How to identify a true prophet, pastor or servant of God

This has been a contentious topic in the world of today where prophets come in day and night. They speak huge things and claim to have heard from God or the Holy Spirity. But how do we what they are saying is true or false? The answer to that question is what we'll try to figure out in this article. The bible says my perish because of lack of knowledge. Please be informed and if you dont change, it'll be upto you.

Disclaimer! I'm just a christian and I'm not a preacher, but all of us should always be guided by the Bible to be able to discern the truth from these flourishing preachers.

Can God sent prophets now that the holy Spirit was sent already?

Yes! The answer to this question is simply a Yes. There ahve been arguments as to whether we can still have prophets in the line of the old testaments. Some will argue that the role of the prophets was taken over by the Holy Spirit. But the truth is found in the Bible: In 1 Corinthians 12:4-11: the bible says

7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. 8 To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, 10 to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. 11 All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.

The same message is also found in Romans 12:4-8 . And it is clear that prophecy was also one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Moreover if you read the whole of Revelation chapter 11, the whole chapter discusses two witnesses who are to come, prophecy, and destroy the earth with plaques like the old testament prophets. This therefore proves that God can still send his prophets at will.

Now how do we identify ones sent by God from conment

1. They sell things and take money for their services

The ultimate price of salvation was paid for in totality by Jesus Christ at the cross in Golgotha. In Matthew 10:8, the Bible says:

8 Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.

Jesus Christ when commissioning his disciples gives them a clear instruction that as you received the gifts for free, so you should give them. Now we have current pastors, prophets, evangelists etc charging for holy water, handkerchiefs and amongs many others. These people are in business in the church because if they were called by Jesus they would have heard his voice saying they should freely heal people without asking for money in the name of the holy water. 

Remember during Elisha when he refused to take gifts from the man he healed of leprosy and when Gehazi did take them, the Lord struck him leprosy .

2. False preachers also introduce their own things.

There is no where in the Bible where existed a holy water. Jesus sent people to public pools, Elisha sent a man to river Jordan. So where did these false preachers get the authority to start selling holy water, and they are not even free. They are businessmen. Nothing more than that.

3. They fancy earthly things

False pastors and prophets will demand to have big cars, expensive houses, expensive clothes and so on. Some even have private jets in Nigeria. But they are forgeting that Jesus rode on a donkey on his way to Jerusalem. Paul says in 2 Thessalonians 3: that If a man will not work, he shall not eat. He even clarifies that he plucked wheat when he went on missions. So why are today preachers lazy and don't want to work.

But this should not be confused; preachers can be supported, buying a pastor a car to support his mission is absolutely okay, however it should not be at the expense of poor church members who are coerced to buy holy water or tythe a certain amount in order to receive a certain blessing.

4. They only preach prosperity

All the false clergy can afford to preach is how God will bless you, or double your portion or shut down your enemies. Whoa! Blessings indeed come from God and it's a good message but it's not the centrality of salvation. When Jesus came, he came to wash the sins of mankind, all the new testament apostles labored trying to turn people away from sin and that their focus should not be on earthly things but heavenly ones. In the old testaments, it was worse because whenever people sinned a little, he gave them away to enemies. Now that should have been the focus of the church, turning people away from sin and teaching repentance and purification by the blood for the coming of Jesus. Nothing short, nothing less.

The bible even puts it clear in Matthew 6:33 where he says seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.That means all the prosperity things the today pastors are busy with are nonsenses. Jesus said once you seek the Kingdom of God, all these will be added unto you.

5. They don't bear the fruits of the holy spirit

In Galatians 5:22-23 - the bible says:

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

We see these pastors arrested for drug trafficking, or abusing the congregation in the news everyday. Its just a messy world.

6. Their prophecies don't come to pass

Another key identifier is do their prphecies get fulfilled? I know some prophecies can fail to pass because of the will of the Lord like that of Jonah. But it is also good to know that the Lord always give prophecies as a warning ie if they dont repent he will punish them. 

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