Beware the Counterfeiter – Part 2

David J. Mullins: Hey, podcast listeners. Thanks for streaming today's podcast from Pathway to Victory. Pathway to Victory is a nonprofit ministry featuring the Bible teaching of Dr. Robert Jeffress. Our mission is to pierce the darkness with the light of God's word through the most effective media available, like this podcast. To support Pathway to Victory, go to ptv.org/donate or follow the link in our show notes. Now, here's today's podcast from Pathway to Victory.
Dr. Robert Jeffress: Hi, this is Robert Jeffress, and I'm glad to study God's word with you every day on this Bible teaching program. On today's edition of Pathway to Victory. We're in a series called Divine Invasions. We looked at the fact that God really does perform miracles. They're not relegated to a past stage and no longer existent. They happen now. But today, we're going to talk about counterfeit miracles. How do we determine whether a miracle or the message behind that miracle is true or false?
David J. Mullins: Welcome to Pathway to Victory with author and pastor Dr. Robert Jeffress. Not everything that looks like a miracle comes from God. Satan is a deceiver, and he's skilled at counterfeiting the very things the Lord does. But we don't have to be fooled. Today on Pathway to Victory, Dr. Robert Jeffress shows us how to tell the difference and stand firm on the truth. But first, let's take a moment to hear some important ministry updates.
Dr. Robert Jeffress: Thanks, David, and welcome again to Pathway to Victory. As we take a deep dive on the topic of miracles, I'm calling this seven-part series Divine Invasions. Miracles come from several sources. Did you know that? Not all miracles come from God. See, there's a counterfeit at work in this world, an enemy who mimics the real thing to lead people away from the truth. So, how do you tell the genuine from the fake? Well, this is the kind of discernment every believer needs, and it's why I wrote my brand new book Divine Invasions, Experience God's Miracles in Your Life Today. In my book, I 'll describe for you the gold standard for God's miracles that never bends to feeling or experience. This is just one of seven topics I tackle in my book Divine Invasions. And today, you're invited to request a hard cover copy from Pathway to Victory. It'll come to your home with my thanks when you give a generous gift to support this ministry. Plus, as a bonus today, I'm going to include something you can carry with you, a set of eight Divine Invasions encouragement cards. Each one highlights a passage of scripture with a reminder that God still moves on your behalf. David and I will say more about my book and other resources later in the program. Plus, at the end of the broadcast, I'll answer this question I received from a listener. Is it okay to ask God for a sign? Be sure to stay tuned to hear the answer. But right now, let's begin the message I titled Beware the Counterfeiter. Where there are two tests by which we judge every miracle and we judge every message. And we're going to get to that in just a moment. But before we get to those two tests, I think we all have to agree on what the standard for truth is. There is a gold standard for truth. How do you judge truth or error? Look, the gold standard for truth is not your experience. It's not your feeling, how you feel about something. What matters is what does the word of God say? The Bible is the gold standard for truth. Turn over to Acts 17 for just a moment. So, look at verse 10 of Acts 17. The brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea. And when they arrived, they also went into the synagogue of the Jews. Now, Berea was 45 miles to the southwest of Thessalonica. What kind of reaction did they get from the Bereans to the preaching of God's word? Well, it was as different from what happened in Thessalonica as a bowl of Brussels sprouts and a bowl of ice cream. It was all together different how they responded. They were noble-minded those in Thessalonica, for they received the word from Paul and Silas with great eagerness. They were excited by the message that the Messiah had come. They hadn't heard that before. They were Jews who were still awaiting the Messiah. They were thrilled to hear the Messiah had come. They received it with great eagerness, but they didn't accept it without testing it. They examined the scriptures daily to see whether these things were so. In other words, they used the scripture as the test to whether the teaching of Paul and Silas was true, whether Messiah had really come. And that needs to be our standard as well. They searched the scripture. And that has to be the gold standard we all agree on. How does it work itself out when it comes to miracles or any message behind a miracle? Notice there are two tests that we use to judge any miracle or the message behind the miracle. One