[Pastor Ralph]

Q3. (Matthew 7:21-23) How is it possible to deceive yourself, so that you presume that you are "doing" when you are only "hearing"? (see James 1:22-25). How might it be possible to prophesy, drive out demons, and perform miracles in Jesus' name and not enter the Kingdom of heaven?

[Tabatha]

Q3. (Matthew 7:21-23) How is it possible to deceive yourself, so that you presume that you are "doing" when you are only "hearing"? (see James 1:22-25). How might it be possible to prophesy, drive out demons, and perform miracles in Jesus' name and not enter the Kingdom of heaven?

Jesus answered and said to Him " If anyone loves me, He will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make our home with him" (John 14:23 )

" Therefore, since we are receiving a Kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. For our God is a consuming fire." ( Hebrews 12:28-29 )

( James 1: 22-25 ) "22 But Be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. (23) For if any one is a hearer and not a doer, he is like a man who observes his natural face in a mirror; (24 ) for he observes himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. ( 25 ) But he who looks into a perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer that forgets but a doer that acts, he shall be blessed in his doing.

James is writing to people who are facing a variety of trials. Through these trials, their trust in God is being tested, and stretched. By having remembered what the word says they can go through all the trials because of what they have heard. James wants to help his readers to go through these difficult times because of the things he has taught them. he wants them to go through in such a way that their relarionship with God deepens and grows. James has spent a lot of his time so far reminding his readers of the character of God.

To really be doers of the word it must be embedded in our hearts and minds, no matter what we are doing or where we are we are ready in season and out.

Jesus reminds us of the unchanging, generous, and completely good character of God. He reminds us that God created us because He desired to and that He did so in order that we could be " a kind of first fruit of His creatures. "( 1:18 ) We are to be quick to hear these words of truth. Listening and receiving again and again the truth of God's amazing love and grace for us will help us to be more deliberate and faithful in being doers of the word of God.

If I do not act on the truth I hear from my heavenly Father, then I am deceived because the truth I heard does not stay before and in me. I soon forget it and so forget myself.

This passage in Matthew I see as a warning even to Spirit-filled believers who have seen the power of God flowing in their ministeries. Jesus is saying: "Even all that is not enough, I WANT YOUR HEART. You need to put away sin ( pride) Independence and let me direct you. If we have been sinning, or we have not been doing what God wants us to do, and we have been doing all these things in our own self, The answer is to repent, and renew our love for God. God is willing to forgive- we must be willing to be changed , turn around and go in a different way, following God's word.

Paul said, "But if anyone loves God, this one is known by Him " ( 1 Cor.8: 3 ) Jesus will not say those words of condemnation in ( MAtthew 7: 21-23 )

[JustJeff]

It is really quite easy to convince yourself that you are something that you are not. During my 27 years of addiction I was convinced that I was in control when I was in fact a slave to sin. I see where some believe that by going to church on Sunday and tossing a few coins into the collection plate satisfies what they believe is needed to be a doer. Doing is a lifestyle change. Living entirely by the Word of God, heart, mind, body and soul.
God gave gifts to mankind and we are to use them for His glory. Pride may result in using our gifts for vanity and power as well as the accumulation of personal wealth. It is then that we turn from the truth and live a lie and will be shocked come judgement day.

[masika]

Q3. (Matthew 7:21-23) How is it possible to deceive yourself, so that you presume that you are "doing" when you are only "hearing"? (see James 1:22-25). How might it be possible to prophesy, drive out demons, and perform miracles in Jesus' name and not enter the Kingdom of heaven?
It is important to listen to what God’s word say, but it is much more important to obey it and to do what it says. We can measure the effectiveness of our Bible study time by the effect it has on our behavior and attitudes. We should put into action what we study.
You may sound religious but have no personal relationship with Christ. Jesus is more concerned about our walk than our talk. He wants us to do right, not just say the right words. What we do cannot be separated from what we believe.

[Elwood C O'Dell]

Unless our walk matches our talk we have a problem. Unless what we say we are as a Christian is seen in the actions of our every day life, we have a problem. The problem being we have a “form of godliness” but we are not endued with the power from Him who is on high. We can do all kinds of marvelous works but if they are not what God is expecting from us, we have a problem. To truly be a Christian, our life must be Christ like. It must be lived in obedience to His known will for our lives.

