 Now this is an intense topic. I want to give you nine signs that will show or reveal if you're following a false teacher. Now we're going to approach this biblically. The Bible does talk about false prophets and teachers, and it's important that we not shy away from topics just because they're controversial. If the Bible addresses it, then it's important enough for us to address. But we must do this biblically in a balanced manner. I don't want you to become overly critical. Neither do I want you to be apathetically gullible. There is a biblical balance to find, and we're going to find that as we glean these truths from the scripture. So I'm going to give you these nine signs of a false teacher. I'm going to talk to you about how spiritual pride can keep you under deception. I'm going to show you how to navigate spiritual experiences based on the word. I'm going to show you how to exercise true discernment to avoid both, again, to avoid both overly critical and apathetically gullible approaches to subjects like these. So first let's talk about how spiritual pride can keep you under deception, and then I'm going to give you these nine signs that reveal to you whether or not you're following a false teacher. Now if you can't admit you got it wrong, you make it impossible to correct your mistake. In this way spiritual pride can keep us under deception. Now it's possible to have positive experiences with wolves among sheep. The Bible says in Matthew chapter 6 verse 23, but when your eye is unhealthy, your whole body is filled with darkness, and if the light you think you have is actually darkness, how deep that darkness is. You see sometimes when we missed it concerning particular ministries, individuals, movements, or churches, it's difficult to admit that we missed it because many believers pride themselves in their discernment. They pride themselves in being able to hear the Holy Spirit. They pride themselves in knowing the Word. Look, I myself many times have missed it. I myself have made mistakes. And so we have to lay aside our spiritual pride if we are to truly correct the mistakes that we've made. Now some of us are under deception, not just under deceptive people, but under deceptive doctrines that are destructive to our peace, to our joy, to our faith, to our effectiveness in ministry, and so forth. And again we feel attacked when someone calls out a false teacher that we're following because if they're false that means our discernment was off, so we take it personal. Now let me balance this. Again, there's going to be a running theme here throughout this lesson. I'm going to thread this theme throughout this teaching. We mustn't become overly critical. And I think far too often people are too quick to want to stir up drama. They tell me things like, oh, just call them out by name. And the problem is some of the people they want me to call out by name are actually men and women of God. And they just don't like them either out of jealousy or maybe some misplaced zeal and so forth. So on that note, if you're going to write names and ministries and specifics in the comments, we're just not going to allow that. Now some may say, well, Brother David, you shouldn't be afraid. Call them out. And I'm going to address that in a moment. So I'm going to tell you why my approach is the way it is in a moment. But here's the problem. If you name a specific ministry or church or movement and I have no issue with that ministry, church or movement, but I don't necessarily agree with everything that they teach, then you put me in a tough position. So if you name them and I don't think they're a false prophet or a false teacher, then I'm not going to say anything negative about them, but neither can I endorse them. So I just have to stay silent on it. And then you stir up this opportunity for there to be this, this gossip, this, well, I wonder why he didn't say he endorsed them or he didn't come against them and so forth. So just refrain from naming people specifically. I'm going to show you when it's biblical to call people out by name in a moment, but again, it's not as often as we imagine. I think people are just too zealous and they think they're being bold. They think they're doing the work of the Holy Spirit. They think they're being real. They say things like, well, I'm just saying, or, you know, I'm just bold enough to call it out. And that's the problem. It's not true boldness. It's misplaced zeal. It's the flesh. And all too often people are just looking for entertaining drama rather than wanting to warn the body of Christ against actual danger. But again, this is a balancing act because we have to avoid being overly critical, but we also have to avoid being too gullible. So how do we do that? Well, we ground ourselves in the scripture. The definition of a false teacher isn't someone who disagrees with me because all too often I think that we dismiss people in ministries because they disagree with us on certain points of doctrines. Look, I have many friends who completely disagree with me on many doctrines. I have very close friends who don't believe in speaking in tongues. They don't believe in the healing ministry. They don't believe in people being slain in the spirit. You would say, Brother David, those are some pretty core components of your ministry, aren't they? And yes, in some sense they are in some sense they're not. I truly believe in the gift of speaking in tongues. I think it's for today. I believe in the gift of healing. I believe in the slaying power of the Holy Ghost when you see people fall out under the power. And I believe I have biblical backing for that. But I'm not going to disconnect from a fellow believer or hate them or isolate from them just because we have disagreements on what I would call the peripheral doctrine. So there are primary doctrines and then there are peripheral. All too often believers are quick to call out other believers simply because there's some disagreement. But not all disagreement is cause for division. Let's balance this again. Yes, of course. There are some things that we should call out. Like if someone preaches that Jesus didn't literally resurrect from the dead or someone preaches that Jesus didn't resurrect in bodily form or someone teaches that Jesus isn't God or someone teaches that the Bible isn't the Word of God or someone teaches that you can go on sinning without any consequence. These are things that we all agree on as believers. In fact, by definition, they are what Christians believe. So we have to understand that there are primary doctrines that must be a point of unity and the peripheral doctrines we can give or take. We can disagree on certain issues. And this is something I'll be discussing of course a little bit more. But again, it's a balancing act. So don't be overly zealous. Oh, call them out. Oh, let's get them. You know, everyone's got their pitchforks and their torches ready and they want to go and capture what they perceive to be a monster when in fact they're attacking sometimes fellow brothers and sisters in Christ who simply have points of disagreement with them and they don't have the spiritual maturity or capacity to realize that we can unite despite some disagreements. Again, not all disagreements because some disagreements are a point of contention that we can't overlook. But my goal isn't to make you paranoid or hypercritical. Just keep a level head, okay? I don't want to just give you all these signs and then you take them and go, aha, aha, aha, there they are. These are just guiding lights. They're truths that you can apply to your life that will help you to discern whether or not someone is a false teacher. But again, this is not to become hypercritical. Philippians 1.15-18 says this, it is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill. The latter do so out of love knowing that I am here for the defense of the gospel. The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains. But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this, I rejoice. God will judge the motives. We are to weigh what can be known. You can't know anyone's motives. You say, oh, Jesus said you'll know them by their fruit. Well, Jesus said you'll know them by their actions. That's what he meant when he said fruit. I'll show you that in a moment. But you can't assume somebody's motives. You can't assume to know what goes on in somebody's mind. You're not God. You can't judge in that way. Now, we are given points of judgment to act as points of guidance, but we don't know for sure everything going on in everyone's hearts and minds. Their actions give us some indication for the most part, but even then we might interpret someone's or misinterpret someone's actions and get it completely wrong. We're not perfect judges. This doesn't mean we're just to throw off all restraint and say, okay, I'm going to believe whatever there is. Again, a balancing act, grace and truth, not eager to call people out, not making a ministry of calling ministries out. That's not even in the Bible. Rather, this is about learning to discern for the sake of the safety of your own soul and the sake of the safety of the souls of those around you, bringing real protection, not just hypercritical points of contention out of pride, out of jealousy, out of the desire to debate, out of the desire to be right and to have vindication and validation. This is about judging what can be weighed and what can be known. God will judge the motives. We must weigh what can be known. Now, I won't have time to go into this, but there are different kinds of false teachers and prophets. Some people will teach false messages. Some people will teach false doctrines. Other people will teach true doctrines, true messages, but have false motives or have ungodly lifestyles. There's kind of a mix and match of different types of leaders and prophets and false prophets and teachers and false teachers. We could even factor in, for example, the immature leader. Someone who maybe has good motives for the most part, maybe wants to get their doctrine right for the most part, but is immature, wasn't trained properly, so they're still navigating some things and we should extend them some grace, especially since they could potentially become very effective for the kingdom of God. So, again, this isn't about drama. This isn't about being the one who has the only answer and going around and criticizing people. This isn't about cancel culture. This is about kingdom culture. This is about soberly, lovingly, truthfully, biblically discerning false teachers and prophets. So, be careful of spiritual pride because it can keep you under deception. Either it can keep you following a false teacher or prophet because you don't want to admit that you didn't discern properly or it can keep you attacking wonderful servants of God who simply disagree with you but because of your spiritual pride and the desire to be right on every doctrinal point that you believe. You attack them, causing division over peripheral doctrines when you agree on the primaries. So, I want to show you sign number one. And again, as I give you these signs, guys, these aren't just, don't just take them and then try to look for them in people and count them out, okay? Because everyone is still growing. These are just signs that can help become like flags that go up. And the more of these signs that they have, the more likely it is that they're false or at least have false motives. But you can't just try to be negative. And some people, we already have issues with ministries or churches or movements. And so, anything we hear, we're going to kind of have this confirmation bias. And anything we hear, we're just going to see it from the perspective that we want to see it and apply that lens to who we want to apply it to. So, even as I give you these signs, remember, that ultimately it's going to be the Word of God and the Holy Spirit that will reveal the truth. But these just can kind of give you some guidance in this area. Number one, they emphasize experience over Scripture. Now notice what I did not say. I did not say that false teachers and prophets emphasize experience. In fact, experience is good. We should all be having encounters with God. We should all be having spiritual experiences. We should all be seeing miracles and healings and driving out devils and evangelizing. We should all have experiences that are spiritual in nature. What I'm saying here is not that they emphasize experience, rather that they emphasize experience over the Scripture. That's where you can get into some dangerous ground. Jude chapter 1 verse 8 gives us an example of this. In the same way, these people who claim authority from their dreams live immoral lives, defy authority, and scoff at supernatural beings. So these false teachers, they derived their authority from the spiritual experiences that they claimed to have. And that claim to authority by experience is dangerous. Why? Because experience is subjective. They use experiences to keep people in awe. They use experiences to keep people in fear. I mean, I love experiences in the presence of the Holy Spirit. I mean, just come to one of our services. You'll have an experience. You'll experience the glory. You may experience a healing touch. You may experience a deliverance. You may experience a manifestation of one of the spiritual gifts, but I never exalt those experiences over the Scripture, and neither should you. And if somebody emphasizes experience over the Scripture, you've got trouble. So you come to them and say, well, the Scripture says this, and what you're teaching contradicts this. They'll say, well, I have experience. You don't. Well, I heard the voice of God myself, or I had a dream, or God showed me, and they can be dismissive toward the proper interpretations of Scripture because they claim to get authority from their spiritual experiences. So let me give you some biblical rules for navigating supernatural experiences. Number one, remember this. Experience is valid when it's consistent with God's Word. That's number one. Experience is valid when it's consistent with God's Word. Yes, experience has a place. I think I've emphasized that enough. Especially if an experience aligns with God's Word, it can be a healthy benefit to your spiritual growth. But the moment these experiences start to teach you something different than what is taught in Scripture, that's dangerous. And this is really how some people will do this. They'll point to themselves as the source of truth, elevating themselves with their experience. Well, I have X amount of years. I've done this amount of miracles. I've cast out this many demons. I've preached to this many people. I've seen this many people saved. I've planted this many churches. And on and on and on, their resume goes, and they point to their experience as a means of authority. But experience is not the primary source of authority or truth because it's subjective. The only reason someone has to point to their experience in order to gain authority is precisely because the Scripture does not align with what they're saying. If the Scripture did align with what they're saying, they wouldn't have to point to their experience. Rather, they could point to the Scripture. So a rule for navigating spiritual experience is number one. Experience is valid when it's consistent with God's Word. Number two, interpret your experience through God's Word, not God's Word through your experience. If what my experience tells me contradicts God's Word or nature, then I'm either misreading my experience or the experience is suspect. Now notice here, I am not saying that you did not have an experience. Rather, what I'm saying is don't allow that experience to dictate your doctrine. Instead, use the Scripture to help you decide what exactly you experienced. For example, we see a lot of people coming to our ministry who want freedom. Now, Christians need deliverance from strongholds and sometimes addictions. But we all know that the Bible teaches very clearly that Christians cannot be demon-possessed. I mean, that's a very basic biblical truth. You'd be hard-pressed to find anything in the Scripture that even comes close to indicating the opposite unless you, again, try to force some things in the Scripture. But for example there, when someone says to me, well, Brother David, I know the Scripture teaches Christians can't be possessed, but I myself