I came across this guy on Instagram who has made it his prerogative to criticize every minister he doesn’t agree with. That’s the only type of video this guy posts.
Of course, he feels he is doing everyone a favor by “exposing false teachers”. I’m sure his motives are genuine, but his zeal is a bit misguided. Criticism is not a spiritual gift.
We are to guard ourselves against false ministers, especially in these last days. How do we do that the right way? Jesus tells us in Matthew chapter 7. Let’s read it.
Matthew 7:15-20 NLT - “Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep but are really vicious wolves. You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act. Can you pick grapes from thornbushes, 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.
Jesus says we will know them by their fruit. In other words, we can examine their actions to determine if they are godly ministers or deceiving ministers.
What kind of fruit are we looking for? The fruit of the spirit, which the Bible lists as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
This is how you test me to know if I am the real deal or not.
What kind of fruit does a false minister produce? The fruit of the flesh, also listed in Galatians chapter five as sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these.
It’s pretty simple to spot a false minister. It’s not necessarily someone you disagree with. Rather, it is someone who promotes sin, or at the very least minimizes it.
The guy on Instagram is calling out some of this stuff, but he is also calling out things that don’t align with his theology or denomination.
In the most recent video, he played a video of someone offering to pray for those with lactose intolerance. She prayed, “I rebuke this intolerance. Your body will digest dairy without problem in the name of Jesus.”
In his rebuttal, he said, “I thought you were going to pray. Where was the prayer, exactly? And, what happens to those who watch this video, go eat a big bowl of mac and cheese, and then end up miserable for the rest of the night?”
Come on man, go ahead and make your doubt visible for all to see. And he feels so justified in his doubt. He is fully convinced that his doubt is helping people.
At some point along this journey, we have to get rid of the fear of people not getting healed. I mean, do you really think we are going to get anywhere if we let that fear stick around?
Have you noticed how we tend to exalt fear as some kind of protective mechanism? Keeping fear around is not what protects you. Your response to fear is what protects you.
God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity but of power, love, and a sound mind.
So when fear comes knocking, it should activate power within us. We’re talking about the kind of power that produces miracles and morality and wealth and authority.
But, we’ve been conditioned to tolerate fear. We think that the fear itself is the protective mechanism, so we run, or hide, or waste time and energy trying to protect ourselves from things that could be obliterated by the power of God.
When we tolerate the fear of someone not getting healed, we pray pitiful prayers like, “God, if it be your will… God, if it be your timing… we petition you to please heal. But if you don’t we understand.”
When that thought arises, “What if they don’t get healed?”, use it as an indicator that God wants to heal! Why else would the enemy send the spirit of fear in this moment?
Instead of playing it safe, tap into that same power that raised Christ Jesus from the dead. It’s already in us, we just have to draw it out. And fear is a great reminder to let that power flow!
When you tolerate fear, you stop the flow of faith. Faith is trying to get out of your spirit. But fear comes like a lid on a jar. When you tolerate it, you are tightening down that lid so faith can’t get out.
We’ve all done this time and time again. But you know what I love about this message that the Holy Spirit is giving us today? You’ll never do it again.
The next time the enemy throws fear at you, he’s going to wish he didn’t. Because now, you are going to turn it on him.
Fear will no longer be tolerated in your life. Now, it will simply become a reminder to let the miracle-working power of God flow through you.
When fear comes your way, rejoice! The enemy just spilled the beans. You are right over the target. So, go ahead and tap into that miracle-working power the Holy Spirit already put in you.
The other thing that bothered this guy on Instagram was that this lady didn’t necessarily pray. Rather, she commanded the sickness to leave. This is a solid teaching moment.
We are disciples of Christ, correct? That means that we watch what He did, and we do it exactly the same. We don’t try to make up our own way. We simply follow Him exactly.
Why do you think culture has you so worked up about doing things your own way? Because if you get in that place of pride, it will absolutely hinder what you can accomplish for the Lord.
In regard to healing, how did Jesus do it? Did He pray and ask God to heal? Did He ask if it was God’s will? Did He verify it was the right timing for healing? Did He even pray at all?
If we want the same results as Jesus, we must do it just like Him. He demonstrated the way, and we must follow it, exactly. If we deviate in any way, we hinder the results.