[Roxanne]

[quote name='Pastor Ralph' date='Dec 20 2007, 12:02 AM' post='32231']
Q3. (Matthew 7:21-23) How is it possible to deceive yourself, so that you presume that you are "doing" when you are only "hearing"? (see James 1:22-25). How might it be possible to prophesy, drive out demons, and perform miracles in Jesus' name and not enter the Kingdom of heaven?



WE HAVE TO BELIEVE IN THE LORD JESUS CHRIST ..AND KNOW HE IS GOD.. WORSHIP ONE GOD ONLY!!

[charisbarak]

Yes, we can easily deceive ourselves. Not obeying what we read in the Word is one way. Like James says, would we look in a mirror, see our messy hair, and do nothing about it before we go to work?

God can allow His power to be used, even by unbelievers if it's His will. I believe the person receiving the powerful work is the one God wants to touch and he will use any instrument he desires. But not all his instruments will be going to heaven......

[Stan]

Q3. (Matthew 7:21-23) How is it possible to deceive yourself, so that you presume that you are "doing" when you are only "hearing"? (see James 1:22-25). How might it be possible to prophesy, drive out demons, and perform miracles in Jesus' name and not enter the Kingdom of heaven?

I understand the hearing only part to mean that we are actors,we go to church confess to other christians that we are believers then go live as the world lives doing as we please not confessing the sin in our lives to Christ but continueing tolive in them. How one could do mircles I don't understand, mircles only come from God and I would think you would have to be insubmission to Him so in this I more revelation from God and can only hope and pray that He wil for give my ignorance.

[dand]

Q3. (Matthew 7:21-23) How is it possible to deceive yourself, so that you presume that you are "doing" when you are only "hearing"? (see James 1:22-25). How might it be possible to prophesy, drive out demons, and perform miracles in Jesus' name and not enter the Kingdom of heaven?

Unfortunately there are many that are self-decieved into believing that just being a member, or occassionally showing up at church, or you have the Christianese language down, but they do not live the Christian life. When Christ does not impact our daily lives, there is no regeneration of new life. There are some in my congregation that are very satisfied to be church people, but do not allow the Word of God to change them. I went through a situation where someone seemed like a faithful, strong, Christian, yet they were able to compartmentalize there sin so much that it was justified. Being a member of the leadership team, while in the background having an adulterous affair, was OK because that was part of his life away from his church life and family life. Other situations escalated which revealed his sin and he chose to repent. Praise God he is now on his way to a new life in Christ which affects the whole man.

Some of us say "He understands my weakness" and live the way they wish, but "I am a member of that church around the corner". They do not share Christ with others, or go to church, or love others, or actually seek after God. The big concern is having somewhere to be buried. And of course they are a Christian. We love and care about these people very much, but their self-deception prevents them from ever seeing the real Christ who died for them. Not only do they miss out on the daily blessing of walking with Christ, but their false Christianity may lead them to a dark eternity.

[JanMary]

Q3. (Matthew 7:21-23) How is it possible to deceive yourself, so that you presume that you are "doing" when you are only "hearing"? (see James 1:22-25). How might it be possible to prophesy, drive out demons, and perform miracles in Jesus' name and not enter the Kingdom of heaven?

1) I call it denial, or the rose colored glasses syndrome....or magical thinking....I did that for years about my life...too painful and too much shame, to look inside, so I did a lot of pretending things were different than they really were. That dysfunctional thinking can carry into the spiritual life as well...I think psychologists call it a "disconnect" between what life really is, and the way we pretend life is. It's a survival skill, but thank God He is the Healer in every area of life and wants us to live beyond just surviving..to abundant life in Him. That can only be experienced when we live in TRUTH, and His truth sets us free. (It can still creep in though at times if I'm not mindful.... during a recent sermon on "Breaking the spirit of Pride", I thought, yes, my husband is bound by the spirit of pride", and didn't once look inside to examine my heart. This morning a devotion arrived on that subject, and I was immediately convicted of my own pridefulness. Thank you Jesus, for cutting through the denial once again.)