experienced it, or a pastor friend of mine, or someone I know. Now notice here, I'm not saying they weren't delivered from something. I'm not saying they didn't have a spiritual experience. I'm saying they misunderstood the experience and now they're interpreting the Scripture through their experience instead of trying to understand that experience through the Scripture. So maybe you had a wonderful encounter with God that liberated you from a stronghold. But did you have a demon cast out of you who possessed you and owned you when God's the one who owns you? Probably not. So more often than not, I see Christians confuse strongholds for demonic possession. And those are two totally different things. Christians need deliverance, but not exorcism. So that's one example of many. Or another example would be when somebody tells me, Brother David, you know the gift of tongues came on me and I couldn't control it. I just couldn't stop it. It was like something took over my body and I had no way of stopping that gift of speaking in tongues. And I'm thinking, okay, that was your experience, but the Scripture says in 1 Corinthians 14 that we ought to control that gift in certain environments and under certain specific conditions. So if the Scripture teaches that the gift can be controlled, then you weren't speaking in tongues uncontrollably. Now you may have felt like it was uncontrollable. You may have felt like you couldn't stop it. You may have felt like it was rushing through you against your will. But perhaps you were just excited about the gift and though it felt that way, the truth is you could have stopped if you wanted to. So that's another example of how someone might misinterpret the Word based on their experience. So again, interpret your experience through God's Word, not God's Word to your experience. We're not dismissing the experience. We're not saying it didn't happen. We're not saying you didn't experience something wonderful from God's hand. What we're saying is don't interpret God's Word based on your experience. Do just the opposite. Number three, experience is a result of seeking God, but not the purpose of seeking God. If you are seeking God for an experience, your motives are all wrong. You are to seek God to know Him, to know His truth, to love Him, to draw closer to Him, but to seek God for the experience itself. That's not a truly godly motive. In fact, it can be a distraction sometimes. We don't seek God to have an experience, rather we seek Him to have Him. And when we have Him, experiences will often result. Some are all flustered and stressed because they don't feel God. I was praying and I didn't feel God. Well, you're emphasizing experience too much. So again, nobody's saying experience doesn't count, but that's sign number one. They emphasize experience over the Scripture. And again, many take their authority from it. Now this is where you have to really be careful because statements that are absolute in nature, that make the individual, the absolute, are cult like. Now I have no one that I'm referencing here. So don't go, oh, who's he talking about? This is just almost 20 years of experience. I've been around it. I've seen it. For example, someone may say something like, oh, they're against me. But had they truly been discerning, they would have known I'm of the spirit. So that shows they're not of the spirit. You see what they're doing there is they're making themselves the standard. And they're saying that anybody who's truly of God would never criticize them. Anybody who's truly of God would never call them out on anything. Anybody who's truly of God would never see any flaws in what they're doing. And that right there is a form of manipulation to get you to see them as the standard. Now Matthew 7, I said I talk about this for a little bit. Matthew chapter 7 verses 15 through 20 says this, beware of false prophets who come to skies this harmless sheep but are really vicious wolves. You can identify them by their fruit that is by the way they act. So here Jesus is giving us an identifying mark. Their fruit is the way they act. Can you pick grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles? A good tree produces good fruit and a bad tree produces bad fruit. A good tree can't produce bad fruit and a bad tree can't produce good fruit. So every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire. Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions. Now watch this. Many times, which you'll see a false prophet or false teacher do, is justify their false doctrine, justify their lifestyle by saying, look at the fruit. Just look at the fruit. They may be able to point to success online ministry, success at events, success financially, success in planting churches, success in holding great conferences, success in book sales, success in music sales. And the problem is by pointing to the world's means of identifying success, they take the attention off what Jesus really meant. When Jesus said you'll know them by their fruits, he didn't say you'll know them by how successful they are in ministry or you'll know them by how many people watch them or you'll know them by how many miracles they see. Don't even judge my life by that. Don't judge my life by how many miracles you see in our ministry or how many people you see saved. Think about Matthew 7. Many are going to stand before the Lord on that day and say, Lord, didn't we do this? Didn't we do that? I'm going to say I never knew you. So when they say, well, my fruits speak for themselves and if they point to ministry success or results or numbers, that's a red flag right there because that's not what Jesus meant when he talked about fruits. What he talked about was their lifestyle, their character, the fruit of the spirit, not numbers, not stats, not book sales, not event attendance, none of that. Don't even judge, like I said, don't even judge me by that. Don't look at the crowds, don't look at the book sales, don't look at the numbers on our channel and go, oh, wow, they must be of God because they have all the numbers. My goodness, what if five years from now I lose my mind and start teaching some strange things? Are you going to follow me just because I have a good following size or because I'm seeing great numbers? Please don't. Always judge what I say by the word. Always judge by what I do by the word. And I'm going to show you how to do that again. So this standard has to be reevaluated. This is sign number one, they emphasize experience over Scripture. Now, I'm not talking about perfection. And again, I'm going to balance more of this later because I know many men and women of God who've made mistakes or again, who disagree with me doctrinationally or teach some things that are maybe a little odd, but not detrimental to someone's faith. I mean, not every disagreement is worth having a war over. Again, there are times to disconnect and that's having to do with the primary doctrines. I'm going to repeat that again and again because I want to get that in your head because that's very important to understand. But you know, it's important that we do this soberly, again, biblically, graciously, truthfully. And no one's going to be perfect. Not even not everyone. No one's going to be perfect. You're going to find a flaw with someone. And this is what bitter people do. They paint this perfect picture of an individual. One little flaw, one little mistake. I completely dismiss you. I knew it. You broke my heart. I thought you were perfect. I'm just going to break the news to you now, guys. There's plenty of flaws that I have. You catch me on a bad day at the airport. I might not smile and shake your hand. I'll say hello and try to keep moving because maybe, I don't know, maybe my legs are hurting from the flight or something like that. But you know, we hear these stories of things like this, catching preachers on their bad days. You know, I've known of preachers who were going through horrible things in their family. Like I've seen preachers go through horrible things. Like their kid is on drugs and they're dealing with that. They went, they preached and they just wanted to leave and go home after the service and somebody came up to them and maybe they didn't give them the pleasant greeting that they were looking for. They weren't rude, but they kind of were just like dismissive with them. They went home. I couldn't believe it. Pastor so-and-so barely even talked to me. How stuck up? How rude? And then everybody jumps on that. Oh, I knew it. They were awful. Oh, that's so sad. And then they comfort them. I'm so sorry you went through that. Oh, you shouldn't have had to be put through that. You know, I'm thinking it wasn't like that big of a deal. But we do this to preachers sometimes. So again, we have to, we have to balance all this with scripture. So I'm not saying that these individuals are going to be perfect, but I am saying there are standards that we do have to keep. So they emphasize experience over scripture. Well, judge me by my fruits. Well, what you're saying seems off biblically when my fruit speaks for itself. Well, okay, that's not what Jesus meant by fruit. So let's talk about the issues, the doctrinal errors, and they get their doctrine from their experiences. Dangerous, dangerous, dangerous, always side with the word. If you believe that you should always side with the word, write it in the comments section right now. Even if you're someone who maybe you think, okay, sometimes I might exalt my experience above the word. And I've been guilty of that. Guys, me personally, I've done this. Look, there's no mistake I'm going to list that I haven't made. Okay, I've made all of them probably several times over in my, in my discernment and in all of these things. And sometimes there's been times in my life where I've exalted my experience above the word and it took me off, off doctrinally for a little bit. And I had to get back on track and reevaluate my experience and come to a new conclusion about it. But if you're willing to side with the word, I want you to put that in the comments section right now. Sign number two, they discourage you from hearing what others have to say. Now, this is a little bit of a nuanced one because to be clear, a good leader wants to protect their people from heresy. Like, if some of these guys come up to me and say, hey, Diga, what do you think of that, the new age teacher? Do you think we should go with this? I'm going to say, guys, don't even bother with that. Stay away from that garbage. Okay. Or they come to me and say, Hey, brother, you know, brother D guy, I'm thinking of exploring, you know, a different religion. And I would tell them, Nope, don't don't even bother with it. I would say just leave it alone because it can cause confusion. So a good leader wants to protect those who follow them from heresy. Okay, that's a fact. So don't confuse this point. Okay, just because a leader is warning you against dangerous doctrines or supercultic, you know, subcultures in the Christian world doesn't mean that they're being controlling or they hate you. I've warned my staff against certain things that certain sub movements and subcultures that I've seen as dangerous. And I'd say, okay, just try not to get too involved in that, right? Because that's my heart. I'm trying to protect them from certain heresies. So a good leader is going to do that. But on the opposite of this, the other side of the coin, there is this extreme where false teachers and prophets want to isolate you from the opinions of others. Because they're afraid that if you compare what they're actually teaching with what others are teaching that they might be discovered for teaching deception. So again, to be clear, a good leader wants to protect you from heresy. But you know, their motives, the good leader's motives is to keep you from confusion. But a false teacher will stop you from listening to others simply to isolate you from other ideas. Second Corinthians 13.8 says something quite interesting, for we cannot oppose the truth, but must always stand for the truth. Or it says in other translations, we can do nothing against the truth. Meaning if anybody ever tries to come against the truth of the Word of God, they're going to fail. There's not much you can do against the truth. For all the paranoia that we have about, oh, we've got to be careful. Oh, don't even, not even a smidgen of disagreement, because then you're going to, you're going to corrupt the whole thing. Well, the leaven that Jesus was talking about, you know, with the Pharisees had to do with outright heresies. It wasn't doctrinal disagreements. And I think sometimes we can become so paranoid that we dismiss brothers and sisters in Christ whom God loves and is using and simply because we don't completely agree on everything, we cut them off, right? That's not what I'm talking about. Here the scripture says that the truth is not fragile. The truth is sturdy. The truth is grounded. You're not going to be able to do much against the truth. So, 1 Corinthians 12, 14 through 16 says this. Yes, the body has many different parts, not just one part. If the foot says I am not a part of the body because I am not a hand, that does not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear says I am not a part of the body because I am not an eye, would that make it any less a part of the body? If the whole body were an eye, how would you hear? If you're, or if your whole body were an ear, how would you smell anything? So, the Bible here is talking about the many different expressions of ministry in the body of Christ. A false teacher is going to try to isolate you to become your only source. That's a very dangerous place to be. And then what happens is you start to experience this unhealthy isolation. False teachers try to isolate you from other opinions and ideas because their ideas don't hold up to truth. And then what happens, they start name calling. Here's some of the things they call other people, right? They call them religious or legalistic or they call them, you know, they're too liberal or sloppy grace or so forth, whatever it may be. They start to throw out labels, right? Because now there's no argument to be made. There's nothing that could be said of the Scripture, but they start to attack people personally in order to bring and bolster that following. They start name calling. No one with truth should be resistant to challenging questions and scrutiny, okay? If you have the truth, you're not going to be afraid of questions. Now, I know sometimes people troll. Like I can tell, like when someone writes something on my Instagram or Facebook or they email me or message me, I can tell almost within the first sentence whether this person wants answers or they want to debate. Whether this person actually wants to have a discussion and understand something or whether they just want to test how much they know and maybe pride themselves and say, I debated that guy and I won, right? So I'm not talking about giving a response to the trolls. I'm not talking about, you know, placating to every critic that comes against you, but you know, you should be able to answer some questions. You should be able to take some challenge without getting bitter and hurt and offended and defensive. That is a sign. That could be a sign of a false teacher in that kind of like we're the only ones who get it. Just ignore them. Don't listen to them. Don't listen to that guy. Don't listen. Just constantly telling you, don't listen to them. Don't listen to them. Don't listen to them. If that's a constant theme, not just once in a while, maybe they find something dangerous they're trying to warn you against, but if there's a constant theme of don't listen, don't listen, don't listen, don't listen, don't listen, don't listen, then that's a definite sign that they could possibly be a false teacher. Sign number three, this one is so key, guys. I need you to get this one. Sign number three, if these are helping you, let me know in the comment section below. Sign number three, they present themselves or your connection with them as your primary source and solution instead of Jesus. I'm going to read that again. They present themselves or your connection with them as your primary source and solution instead of Jesus. Now again, no one with the truth should resist that challenging questions and so forth. And again, they bring the focus back to