ESOCS Devotional 19 June
TEXT: EZEKIEL 13:1-23
MEMORY VERSE: “Because with lies ye have made the heart of the righteous sad, whom I have not made sad; and strengthened the hands of the wicked, that he should not return from his wicked way, by promising him life.” Ezekiel 13:22 KJV
The place of prophecy in the church and human existence cannot be overemphasized. It has become so prominent that prophecy is on a very high demand the world over. Not only among Christians but also among many religions, as it is one of the bases of strange religions masqueraded around the world. Undoubtedly, prophecy has saved lives, healed many, delivered, blessed, and encouraged so many persons; its negative impact cannot be denied. ESOCS Devotional 19 June
Read yesterday’s ESOCS Devotional here
Fake prophecy is a killer that kills faster than the deadliest virus; here are some of the dangers:
- Creation of fear: “Because with lies ye have made the heart of the righteous sad, whom I have not made sad…” Fake prophecy has the capacity to put people under pressure, increase tension, and generate fear. People’s blood pressure rise and their heart beat increase due to a prophecy that was given to them. There are several healthy people that suddenly fall sick because someone gave them prophecy. There are also people that died of heart attack because someone gave them ‘prophecy’. Unfortunately, that was not the plan of God for their lives. Hence, fake prophecy could kill people sadden those God has blessed with joy.
- False Hope: “… saying, peace; and there was no peace …” (Ezek. 13:10). We have seen severally, persons that God has concluded on how to treat their matter, but with fake prophecy they are given hope. We declare peace, when the plan of God does not relate to people. Someone who ordinarily should reorganise his lifestyle and amend his ways, with fake prophecy false hope is given, where there was no hope in the first place. This situation is indeed too dangerous that we must warn against.
- Strengthening of Evil: “… and strengthened the hands of the wicked, that he should not return from his wicked ways, by promising him life.” Without mincing words, many evil and wicked people have refused to repent because there is a prophet praying and prophesying to them. By fake prophecy, their wicked works are celebrated. We must therefore be careful of the evil being encouraged in our world by the prophecy of the fake prophets.
BOTTOM LINE: Fake prophecy is a deadly killer; it kills faster than even the deadliest virus.
CHALLENGES
- Never become a tool in the hand of the devil to prophesy falsely.
- Before believing, activate your spiritual discerning capacity to determine fake prophecies.
- Conscious effort should be made to eradicate fake prophets from the church.
PRAYER POINT: Father, thank you for the gift of prophecy for the benefit of mankind. Forgive our days of its abuse, and deliver us from the hands of fake prophets. Oh Lord, expose the fake prophets and let your hand be on them for reformation and transformation, in the name of Jesus.
FURTHER READING: Ezekiel 14:1-23; John 15:18-27; 16:1-16