2)A false prophet who "ministered" at a church we attended years ago, preached the gospel, and many were saved, including our son. (It was not known he was a false prophet until a book he had written was vetted years later, and most of it was lies. He was an assoc. pastor at a huge church in L.A. at the time.) There were people healed at his services....so I would say, like Jesus said to His disciples, "Leave them alone, if they're not against us they are for us."....God will allow them to "minister", but it's HIS FRUIT and GRACE, not any thing to do with the false prophet....but on the other hand that is also true whenever a true believer ministers...it's always God's work of grace that brings salvation, healing, deliverance, etc., not the individual who ministers.

There is a scripture that says: "All things serve God".. that would include even Satan who opposes God, Who can turn his oppostion into furthering the Kingdom of God.

[swordwoman]

Q3. (Matthew 7:21-23) How is it possible to deceive yourself, so that you presume that you are "doing" when you are only "hearing"? (see James 1:22-25). How might it be possible to prophesy, drive out demons, and perform miracles in Jesus' name and not enter the Kingdom of heaven?

One either lives in "the lie" or "the Truth"...before you come to Christ, you live in the lie. When you come to Jesus Christ, you are then translated into the Truth. Within that place of Truth, there is also the "perceived truth." The perceived truth is the place of battle and struggle. The perceptions of circumstances and people come at us...their truth (or reality) and our truth (or reality). Only when the perceived truth is held to the standard of the Word of God, are we able to see clearly whether we are walking in the Truth. Everything and everyone stands or falls against the Word. Jesus said He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Truth is only truth when it is of Him. We are called hear AND obey. Obedience is an act of the will and happens when one hears and acts out what he hears in a spirit of obedience to the Father.

It is possible to do "works" in the name of Jesus and not know Him, i.e. have intimacy with Him. Jesus is the One who does the healing, delivering, restoring, etc. It is not by might, not by power, but by His Spirit. So, just because someone casts out demons, heals, or performs miracles in Jesus' name, does not necessarily mean they know Him. He said you will know them by their fruit. So let's all get fruity, now...

[June]

We must do God's will. Obedience is a must in our relationship with Christ. We need to always be doing what God commands us to do. By the grace of God we are given the gift of obedience and can choose to obey or deny His will. We must be totally committed to the truth and not consider ministry a way of judging our relationship to Christ.
Satan performs as an angel of light and his servants will masquerade as servants of righteousness. God will honor Biblical truth and those who accept it in faith as long as they are committed to Christ.
False teachers WILL NOT enter the kingdom of heaven... I never knew you.

[Dar]

Q3. (Matthew 7:21-23) How is it possible to deceive yourself, so that you presume that you are "doing" when you are only "hearing"?
Engraved in a cathedral in Germany are these words: Thus speaketh Christ our Lord to us.
You call Me Master and obey Me not. You call Me Light and see Me not. You call Me the Way and walk Me not. You call Me Life and choose Me not. You call Me Wise and follow Me not. You call Me Fair and love me not. You call Me Rich and ask Me not. You call Me Eternal and seek Me not. You call Me Noble and serve Me not. You call Me Gracious and trust Me not. You call Me Might and honor Me not. You call Me Just and fear Me not. If I condemn you, blame Ne not.
(see James 1:22-25). How might it be possible to prophesy, drive out demons, and perform miracles in Jesus' name and not enter the Kingdom of heaven?
The Lord used Balaam, even though he was not right with God. King Saul prophesied even though his heart was far from God.
God can do whatever He wants to do, and He can use whom ever He wants to use. It is God's ministry, not mans. Watch out for any ministry that promotes "self"

[Lunga]

Q3. (Matthew 7:21-23) How is it possible to deceive yourself, so that you presume that you are "doing" when you are only "hearing"? (see James 1:22-25). How might it be possible to prophesy, drive out demons, and perform miracles in Jesus' name and not enter the Kingdom of heaven?

By getting blessed when you hear the word but after such time you forget about it.


It is possible.God blesses us with Gifts.when we slide away from Him,He doesnt take it from us.because He is a gracious God.So people
keep on using His name hoping they are still on the right track,whereas they are offtrack.Those are the ones that wont be known by God.