themselves. Now watch this, John 16, 13 through 15. When the spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own, but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future. He will bring me glory by telling you whatever he receives from me. All that belongs to the Father is mine. This is why I said the spirit will tell you whatever he receives from me. So what does the Holy Spirit do here? The Holy Spirit points to Jesus. This is a very subtle thing that some do and not everyone does this intentionally. So again, let's give some grace, not a whole lot, but let's give some wiggle room on this. The Holy Spirit points to Jesus, not man. If people leave saying, oh, you need to experience the anointing of so-and-so. Oh, you need to experience this person. That's dangerous. Little note here, that is not always the fault of the minister. I know in our ministry, we make a great effort to not bring glory back to me. I constantly say, I'm not the healer. I'm not your deliverer. I'm not your Savior. I have no power aside from God's Holy Spirit, constantly pointing back because I'm very careful because I know how dangerous it is to try to take God's glory. But there are some things that some will do to keep bringing it back to them. One example is the way they market the ministry or promote the ministry. Is it about God's presence? Is it about the Word? Or is it come and see me? Or come and experience me and my gift and my anointing? Okay, again, this is very subtle. This is something you should watch for. Watch very closely. Are they trying to push to Jesus? Or are they very subtly pointing to themselves? They may not say it outright, but they'll say things that imply that they're the answer. They're the ones who got it. Look, we're experiencing a great revival right now, unlike anything I've ever seen. But I'm very careful to not use language that makes it sound like we're the only ones that God is using or that we are the answer for the generation or that we are the answer for the world. No, there are hundreds. There are thousands of ministries that God is using. We're not the only ministry. We are not God's sole answer to the world. Jesus is. So watch for this very subtle line of promotion and marketing and branding. It's very subtle, but it's a big sign, if you can catch it, in that they present themselves or your connection with them as your primary source and solution. So things like, well, you know, anywhere else you would have gone, you wouldn't have been free, but because you came to me, now you're free. Things like that that imply that nobody else could have helped them, but you. And by the way, here's a bonus point. If anyone ever tells you that if you leave them, that you're not going to fulfill God's call, that's a form of manipulation and another red flag. Sign number four, and then I look at the comments, it sounds like a false prophet could be a narcissistic person. Absolutely, absolutely. But can I caution you on this, guys? I think one of the very popular, it's almost like a trend these days to label people as narcissists. Now, do I trust that what you posted there was in good faith? And I understand that. So I agree with what you wrote, but it reminded me of something that I noticed people doing. And this is a side point, by the way, I'm going to get to point number four right now. We as a culture, church culture, we've kind of, it's almost become this trend. Oh, are they a narcissist? What are the signs of a narcissist? Am I dating a narcissist? Am I married to a narcissist? Am I under a narcissist? And I think that sometimes we just like to put labels on people that we have conflict with. So be very careful about this narcissist label. It's an easy label. And I think once you put people on it, it's dangerous because if they even begin to defend themselves or they point their point, you say, oh, and they say, well, what makes me a narcissist? I say, oh, see, you're trying to make me doubt it. You're gaslighting. Well now, how can they ever prove otherwise? So just be careful of this narcissist trend. Everyone wants to label everyone a narcissist these days. Everyone's selfish, okay? Everyone is selfish. Narcissistic personality is much less common than you might think. Number four, they twist the scriptures. Just because someone is quoting the Bible doesn't mean they're being biblical. I want to say that again because you may go, what? Why does it make any sense? Listen to this again. Just because someone is quoting the Bible doesn't mean they're being biblical. I can't tell you how many times people have said of false teachers, well, they use a lot of scripture. I'm thinking so did Satan. The devil used a lot of scripture to try to persuade Jesus to turn the stones into bread to jump off the temple and demonstrate his holiness and who he was. I mean, these are things that the enemy, the enemy twists the word. The enemy uses the word. So just because someone is quoting scriptures doesn't mean they're being scriptural. Just because someone is quoting the Bible doesn't mean they're being biblical. Examine what's being said. Look at the verses themselves. Don't just let them tell you, this is what it means. They go, oh, okay, that's what it means. Actually go back, look at the verse and see if you would have come to the conclusion they gave you had they not been there. This is a good test here. Study the verses and ask yourself, would I have pulled the same point out of it had they not been there? Now of course, sometimes deeper study will yield deeper truths, but then other times when people try to twist the scripture, it will say something completely wildly different like the scripture wasn't even coming close to indicating anything that they said and because they quoted it and said this is what it means, we just kind of believe and go, well, they use the Bible so it must be true. Look, don't even do that with me. Look at what it says and if I say this is the deeper meaning, then you go and you study to see if that deeper meaning is really there. Don't take my word for it. Don't take anyone's word for it. It's the Bible. Go to the Word of God, study, get different scholarly opinions, get different anointed opinions. You don't have to go to school to know the Bible, but it's just good to look at those things. Look at what Hebrew and Greek scholars say about the verse. Actually look at what the studies show, what the Bible is actually saying. There's safety in a number of counselors. That's what the Bible says. So we have safety in looking at the consensus. Now the consensus isn't always right and you're going to have different, as I said, different doctrinal disagreements. That's okay. I'm talking about wildly inaccurate doctrines that come forth from wildly off misinterpretations of Scripture. So this is an important point. They twist the Scripture. Again, just because they're using Scripture doesn't mean they're being scriptural. Now all of us are trying to get this right. Okay? Every single one of us. There may be some mistakes that some of your favorite preachers make. Now does this mean you completely dismiss? Ah, they got that verse wrong. I remember one time I posted like the wrong reference. I quote primarily from memory when I teach on the pulpit, the Scriptures, and I gave like the wrong reference. And that was it. That was enough for someone. They said, that's it. I'm done with you. You gave the wrong. I think I was like two verses off maybe. And they said, that's it. I'm done with you. That's not what I'm talking about. Again, we're not talking about hypercriticism. We're talking about being biblically sound. Now again, someone may disagree with you doctrinally, but that doesn't mean they're twisting the Scripture per se because that's why there are disagreements because there are some arguments to be made for various different points on any one topic. I'm talking about these wild claims, these bizarre doctrines that kind of come out of nowhere. Nobody else saw them, but the gift that an anointed Guru, right? And so this is why you have to be careful and be aware that false teachers do use Scripture, but they twist them. Second Timothy four three says this, for the time will come when people will not tolerate sound doctrine and accurate instruction that challenges them with God's truth. But wanting to have their ears tickled with something pleasing, they will accumulate for themselves, many teachers, one after another, chosen to satisfy their own desires and to support the errors they hold. Now notice here that the Scripture says they want their ears tickled with something pleasing. Now whenever this is something common I see applied to this verse, but I think it's much bigger than what is commonly applied. You see many point at this verse and when they say, oh they want their ears tickled, they think that means only one thing. Most preachers who look at this verse, myself included, will most often use this verse to talk about preachers who tell people that they can live in sin, right? We all know that if you tell someone that they can live in sin with no consequence that that's tickling their ears and that this verse definitely applies to that situation. We can all accept that, we can all agree with that. But do you realize that there's more than one way to tickle someone's ears with the Scripture or with false doctrine than just telling them that they can sin? Sometimes guys, there are things that we find entertaining and interesting that are just not biblical. I know I'm going to spoil someone's fun here, but I'm saying this because I love you. Sometimes you want like these trippy, strange glimpses of the supernatural realm and we want to understand things that maybe the Scripture didn't give a specific instruction on. And it's not just talking about having our ears tickled by being told, oh you can live in sin. That's not the only way to tickle ears. Sometimes it's having your ears tickled with something that's entertaining but not exactly biblical. Something that's interesting but not exactly scriptural. Something that's intriguing, that's mysterious, that's supernatural but isn't exactly true. That's another form of having your ears tickled and we need to be careful of that. So sign number four is they twist the Scripture. Sign number five, oh boy this one is key. They avoid correction and accountability. Now let's look at the New Testament example here and see how leaders come to be. Acts chapter 14 verse 23 says this, Paul and Barnabas also appointed elders in every church. With prayer and fasting they turned the elders over to the care of the Lord in whom they had put their trust. Here we see Paul and Barnabas appointing leaders. So God's New Testament system is very simple. Elders appoint elders. Leaders appoint leaders. No one is self-appointed. Acts 6, 2-4, another example. So the 12 called a meeting of all the believers. They said we apostles should spend our time teaching the Word of God, not running a food program. And so brothers select seven men who are well respected and are full of the Spirit's wisdom. We will give them this responsibility. Then we apostles can spend our time in prayer and teaching the Word. So here we see another example of a New Testament appointment of leadership. There are no rogue prophets. There are no rogue leaders. Look at this qualification for a teacher and a leader. Watch this. I'm going to show this to you in the scripture so that you can see it clearly and never doubt this again. First Timothy 3, 6-10. Look at the qualifications it lays down for a leader, someone you should receive your teaching from. A church leader must not be a new believer. So someone as a new believer just went right in a ministry. Dangerous. Why? Because he might become proud and the devil would cause him to fall. Dangerous. Also, people outside the church must speak well of him so that he will not be disgraced and fall into the devil's trap. In the same way, deacons must be well respected and have integrity. They must not be heavy drinkers or dishonest with money. They must be committed to the mystery of the faith now revealed and must live with a clear conscience. Now watch this. Before they are appointed as deacons or leaders or ministers or teachers, let them be closely examined. If they pass the test then let them serve as, I don't really want to be a part of organized religion. You want to be a part of disorganized religion? Name me one thing that God ever did that was unorganized or chaotic. Everything God does has a purpose and a system to it. Everything God does is in order. In fact, that's why we're commanded to do all things decently and in order. So here we see that one of the criteria for being a teacher, a prophet, a leader, a deacon is that you've been closely examined, closely examined by a local body of believers. I don't go to church, I am the church. No, that's not what the Bible teaches. That's almost correct. The Bible in fact teaches that when we come together, then we are the body. When we isolate from that, that's not really being a part of the body of Christ. So you are apart, but you're not the body until you connect. And that togetherness is where we become the body as one. So there's different elements here. There's an element of accountability. There's an element of being known. There's an element of being tested. There's an element of being appointed. Now, you're known and respected in a local body of believers. How are you supposed to do that if you're not connected locally? There is no legitimate ministry or movement that is not somehow connected to a local body of believers. And it doesn't have to be in a building. I'm talking about a local body of believers where there's a spiritual system of leadership and deacons and appointments and fellowship and counsel and all of that, that biblical structure described in the New Testament. If someone lacks that, they begin to avoid correction and accountability. Now, here's what happens when they get correction or there's criticism. Remember this, there's a difference between criticism and slander. Slander is when someone lies about you or when someone twists a situation to make you look negative or evil. People do that all the time. Not much you can do about slander. Criticism, a little more valid criticism. See, slander is like this, like, oh, I was there and they didn't, they didn't greet me properly. That's their pride. Okay, well, maybe you just, maybe they didn't see you, maybe they misinterpreted you. But criticism is, hmm, I don't know if I agree with that interpretation that you just said. Now, watch the way that someone responds to criticism and slander. Slander, just ignore it. That's the best thing to do. If you're in ministry, nothing you can do about slander. People will slander you and then people will believe the slander. Nothing you can do about that, keep going. Criticism, though, if it comes from those who love you, comes from people who have your best interest in mind, that's something that you should consider. Now, when corrected, a false teacher or a false prophet goes on the attack, they don't examine themselves and say, hey, maybe okay, maybe I got this wrong a little bit. They go on the attack. They become defensive. And then they begin to preach out of bitterness about their haters and their this and their that. I'm thinking, my goodness, like, how did that get so deeply rooted in your heart? It's because there's no accountability. There's no maturity. There's no growth. There's no foundation. Roots didn't go deep. Now, let me balance this as I'm balancing every point. Having said that, yes, false teachers do avoid criticism and accountability. Having said that, let me make a very important point here, and please hear what I'm saying. Having said that, it is not everyone's place to bring correction. It's unfair to treat doctrinal disagreement like it's sin. Look, I get literally hundreds of messages every single day. Ninety percent of them are prayer requests or just something simple like, hey, Brother David, God bless you. Something simple, and I get those. The other 10 percent, and you in ministry, you're going to notice this. There will be a percentage of people who want to correct your doctrine, but you have no idea who they are. They're not connected to you relationally. And they really just disagree with something that maybe your leadership agrees with them. There's perfect foundation for you to believe