5 Signs That Someone Might Not Be Speaking the True Word of God In Your Life

Jamey Escamilla • December 3, 2020

What’s the easiest way to show that you’re qualified to say what you’re fixing to say?

Repeat these words before you say it:

“God showed me that…”

For example, “God showed me that he’s angry with you.”

“God showed me that your beliefs are wrong.”

“God showed me that this is going to happen in the future.”

Believe it or not, these words carry lots of power, and have swayed the minds of people for hundreds of years.

And we’re still using them today, with great success.

Is it wrong to share something that God showed you?

No, of course not.

But what about when other people share their revelations with us?

How do we know that it’s legit?

I believe that Christians need to be more careful with what they allow to be spoken over their lives.

Your ears aren’t garbage cans, you know.

But with more and more people speaking the “word of God” now more than ever…

… all over social media, the internet, over pulpits, in text messages…

… it’s important for you to be careful with what you heed to and accept as God’s word.

So I want to give you 5 easy ways to know that someone might NOT be speaking God’s word.

Even if they say they are.

So here we go!

1. It should NOT contradict the Bible

There seems to be a bit of a diminishing of the reverence for the Bible, these days.

Now, many people cling more to “private revelations” and dreams than the written word.

I was once sitting in the break room at my old job talking about God with a coworker.

He was saying something that I knew wasn’t biblically correct.

So I asked him HOW he knows that what he’s saying is true.

He said, “I know that it’s right, because I’ve had dreams about it.”

You can call me old school, but I still believe that there’s a reason for the Bible being on Earth.

It’s good because it’s our filter to run everything we hear through. It’s our quality assurance.

How do you know if someone is speaking the TRUE words of God over your life?

Well, does it go against what the Bible says in ways that it shouldn’t?

In simple terms, if the Bible says that things are THIS way, but someone else says that things are NOT that way…

… then it’s not God speaking through them.

Because the Holy Spirit will NEVER contradict himself.

And if you believe that the Bible is really the inspired, written words of God, then filter what they say through it.

But what this means is that YOU have to know your Bible and understand it.

I guess that’s why Paul told Timothy to “rightly divide the word”.

Now let me throw a twist at you that I know you’ll be able to understand:

I am all for God showing us new things that might not be in the Bible…

… but it should NEVER go against what it already says.

God might reveal something special and new to you, but he won’t contradict himself.

So ladies, when a man says that God showed him that you’re supposed to be with him…

… but you’re already married…

… we can KNOW for sure that God didn’t tell him that, because the Bible teaches otherwise.

2. What they’re saying won’t pronounce death, condemnation, or cursing

I think this goes back to understanding our Bibles a little bit.

Often, believers will try to make you feel condemnation for something you did.

They’ll make you believe that God has left you and you have to jump hoops to “get right” again.

And you know what? They’ll use scriptures to prove their point.

But it’s time we know the truth and start living like we’re REALLY under a NEW covenant.

The New Covenant says that there is NO CONDEMNATION to those who are in Jesus.

So if someone is speaking in a way that is very obviously condemning and practically cursing, we know it’s not of God.

Death, condemnation, cursing, shame, and works-based salvation were nailed to the cross with Jesus.

These things happened to people in the Old Covenant, but we’re under a new one, now.

So it’s ridiculous when we try to use OLD COVENANT scriptures to speak judgment and condemnation over someone.

Now here’s another twist: don’t confuse words of condemnation with words of CORRECTION.

If we’re doing wrong, correction is OK, and it helps us.

So often, our brothers and sisters try to correct us, but we get offended, and say they’re judging us.

But this isn’t true. We all need correction, but we NEVER need condemnation.

Remember, God will convict you about things, but this is how he does it:

John 16:8-11 - When he comes, he will convict the world about sin, righteousness, and judgment: About sin, because they do not believe in me; about righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will no longer see me; and about judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged.

The only people that He’ll convict about sin are unbelievers… because they don’t believe.

He convicts US believers of righteousness when we fail. What does that mean?

He says, “You’re better than that. You’re righteous. Now, act like it.”

So if someone is saying that the sky is going to fall in your life, wish them God speed and ignore it.

God is not in the business of destroying people and cursing.

And it’s a shame that some Christians actually ARE in that business.

3. What they say won’t constantly be about everything but Jesus

Let me explain what I mean about this one.

I’ve known Christians who call themselves “Kingdom Entrepreneurs”.

Literally everything they say is about starting a business.

