and sound like truth. Sometimes they do this through just lessening or reducing the importance of something, kind of like Satan said to Eve in the garden, “Did God really say…?” The purpose was to put doubt in her mind as to the severity of God’s command.

They twist the scriptures to their own advantage and to the ultimate goal of obliterating the true gospel and the witness of Christ’s servants. So, we must pray for much discernment, and we must test everything we hear against the Word of Truth to make sure that what we are being taught is actually from God and not a creation of humankind in order to deceive.

His Anointing

As for you, see that what you have heard from the beginning remains in you. If it does, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father. And this is what he promised us—eternal life.

I am writing these things to you about those who are trying to lead you astray. As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit—just as it has taught you, remain in him.

And now, dear children, continue in him, so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming.

We are not to be like them, and we are not to be partakers with them. We must hold on to the truth of the gospel, and we must test everything we hear. This calls for discernment.

ONLY IN HIM / An Original Work / February 19, 2014
Based off Isaiah 30

Woe to those who look to man’s help;
Who turn away from Jesus Christ;
Forming an alliance not in step with God;
Making their own plans, and praying not.


Willing not to listen to truth,
They close their ears to what is right.
Pleasing words are all that they’ll hear;
Feel good messages that bring cheer.


Trust in your Lord; turn from your sin.
Put your faith now ONLY IN HIM.
Do not turn to idols. They’ll not satisfy.
Jesus will save you. That’s why He died.


Your Lord will be gracious to you.
He cares all about you, ‘tis true.
He forgives you all of your sin
When you give your life up to Him.


Oh, how truly gracious He’ll be
When you bow to Him on your knees;
Turning now from your sin; walking in his ways.
He’ll lead and guide you all of your days.


Now you will sing praises to Him.
He delivered you from your sin.
You’ll tell others now of His grace,
So they may see Christ face-to-face.


http://originalworks.info/only-in-him/
 
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