Beware of false prophets....

To begin this off so that we are all on the same page and we all understand: "God gives us all Spiritual Gifts!"

Yes, it is possible to have more then one spiritual gift. However, Just because you have more then one spiritual gift does not mean you will operate in every one of them. This also does not mean you will have every single gift mentioned in the bible. There are lots of resources out there that can give you the tools to learn what gifts you have and about your spiritual gift[s]. Most importantly, you should begin with the scripture teaching in our bibles. You can view some of the following references I noted below for spiritual gifts.

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Ephesians 4: 11 -15 It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ.
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[ Note: These are not all of the scriptures that are in the bible! Please ensure you do a full search to have Gods full teaching and understanding as to How you should operate in your gifting[s], When you should operate in your gifting[s] and Where you should operate in your giftings. Pray before you make any claim of any gifting. Most importantly you should GODS timing is everything!
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1 Corinthians 12, 1 Peter 4:10, Romans 12: 7, 1 Timothy 3.
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Where am I going with this. If we are all given giftings -whether we are believers or not, everyone has a gift[s], Is it possible to operate in these giftings unknowingly and knowingly? YES! Unfortunately, there are those who do operate in thier gifts knowingly. Many operate unknowingly. But those who do operate knowingly have been known to mis-use or abuse their gifts. Now, This does not mean that everyone operating in thier gifts abuse or misuse. Unfortunately just about a handful or more do. This is where 2 Peter 2 comes amidst other scriptures sending the same warning.

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2 Peter 2: 1-3 But there were also false prophets in Israel, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will cleverly teach destructive heresies and even deny the Master who bought them. In this way, they will bring sudden destruction on themselves. Many will follow their evil teaching and shameful immorality. And because of these teachers, the way of truth will be slandered. In their greed they will make up clever lies to get hold of your money. But God condemned them long ago, and their destruction will not be delayed.
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What is a false prophet/false teacher? For a moment think about this! If we really sit and think about it we could define both of these in a lot of ways. Both are deceptive and misleading. False prophets speak of false prophecies. [Some may come to pass and mean absolutely nothing, some may come to pass merely because depending on the circumstance or situation the propheter oversees, identifies or makes their own prediction as to what will happen based on the information they may know about the circumstance or situation. If a propheter is seeking more information you should have a red flag. God will give all the information that is needed if it is a prophecy from Him. ]
A false teacher is someone that speaks and falsely teaches against the bible making claims that their teaching is biblical, takes or uses scriptures out of context. [Key Note: The bible says precisely what it means written before us in black in white text with red text noting the speaking from Christ. It is very easy to mis lead or mis quote any scripture. That is why it is extremely important to research the scriptures given to you from every teaching, every speaker, every minister!]

A false teacher is extremely persistant in defending their teachings, they are very abusive as for their slandering comments ridiculing Gods people with in the church and outside the church. They are very judgemental and very controlling. They believe that God the father only speaks to and through them thus leading that you must confide everything to them and hear from them on what Gods final word on any matter would be. Some are more secluding of their followers then others are. [thus meaning, they will try to keep all of their followers together in an isolation camp away from the world. - In this case you are dealing with a Cult leader] They are often domineering and brain washing in their teachings, those within or under them, "People" in general and what they speak. They are easily angered or adjectated when one stands to correct them or question them. They are abrupt and demanding in what they speak and to whom they speak to.

They will reject words of dicipline, words of teachings and any encouraging word of text given by any individual other then themself or an appointed follower who believes the same as they do. They thrive on being glorified. These leaders/teachers are also quick in noting that they know what position you should uphold with in their church or group meeting - Like they are the only one who knows where you belong and what your gift calling is.

[In this case, You should be alarmed and seek prayer to ensure you are not being placed in any position other then where God has called you to be. -Now this is not saying that there will not be a time that a pastor or leader would come to you and say- "they think you are qualified for this position or that you have a calling for that position." There are times this will happen.
But when it happens, YOU WILL KNOW IF indeed this position is the right position you are to uphold and IF indeed it is where God wants you to be.

IF you have not been told by the Lord that you should uphold this position, YOU should not step into this positon until you hear and know it is Gods Will! Most importantly, before you step in to any ministry or position you should be seeking for our Fathers answers in prayer. Never make a move until you know because this could be a step closer for the leader/teacher in gaining more control over you and you being brainwashed more then before.]

What I have noted in the above few paragraphs I can tell you I have witnessed first hand and really is all over. This is more common now then I have seen before. I heave these warnings more now then I ever did as I draw closer to the Lord and I urge you to do the same thing. If you are reading your word daily, praying and hearing from the Lord daily then you will know when to be alarmed and start asking for more resources or answers.

There are alot of preachers, speakers, teachers, prophets out there hiding behind a misleading/deceptive mask; heading a congregation, conference, group, etc., Searching to gain followers. Unfortunately, many of these followers NEVER double check or question the teachings, verifying if they are indeed within the Bible text. This is why I highly recommend: Any Believer and NEW Believer to read your bible daily so that YOU KNOW GODS WORD! If you ever have a problem with the way a scripture[s] is taught or don't understand the teachings, ask for more clarification from the speaker. Ask for their resources!

If they will not or can not give specific scriptures to you, then ask them to locate it and show you in the bible so that you may see for yourself and know what they are referencing to. If they are still not willing to show you reference, then you should be alarmed about what was just taught and the speaker. I recommend you begin a prayer fast over the individual- seeking Gods wisdom and direction about this leader and their teachings. Chances are it could be a misunderstanding or accidently referred to the wrong scripture but most times it is because there is a deceptive leader trying to rally followers. Why it is important to be on guard just as the bible warns us many times.

Typically any pastor will appreciate their congregation double checking His/Her message delivered. It shows them that they have a congregation that is staying with them in the word, ensuring that the word brought forth is indeed biblical. Not only this: You are keeping them on their toes as they are keeping you on your toes. I have heard many pastors or speakers say that it is encouraging when they have people come back and ask to see more of their resources or ask questions about their messages. So do it!

I again stress : If you are not reading your bible, praying or hearing from the Lord daily and you are just going to church/group/conference and expecting the word to be delivered to you at each group meeting, church service, conference while you are not doing the research to ensure it is indeed in line with the bible, I warn you now - as you will be an easy target for these false teachers/leaders. Again I remind you also that a Godly prophet delivering a vision or a future event will not ask for specific information or insights to a situation in realtion to you or another indivdiual. Also keep in mind that you should always pray over a spoken vision or word prophecy given to you to ensure that it was from the Lord. He will confirm to you whether or not it is His message to you. If it pertains to a worldly event you again should pray, often times some who speak this prophecy theorize from their insight.

Not always is every word or prophecy, teacher/leader a false minister in God. Thus leading me to say, Pray, Pray, Pray and ask for a discerning spirit so that you will know that you know what is from the Lord and what is not!

Other Reference Scriptures:
[again not all of the scriptures that are in the bible, you will want to do a deeper search]
[Ephesians 4: 11-15, Matthew 6:24, 2 Timothy 4: 3-4

I pray that this information is useful to you as it was to me. This has been something in my heart to share for a while now so I want to pass it along to you as a beginning piece of information to get you started in to your researching.

God Bless you friends!