Friday 24 May 2013

Read: Matthew 7:21-23, Matthew 24:23-28, 2 Thessalonians 2:5-12

Think back to Moses and the Israelites as slaves in Egypt. God commands Moses and Aaron to go before Pharaoh and demand the release of His people. To show that God is with them Aaron throws his staff on the ground and it becomes a snake. Quite an amazing trick! You would think that this would convince Pharaoh but Pharaoh's magicians perform the same trick. Because of this, Pharaoh hardens his heart and ignores the message God is sending. magicians continue to emulate the first of the 10 plagues but, by the third plague, are admitting defeat before the almighty God.

 

The point is this: it is very easy to be convinced and persuaded the working of miracles but they are not always a sign from God. In fact, the Bible warns us many times to be wary of miracles as they can lead people astray. In 2 Thessalonians 2 confirms the existence of false and misleading miracles in verse 9: "The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders." Jesus also warns His followers to be wary of signs and miracles in Matthew 24.

When we understand that false miracles exist and can lead people astray it begins to make sense why Jesus would start talking about miracles in the middle of a discussion on true and false teaching. We are to be like 'discerning' Damian and discern true teaching from false teaching we cannot measure its merits based on signs and miracles. We must avoid being 'sucked in' but such things and instead measure truth against what is taught in the Bible and wisely observe the fruit of the teachers. Only then can we properly discern true teaching.

 

These words of Jesus should make us pause for another reason. Even though these people are doing miracles in the name of Jesus, they are not saved and they don't know Him. We should pause and reflect on our own lives. We can get so caught up in things that we do for Jesus that we don't actually have saving faith in Jesus. This is not to say that we can lose our salvation, but we must reflect on whether or not we truly have faith in Christ. Do you truly know Christ? If you would like to know more have another look over last weeks readings.

 

Prayer:

Write down your prayer points in the space provided. Use today’s reading to help you get ideas.

 

Adoration:

 

Confession:

 

Thanks:

 

Supplication:

¥ Pray for the church camp happening this weekend at Goomburra. Pray that God would watch over everyone as they travel to and from the campsite and that they would grow in fellowship as they gather together over the weekend and learn about what it means to honour God in relationships.

Pray for the 400,000 known Christians in North Korea, the most difficult country to be a Christian in the world for the past 10 years. Pray that God would strengthen them and give them courage to preach the Gospel boldly and with confidence despite the harsh treatment of Christians by the government. Pray that many in North Korea would come to saving faith in Jesus.

 

 

Discussion Questions For Families and Groups

1. Do you think that you would be sucked in by a false teacher doing amazing miracles in front of you? What can you do to protect yourself against this sort of trickery?

2. What can you do as a group to help protect each other from false teaching?