it. This is kind of a tricky situation. I've seen this done to some of my friends, by the way, where someone will treat their doctrinal disagreement as if that person is in sin. So I'll give you an example. Let's say someone doesn't believe in the gift of tongues. Right? Now, what they should do is just go on doing their own thing. They don't believe in speaking in tongues. This other person does. You both agree on Christ. Let's be mature. Both go your own ways. But what they end up doing is this. Something like this, they'll say, well, I don't believe in speaking in tongues. They do. So I'm going to make a bunch of videos slandering them. And until they, quote, repent, unquote, I'm not going to stop. Well, now there are people who are being confused. There's drama being stirred all because of a doctrinal disagreement. And they've put that person in a trap. And what they're doing is they're holding unity hostage for the ransom of compliance. And then they'll say things like, well, if they were really humble, they would repent of their error and get it right. And they would say, I went to them privately and now I'm coming to them publicly. I'm thinking they didn't sin. They just have a different opinion than you do on the scripture. That's all. And they try to frame a disagreement like it's a sin on the part of the person who doesn't agree with them. That is manipulation. So again, I want to balance that. Yes, false prophets and teachers do avoid correction and accountability, but not everyone has the place to correct them. That's the job of leadership. That's the job of the people they're closest to. Now, again, false prophets and false teachers don't have that, which is why they're so dangerous. But let's not be manipulative, criticize people who disagree with us and say, well, let's see if they have the humility to repent. That's manipulation. Not everyone's going to agree on everything. Now, not everyone even has the ability to go to you privately. Matthew 18, 15 says, if another believer sins against you, go privately and point out the offense. If the other person listens and confesses it, you have won that person back. This is talking about sin, not disagreement. And even then I've seen people go, well, I sent them a private message on Instagram and they never replied. And now I can go blasting them in public. I'm thinking, oh my goodness, talk about misapplication of Scripture. Remember, this goes both ways. True, false prophets, false teachers avoid correction and accountability. You know what's also true? Some people try to bring correction and it's not their place. Like, I am the apostle of this. Like, but you're not my apostle. I don't even know who you are. Or I am the pastor of this. Well, you're not my pastor. I don't even know who you are. That's why God places key people in our lives. So you watch how these false prophets and teachers deal with it. Watch how they respond to the correction of their closest friends and leaders. And the moment you see some stirrups there, that's when the flag goes up. And again, it's not always definite. Oh, they went against their leader. That's it. It's over. They're a false prophet. No, that's just a sign that can indicate to you that you should watch them more closely. Now, if this is helping you, go ahead and leave a like right now on the video, whether you're watching live or on the replay and that'll help us spread the message. Sign number six. Oh, this one's heavy guys. Sign number six. You know, no, I'm going to go back for a second because I do. I think I feel I need to hit on this a little bit more. The Holy Spirit just prompted me back. You know, I've had friends who've had to endure some awful criticism, like awful, like attacks from all different directions. And one of the things I've seen is just how frustrating it can be. I've watched people do videos on my friends. And it's painful to watch because they're stuck. They can't speak out because then they're getting themselves, they're in the mud now themselves. It looks like they're part of the argument, right? And if they stay silent, people just believe all sorts of horrible things about them. And these people who have it in their heads that they're somehow appointed by God to be this correction in this person's life, they're not really doing it on true mode. Can I just be honest with you? 99.9% of the time these attack videos, these exposed videos are done out of jealousy or they're done by somebody who wants some content so they attack people. I mean, I've seen my friends attacked and I'm thinking, you know, okay, you got to stay silent. If you speak out, then they got you. They go, oh, see, they're fighting back. Look, they're arguing. And then now it looks like you're involved in the drama. When you just wanted to go and minister and kind of just leave me alone. Let me, you agree to disagree? We both love Jesus. Let's both win souls. You do it your way. I'll do it my way. Let's just continue on our way. And they just, they hound them and hound them and hound them. And I've seen ministries, I want to say this to any minister who's going under attack right now. Don't respond. Look, if your leadership is correcting you, if the people close to you are correcting you, that you got to, you got to pay attention to that. But I'm talking about these people who are just searching for content for their channels attacking you. Don't respond. Don't say a word because I promise you it's a loud minority that are vocally agreeing with the people attacking you. But the silent majority doesn't want anything to do with any of that drama or that toxic side of the internet. They just want ministry. They just want to win souls. They just want to learn the word. So my advice, ignore it. Don't even do subtle comments like when you're preaching about how God's vindicating you. Don't even do that. Not even in the slightest hint. Don't even push back in the slightest. Just keep doing what you're doing. Keep going. Keep winning souls. Keep casting out devils. Keep praying for the sick. Keep prophesying. Keep doing what God called you to do. Now again, I'm balancing this guys because I want to come at this biblically. Yes, false prophets and false teachers avoid accountability and correction, but then at the same, wouldn't have any time to do anything else. Neither would my friends in ministry. So people of God, the best thing you can do is don't even respond. Just continue to do what you're doing and let the Lord deal with it and walk in His joy and His peace. Don't even hint little things. Now there's no need. Then they know they got you. Then they know that you're watching them. Leave them alone. Let it be. Sign number six of a false prophet. They live compromised lives. Now this is not just about sin. Because when I say compromised lives, you think, oh, they're doing drugs. They're sleeping around. They're stealing money. Okay. Yeah. Those are very blatant things that they can do that are horrible. But that's not the only thing. It's not just about blatant sin. Sometimes it's just the character and how they do things. Do they exaggerate things? Do they exaggerate their stories? Do they manipulate people financially, use guilt to get people to give? These are things that are compromising. Don't try to justify manipulation just because the end result seems to advance the kingdom. Don't try to justify manipulation just because the end result seems to advance the kingdom. Don't do God's work the devil's way. Preachers, when you raise money, do it ethically. Don't use guilt. Don't use gimmicks. Don't entice people by their own greed. When you put out a video or a sermon, don't exaggerate. Don't try to hype something up when it's not really so. When you do ministry, don't compete with other ministries. Don't try to tear others down. That's to do God's work the devil's way. So compromise lives have to do with character, not just blatant sin. Matthew 7, 1-5, do not judge others and you will not be judged, for you will be treated as you treat others. The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged. And why worry about the speck in your friend's eye when you have a log in your own? How can you think of saying to your friend, let me help you, get rid of that speck in your eye when you can't see past the log in your own eye? Hypocrites, first get rid of the log in your own eye, then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend's eye. Here Jesus is not saying don't judge. He's saying don't judge if you're doing the same things you're judging them for. And here Jesus very clearly calls them out. He's calling out the Pharisees, you're hypocrites. What does that mean? You're actors. You live one way and you preach another thing. That is a very big red flag. Hypocrite sign number seven, they encourage you to isolate from the body of Christ. I'm going to say that again. They encourage you to isolate from the body of Christ. And this may not be direct, but they may very subtly call you away by calling your church religious or your pastor powerless. They may accuse your pastor of being controlling just because he's trying to keep you accountable. They may accuse your pastor of being religious just because he doesn't necessarily allow every strange doctrine into his church. They may call your pastor powerless just because he doesn't use their same methods. Dangerous. They want you to come away and they'll make you treat your fellow brothers and sisters in Christ as if they're somehow contaminating your super spirituality. Well, you're the elite. You're the remnant. You're the spiritual guru. You rise above them all. You're walking in higher realms. They just don't get it. You got to be called higher. They're living in lower. And so they get you to treat your brothers and sisters in Christ as if they're somehow contaminating your spiritual life just because they're not into the same weird doctrines that these false teachers are pushing. Dangerous. Isolation is the breeding ground of false doctrine. Hebrews 10, 25 says, and let us not neglect our meeting together as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near. They'll play to your spiritual pride. That's what a false teacher will do. Oh, you're the only one who get, you and me, we get it. Nobody else gets it. You and me, we got the power. Nobody else has the power. You and me, we know how to heal the sick and drive out devils and prophesy and prosper. Nobody else knows how to do those things. You and me, we're radical. They're not. You and me, we're exciting. They're boring. And they tried to create this connection with you based on your spiritual pride, filling your head with ideas about being a part of this elite spiritual group when we all are one body. Look, if we were to isolate with everybody who wasn't as spiritual as we are, how would anyone ever grow? How would anyone ever learn? How would anyone ever be taught? If I say, well, you're not as spiritual as me, I got to disconnect from you, or you disagree with me, doctrine, I'm going to get, I'm going to disconnect from you. How would iron ever sharpen iron? How could you ever be challenged on doctrines that maybe aren't true? How could you ever refine your belief systems if you're not conversing with other believers and going through the word together with the help of the Holy Spirit? That's why God put us together because true relationship will challenge your pride, but false teachers will encourage you to isolate from the body and they'll make you feel like you and only you and you and only that small group gets it. They'll make you feel like other believers are contamination. They'll make you feel like you're the spiritually elite. I wrote this down, take it to heart. False teachers, false teachers will have you isolating from the local body of believers and calling yourself the remnant when you're actually the rebellious. Oh, yes, they will. They'll play to your church hurt. They'll play to your bitterness. They'll play to your pride. They'll play to your need to be important, to feel important, to be celebrated. They'll play to your need to be looked to as spiritual. Yes, they will. And they'll call you away from others saying, well, they don't get it. We do. Your pastor doesn't got it. I do. Now, in some cases, maybe the church you're going to is dead and religious, but in most cases, I found that's not actually it. In most cases, I found people just don't want accountability. They don't want maturity. They don't want to use the spiritual gifts in a manner that is orderly. And so what they do or they want to embrace strange doctrines that are interesting and exciting because they're weird and bizarre and new, but aren't necessarily biblical. And so in order to embrace this, they have to dismiss those who would keep them in line, otherwise their fun is spoiled. And that's the danger of it because they use your own spiritual pride against you. They use your need for entertainment against you, getting into things that are nowhere grounded in scripture, but we claim they are and deep down, I think we know they're not. So what do we do? We get defensive. Well, you're just trying to keep me from going deeper and you're just trying to control me. And no, they love you and they're trying to keep you accountable. That was one of the big issues I had with this pandemic was that so many people just left. Now look, if I didn't care about your soul, I'm an online evangelist. I am not a pastor. I'm an online evangelist. If I didn't care about your soul, I would say, you know what? Yeah, that sounds true to me. Why don't you leave your church? Why? Because that'd be better for my online ministry. If everyone just left their churches, I would do even better. I did do better in the pandemic because nobody had churches to go to. So we saw an influx of viewers and supporters and all that, but even after the pandemic, I got online several times and said, guys, I can't be your source. You need to go connect with a local body of believers, but false teachers will do the opposite of that. They will subtly encourage isolation by inflating your spiritual ego, making you feel like you're just some spiritually elite person who no one else could possibly get and shouldn't submit to anybody, shouldn't have accountability. And again, they'll tell you that you're the remnant when you're actually being rebellious. And they will use your church hurt and your bitterness and your hangups and your issues. They'll use that. And so what happens is these movements form around people who are hurt by the church and think themselves more spiritual because they're rebelling against the command to not assemble. Look, I know this isn't popular. I know this isn't popular. And I am not in any way benefiting from telling you this. What do I gain from it? A lot of people aren't going to like what I have to say. A lot of people will be upset with what I have to say. I'll lose viewers if people go back to church and that's their news. I'll lose even financial. Some people, for the time being, they see us as their church. They financially support us and they may go back to the church and say, well, now my sport's going to go to the church. Good. I hope it does. I hope you do find a local body of believers. Why? Because I care about your soul. I don't stand to gain anything from telling you this, but it's possible that you have taken on this spiritual pride and are part of something that just isn't God. And if you're not careful, you're going to miss the move of the Holy Spirit that's upon us now. God is moving. He's doing something new, something fresh. And if you allow your bitterness and your church hurt to keep you from it, you're going to miss it. Yes, the church, the church is not perfect. I acknowledge that, but we need each other. We need each other. Now, of course, if you're going to a church that was abusive, and I mean actually abusive because sometimes we use those terms like, oh, they were abusive. Like, what do you mean? They challenged you to do volunteer work or they asked you to work hard for the church without pay. We all do that for the church. Or they made you feel a little bad for sinning. That's what correction does. Or they told you something that you didn't want to hear, oh, that's abuse. Oh, that's toxic. Well, not in every case. Sometimes people are just not liking what they hear. Again, unpopular truths, but I got to tell you because I love you. That's sign number