[Patricia A]

Q3. (Matthew 7:21-23) How is it possible to deceive yourself, so that you presume that you are "doing" when you are only "hearing"? (see James 1:22-25). How might it be possible to prophesy, drive out demons, and perform miracles in Jesus' name and not enter the Kingdom of heaven?

Q3. (Matthew 7:21-23) How is it possible to deceive yourself, so that you presume that you are "doing" when you are only "hearing"? (see James 1:22-25).

It is so easy to deceive ourselves by letting everyone see us doing the Christian thing—going to church, being involved in church activities and telling folks how important being a Christian is to us. However, the real test of our love of God is whether we give our life to Him and serve Him only in everything we do. If our faith is real, we want to work to serve Him.



How might it be possible to prophesy, drive out demons, and perform miracles in Jesus' name and not enter the Kingdom of heaven?

It is possible to do these things and yet not to have fully committed our lives to God. When our lives our dedicated to Him, we will live as he taught us to live because in our hearts we want to glorify Him in everything we do. This means following His commandments, loving and caring for all His children who are our brothers and sisters and being peacemakers whenever possible. We don’t care about others seeing us doing “good” but rather want to do these “good” things to serve our Savior.

[Mephibesheth]

Q3. (Matthew 7:21-23) How is it possible to deceive yourself, so that you presume that you are "doing" when you are only "hearing"? (see James 1:22-25). How might it be possible to prophesy, drive out demons, and perform miracles in Jesus' name and not enter the Kingdom of heaven?

1) It is easy for a newly-born Christian to presume that he is "doing" when he is only "hearing" - until his Father tells him he has been a baby long enough. The word "hearing" comes from a Greek root (akouo) which means to "understand." I had heard the gospel in various parts and in many ways for my entire life, I did not understand, however, it's basic principles until the day before my 37th birthday. Once I understood, I immediately believed because I was always ready to believe in Jesus (I was always taught, it seemed, that the sum total of Christ's work was to provide atonement for my sins; I don't ever remember being taught that I could be sin-free while still on earth or that heaven was available to me today). Virtually immediately after understanding and belief merged, I received new-birth and the indwelling of the Spirit. After that, I saw God's word in an entirely different and awesome light. I was constantly understanding new matters through revelation and it seemed like this was my job as a new creation - to understand all these truths I had not before perceived. I laugh at myself now because during this period it seemed like I had arrived to the end - I had finally after all these years found truth and I was sure Jesus was going to take me home and tell me how proud He was of me for knowing the truth. Then, through the same Revealer of truth I understood that these truths were not the end of the Kingdom of Heaven, but rather the beginning. I liken it to a student going to Law School and learning proudly all the equitable principles of law and not yet realizing that there will be a graduation and a job requiring that these equitable principles be applied to real living facts involving real living people in a real world not made of paper.

2) I am not fully convinced that these two issues are, as a matter of necessity, directly connected or even that they are closely related. This is so because I believe even one who does not understand (let alone believe and do) can prophecy, drive out demons, and perform miracles if it is done in connection with preaching the gospel of Jesus as written. This is so because the gospel itself is the power of God ("I am not ashamed of the gospel for it is the power of God unto salvation for everyone who believes" Ro: 1:16). A person who understands and believes the gospel as heard from an audio e-book of the Book of John, for example, can receive revelatory prophecy, be delivered of demonic posession and be healed of disease - even though the computer that spoke the recording neither understood or believed the gospel, to mention nothing of the fact that it was not indwelt with the Spirit of Christ. This is so because the gospel's power is not dependent on the understanding or belief of the messenger, but rather the receiver.

