Living in a culture that is easily offended and wants everything served soft like oatmeal, it is hard to even speak the Bible to them. The reason being, the word of God does not mince words, does not lower the standard to match our cultural preferences and does not back down when challenged.

When people don’t read their Bible, don’t submit to what it says, they take verses out of context to match their view on any given subject. The word of God is powerful, it sets boundaries for our safety, it speaks truth for our freedom, and it provokes us to move from immature to mature.

1 John 4:1 speaks directly to us today in the 21st Century, saying, “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.” A false prophet is not someone who gets a prophetic word wrong, a false prophet is one who gets a narrative wrong.

A prophet is someone who speaks for God or speaks about God. If you are a Christian, you are a prophet, for 1 Corinthians 14 says, “One who prophesies speaks to men for edification and exhortation and consolation.” And Moses said in Numbers 11:29 “If only all the Lord’s people were prophets, and that Lord would put His Spirit upon them!” When the Holy Spirit fell at Pentecost (Acts 2), we all were invited to be filled with the spirit and to prophesy, speak the words of God to one another.

Now with that said, we must test the spirits or narratives that people of God and people in general are speaking to us. The spirit is a narrative that is being shared and it is either building up the body of Christ or tearing it down. It is either maturing us or keeping us immature. It is either raising the standard or dumbing it down to fit our own or someone we loves lifestyle.

Friends, please hear the words of John, the apostle who walked with Jesus on earth. We must test the spirits, the narratives we are hearing. But you cannot test them if you have already believed them for then you will find verses in your Bible to support them. Read your Bible to have your mind renewed (Romans 12) to God’s standard, God’s truth, not what culture and people have taught you. Www.apostolicresourcecenter.org