Here’s how the Holy Spirit explained it to me. He said, “You don’t pray to ask God to heal. You command the sickness to leave. You use authority to get rid of sickness, not a desperate plea to God.”
Immediately after the Holy Spirit explained this to me, He sent me to Matthew chapter 8.
By the way, for those of you looking to hear the voice of God, you are already hearing it. The way you gain confidence in what He is telling you is by allowing Him to prove it with the Word of God.
The Holy Spirit can prove anything He says with the Word of God. And He knows the chapters and verses. If you allow Him, He will tell you exactly where to go.
Or, you can do it the hard way and search for it yourself. Either way gets the job done. But I urge you to use the Word of God to verify what the Holy Spirit is saying to you. It will increase your confidence in hearing the voice of God.
The Holy Spirit sent me to Matthew 8:6 to confirm what He spoke to me about using authority to get rid of sickness. Turns out, the whole chapter is a confirmation. Let’s read it.
Matthew 8:1-3 NLT - Large crowds followed Jesus as he came down the mountainside. Suddenly, a man with leprosy approached him and knelt before him. “Lord,” the man said, “if you are willing, you can heal me and make me clean.” Jesus reached out and touched him. “I am willing,” he said. “Be healed!” And instantly the leprosy disappeared
Did you notice that Jesus didn’t take a moment to check in with the Father to see if it was His will to heal? Nope. He took full authority. Didn’t even mention God. He said, “Yep, I am willing. And then what did He do?
He didn’t pray. He didn’t ask questions about the sickness. He just relieved the man’s doubt by saying, “I am willing”, and then commanded him to be healed.
It was like a one-two punch. In his first swing, He said three words to eliminate the doubt. Then, He went it for the knockout with two simple words, “Be healed!”
If we want the same results as Jesus, we must do it just like Him. He demonstrated the way, and we must follow it, exactly. If we deviate in any way, we hinder the results.
Let’s head to verse five. Now we are getting into where the Holy Spirit led me to learn about using authority to get rid of sickness.
Matthew 8:5-7 NLT -When Jesus returned to Capernaum, a Roman officer came and pleaded with him, “Lord, my young servant lies in bed, paralyzed and in terrible pain.” Jesus said, “I will come and heal him.”
Once again, Jesus didn’t take time to consult with the Father. He already knew that it is always God’s will to heal. And He was so confident in it, that He offered to heal the man himself.
Matthew 8:8-9 NLT - But the officer said, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come into my home. Just say the word from where you are, and my servant will be healed. I know this because I am under the authority of my superior officers, and I have authority over my soldiers. I only need to say, ‘Go,’ and they go, or ‘Come,’ and they come. And if I say to my slaves, ‘Do this,’ they do it.”
This man recognized that healing was an exercise of authority. He knew, without a doubt, that if Jesus said the sickness had to go, then it had to go. No ifs, ands, or buts.
Mattew 8:10-13 NLT - When Jesus heard this, he was amazed. Turning to those who were following him, he said, “I tell you the truth, I haven’t seen faith like this in all Israel! And I tell you this, that many Gentiles will come from all over the world—from east and west—and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob at the feast in the Kingdom of Heaven. But many Israelites—those for whom the Kingdom was prepared—will be thrown into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” Then Jesus said to the Roman officer, “Go back home. Because you believed, it has happened.” And the young servant was healed that same hour.
Most Christians would handle this situation completely contrary to what Jesus did. They would say, “Oh, I’m so sorry to hear that. We’ll add him to the prayer chain. Hopefully he gets better!”
And if it got to the point where a Christian was asked us to heal from a distance, they’d say, “Oh, I’m not sure we can do that. Doesn’t that sound a little like magic or something? Maybe you should just tell them to go to the doctor.”
If we want the same results as Jesus, we must do it just like Him. He demonstrated the way, and we must follow it, exactly. If we deviate in any way, we hinder the results.
Jesus owned the power that was given to Him. He didn’t take time to explain that it came from God and say, “We don’t when God’s power will show up, but when it does we are thankful.”
No! Jesus owned the power that was given to Him. He said, “I WILL COME and heal him.” He knew what the Father wanted, so He did what the Father wanted without delay or apology.
As you can see, You don’t pray to ask God to heal. You command the sickness to leave.