[Mephibesheth]

1) It is easy for a newly-born Christian to presume that he is "doing" when he is only "hearing" - until his Father tells him he has been a baby long enough. The word "hearing" comes from a Greek root (akouo) which means to "understand." I had heard the gospel in various parts and in many ways for my entire life; I did not understand, however, it's basic principles until the day before my 37th birthday. Once I understood, I immediately believed because I was always ready to believe in Jesus (I was always taught, it seemed, that the sum total of Christ's work was to provide atonement for my sins; I don't ever remember being taught that I could be sin-free while still on earth or that heaven was available to me today). Virtually immediately after understanding and belief merged, I received new-birth and the indwelling of the Spirit. After that, I saw God's word in an entirely different and awesome light. I was constantly understanding new matters through revelation and it seemed like this was my job as a new creation - to understand all these truths I had not before perceived. I laugh at myself now because during this period it seemed like I had arrived to the end - I had finally after all these years found truth and I was sure Jesus was going to take me home and tell me how proud He was of me for perceiving the truth. Then, through the same Revealer of truth I understood that these truths were not the end of the Kingdom of Heaven, but rather the beginning. I liken it to a college graduate with low grades being accepted into Law School and being surprised and proud of his abilities as he begins to succesfully learn the equitable principles of law and their relationships to hypothetical facts and not yet realizing that there will be a graduation and a job requiring that these equitable principles be applied to real living facts involving real living people in a real world not made of paper - until the day the Law School gives him a diploma and tells him he must learn the rest on the job!

2) I am not fully convinced that these two issues are, as a matter of necessity, directly connected or even that they are closely related. This is so because I believe even one who does not understand (let alone understand, believe and do) can prophecy, drive out demons, and perform miracles if it is done in connection with preaching the gospel of Jesus as written. This is so because the gospel itself is the power of God ("I am not ashamed of the gospel for it is the power of God unto salvation for everyone who believes" Ro: 1:16). A person who understands and believes the gospel as heard from an audio e-book of the Book of John, for example, can receive revelatory prophecy, be delivered of demonic posession and be healed of disease - even though the computer that spoke the recording neither understood or believed the gospel, to mention nothing of the fact that it was not indwelt with the Spirit of Christ. This is so because the gospel's power is not dependent on the understanding or belief of the messenger, but rather the receiver. This is why Paul wrote that he didn't mind that people were preaching the gospel for selfish and sinful reasons while he was in prison, so long as the gospel was being preached (Phillipians)

[sahala p.s.]

Q3. (Matthew 7:21-23) How is it possible to deceive yourself, so that you presume that you are "doing" when you are only "hearing"? (see James 1:22-25). How might it be possible to prophesy, drive out demons, and perform miracles in Jesus' name and not enter the Kingdom of heaven?

It is possible to deceive myself, so that I presume that I am "doing" when I am only "hearing," in a way that does not practice what the Word of God says that I have known or have been familiar, that I have got from the bible studies that I have been involved, from the sermons that I have heard.

It is be possible to prophesy, drive out demons, and perform miracles in Jesus' name and not enter the Kingdom of heaven in a way that does not do the will of God, does not be obedient to Christ himself. God may give us some “oil”, so that we can prophesy, drive out demons, and perform miracles in Jesus’ name, but that is not a guarantee that we will enter the Kingdom of heaven. For us to prophesy, drive out demons, and perform miracles in Jesus’ name are not the main objectives of God to give his oil. Doing his will and being obedient are what he wants us to do.

[AngelOnLine]

Q3. (Matthew 7:21-23) How is it possible to deceive yourself, so that you presume that you are "doing" when you are only "hearing"? (see James 1:22-25).
If all were doing is trying to be religious by practicing religion, so we will appear 'spiritual to others we are only deceiving ourselves. I really don't like the term religious, I prefer to be called a Jesus Follower. When we read the Word of God we need to listen to what His Word is saying to us and live our lives accordingly.

How might it be possible to prophesy, drive out demons, and perform miracles in Jesus' name and not enter the Kingdom of heaven?
I've never actually seen anyone drive out demons or heal someone, but it's possible if God gives them this ability, but if they aren't obedient to the Word of God their good works will not get them into the Kingdom of Heaven.

[linda bass]

It is possibe to deceive oneself by presuming one is "doing" when only "hearing" when we rely on religious works to get us to heaven rather than following Jesus and obeying Him only.
It is possible to prophesy,drive out demons,perform miracles in Jesus' name, yet never enter the Kingdom of heaven because
we are relying on our good deeds alone, rather than having a personal relationship with Christ.