is the miracles workers message. You know, anytime somebody performs a miracle or sometimes receives a miracle, they always have some message that they're peddling. So, examine what the message is behind the miracle. There are several errors that all false teachers, most false teachers follow after. First of all, false teachers don't confess Jesus Christ as the anointed one. If you do not acknowledge Jesus is Messiah, you are denying number one that Jesus is the center of history. If you deny that Jesus is the Messiah, you deny that Jesus is the fulfillment of God's promises. And finally, if you deny Jesus is the Messiah, then you're denying that Jesus is God's unique provision for your salvation. Remember a few years ago, a famous pastor was on cable news and he was asked by the interviewer who was not a Christian. He asked this pastor, If you believe everything in the Bible, then do you teach that only those who trust in Christ are going to heaven and everybody else is going to hell? And the minister tried to not answer the question, and finally all he could come up with was said, well, that's not my judgment to make. I can't judge who's going to heaven and to hell. Well, in one sense, he was correct. We can't make that judgment, but guess what? God has already made that judgment. He said in John 14 verse 6, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the Father but by me. One of my eight-year-old grandchildren said to me, Paul Paul, Jesus didn't say he was a way. He said he is the way. Jesus didn't say he was a life. He said he is the life. Jesus didn't say he was a truth. He said he was the truth. Now, folks, if an eight-year-old can get it, anybody should be able to get it. Jesus said there is one way to heaven, and it is through him. And when we articulate that, we're not making our judgment. We're repeating the judgment God has already made. Secondly, false teachers don't confess Jesus as coming in the flesh. They don't believe in the incarnation, that it was God who came in the flesh. But in 1 John 4 2, John said, by this you shall know the spirit of God. Every spirit that confesses Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God. You know, people don't understand how essential the doctrine of the incarnation is. It's the greatest miracle of all, even more than the resurrection, is God coming in flesh. C. S. Lewis wrote it this way, the central miracle asserted by Christians is the incarnation. Every other miracle prepares for this, exhibits this, or results from this. Here are five consequences of denying the incarnation. You can go back and study these on your own. We don't have time to look at it, but just write it down. First of all, if Jesus didn't come in the flesh, Jesus can't be our example of how to live a life of faith because he never really did it if he didn't come in the flesh. Secondly, Jesus can't be our high priest who opens the way to God. Thirdly, he can't be our savior because he can't identify with those he came to save. And fourthly, Jesus can't be our resurrection because he couldn't have died on the cross and be raised from the dead. And finally, Jesus, if he didn't come in the flesh, can't be our mediator who stands in the gap between a holy God and a sinful humanity. Somebody asked the noted atheist Bertrand Russell, If you turn out to be wrong, if you wake up after you die and find out there was a God, what would you say to God? Bertrand Russell said, I would ask him why he didn't give me better evidence. Well, God has given better evidence. He 's given the best evidence. The best evidence of the existence of God is the existence of Jesus Christ. Thirdly, false teachers don't confess Jesus as God, as the sovereign God. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 12 3, nobody can say Jesus is a curse who is speaking the truth, and no one can say Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit. Think about the three implications of Jesus not being God. If Jesus is not God, then he couldn't be a sinless man. And if Jesus wasn't a sinless man, then his death on the cross is insufficient. He died for his own sins and not for ours. And thirdly, if Jesus' death on the cross was insufficient to pay my debt of sin, then his bones are still in the grave and you and I will remain in the grave forever. Some years ago, the Christian philosopher Peter Kreeft wrote this. He said if you're at a fashionable cocktail party and you confess to a small group standing around you that you enjoy playing with porcupines or that you 're considering becoming a Palestinian terrorist. Are you confessed that you're thinking about selling CIA secrets to Russia? Those people will start buzzing and talking and having a lively discussion with you. But if in that same circle of people you say, you know, I believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God who came and