A PROPHECY OF FEAR

DAY 206
FAITH FILE: NEHEMIAH
SCRIPTURES: NEHEMIAH 6:10-14

Afterward I came to the house of Shemaiah the son of Delaiah, the son of Mehetabel, who was a secret informer; and he said, “Let us meet together in the house of God, within the temple, and let us close the doors of the temple, for they are coming to kill you; indeed, at night they will come to kill you.” And I said, “Should such a man as I flee? And who is there such as I who would go into the temple to save his life? I will not go in!” Then I perceived that God had not sent him at all, but that he pronounced this prophecy against me because Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him. For this reason he was hired, that I should be afraid and act that way and sin, so that they might have cause for an evil report, that they might reproach me. My God, remember Tobiah and Sanballat, according to these their works, and the prophetess Noadiah and the rest of the prophets who would have made me afraid.

God can speak to us through any means, through people, through friends, through pastors, through situations, etc. and the enemy is aware of that. He knows that we are conscious and sensitive to the word and we respond to God’s word more than anything else so he is not above quoting a few scriptures to get our attention. He did it with Eve and Jesus and he is doing it through false prophets today.

Therefore, we have to be very careful who and what we expose ourselves to. The people we permit to speak to us are channels for whatever spirit they carry and their words are the way they transfer whatever is in them, whether it be of life or death. Above all, we must test every word spoken on the basis of God’s word. And we MUST test all spirits. It doesn’t matter who the person is or what the person is saying, test it, test them.

False Prophecy

Often times a false prophecy can come from somebody who had been known to bring the correct prophecy. Because these are the last days, and Jesus says even the elect will be deceived. So, someone who told the truth once can lie later. Also, prophets are humans, and they can be wrong. That does not mean they have fallen from grace, it just means they got it wrong this time. They can also be speaking from a place of concern for you. Their advice is sound, but that was not just God’s strategy at that time. That is why we must check everything with the Holy Spirit, who is never wrong.

You do yourself a great disservice if you don’t know God for yourself or if you do not study God’s word for yourself. If you are not studious enough to check the scripture to be sure what I write in these devotionals is actually true to God’s word, you set yourself up to be deceived by lying spirits.

Check It Twice

In our text today, Nehemiah encountered prophets who were hired to lie to him. Their goal was to make him afraid so that his enemies can get him. Because without fear the enemy cannot get you. I believe that he wouldn’t have gone to these people if at some point they had not given true prophecy at some point.

Now the word this man said sounded sensible. “Go and hide,” he said to Nehemiah. “You know, this thing you’re doing is something great. You don’t want it to be destroyed. They want to come and kill you. Go and save yourself. If you die now, this work will be terminated. It’s going to be over with.” Nehemiah, as a person of faith, checked with his spirit and perceived that God didn’t ask that man to give him that prophecy.

You can’t take any word on face value because you believe this person’s reputation. You must check that it aligns with God’s word. The Holy Spirit on the inside of you, the word of God and that prophesy must agree, otherwise discard it.

So pray today and ask the Lord to help you to know, to tell, to discern, to separate what is true, what is from Him, and what is from the enemy. In Jesus’ name.

Shalom.