seven. They encourage you to isolate from the body of Christ and of course come to them. Sign number eight, they have a warped perspective on sin. There's two ways a false teacher will use sin. Number one, some false teachers will refuse to call out sin in order to keep you happy. Jude chapter one versus three through four says this, beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you the comment of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints, for there are certain men crept in unawares who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness and denying the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ. Here in Jude, we see that these false teachers are using the grace of God as a means to say, well, you can sin as often as you want and you're good. And that of course is a false doctrine. So false teachers will refuse to call out sin in order to keep you happy. But watch this now. See, most of us are aware of that use of sin by false teachers. You have false teachers that never call out sin. True, I agree with you. Watch this now. Some false teachers will overemphasize sin in order to keep you living in guilt and under their control. Some false teachers will call out sin, but with the intent of keeping you under the control of guilt and manipulation. Now, how does that work exactly? Let's look at Matthew chapter 23 verse 13. What sorrow awaits you, teachers of religious law and you Pharisees, hypocrites, he says, for you shut the door of the kingdom of heaven and people's faces. You won't go in yourselves and you don't let others enter either. Wait a minute. These Pharisees put on so many rules and regulations that the people just felt burdened. They couldn't keep God's command. So the Pharisees said, do all these things to be right with God and they didn't keep any of those commands themselves. So they shut the door of heaven and people's faces and then they themselves didn't keep any of their own standards. Hypocrites giving you standards that are impossible. Look, there are two extremes. There's legalism and there's liberalism and I don't mean liberalism in the political sense. I mean it in the philosophical spiritual sense. Liberalism, as in anything goes, do what you want. Now in liberalism, sure you have peace, but you lack holiness. But then there's legalism, which says you can't do anything you want and you have to suffer. And the more you suffer, the more God is pleased with you. Nonsense is that. Legalism, you have holiness, but you don't have any joy. Liberalism is like a drunkard playing on the train tracks, perfectly happy, but not aware of the impending doom. Legalism is just as horrible because you're constantly looking over your shoulder. Oh, did I lose my salvation? Oh, did I lose my salvation? Oh, was that the mistake that finally did me in? And if anybody challenges either one of these, they're either called legalistic or they're accused of using sloppy grace when there's a balance to all of this. And that's the Bible. That's the love for God. So legalism says you have to punish yourself. The more miserable you are, the more holy you are. And this produces people who are angry, who are critical, hyper-obsessed with every little detail of religious law. They have a list of things that they can and cannot do that aren't even in the Bible. And then on the other side, there are people who live unholy lives, never checked, never balanced, never corrected. And they go on in that sin, not aware that the wrath of God is being stored up against them. False teachers produce both sides. False teachers produce the works-based gospel and then the sloppy grace gospel. That's the danger. So, sign number eight isn't just that, oh, they never talk about sin. That's one way. Are they overemphasizing things about sin that aren't even biblical? The bottom line is they have a warped perspective on sin. And then you leave their thinking, get somehow, you're responsible for saving yourself. You leave there with these burdens and these rules, and you walk under this heavy cloud. Come out from that. If you enjoy anything in this life, you're not of God. Well, wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute. You mean it's a sin to enjoy a good meal, to enjoy a sunset, to enjoy time with my family, enjoy a nice drive, to read a good book, sit by a fire, to go on a trip. Are these things really ungodly? Oh, you're too involved in the world. No, no, no, I'm involved with God and enjoying what he created with him. On the other side, of course, we know we shouldn't just go on sinning, but false teachers will produce these perspective on sin that just are difficult. And really, what it is, what legalism is, is spiritual pride. Thinking that you can somehow earn your own salvation. Now, of course, you ought not to just live in sin, but you also ought not to think that you can produce your own salvation. What nonsense is that? So there's a balance to be had. No, don't just go on sinning. And no, don't go on thinking that you have to earn your own salvation. It's by faith in Christ. Now, someone who's truly saved is going to live holy, of course, but you don't live holy to be saved. You live holy because you are saved and that's what enables you to do it. So we have to watch out for legalism and liberalism because false teachers will have a warped perspective on sin. Again, some false teachers will tickle your ears and will tell you, oh, you can do whatever you want and that's just wrong. Other false teachers will use that sin as a means to keep you attached to them and watch this now. Oh, I'm going to expose something right now in the name of Jesus. Sometimes they'll put on so many rules that you won't even see in the scripture and then guess what? They become your source for knowing right and wrong because they've just invented so many things. Now, you have no way of knowing what holiness is, unless I listen to this person because they're the ones who give it to me straight. Do they give it to you straight or do they give it to you from their own religious perspective? Now, adding all these rules and regulations and things that just aren't of God, be free from that. There's no power in that. The Holy Ghost is not in that. He's not in either. He's not in legalism, nor is he in liberalism. The Holy Spirit is in the love of God and the love of God produces both joy and holiness, those two together. But again, false teachers have a warped perspective on sin. Now, I'm going to give you the final point here and this is a major indicator and then I'm going to show you some things that will help to balance this out. We're just going to have a little heart-to-heart talk here about balancing some of these out because I know you're going to have questions and we're going to get into that in a moment. But this final point I'm going to make, but first, if you haven't already, make sure you subscribe to Encounter TV. Maybe you're new to the channel, enjoying the content. Subscribe, like, comment, share, the whole thing. By the way, if you love the Word of God, you love the Holy Spirit, you love Jesus, you love the gospel. Subscribe to Encounter TV, Biblically-Based Spirit-Filled Jesus-Centered. Subscribe and click that notification bell when you do. I release teachings and sermons. We also release live streams and we show footage of the Holy Spirit's power in action. The Word and demonstrations of the Holy Spirit's power. Encounter TV, Encounter the presence and power of the Holy Spirit. Subscribe, right now. Okay, final point here. Sign number nine, guys. Are you enjoying these so far? Let me know in the comment section and I saw someone who wrote, dang, I've been deceived. Well, hopefully this is opening some eyes and again, guys, let's have some grace because, remember, ministries will tend to side on one thing. Like me, for a season of my ministry, I kind of tilted toward legalism. Now, thank God, I don't go all the way to liberalism, but again, certain ministries will have certain inclinations. They'll bring out certain different perspectives. So, let's use these signs, but let's use grace. Let's not nitpick in, oh, there's one little thing off. That said, I'm throwing them out. This is kind of a collective examination. A false teacher, false prophet, is not just going to show some of these signs here and there. They're going to show most of these signs in a very blatant way. So, do this with grace. I don't want you to go around and saying, oh, I'm, you know, I'm a disconnect and cancel everybody. No, pray about it. I promise you, the Holy Spirit isn't going to run away if you accidentally watch a video from someone who doesn't necessarily have everything 100% correct. Okay. Number nine, they love money. Some false teachers are just in it for the money. First Timothy six, three through 10 says this, some people may contradict our teaching, but these are the wholesome teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ. These teachings promote a godly life. Anyone who teaches different, something different is arrogant and lacks understanding. Such a person has an unhealthy desire to quibble over the meaning of words. This stirs up arguments. Oh goodness, guys, just as a side point, those of you in ministry, stay out of the arguments, please. Stay out of all arguments. Just rise above it. Let the peace of God fill you, fulfill his work. I found that it's best just to, especially, I really sense this strongly. There's someone watching, maybe you're thinking of starting a YouTube channel, media ministry. Don't get into all of the, the, the arguments and the debates and it really, it destroys your ability to have longevity. If you're constantly caught up in drama, constantly naming and attacking and arguing and debating, just stay out of that. Okay. That's my advice to you. I really sense strongly there's, there's young ministers watching who want to start going into this. That's my caution. You just, just let the maturity of the spirit develop in you in that way and manifest through you. Continuing to read such person as this stirs up arguments, ending in jealousy, division, slander and evil suspicions. Aha, evil suspicions. These are suspicions of people that are not well founded. You're just kind of suspicious. All right. I'm going to talk about true discernment in a moment. These people always cause trouble. So always chaos, always arguments, always something going on. That's a red flag. If you see people constantly in arguments, constantly in these, these, these, these debates and these back and forth, that's a red, that's a major red flag. These people are always caused trouble. Their minds are corrupt and they have turned their backs on the truth. To them, a show of godliness is just, oh, this is powerful. I'm going to read this properly. This last sentence. To them, a show of godliness is just a way to become wealthy. Let's talk about it. To some, ministry is a means of financial gain. Now, let me balance this as I go. Just because a preacher or minister is financially blessed, does it mean they're corrupt and does it mean they're in it for the money? I've known many preachers who've done very well. Sometimes it's their books. Sometimes it's their investments. Sometimes their church people just say, hey, we want you to have this. We want you to be blessed in this way. And that's okay. Remember, God judges the motives. But this is a red flag when it's always all about the money. Keep in mind, Paul, the apostle, took offerings. See 2 Corinthians chapter 9. Paul also made it clear that he had the right to ask for financial support, though he didn't abuse it. So Paul didn't abuse that, but he mentioned in Scripture, hey, I have the right as a minister to ask you to support me financially. Now, in Paul's very specific case, he didn't do so because he didn't want them being suspicious of him, but he could have if he wanted to, and it would have been perfectly biblical, perfectly fine, and it would have been perfectly right for him to do so. It is biblical for a minister to receive finances from the gospel. That's how those who preach the gospel should live by the gospel. That's what the Bible says. And some make a good living off of it. And that's just a fact, and that's okay. But, and by the way, taking offerings isn't sin. You know, sometimes every time I see a preacher taking an offering, even in my case, I'll take an offering and someone will just throw up their hands and go, oh, that's it. I knew it. They're fake. They mentioned money. That was it. And they kind of just lose their minds over. I'm thinking, my goodness, is money really that important to you? I mean, doesn't the gospel deserve to be supported? So we understand there's a balance to this. It's okay to take offerings. It's okay for a preacher to be blessed financially. It's okay for the people of God to prosper financially. That's all biblical. Even the even the laws of sowing and reaping. Though the laws of sowing and reaping have been abused, they're still biblically true. Again, just read 2 Corinthians 9. It's probably one of the best cases for it in the Bible. But having said all that, nothing wrong with money, nothing wrong with being financially blessed, nothing wrong with the preacher making money off the gospel. That's how is he supposed to eat? How is he supposed to live? Right? So some would say, well, why don't you just go get a job? Trust me, ministry is work. It is a job. And you want someone that's fully dedicated to the kingdom of God just for the purpose of ministry because then they could be more effective. But then there are those who don't raise money so that the ministry can continue. But rather they continue in ministry so that they can continue to raise money. This is a red flag. When they manipulate people for finances. Now, what is manipulation? Well, manipulation is either when you tell someone something that's not true, like for example, telling them, oh, if you give, you have a better chance of being healed. Oh, if you give, you have a better chance of being delivered. That's manipulation. In fact, that's sorcery. That's not even biblical. If anyone ever tells you that you need to give to be healed, run the other way. You'll never hear me say anything like that. I do not tell people that you have to give to be healed. In fact, I've seen people come to our services in very desperate situations. I've watched as parents have brought their sick children in wheelchairs, having driven five, six hours to be in the building. I've seen how desperate they can get. I myself have had to see my aria suffer through a couple of medical challenges. Nothing major thank God, but I've seen it to where we've had to go to the emergency every now and then, and it was just awful. If I were to be told in my most desperate moments, hey, if you empty your savings, that's a better chance of your daughter being healed. I would have emptied it like that. If I believed that giving all my money to some preacher were to better my arias chances of being healed, I don't care if she would have been fine in a week. I want her suffering to end right now. I can't even imagine. I'll tell you a story here. I don't say this for clout or to get sympathy. This is just a fact that would happen. My aria suffered severely recently with a virus that produced sores in her mouth, open sores, all on the inside her mouth, the back of her throat, all on her lips. Every night, she would wake up every 10 to 15 minutes coughing and bleeding from her mouth. And she was just miserable. I remember one night when she first started, I started to see blood. I said, I got to go right now. I called the doctors, I believe in medical professionals, by the way, I called the doctors and they said, look, there's no urgent cares open. You're going to have to go to emergency. They said, but emergency is going to cost you 10 times, even more so. I think it was like 20, 30 times what it would cost to do urgent care. I said, I don't care. Where's the nearest emergency center? I didn't care what it cost. Now, did I have that money to do it? In my case, yes, things were fine at the time and it hurt, but it wasn't like detrimental to our finances, but it did hurt. Trust me. It was like, oh, okay, there goes that finance. But man, I don't care if it meant emptying my entire savings. I don't care if I would have to give up every watch in my watch collection. If it meant giving up every single one of my bomber jackets, just