died for my sins and one day he's coming back again, they will scatter like rats off a sinking ship. The fact is people are offended by that message. Christ is a stumbling block to many people, but he speaks the truth. You know, I've discovered about false teachers. Most of them, they don't come out and boldly say Jesus isn't God or Jesus is not the Christ or Jesus didn't die on the cross for the sins of the world. You have to listen carefully to what they say. You know, there's a lot of difference between a cow patty and a cow patty cookie. Did you know there is a difference? There's a difference between true and false doctrine, but you have to be aware of what the difference is. Many times, it's very clever in how they phrase things. False teachers use our vocabulary, but they don't use our dictionary. The words are not the same in their understanding and our understanding. Now, talking about cow patties, I'm about to walk into one right now. I'm fully aware of it, but I'm going to do it anyway. There is a man, I 'm not going to name him, who's running for office here in the state of Texas. And he is one of the smoothest talking people I've ever seen in politics. And guess what? He's a Christian, he says. And guess what? He's been to seminary. He knows the word of God. And he has such an attractive message about being unified and being nicer to one another. He talks about Jesus, but the Jesus he talks about is not the Jesus of the Bible. It's the Jesus of his own imagination. When he talks about gender, he with a smile on his face says, they're not just two genders. There are six genders. And when he talks about Christianity, he says, I'm proudly a Christian. But other religions, Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, they offer a different path. I'm not on their path. I 'm on the Christian path, but we're all going to the same God. Ladies and gentlemen, he is a false teacher. That is a false teacher. Matthew 7 15. Listen what Jesus said. Beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. When evaluating miracles or the message behind the miracles, we need to apply the theological test. How does his message, her message conform with God's words? But secondly, we need to look at the miracle workers motive. I call this the lifestyle test. There are two characteristics of the lifestyle of false teachers. First of all, ungodly teachers seek to satisfy their flesh. Look at 2 Peter 2 2. Many will follow their sensuality, and because of them, the way of truth will be maligned. More often than not, you look under the rocks of the life of a false teacher and there's immorality. His life is strewn with multiple marriages, divorces, immorality. Sometimes they will even use the scripture as a way to distort the truth and lure people into sexual sin, telling people you have to satisfy my fleshly desires. God has commanded you to meet the needs that I have. You know, I had the darndest thing happen just a couple of weeks ago. We were meeting with the publisher who's going to put out this book on miracles, Divine Invasions. And we've done this a lot of times. It's about our 33rd book, and so I said, I guess you would like some endorsements for the book. They said, no, not really. I said, what do you mean? They said, well, we have a policy now. We don't print endorsements on book covers anymore from well-known Christians because we found more often than not something will come up that discredits that person has endorsed the book, and then we've got thousands of books we can't sell because of the endorsement on the cover. Isn't that something? That's how prevalent people falling into sexual sin is. But the Bible has prophesied that that would happen. One of my seminary professors used to say, we walk down the road of immorality when we walk away from God's word. Very perceptive. That's one way to spot an ungodly teacher. He wants to satisfy his flesh. Secondly, ungodly teachers seek to satisfy their greed. They're in it for the money. They're in it for the money. And that can be dangerous in ministry to do things for money. I heard the story this week about a pastor of a small town church, and he was really had some financial needs. And one day the owner of the local cemetery called him up and said, we got this guy who died. We need to do a graveside service for him. Doesn't have any family, any friends. The only people who will be at the service will be the gravediggers, but if you'll come do this service, we'll give you $100. Well, the pastor leapt at that chance. He said sure he'd do it. So, the next morning he gets up, races to the cemetery, is late, gets to the cemetery, looks for any of the gravediggers around. He sees a group of diggers with shovels on the other side of the cemetery. He races up there, gets out of the car, opens his Bible, reads a few verses about heaven from John 14. He encourages the