We encourage everyone to measure everything by the word of God. Be a Berean! We have learned that there are many good teachers out there, but that none of them has everything completely right. The ones who realize this exhibit Godly humility and admit their shortcomings. Conversely, the ones who claim humility, but are proud, exhibit very different fruit. A shepherd who struggles with pride must repent. If they do not, it will manifest with subtlety at first and if they remain unwilling to examine themselves, have no one willing to confront them and justify their incorrect thinking and behavior; they will soon become harsh, intolerant of those weaker, and eventually attack the weakest among them. This is what the Bible describes when addressing the issue of wolves among the sheep.
This page is a little bit of a tangent, but something that is very important to be on guard against within the body of Messiah. And while there are many websites that you can visit with just a quick search in your browser, this page is meant to give only a simple testimony from experience. We hope these observations might shed a slightly different perspective on what to be on the alert against, when it comes to wolves among sheep.
This page is a little bit of a tangent, but something that is very important to be on guard against within the body of Messiah. And while there are many websites that you can visit with just a quick search in your browser, this page is meant to give only a simple testimony from experience. We hope these observations might shed a slightly different perspective on what to be on the alert against, when it comes to wolves among sheep.
Our experience is that many who teach on Father's word will often speak truth, but their lives reflect their own disobedience to what they teach. Our messiah Yeshua chastised the Pharisees for this very thing. This type of element within the Body of Messiah will claim humility by saying with their mouth that they "could be wrong on some things", but when challenged their demeanor suddenly changes (whether overtly or subtly). We call this FALSE humility. It stems from pride and is dangerous. This type of person is often placed in (or assumes), a "privileged leadership" role among a local or larger body of believers and has no problem with calling themselves or being called by titles that indicate a higher class than their brothers or sisters, even though our Master specifically admonishes us NOT to do so! It is not only possible, but highly likely, that some who sound like "the real thing", don't act in accordance to what they say. And because it is important to test everything in this regard, we have taken the approach that once a teacher of Father's word has shown themselves to be insincere in their own personal journey, we will disassociate with their teachings. So when we encounter false humility among those in a teaching role, we see it for the "RED FLAG" that it is.
Another important and subtle "RED FLAG" to be very cautious about is "Labeling and Falsely Accusing a Brother/Sister". There are people out there who try to control the sheep by placing labels on certain people that do not agree with them or challenge their position. It's a form of attack that usually gets personal, rather than biblically appropriate confrontation. The person who presses to categorize another brother or sister into a label or falsely accuses them of some belief that is a twisting of their actual belief, is often simply trying to control others. In fact, this is exactly what those who crucified Messiah did to him. They try to force the one who disagrees to recant their position or they try to control others in the group through fear of the same shunning happening to them. They don't want to understand things that they have not learned yet, because of pride. They like their position, status and/or member funded salaries, more than they care for the sheep and the truth they claim to esteem. When others in the fold see this kind of attack on one of the sheep...they will respond in various ways. Here are the ways we've observed:
1) They are frightened. They worry that the attack will turn on them if they dare to disagree. And so this tactic is very effective when used to control people who are weaker.
2) They see it for what it is, but really like their comfort zone and their position in the group. They convince themselves their "shepherd" would never turn on them. And so they remain and continue to plod along as if nothing wrong has happened. But woe to them. This person will usually never go against the party line, even if they know better. They choose to stay with the group-think mentality, burying what they've seen and heard in the background of their mind and take their chances of never being attacked in like kind.
3) Then you have the person who also sees it for what it is, but chooses the path of separation that is most appropriate for the circumstance.
Sadly...these kinds of situations happen far more frequently than most would like to admit. But it is wise to recognize them, learn from them and help others when they encounter them. It is very important to know how to distinguish between appropriate Godly counsel and discipline and what we have described above. We have found that using the scriptural measures to know the difference will always keep us on the right track. Our master has taught us to simply judge the fruit. If a brother or sister accuses another of something, we can measure the fruit in their lives. If either the accused or accuser, is showing forth evidence of Godly living, kingdom focus, and more and more fruit of the spirit...then they are probably on Father's side of the issue. If however, either of the parties involved, show forth evidence of harshness, hurtfulness, jealousy, pride, covetousness, something to gain or lose, a controlling temperament or mean-spiritedness...these usually indicate works of the flesh and will give a good sense of where that person is coming from.