taking them here, take every, if it means that my daughter's going to get help, take it all. Well, you know, she's just going to get better in a week. No, it doesn't matter. I want her suffering to end right now, right? So there's that desperate place that people find themselves in. And there's hardly a thing more wicked. Honestly, it's righteous indignation that stirs in me when I think about it. I get why Jesus flipped tables. Jesus didn't rebuke the money changers just because they were selling things. Jesus rebuke the money changers because they were selling forgiveness. They were selling the sacrifice. You can't be forgiven until you pay us money. What wickedness is that? Now, I think of the parents who have children who are terminally ill. Like, that was my situation, and Aria wasn't terminally ill. She was just in pain. She was just uncomfortable, and I would have emptied my savings to take her discomfort away. I can't even imagine the level of desperation a parent might face if their child is terminally ill. Think about that. So anyone who takes advantage of someone in that situation, God helped them. God helped them. And I pray God's mercy and grace, but my goodness, that is wickedness. Now, preachers hear me. When you take an offering, you should take an offering, and you should challenge the people to give. Sometimes people need a little bit of challenging because they get a little greedy sometimes. Good, challenge them, push them. But don't you ever manipulate somebody using their desperation to get a bigger payment out of them. Now, when you take an offering, be straightforward. Say, here's the need. Here's what it's going to take to meet that need. Here's what the Bible says about God blessing you financially. And leave it at that. You know the Bible does teach that if you give financially, you're blessed financially. That's true. But the Bible does not teach that if you give financially, it increases your chances of being healed or that if you give financially, it increases your chances of being delivered. That is so wicked. That is so above and beyond manipulative. And that is a false teacher to the highest degree. You can't tell me that your healing or your deliverance or the end of your torment or your spiritual breakthrough is tied to your giving. That's nonsensical. It's wicked. It's evil. And so this is what false prophets do. They use sorcery. That is sorcery to exchange the spiritual for the monetary. That's sorcery. Now, let me balance this as stirred up as I am over this. Let me balance this because I don't want you going and crucifying everybody now. Some teachers and preachers are just sincerely misguided. The fact I, myself, let me just be very, very transparent with you. Probably the first five years of my ministry, I taught me, David D. Hernandez, I taught, I used to teach that if you give financially that it increases your chances of a healing miracle. I used to teach that. Now, I did not use that as a technique to try to manipulate people. I sincerely thought that's how it worked. Just being honest with you, that was my ignorance. I'm going to plead ignorance on that. But you see, I didn't realize how my teachings were damaging people. I didn't see that. The first maybe four or five years of ministry. That's exactly what I would say. So today for your healing, for your deliverance, for your miracle. And now I teach what the Bible says. You sell for your financial blessing because money begets money. That's the biblical principle of sewing and reaping and stewardship and so forth. And at the beginning of my ministry, I did teach that. And I had to repent of that. And now I'm very clear and I correct it. I make sure it's very clear. So some preachers and teachers, they teach this and they sincerely believe it. So before you go crucifying people and you hear, oh, I heard it there. That's it. Before you go crucifying them, just stand back for a moment, give a little bit of grace and realize maybe they actually believe that. Because again, no one can know the motives. Now I'm not saying what they're saying is right. That's wrong. Absolutely. But we can't know the motives. But this is a sign, a red flag, that someone is a false teacher. Now I'm going to recap this, but don't go anywhere because I'm going to show you how to use true discernment. We're going to balance this out. I'm going to help you out here. Sign number one, they emphasize experience over Scripture. Number two, they discourage you from hearing what others have to say. Three, they present themselves as your primary source and solution instead of Jesus. Four, they twist the Scriptures. Five, they avoid correction and accountability. Six, they live compromise lives. Seven, they encourage you to isolate from the body of Christ. Eight, they have a warped perspective on sin. Nine, they love money. Now I'm going to show you how to exercise true spiritual discernment. We're going to balance this out in just a moment. But Steve, first tell me how's the chat doing? Chat is doing amazing throughout the whole stream. They've been talking to us. We've been seeing questions. I have so many questions already. So it can tell you right now, you guys have been amazing. I love what everybody's been saying. This comment from our friend here, Paul says, I love the way you're able to bring this biblically and balanced teaching as well as Michelle says, Amen. This is opening my spiritual eyes. So chat. Thank you so much for continuing to talk to us, to let us know how you're doing and your thoughts. So powerful time, powerful time. So I'm seeing some of the comments. Again, guys, I don't want you to mention anybody by name because you may mention some people who I think genuinely are men and women of God, but who I don't necessarily recommend. You go and I'm saying, so you may say, Brother David, what do you think of so-and-so? And in my mind, I may go, well, they're men and women of God, but I'm not going to put my name on them because they teach some things that I just don't want to align myself with, but I don't think they're heretical or not true believers. So you put me in a tough position when you do that. So please don't name any names. Our old traditional preachers, false preachers, again, that's a generalization. I wouldn't, I wouldn't use generalizations, guys. Okay. I want to show you how to avoid being apathetically gullible and overly critical. So again, to avoid being apathetically gullible, ask questions, compare with scripture and never exalt your experience above the scripture. They may have stories. Tell them I want scriptures. Okay. Or at least biblical principles. There's a religious thing that people do to try to make it seem like you don't have a point. They'll say chapter and verse, please. And you'll say, well, these are the scriptures that support in principle what I believe. They go, no, chapter and verse. Where is it specifically? That's a little religious. I'm talking about biblical principles and truths that can ultimately support an idea as opposed to just specific instances. The second thing I want to look at is how to be, how to avoid being, I should say, overly critical. For example, I just heard a story recently. I forgot where I saw it or heard it, but somebody told me about a very famous pastor who they had gone to this pastor's church. And what ended up happening is this pastor walked by, they said they waved at them. They looked right at them, but kept walking, right? And then later they got in trouble for being in that space like, hey, we don't want anybody in here when pastors walking through. This person decided to go and blast that on social media as if that was worth saying, right? No grace, no forgiveness, no, oh, maybe, no, just thinking maybe they had a bad day, but no, this person has to be exposed, right? So they decided to post this online and this famous preacher story. But in that, using that as an example, preachers are people, all the layovers and hotels and we finally made it to somewhere. There have been times where I've come off the plane. I'm half asleep. I've been on the plane for sometimes 14 hours, 12 hours. I'm tired, my body hurts, my neck hurts, and I'm just trying to rush so I can get my bag, get in the car and go. And Steve will tell you sometimes when we're at the airport, it happens every now and then someone will go, oh, it's funny. Even with, I thought it was odd that even with the mask, the hat and the glasses, someone still was able to recognize Steve, which was kind of odd. Anyway, so they come up and they said, hello. And I remember in the moment, I didn't think anything of it. I'm just, hey, hey, hey, God bless you. I wasn't even, I wasn't mad. I wasn't angry. I didn't think, oh, I'm better than this person. None of that. I just literally was so exhausted. I didn't even think about the way I was talking. And then I thought, thank God that person was understanding because had they not been, they might have gone online and said, oh, I met him. He acts nice on TV, but oh, he's a jerk in real life. He didn't even shake my hand. Probably, he was moody and grumpy thinking, I'm glad they didn't do that. Now they did this to this famous preacher. And I thought that was, you know, kind of sad that they did that to them. And I was saying, okay, this could be just an instance of maybe them misinterpreting what this, this preacher is going to. Maybe they're like me, that before a service, I don't talk to anyone. After service, I'll talk to everyone. But before a service, I have to be prayed up. I have to be in the zone. I have to keep my mind focused. I don't want to get in a conversation. You may say, oh, I just wanted to say hi. But trust me, there have been times where I've been trying to prepare for a message. Someone runs in, they get you in a conversation. They keep you there for 30 minutes. Tell her that it's not discern, or that it's discernment and not jealousy. So some questions for you. Is it discernment or is it jealousy? These people will say, oh, this doesn't sit right in my spirit in there. Often the people who say, I have the gift of discernment. I'm thinking if you have that gift, you don't have to go announcing it. But they'll say, oh, something just doesn't. Oh, there was something about, because you may just be misinterpreting a sermon. Isn't vague. It's not a feeling. And what's sad is I've said this preacher, they think that they're right and that they're discerning together. Oh, that must be confirmation because I found someone else who agreed with me, but that's not always the case. We need to be understanding of one another. We need to be understanding of preachers. We need to be understanding and know that they are men and women of God flawed just like us. So I pray God gives us discernment in this area. Now I'm going to transition here. I saw something on my social media today. Someone put a comment today and it really moved me. Like my heart was moved when I saw this on social media. I'll tell you, the believers devoted themselves to the apostles' teachings and to fellowship and to sharing in meals, including the Lord's Supper and to prayer. A deep sense of awe came over them all. And the apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders. And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had. They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need. They worshiped together at the temple each day, met in home for the Lord's Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity. All the while praising God and enjoying the good will of all the people and each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved. Now here we see in the book of Acts a model for how the New Testament church is to function. Notice here that the New Testament church came together for a cause. I was so moved by this comment that I read on Instagram and it immediately reminded me of this book, this portion of Scripture in the book of Acts. You see, they came together for the cause of souls. They came together for the purpose of ministry. Each one of them said, what can I give? What can I sell? How can I participate? That's how the body of Christ is to function. Now many of you know that right now we're in the middle of raising funds for our studio. Now, depending upon when you watch this video, you may watch this weeks from now, you may watch it years from now. So if you watch this during a time that the studio is complete, you can just give a general gift to the ministry. But if you're watching this right now before our studio in Austin, Texas is complete, then I want to challenge you to give specifically toward our project. I want you right now to go to DavidHernandezMinistries.com slash expand and give a gift to help us continue seeing growth on this project. Looking at the project now, in fact, I can pull it up right now. And I can show you just how far we've come. Now you know last week, just recently we hit 1.9 million. Now we're at 1,930,000. If we want to stay on course, we have to hit the $2 million mark this week. We have to come up to 2 million. So we need to make up that 70,000. Now this could happen by one person who's wealthy and generous, but more than likely it's going to happen by all believers everywhere. Gathering their resources for one cause like they did in the book of Acts. I'm going to read that comment to you in a moment. It's going to really bless you what this lady wrote on my Instagram. All of us coming together to give what we can. So let me challenge you. Consider a gift today of 25, 50, or $100. If everyone who watches this broadcast does that, we're going to easily hit that $2 million mark this week. And we need to hit it this week if we're going to stay on track. So I want to challenge you believers, continue to sew. Let's be like in the book of Acts. Let's ask, what can we sell? What can we give? What can we do not to receive some spiritual blessing? Again, I already covered that. That's not why you're sewing. But to be a part of this cause, not out of pressure, not out of guilt, but out of excitement of all of us coming together out of love for Jesus, love for souls, love for his work. This is his project, by the way. And coming together and saying, I'm going to give. Okay, here's what this lady wrote. Maybe it'll inspire you. Maybe it won't. It inspired me. This is what she wrote. She said, I am trying to sell my red bottom shoes right now to help. God is so good. So here's a lady on my Instagram who commented that she was selling her shoes, a special pair of shoes, so that she can give the leftovers to this ministry. Maybe God's blessed you with some extra income. And you're wondering, well, God blessed may have a little bit of extra. Maybe God's blessing you with that extra that you might be a blessing to this project. Now ask the Holy Spirit what you should do. Consider, though, a gift of $25, $50 or $100 toward this project. And maybe there are some of you, God has blessed with great wealth. God has blessed your business. We, as those who God has blessed financially, we have a responsibility to give at a greater level because God has blessed us financially at a greater level. So I want to challenge you. What can you do as the body of Christ coming together to help move this along? We need to hit that $2 million mark before the next broadcast in order to be on track. So that's $70,000 in the next seven days in order to stay on track for this project. I believe it's going to come in. I believe we're going to hit that goal. But it's going to take all of us coming together, as they did in the book of Acts, and saying, what can I give? What can I sacrifice? What can I sell? What can I sew? What can I donate? How can I make this happen? All of us coming together, guys. We all love the cause of Christ. Someone said, the Louis Vuitton for the ministry. I love it. Yeah. Well, you know, I personally give to this project. I'm not just asking you to do this. I give out of my personal income to this project. And I'm seeing it starting to shoot up now. It's going, it just spiked up there real briefly. We all can do something. So if everybody who watches this, everybody who's part of this, can just give something. Just give something, sacrifice something. I'm planning on doing something from my tax break, or what do they call the tax refund? If I get one. Who knows what, you know how it is sometimes with the government. But if I get one, I'm going to do something out of that