Let’s continue to find out if this was some kind of fluke in the ministry of Jesus, or if He continued in power and authority.
Matthew 8:14-26 NLT - When Jesus arrived at Peter’s house, Peter’s mother-in-law was sick in bed with a high fever. But when Jesus touched her hand, the fever left her. Then she got up and prepared a meal for him. That evening many demon-possessed people were brought to Jesus. He cast out the evil spirits with a simple command, and he healed all the sick. This fulfilled the word of the Lord through the prophet Isaiah, who said, “He took our sicknesses and removed our diseases.” When Jesus saw the crowd around him, he instructed his disciples to cross to the other side of the lake. Then one of the teachers of religious law said to him, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” But Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens to live in, and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place even to lay his head.” Another of his disciples said, “Lord, first let me return home and bury my father.” But Jesus told him, “Follow me now. Let the spiritually dead bury their own dead.” Then Jesus got into the boat and started across the lake with his disciples. Suddenly, a fierce storm struck the lake, with waves breaking into the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. The disciples went and woke him up, shouting, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!” Jesus responded, “Why are you afraid? You have so little faith!” Then he got up and rebuked the wind and waves, and suddenly there was a great calm.
You’ll find it interesting what the word “rebuked” really means. Take a look, according to the Strongs Concordance:
Rebuked - to tax upon, censure, admonish, forbid, charge, rebuke.
What happens when the government raises taxes? You have to pay them. They are the ultimate authority regarding taxes. You don’t have a choice in the matter.
That’s the weight this word “rebuke” carries in the Bible. It’s when someone in ultimate authority, the one at the top, issues a command. It must be followed.
So, once again, Jesus owned the power and authority that was given to Him by God.
Let’s keep going.
Matthew 8:27-9:8 NLT - The disciples were amazed. “Who is this man?” they asked. “Even the winds and waves obey him!” When Jesus arrived on the other side of the lake, in the region of the Gadarenes, two men who were possessed by demons met him. They came out of the tombs and were so violent that no one could go through that area. They began screaming at him, “Why are you interfering with us, Son of God? Have you come here to torture us before God’s appointed time?” here happened to be a large herd of pigs feeding in the distance. So the demons begged, “If you cast us out, send us into that herd of pigs.” “All right, go!” Jesus commanded them. So the demons came out of the men and entered the pigs, and the whole herd plunged down the steep hillside into the lake and drowned in the water. The herdsmen fled to the nearby town, telling everyone what happened to the demon-possessed men. Then the entire town came out to meet Jesus, but they begged him to go away and leave them alone. Jesus climbed into a boat and went back across the lake to his own town. Some people brought to him a paralyzed man on a mat. Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralyzed man, “Be encouraged, my child! Your sins are forgiven.” But some of the teachers of religious law said to themselves, “That’s blasphemy! Does he think he’s God?” Jesus knew what they were thinking, so he asked them, “Why do you have such evil thoughts in your hearts? Is it easier to say ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or ‘Stand up and walk’? So I will prove to you that the Son of Man has the authority on earth to forgive sins.” Then Jesus turned to the paralyzed man and said, “Stand up, pick up your mat, and go home!” And the man jumped up and went home! 8Fear swept through the crowd as they saw this happen. And they praised God for giving humans such authority.
Who did God give authority to? Humans. Are you a human? Why, yes you are. Does that mean you should be walking in the same authority as Jesus did? Yes, you should.
This is why we don’t pray to ask God to heal. We command the sickness to leave. We use authority to get rid of sickness.
It’s time for us to own the power and authority given to us by Christ. He doesn’t expect us to explain where it came from before we use it. No, He wants us to own it as our own.
Our response must become, “I will go heal the sick. I will go forgive sins. I will go cast out devils.”
If you are struggling with this, a deceiving spirit is trying to influence you. Anything keeping you from becoming one with Christ is a deceiving spirit. If you are tired of it, let’s get rid of it.
We are one with Christ. He is the head. We are the body. We are seated with Him. We are co-heirs to the kingdom of God.
What Jesus does, we do. What He says, we say. Our identity is in Christ. We are His representatives. We mimic everything He did. We do it just as He did it.
And as we do, we see the same results as Jesus. This is how we bring glory to God!