diggers to join him in singing four stanzas of Amazing Grace. So, they take their caps off and put it over their hearts. They sing Amazing Grace. He has a benediction, gets in the car, and leaves as quickly as he came. Those men just stood there, the diggers, with their cap over their hearts. And one of them finally spoke. He said, you know, in the 30 years I've been putting in septic tanks, this is the darndest thing I 've ever seen. You 've got to be careful of doing things for money when it comes to ministry. Now, the Bible isn't saying that ministers need to live like paupers. That's not what he's saying, but he's saying what's your motive. False teachers, you've seen it a million times, they get on television, they start crying and begging for money because they need a new jet, you know. Please give. Give sacrificially. Help me add my new jet. Or they'll promise a miracle. If you'll send $1,000 in today, we'll guarantee this miracle in your life. Don't be deceived by that. Jesus had a word about that in Matthew chapter 23. He said those kind of charlatans, he said they're nothing but whitewashed tombs, which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness, full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. When it comes to evaluating miracles, be a Berean. Carefully examine. Be on guard against counterfeit messages that come from counterfeit motives. In this series, we've talked about real miracles and counterfeit miracles. Next time, we're going to conclude our series on Divine Invasions by looking at what we should do when our miracle doesn't come. That's the focus of next week's study. Let's bow together in a word of prayer. You know, the greatest miracle of all that you can experience is the miracle of the new birth. When God gives you a new heart and promises you an eternity with him in heaven. If any man, if any woman be in Christ, they are a new creation. Old things have passed away. New things have come. Today, if you would like the assurance that when you die, you're going to be welcomed into God's presence. I want to encourage you wherever you are to pray this prayer in your heart as I pray it out loud, knowing that God is listening to you. Would you pray this with me? Dear God, thank you for loving me. I know I have failed you in so many ways, and I'm truly sorry for the sins in my life. But I believe what I've heard today that you love me so much you sent your son Jesus to die on the cross for me, to take the punishment I deserve to take for my sins. And right now, I'm trusting in what Jesus did for me, not in my good works, but in what Jesus did for me to save me for my sins. Thank you for forgiving me and help me to live the rest of my life for you in Jesus' name. Amen. All around the world, men and women are bowing their heads and deciding to follow Jesus, being welcomed into the family of God right where they sit. And friend, that's exactly why Pathway to Victory exists. God has chosen to use this ministry to reach the lost and bring them home to himself. So, as you think about your role in this ministry, I want you to understand that your contributions truly make a difference. When you give to Pathway to Victory, God uses you as a channel of blessing. And today, I want to thank you for your generous gift by sending you my brand new book Divine Invasions. Divine Invasions offers hope for those of us who want God to act in our lives. In other words, it's a book for all of us because we all need God's supernatural care. Please don't delay in requesting Divine Invasions. Get in touch with us today. Give your generous gift to Pathway to Victory, and let's carry this hope to a world that's desperate for God to move. And stay tuned through the end of today's program because I've set aside time for a special Ask Dr. Jeffress feature. A listener asked me a question I've had to wrestle with in my own life. Is it okay to ask God for a sign? I'll tell you about a time I asked God for one. So, stay with us to the very end of today's broadcast. Here's David with all the details.
David J. Mullins: You're invited to request a hard cover copy of Dr. Jeffress' brand new book Divine Invasions when you give a generous gift to support the ministry of Pathway to Victory. Just call 866-999-2965, visit ptv.org or text ptv to 78800. And when your gift is $100 or more, we'll also send you in addition to the book this month's teaching series on audio and video disc along with the companion study guide. To request these resources, call 866-999-2965 or make your request online at ptv.org. You could write to us if you'd like, PO Box 223609 Dallas, Texas 75222. That's PO Box 223609 Dallas, Texas 75222. And now, it's time for a special edition of Ask Dr. Jeffress. Dr. Jeffress stopped by the studio recently to answer a question from one of our listeners. Is it okay to ask God for a sign or pray for a miracle?
