Readings for today: James 1-3, Psalms 31
I have met many people over the years who claim to speak for the Lord. They claim they hear from the Lord. They claim they have words from the Lord. They claim they’ve received some form of special revelation from the Lord. Now do I believe God still speaks to His people? Of course. Do I believe God visits His people in dreams and visions? Absolutely. Do I believe God sometimes gives His people a prophetic word of encouragement or conviction? Without a doubt. But how does a person know when a message is actually from the Lord?
Years ago, I was a Manage of Patient Access Services at Boulder Community Hospital. I had about four departments and around fifty employees working for me. One of them was a believer who often would claim to hear special messages from the Lord. She would wander around the office delivering these “messages” to her fellow employees. It made people uncomfortable. Her words often didn’t make sense. She asked people to share inappropriately with her. It was disruptive. It was manipulative. And it created a lot of resentment and frustration in our office. When I confronted her and asked her to stop, she grew angry and resentful. She began spreading all sorts of rumors and lies about my leadership. Eventually, she had to be terminated. It was a sad episode that taught me a lot about the importance of discernment.
So how do we discern if a message is from God? James 3:17-18 is clear. “But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peace-loving, gentle, compliant, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without pretense. And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who cultivate peace.” Looking back, it was clear the wisdom my employee was offering wasn’t pure or peace-loving or without pretense. It was more designed to promote her own sense of self-worth. Her intent wasn’t to sow peace but to sow pride. And I know I’ve made similar mistakes myself. Especially as a preacher. Every week, I am responsible to get up and share a message from the Lord with God’s people. I always have to check my heart to make sure I am not sharing from a place of pride or selfishness or anger or frustration or a need for affirmation. Every preacher I know wrestles with their motivations every time they get into the pulpit. We have to crucify our ego and desires and fears. We have to empty ourselves of all pride and pretense so God can fill us with His wisdom through His Spirit. And, at the end of the day, we need to be judged on our fruits. What do we produce? Not numbers. Not butts in the seats. Not influence. Not the number of followers we have on social media. But the fruit of purity and peace. The fruit of gentleness and mercy. The fruit of righteousness. This is the ultimate determination of whether we are sharing God’s Word or our own words. And the same holds true for every believer in the world.
Readings for tomorrow: James 4-5, Psalms 32