They’re always starting something new, chasing money and fame, and trying to be different.

When I come around them, they don’t talk about Jesus or the Gospel.

Yet they believe that God has spoken to them to be this way and talk this way.

OK. Starting a business is great. But everything in our lives should always point back to Jesus.

It’s all for the glory of God, right?

If their words are constantly about other things other than the Gospel, they might not be hearing from God.

I just believe that God wants us to know HIM, and be full of Him.

And that’s going to show in our words.

Our minds shouldn’t always be on ourselves, our projects, our lives, etc.

That’s why I personally believe that a “YOU-centered” message is not always a good thing.

You know, those who are constantly talking about self-help and reaching your personal goals in life.

I mean, that stuff’s great. I have some self-help books and I have personal goals.

But stuff like that shouldn’t dominate our minds and our words.

It’s really just Dr. Phil with a little bit of Jesus in it. Oprah with Jesus, lol.

So if people are trying to point you towards a destiny that’ll steer you farther from Christ…

It might be time to listen to someone else.

The untrue words from God that people present aren’t always in the form of cursing and anger.

Sometimes, they’re like ministers of light that might not do you any good.

Look what Paul told Timothy about this in 2 Timothy 3:

For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, proud… holding to the form of godliness but denying its power. Avoid these people.

4. The Holy Spirit might be giving you red flags

I think this is one that we kind of overlook a lot.

We often forget that we have God’s spirit living on the inside of us.

He said that the Holy Ghost would lead us and guide us into all truth.

So don’t be surprised if you’re listening to someone say something that sounds fishy…

… and something just doesn’t feel right about the whole thing.

We shouldn’t forget to listen to that still, small voice within us at times.

I know that we’re afraid that what we’re hearing might not be God, but just us.

And sometimes it might be.

But you have to learn to trust that God speaks to you, and that you can understand Him.

I’ve had plenty of times where I’m praying for someone, and I begin to see something.

Not too long ago, somebody wanted prayer at my church.

As I started praying for him, I saw in my head a thick, Amazon-like jungle.

In this vision, I saw him tearing through the jungle, trying to get at the center.

In the center, a big light was waiting for him.

When I shared the vision with him right there at the front of the church, he started shaking his head.

I thought I said something wrong.

But he was actually shaking his head because he couldn’t believe what I had said.

He said, “Man, I had that same dream when I was a kid a long time ago. I never forgot that dream. Jesus is telling me to find him.”

So just by following the Spirit, I was able to tell him about a dream he had decades ago.

I believe the same thing can happen while we’re listening to someone speak what they think is God’s word.

He’ll tell us if it’s legit or not.

Now, you don’t have to be rude about it. You don’t necessarily have to call them out on it.

But just receive what God tells you and protect yourself from harmful words.

5. Their life is not yielding any fruit

Now, this isn’t always 100% proof that what they’re saying is NOT of God.

But it very well could be.

One way you can tell that what someone is sharing might not be the true word of God is this:

Is their life, their character, and their deeds pleasing to God?

Jesus said that we’ll know them by their fruits.

Have you have ever met some crazy Christians?

They’re talking to you about some revelation they got.

But at the same time, they’re also going through a divorce because they cheated on their spouse.

C’mon, man.

When people are truly yielding to God, not only will they be able to speak the true word of God…

… but they’ll also be living a life that doesn’t grieve God.

Now, don’t get me wrong. We all make mistakes.

That’s why you shouldn’t just ride everyone off that might be doing something you don’t think is right.

God can still use people who are struggling with something.

But it’s just something we should be aware of.

I think that if someone is really steeped in something that doesn’t please God and it consumes them, then yea.

Like if someone has raging anger problems, and it happens quite often. To me that’s a red flag.

How can God be giving you things to speak to others, and NEVER tell you about your anger?

That’s why I always get a funny feeling about people who always share what God showed them about something or someone else…

… but never say, “This is what God showed me about MYSELF.”

The Bible just tells us to be alert. And these could be indicators.

Conclusion

Listening to these signs will help you with what you hear about God.

And as Ephesians 4:14 says:

Then we will no longer be little children, tossed by the waves and blown around by every wind of teaching, by human cunning with cleverness in the techniques of deceit.

It’s important to keep in mind that not everyone has bad intent.

Not everyone is purposely trying to lead you astray.

But hey. Sometimes we just miss God. I do.

So just believe the best in people, but at the same time, be alert.

God bless.