for this project. So everyone does something. No pressure, no guilt. God's not going to curse you if you don't give anything. Don't believe that lie. You're blessed. God's going to take care of you. He's going to provide whether you give to us or not. But let's come together for this project that we might win souls. Do it for the gospel. Do it for Jesus. Do it for the expansion of his kingdom. Wow. What a great message. And what an awesome way to get into the Q and A here. I know all of you had so many questions. Throughout the stream, I was writing them down as much as possible. So right now, we're going to go ahead and switch over to the Q and A. All you got to do is leave a question in the comment section. You can leave it multiple times if you'd like as well, or even a thought as well. So go ahead and I'll give you a few moments to do that. But before I do, I just want to go ahead and thank everybody over on YouTube Super Chat for your generous support. Thank you guys so much. It really does mean the world to us. We just want to win as many souls as possible, and we need you to do it. Thank you. But what we can do right now while you guys are getting your questions ready, we can go ahead and look at a few questions that were asked during the stream. Now these questions are really great, and I'm so thankful that you guys were able to get these in already. So we're going to go ahead and start this off with our friend here, Micah. Micah wanted to know, does a prophet need to be under a certain headship to activate their gift appropriately? It depends by what you mean when you say activate, and it depends by what you mean when you say appropriately. Any true prophet of God will have been appointed in the biblical way, which is to say, any true prophet of God will have been proven and tested among a local body of believers and then appointed by the leadership. Any prophet that doesn't go through that system, God's system, I know it's a system, and I think sometimes we freak out when we hear the word system. We go, oh, a system, it must not be of God. No, no, God uses systems, and he gave us the church system precisely because people so often go rogue. Anyone who doesn't go through it in that way, they're not doing it in an orderly way. Now God gave them the gift, but the way that gift is refined, the way that gift is held accountable, in order for that to take place, that has to be done on a local body of believers. Everyone should have a spiritual covering. That's the biblical truth. Hey, we thank you for that question. This next question is going to come from our friend, loved child, loved child wanted to know, question. You mentioned you were ignorant about giving and linking it to healing. Did you have a mentor during that time, or did you get convicted by the Spirit of God? I had a mentor at that time, and I got convicted by the Spirit of God. Look, especially not to draw any attention to any one era of ministry, but you look at the 70s and 80s, for the 1970s and 80s, for example, I would say that the church in America did go a little extreme, probably very extreme, when it came to the sewing and reaping doctrine. Now, sewing and reaping is biblical in terms of finances, but does that mean there were false prophets, or heretics and not of God? No, I don't think we should conflate what someone believes about finances with what they teach about the gospel, which is what a lot of the heresy hunters do. Like when someone's a heresy hunter, right, they're looking for someone to expose, that's their whole ministry. First of all, we don't see that in the Scripture. Second of all, what they often do is they'll take what someone teaches in the peripheral, and then accuse them of using that as their primary. By that I mean if someone teaches that it's always God's will to be healed, they'll say, oh, then you're the word of faith gospel. If someone teaches that God wants you to prosper financially, then they'll say, oh, you're the prosperity gospel, and so forth, right? So there's all these different labels that we like to put on people, but just because you can label someone's belief system or even put that individual in a category, doesn't mean that you've proven them to be false. It means that you've just labeled them and put them into a category. And I think that we can be lazy sometimes spiritually, that, well, mark someone, oh, they had a doctrine that sounded like this, so that's the gospel they preach when, no, the gospel they preach was the same one you preach, but they just had a disagreement with you or maybe were a little off in their doctrines of finances. I see this done a lot today, especially with those who preach that God wants to prosper you financially. The critics will say, oh, you're teaching that God wants to prosper you financially based upon your giving. Well, then that's your gospel. I'm thinking, well, no, that's what I teach in terms of my doctrines as it has to do with finances, but that's not what I preach as the gospel, the gospel I preach, is that we need to repent of our sins, put our faith in what Jesus did on the cross, turn to him in our desperation and in our sin-sick condition and ask him for his forgiveness and ask him to save us, surrender to what he's done, right? They might not word it exactly like that, but at the core, that's what we all believe about the gospel. And so we can get into dangerous places when we start to label people and take their doctrines and say, well, you believe this on a side issue, so I'm going to accuse you of teaching that as your fundamental core gospel message. And that's just not the case. So if someone teaches that healing is for everyone and it's always God's will, yeah, maybe they might be a little misguided in that in the way they present that, but that doesn't mean that that's their central gospel. You preach the gospel of healing or you preach the gospel of miracles. That's just nonsensical. I mean, you could turn that right back around on the heresy hunters, right? And you could say, well, you preach the gospel of doctrine. If you don't have the right doctrine, you're not going to heaven. So they say, no, we don't preach that as a doctrine. That's just one of the things we teach, defending the faith. Well, again, we can all conflate the peripheral doctrines with the primary doctrines when it comes to these individuals. But yes, I did have a mentor and yes, it was the Holy Spirit's conviction. Thank God for it. But as a side note there, we mustn't conflate what people teach on the peripheral as their primary core gospel message. Ask them what the gospel is. And if that's the only thing they teach, they teach that as the gospel, then of course, okay, then they're preaching a false gospel. But just because someone disagrees with you doctrinally doesn't mean you can accuse them of teaching that point of disagreement as the gospel in the place of the true gospel. That's just manipulative. It's lazy. And it's just, it's arguing from, it's arguing from a strong man there. Amen. And spirit family, remember, right now we're in the Q&A. So let's spam that chat with some questions. They're flooding in and I'll go ahead and read as many as I can. So this next question comes from our friend Desi. Desi, you want to know, how do you discern these heaven visitation stories? Sometimes it's hard for me to believe when I hear preachers or prophets preaching on that subject. Well, I'm going to tell you honestly when it comes to these heavenly visitation stories, I'm very skeptical. Now that doesn't mean I'm not spiritual. I mean, you know me, I love the Holy Spirit. I love the move of God. I pray in tongues. I pray for the sick. I cast out devils. I believe in people being slain in the Spirit and so forth. But you know, when it comes to these heavenly visitations, we just have to be careful. If somebody is sharing it as a story and an experience they had, that's not as dangerous if they teach it as gospel, right? Here's my experience from heaven. Now I'm going to tell you what, when new revelations I have, that is very troublesome to me. And so I would say, you don't have to believe their story to believe in heaven. Just believe the Scripture. Maybe they did have a vision. Maybe they didn't literally go to heaven and they're mistaking their vision of some heavenly thing for having gone heaven. This is what I mean when I say, it's another perfect example of someone taking their experience and interpreting the Scripture to their experience rather than interpreting their experience to the Scripture. So maybe they did have a vision, but they're classifying it as a trip because now they're interpreting the Scripture to their experience. And what they should do is take the Scripture and ask themselves, is this a biblical thing? Taking trips to heaven? Well, Paul was caught up in the third heaven. So in some sense it is, but this idea of I can go whenever I want, I just so choose, that's when it gets on shaky ground. I'm not going to go as far as saying it's heresy, it's wrong, it's, it dismissed everybody who says that, but that's when I say they start to lose some authority for sure. Not necessarily credibility, but definitely authority in terms of biblical doctrine. So take it with a grain of salt, have some healthy skepticism, compare everything they say with Scripture, but ultimately put your trust in the Scripture, not in stories. Amen. This next question comes from our friend Esther. Esther wanted to know Q&A, how do we maintain a relationship with such pastor who was a good leader, but apparently changed, looks for money and ignores believers now? Well, I would first start to question if that's even true or not, because sometimes our perspective on people is not exactly accurate. So, you know, I've heard people say that, oh, they're all about the money. Okay, why do you say that? Do you say that because they now talk about money and when they take offerings often? Just because they talk about money often doesn't mean they're all about the money. Maybe they just believe that that's something that's important for their church to learn, and it's important that they teach biblical principles on finances. So, I would have to assume that what you're saying is 100% accurate before giving an evaluation. My caution to you instead is to say, why don't you just reevaluate? Are you really evaluating them correctly, or do you just not like the fact that they talk about money? Because the Bible does talk about money, and now we're getting into nitpicking if that's the case. Well, you know, my favorite topic is the Holy Spirit. So, if I go to a church and they're not always talking about the Holy Spirit, well, they don't talk about the Holy Spirit enough. They just talk about evangelism, or they just talk about worship, or they just... Every church in ministry has their emphasis on certain doctrines, but so long as we all agree, again, on the central core points, that is a point of unity, and I don't think we should be overly critical. Hypercritical, and you know, compare it. Because then what? Who has the chart, right? Who has the breakdown? 20% of the time, you want to preach on money, and then another 30% of the time, you want to preach on evangelism, and then 20%, you're going to do the gospel, and 5% teach on worship, 5% teach on doctrinal accuracy. I mean, who has that breakdown? And everyone... Every church you go to, every ministry, every minister is going to skew on one topic a little more often than others. So, the frequency with which someone shares a message is not necessarily the standard by which you judge them. We have to judge it by what they're actually saying and compare that to Scripture. So, you know, you can't know if someone's all about the money, if that's their motives, or if that's just something that they're passionate about teaching on. We can't really know. So I'd say have some grace, stay connected, and maybe consider the fact that you're just not judging it correctly. Come on now. All right. Our friend Nina writes, I genuinely would like to know where deliverance ministries receive so many names of different demons. Okay. You know, on this point, I have to be careful because I have friends in the ministry that I do not want to hurt by saying certain things. So, I'll just say this. There's one instance in the Scripture where Jesus asked the name of a demon, and then he didn't even use the name when casting it out. Now, in the ancient world, it was thought to be the case that if you use someone's name, it gave you authority over them. So when that demon legion called out to the name of Jesus, it was trying to take authority over him. Now, Jesus speaks back, but he asks for the name and then doesn't use it. Almost as if to say, I know your name, but I don't need it to have authority over you, proving the point back to that demonic entity. So that portion of Scripture, interestingly enough, is actually evidence for the belief that you shouldn't necessarily go around gathering names. Do you really think that God is looking at the situation and he's like trying to push that demon, I see the Holy Spirit trying to push the demon out. He's like, I can't do it. I can't do it. You got to get the name. You got to get the name. I mean, it's just, that just doesn't line up with what Scripture teaches. You don't cast the devil out by knowing its name. You cast the devil out by knowing the authority of the Holy Spirit. So I would say in the church world, a bigger problem than demon possession or oppression is demon obsession. In fact, what kind of makes me nervous is that believers sometimes, especially some who've come from supernatural backgrounds, they have an unhealthy appetite for the dark side of the supernatural. And in some sense, this gives them the ability to fulfill their interests in the dark world while cloaking it with a virtuous approach. So I would say when it comes to demons and all of that, just stick to what the Bible says. Now, this isn't to say that you can never learn anything about deliverance or demonology that isn't necessarily in Scripture. But I'm saying anything that you would learn outside of Scripture is not necessarily important. Everything we need to combat the forces of darkness is right there in Scripture. You never see Paul the Apostle giving specific instructions on how to do it, certain techniques. Because then it would be man's power and that's the religious approach to it, which is why people get stuck in cycles have to do it again and again and again and again. So this is my thoughts on it, but I'm not going to go so far as to say anybody who teaches you need to know the name is teaching heresy by no means. It's just a different point of view on the doctrines of demons and so forth. So again, guys, let's not go attacking people. I think that, you know, because I used to teach all that. I used to teach people get frustrated with me sometimes. Well, you just haven't experienced it. I'm like, no, on the contrary, I probably went deeper than most of these guys you listen to go now in the sense that I would really obsess about it. And, you know, God showed me a more effective way, I shall say that way, that it's not necessary to call it out by name. It's not necessary to go through a man-made list of rituals in order to be effective. It's simply the authority of the Holy Ghost. Either it's there or it's not and if it's there, you can drive it out. I practice deliverance much differently than you probably see in many circles. But again, this is not a criticism. You're asking the question. I'm giving you my perspective from the Bible. But this is a perfect example of what I mean when I say that we can still be united despite these things. I don't take it as a personal attack when others teach differently than I do on that. Neither am I attacking anyone when I teach differently. It's just, it's kind of, it's kind of, we're all kind of in an awkward situation. You know what I mean? Because the people want to know the answers. We give them the answers and sometimes those answers differ. But this is a perfect opportunity right here. This is a perfect opportunity to exercise spiritual maturity and say, okay, we disagree on that, but we agree on Jesus and we can work together, love each other, honor each other. And that's all that really matters is that core message, those core doctrines, the gospel. The gospel, simple gospel. Our friend Tyler wanted to know what is the ultimate