Father does not give us the warnings about false teachers and wolves in sheep's clothing for us to ignore. But some do, when enamored with a "church", group or person. Caution is advised...even if their teaching "seems" solid. We have found that even those who start well, can be taken off-track by the accolades of others, as well as their own view of themselves and their perceived self-importance. This is a caution for all of us. We are all vulnerable to this. So, for what it's worth...we wrote this little blurb as a "heads-up". Be careful, be discerning, don't yolk yourself to a person or group, yolk yourself ONLY to Messiah. The result will be that those who are also yolked ONLY to Him, will be drawn together. Not by the works and traditions of men, but by the power, presence and providence of His holy breath.
Another important and subtle "RED FLAG" to be very cautious about is "Labeling and Falsely Accusing a Brother/Sister". There are people out there who try to control the sheep by placing labels on certain people that do not agree with them or challenge their position. It's a form of attack that usually gets personal, rather than biblically appropriate confrontation. The person who presses to categorize another brother or sister into a label or falsely accuses them of some belief that is a twisting of their actual belief, is often simply trying to control others. In fact, this is exactly what those who crucified Messiah did to him. They try to force the one who disagrees to recant their position or they try to control others in the group through fear of the same shunning happening to them. They don't want to understand things that they have not learned yet, because of pride. They like their position, status and/or member funded salaries, more than they care for the sheep and the truth they claim to esteem. When others in the fold see this kind of attack on one of the sheep...they will respond in various ways. Here are the ways we've observed:
1) They are frightened. They worry that the attack will turn on them if they dare to disagree. And so this tactic is very effective when used to control people who are weaker.
2) They see it for what it is, but really like their comfort zone and their position in the group. They convince themselves their "shepherd" would never turn on them. And so they remain and continue to plod along as if nothing wrong has happened. But woe to them. This person will usually never go against the party line, even if they know better. They choose to stay with the group-think mentality, burying what they've seen and heard in the background of their mind and take their chances of never being attacked in like kind.
3) Then you have the person who also sees it for what it is, but chooses the path of separation that is most appropriate for the circumstance.
Sadly...these kinds of situations happen far more frequently than most would like to admit. But it is wise to recognize them, learn from them and help others when they encounter them. It is very important to know how to distinguish between appropriate Godly counsel and discipline and what we have described above. We have found that using the scriptural measures to know the difference will always keep us on the right track. Our master has taught us to simply judge the fruit. If a brother or sister accuses another of something, we can measure the fruit in their lives. If either the accused or accuser, is showing forth evidence of Godly living, kingdom focus, and more and more fruit of the spirit...then they are probably on Father's side of the issue. If however, either of the parties involved, show forth evidence of harshness, hurtfulness, jealousy, pride, covetousness, something to gain or lose, a controlling temperament or mean-spiritedness...these usually indicate works of the flesh and will give a good sense of where that person is coming from.
Father does not give us the warnings about false teachers and wolves in sheep's clothing for us to ignore. But some do, when enamored with a "church", group or person. Caution is advised...even if their teaching "seems" solid. We have found that even those who start well, can be taken off-track by the accolades of others, as well as their own view of themselves and their perceived self-importance. This is a caution for all of us. We are all vulnerable to this. So, for what it's worth...we wrote this little blurb as a "heads-up". Be careful, be discerning, don't yolk yourself to a person or group, yolk yourself ONLY to Messiah. The result will be that those who are also yolked ONLY to Him, will be drawn together. Not by the works and traditions of men, but by the power, presence and providence of His holy breath.
There are many people who just accept what they are told instead of learning for themselves. They yolk themselves to a "church", denomination or person [one they may call pastor, teacher, apostle, prophet...whatever], instead of being 100% devoted to the One and Only Master, Yeshua. A true disciple of Him will not recognize any other in His place and will stand firm against anyone trying to assume that role. We strongly encourage you to consider what was just said. Especially if it offends your sensibilities OR if you just mindlessly agreed to it and haven't really examined yourself to see if you do this.
We believe that to the best of our own ability to discern; the content in the links library will cause enough tension to force growth in your faith walk. We have found that the people who are sharing their measure of knowledge, wisdom and insight at these links, are all genuinely willing to admit that they don't know everything and that they could have some things wrong. They also encourage us to dig in and challenge what they are sharing, so that we can all come to the truth and be of one accord.
We believe that to the best of our own ability to discern; the content in the links library will cause enough tension to force growth in your faith walk. We have found that the people who are sharing their measure of knowledge, wisdom and insight at these links, are all genuinely willing to admit that they don't know everything and that they could have some things wrong. They also encourage us to dig in and challenge what they are sharing, so that we can all come to the truth and be of one accord.