Dr. Robert Jeffress: Well, there's a difference between miracles and signs. It's always right to ask for a miracle. That's asking for God to intervene in your situation, whatever it is. But signs are a little bit different. Many times we seek a sign because we want a preview of what's going to happen next. And there's some things I've learned from my personal experience about signs. I remember many years ago when I was the youth pastor at the church I now serve as pastor, First Baptist Dallas. After about seven years, I was getting restless and wanted to do something else besides uh running around with students. And so, I asked God to move me to a different location of greater responsibility. And pretty soon, a pastor of a large church called and said would be interested in having you come as our executive pastor. So, I went and visited the church. He was more convinced than ever. He said, I'll call you in a few weeks. Well, a few weeks went by and he did call. And he said things are working out fine and I'll be back in touch with you. But I didn't hear anything. And I remember one day sitting in a staff meeting saying, Lord, if you want me to go to this new church, I need a telephone call and I need it today. I went back to my office and there was a message that the pastor had called. I thought, well, this is the sign. A few weeks later, I got a call from him saying, I'm sorry, but things aren't going to work out. We're having trouble in the church and it wouldn't be fair to bring you here. Well, I was devastated, Julianne, and I wondered, was God playing a game? Did I not pray correctly? And I found out some things about signs that I talk about in my book, How to Make Wise Decisions. When you look at the Bible, there's some principles about signs. First of all, signs are never treated as something good. They're seen as signs of unbelief. Jesus called this generation wicked and perverse for seeking a sign. So, signs are never commended in the Bible. Secondly, signs from God will never contradict the will of God. Signs will never contradict scripture. And then thirdly, I would say, you know, about signs in the Bible after the time of Pentecost, signs came to those not who were asking for a sign. They came as a supernatural active God. God gave Peter the sign that he ought to minister to the Gentiles. Remember Paul in Acts 16 was stuck in Troas and doors were shutting. And then the vision of the man from Macedonia led Paul to take the gospel to Greece. And he wasn't looking for a sign, but God sent him one anyway. And the other thing I'd say about signs is remember this. Many times wisdom, good wisdom trumps a supernatural sign. We need to remember that. For example, maybe you're trying to decide whether to take a job offer or not. You want to take it, but the problem is it's not enough money for you to take care of your family. It would not be wrong to pray, Lord, if you want me to take this job, answer my request for a larger salary. If they don't meet that salary, then I'll know it's you saying no. That's not so much a supernatural sign as it is good wisdom. And so, I would say to our viewers, when it comes to decision making, common sense, common wisdom, common biblical wisdom always trumps a supernatural sign.
David J. Mullins: Thanks, Dr. Jeffress. I'm David J. Mullins. What do you do when you pray for a miracle and it never comes? Dr. Robert Jeffress answers this sensitive question next time on Pathway to Victory. Pathway to Victory with Dr. Robert Jeffress comes from the pulpit of the First Baptist Church of Dallas, Texas. The Apostle Paul sailed these waters, walked these streets, and the church was never the same.
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David J. Mullins: Set sail May 14, 2027. Call 888-280-6747 or visit ptv.org. You made it to the end of today's podcast from Pathway to Victory, and we're so glad you're here. Pathway to Victory relies on the generosity of loyal listeners like you to make this podcast possible. One of the most impactful ways you can give is by becoming a Pathway partner. Your monthly gift will empower Pathway to Victory to share the gospel of Jesus Christ and help others become rooted more firmly in his word. To become a Pathway partner, go to ptv.org/donate or you can follow the link in our show notes. We hope you've been blessed by today's podcast from Pathway to Victory. Oh, and one last thing before we go, don't forget to reserve your spot on the 2027 Journeys of Paul Mediterranean Cruise. Now, you've heard me and Dr. Jeffress talk about this Bible conference at sea and cabins, well, they're going quickly. Just picture yourself aboard the beautiful Celebrity Infinity sailing round trip from Athens. Now, each day you'll gather for biblical teaching, worship, and fellowship. And then you'll step ashore to stand where Paul stood in Ephesus and walk the streets of Thessaloniki where his letters still speak to the church today. Nine unforgettable nights with more biblical destinations along the way. Every meal prepared, every detail taken care of, plus the joy of traveling with like-minded believers. There's also an optional pre-cruise extension in Athens. To book your spot, go to ptv.org.