goal of a false prophet? Money, power, recognition? What scenarios can you watch out for while you are listening to a false prophet? What a great question. And you know, the answer has to do with their motive, so I couldn't answer it in specific instances, but I can say that everything you listed is a motive. I mean, some people just use ministry to make themselves important. That's all they want it for. Some people use it for fame. Some for fortune, some for status, some for power. Some people are just so broken internally that they need that sense of power. They like the control they have over people. And that's just a really scary, and sadly, here's the sad one. Some people are ultra sincere, but they're deceived. That's scary. Wow, wow, wow. Hey, thank you for that question. This next question is coming from our friend Dan Robot. Dan Robot. I received the word of knowledge for my healing while watching a Christian television program. How do I act in faith on what the word to receive my manifestation? Well, it sounds like you believe it. There's not much more you can do. Look, we have to learn to trust the sovereignty of God. The sovereignty of God applies even to the spiritual gifts. The sovereignty of God applies even to the miraculous. I'm not going to sit here and say that I have all the answers. I trust in what the word of God says, and I believe for the miraculous, but ultimately it's God's sovereignty. God doesn't want to be cornered in by our understanding. Oh, if I pray in faith, the miracle happens like that. Then what is God? He's just on our whim. And then we also don't want to say, well, God doesn't do miracles anymore. That's also cornering him. No, we act in faith. We speak in faith. We walk in faith. We think in faith. We think according to the word of God. We believe God for the healing in the miracle. Sounds like you did. Now you leave it to the Lord. Trust in his sovereignty. It's so important, so important, especially those of you in the healing ministry. Please don't ever factor out the sovereignty of God. We need the sovereignty of God, even in terms of faith and miracles and healing and spiritual gifts. There was no one in the Old Testament or in the New Testament who ever acted in their own power. I think that's kind of a point that sometimes we hold to. That's just not true. Like all the apostles were able to wield the gift of healing whenever they wanted. No, because even they were acting in the power of the Holy Ghost and even they were limited to some degree in certain instances. So it's always having to do with God's sovereignty. So how would I define, like for example, the gift of healing? Well, the gift of healing then is being graced with appointments for seeing miraculous healings as God has ordained. So all of this ties together, free will, God's sovereignty, but we can't factor out God's sovereignty even when it comes to healing miracles. So what can you do? You did it. You believed. You prayed. Now, if there's sin in your life, repent. If there's demonic influence attacking you, pray against it. If there's unbelief in your heart, ask God to help your faith. That's really it. Then you trust in the timing and the sovereignty of God and stop carrying around that weight on your shoulders as if you've done something so horribly wrong that God's ignoring you. No, he's sovereign even when it comes to the miraculous. Amen. Thank you for that question. This next one comes from our friend Helen. Helen wanted to know, why do certain prophets do the whole you live in the city and on the street and this is your favorite color, et cetera? How do those details edify the body? I never understood why God would give these prophets hints of where someone would live. Well, it could be to demonstrate that God knows all things. That could be it. I mean, I've seen some people, even the Lord has given me details and most of the time it leads to a purpose. Sometimes it really is just a demonstration of the gift to show God's power and cause people to be in awe of who God is. But again, it comes back to motive. It comes back to are they subtly hinting that people should look to them as the source? That's another thing. And other times, not in every case. So don't hear what I'm not saying. Don't misquote me. Don't take what I'm saying out of context. In some cases, it's witchcraft, not prophecy. In some cases, not all cases, in some cases it's psychic power, not Holy Spirit power. You will know it. Look at 1 Corinthians, chapter 12. When Paul the apostle writes to the Corinthians about not being ignorant concerning the spiritual gifts, then he gives them the key to discerning between demonic power and the power of the Holy Spirit, the Corinthians who were really into sorcery and witchcraft and all of these sort of things. He says, look, I don't want you to misunderstand the spiritual gifts by equating them with that demonic power that you used to function in. Look, no one can say Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit, and no one with the Holy Spirit will say Jesus is cursed. He's not saying in those first three verses that someone who's fake can't say Jesus is Lord in the phonetic pronunciation or the sentence. Rather, what he's saying is look at the message. Look what they're pointing to. True Holy Spirit power glorifies Jesus. Psychic power, demonic power, glorifies the experience and the man. And sometimes that's a subtle distinction, especially if you have someone who's immature and operating in the spiritual gifts. So how do you know? Know it by the word, compare their message, and know it by the spirit discern it. Not a vague discomfort of, oh, I kind of don't, don't mistake your own personal discomfort for the voice of the Holy Spirit, but true discernment, not grounded in jealousy, not grounded in suspicion or doubt or cynicism. True discernment of the Holy Ghost that comes by his clear voice. It's very specific. That's how you know. Amen, amen. Our friend Jonathan wanted to know, any advice on preaching the gospel at school? I'm a sophomore. I would say do it unapologetically, do it boldly, and do it consistently and leave the results to God. There's no special techniques per se. Methods are all fine. The gospel works as long as it's presented with truth. Amen. This next question comes from our friend Isaac Aguilar. Isaac Aguilar wanted to know, question, if we are out and about and we see something manifesting, should we cast it out immediately or ask the Holy Spirit for guidance first? If you're out and about and it starts manifesting, it's probably coming out. I'd say cast it out. I mean, that's what would happen, right? Look, demons will manifest for two reasons. Either the individual wants deliverance or the person wants to distract. I've had services where people will come up and they'll stand there and ask me for deliverance. And I can discern by the Holy Ghost whether they really want deliverance or they're there to make a scene. That's by the Holy Spirit. I can't explain how I know that to you. In fact, the Holy Spirit will speak to me sometimes before. He'll say, this person's gonna stand up. I'll spot them out and the Holy Spirit will say, this person's gonna stand up, but they can't be delivered until there are certain mindsets broken and that strongholds not realizing how to break those. They want an experience rather than the truth. And so there are times where the Holy Spirit will say, don't do it. But I'd say err on the side of freedom. So always, if you're unsure, cast it out. It sounds kind of cheesy, but when in doubt, cast it out. Can false prophets operate under the spirit of a demon casting out a demon? This is a great question. I don't think a false prophet would necessarily be operating in demon power. They would probably be operating in the authority of God's word. Look at the seven sons of Sceva. They were able to drive out demons though they were not believers. This shows us that there are certain demons of certain levels of power that can be cast out by anybody. Now true believers can cast out any demon no problem in the name of the Jesus who Paul preached. So that is one of the ways I've been able to reconcile that point that seems like a contradiction. But I do believe that if they're casting out devils, they either are really casting out devils, or another thing to consider is the fact that maybe the demons just go dormant to try to create the deception that they've been cast out by this sorcerer. And then the person just ends up worse when they come back and attack them. That's another way that it happens. Thank you for that question. This next question comes from our friend Natasha. Natasha said, How is it that false teachers can demonstrate the power of God like healing if the Holy Spirit gives that gift? Why does God allow something like this? Because God backs his word with miracles. He will always back the message of truth. So if somebody's preaching the truth of the gospel, that's going to have a miraculous backing to it to back the word. As Paul said, some preach it out of impure motives, but as long as the gospel is being preached, wonderful. And so in that case, it would be that God is backing his word. In other cases, such as in the case of healing miracles, it could be that that demonic entity has the power to heal, which it's a lying wonder, a false sign. That's also biblical. So those are two biblical responses to that question. Rebecca asks, What about Balaam? He was a false prophet, yet whatever he cursed was cursed. Whatever he blessed was blessed. Why is that? I don't know if he would necessarily be labeled as a false prophet. Maybe a true prophet with impure motives, but not necessarily someone who didn't get his instructions from God. Because God was clearly speaking to him throughout that entire narrative. God was speaking clearly to him, telling him what to say and what not to say. He was consulting with God. The Bible says that. So he was a true prophet with impure motives, which almost seems like a contradiction. Again, guys, I told you these can be nuanced, but sometimes we judge the motives. Sometimes we judge the fruit, their lifestyle. Sometimes we judge their message. And these factors come together in different ways. I believe Balaam was an immature prophet and was still developing in his character, but I believe God was truly using him. Amen. This question comes from our good friend, Nini. Nini wants to know, What are your thoughts on renouncing to be delivered? I don't think it's necessary. I mean, it doesn't hurt to do it. It's not going to harm you. But to teach that it's necessary to be delivered, I don't think there's nothing in the Bible that says it. Now again, some might say, Oh, but in my experience, again, guys, you're going to side with stories. You're going to side with scriptures. Look, I'll just tell you, my experience in practicing deliverance, at least these past 10 years, have been backed by the word. So we have the word and experience, but this whole idea of renouncing, I'm not going to speak against it. I'm not going to say it's evil. I'm not going to say it's, Oh, it's something that's going to lead people astray. I don't see how it could possibly derail someone. But I will say it probably not necessary. In the demons I've been casting out these past several years, I've never even asked the name of the demon. And this is not to say, Oh, look how impressive I am because I'm not that impressive. It's not my power. It's the power of the Holy Ghost. It's really simple. The person wants to be free and the person has the authority in Christ. They can rebuke that devil. It's going to go period. The moment you start adding rules and regulations, now you're getting into religion. Now you're getting people tight up in their mind and emotions when they just need to be set free. So renouncing may sound like a good idea, but it actually comes from, forgive me, it actually comes from the new age. It actually comes from certain satanic practices. In fact, to some degree, you look at the rise of Scientology and the rise of some of the modern deliverance teachings. And you can kind of see that they came about at the same time. At least I'm giving you a little history lesson here. Kind of like the audits that they would do in the Church of Scientology. We're going to go back. We're going to find memories. We're going to write, and then we're going to have these different layers and different demons. And you can go through different sessions to have multiple demons removed at a time. Like we got three of them. There's still eight, so I need you to come back two more times. That, all of that, you're not going to see that anywhere in the New Testament. Nor do you see in the New Testament Christians going to deliverance meetings. It's just not something that they did. Nor do we see Paul saying, here's how you cast demons out of unbelievers or out of believers. So when it comes to renouncing, am I going to speak against it as if it's some horrible thing? Only if they're telling you you have to renounce to be free. Because now they're putting a religious barrier between you and your freedom. And the Holy Spirit can set you free, but now you don't believe you're free because you didn't renounce it enough and you're paranoid about it. And that fear itself of the bondage, itself becomes a bondage. So you got to be careful with these types of doctrines. It's just the power of the Holy Ghost. So, so simple. And it brings great peace and joy. And that simplicity is how he works. I'll tell you, I know the Holy Ghost. I may not know demons, but I know the Holy Ghost and I know how he works. And he's very, very, very powerful. I don't want to be the demon guy. I want to be the Holy Spirit guy. And so in knowing the Holy Spirit, I can tell you that the only name you need to know when casting out a demon is the name of Jesus. You don't need to necessarily go back, renounce each thing as if it's like a session, right? Because then what does that do? That puts the power on the person. It's not that the Holy Spirit had the power to set them free. It's that, oh, you had an expert who was able to walk you through all these things. And again, imagine the Lord, the Holy Spirit, oh, I want to set you free. But you missed that one instance when you were 12 years old and you watched that TV program. Sorry, I got to leave the demons in there. They, I can't, I'm sorry. There's nothing I can do for you. I can't take them out. Lord, I want you to free me. The Lord, I want to free you. But I can't do it until you mention that. But you forgot about it. So maybe just go back, reflect on your life, keep a journal. And then if you remember it, then I'll cast it out. That's just so twisted to me. So if you want to renounce things, go for it. There's nothing wrong with that. But if you want to teach people that they can't be free until they've gone through your special program of announcing things, well, now that's like what Jesus said. You shut the door of heaven in people's faces. And I'm not willing to participate in that type of religious man-made propaganda. Serena wanted to know, what is the difference between church culture and church doctrine? That is, you know, I don't think I'm equipped necessarily to comment on the nuances between those two, but I'll give it a shot. I'm just going to give you my opinion now. I don't have like biblical backing for what I'm about to give you. And this will be the last question. Church doctrines are very specific statements of faith or very specific paradigms, mindsets on certain issues. Church culture has more to do with behavior. So you could have two churches that both believe in the gift of speaking in tongues and both believe that you can speak in tongues in groups. One church culture, they do it during the worship and it's very orderly. Another church culture, they burst out speaking in tongues during the message. Now they both believe in the gift of tongues, but there's some difference in the culture there. Or both churches believe that we should sing songs in worship. That's a doctrine, okay? A doctrinal belief that we should gather and sing songs. That's based on the scripture come together, sing spiritual songs and hymns and so forth. But the culture would be one place classical hymns and the other place, you know, the new rock and roll type worship. Two different cultures, same doctrine. That's the best I could do on that one. Love you guys.