Test Everything: 4 Traps to Discern Through the Word

Introduction

Before he even begins his message, Pastor Paul ETTORI prepares the congregation for what he sees coming: a season of revival, but also a counter-revival that will have nothing of the Holy Spirit in it. He has visited several revivals, in several countries. And he's noticed something: they don't happen when everything is going well. They happen when thick darkness falls on a people and men, at the end of themselves, finally turn to their Creator.

Here in France, the situation is comfortable. Too comfortable, perhaps. But a revival is coming. And because it's coming, the enemy is sharpening his counterfeits too. He imitates. He disguises. He deceives. That's why Paul ETTORI returns to a simple, cutting verse that sets the compass for everything that follows: "Test all things. Hold firmly that which is good." (1 Thessalonians 5:20-21, WEB)

In the spiritual realm, it's no longer enough to discern the true from the false. You have to discern the true from the almost true. And for that, you need the magnifying glass of the Word and the Holy Spirit. This message gives you four traps to look at very closely, with your Bible open on your lap.

Message Outline

1. Beware of appearances

There was a tree in the United States once called "the giant of the forest": the tallest, the widest, the most imposing. One day, with no storm and no lightning, it collapsed. Inside, decay had been eating it away for years. Beautiful on the outside, dead within.
That's exactly the trap of celebrities, media idols, public figures who create the illusion of happiness. When you study their lives, you find something else. Nine marriages, nine divorces: is that a symbol of success?
Samuel, that great judge, that prophet led by God, was still going to get it wrong. Sent to Jesse's house to anoint the future king, he saw Eliab, the eldest, and thought: "Surely, this is the one." Tall, handsome, imposing. And God stopped him: "Don't look on his face, or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him: for I don't see as man sees. For man looks at the outward appearance, but Yahweh looks at the heart." (1 Samuel 16:7, WEB)
It would be David, the youngest, the one they'd forgotten out in the fields, who would be chosen. If a prophet anointed by God can be wrong about appearances, how much more you and me.
Immediate application: if you see a person to keep company with, a project to join, a teaching to receive coming your way, don't stop at what your eyes see. Your eyes deceive you. Ask God to let you see it as he sees it.
The pastor also reminds us that when the antichrist comes, he will perform spectacular wonders. But Jesus never settled for appearances: he healed, he delivered, he genuinely loved people. Christ's true power doesn't need makeup.

2. Beware of favorable circumstances

Acts 27 tells of Paul's sea voyage, a prisoner on his way to Rome. One line from the account sends a chill down your spine: "When a moderate south wind blew, supposing that they had obtained their purpose, they weighed anchor." (Acts 27:13, WEB)
A gentle, favorable wind. Nothing more. And because the circumstance felt pleasant, they weighed anchor. They forgot to pray. They forgot to ask. And two weeks of storm followed; fourteen days without seeing the sky, the stars, or the sun.
Yet Paul had warned them: "Sirs, I perceive that the voyage will be with injury and much loss, not only of the cargo and the ship, but also of our lives." (Acts 27:10, WEB) They didn't listen. The centurion preferred the word of the ship's pilot and owner over that of the apostle.
The lesson stings: it's not because the wind is favorable that God is sending you. It's not because the doors open easily that you should walk through them. It's not because "everything's going smoothly" that you're in God's plan.
With the Lord, you can also move forward when circumstances are unfavorable. Your assurance comes neither from your feelings, nor your emotions, nor even from the number of people surrounding you. Judas had numbers; the cohort, the officers' ropes, the religious leaders. Jesus stood alone. And Jesus was right.
The cicada sang all summer long. When the north wind came, it cried out in hunger. Many painful choices in our lives could have been avoided if we hadn't set out when the wind was warm. Summer deceives. Youth deceives too. "Your ears will hear a word behind you, saying, 'This is the way. Walk in it.'" (Isaiah 30:21, WEB) That's your compass.

3. Beware of flattery

"Good day to you, Sir Crow! How fine you look, how handsome you seem!" The fable is well known. The fox flatters, the crow puffs up with pride, the cheese falls. But spiritual flattery is even more dangerous. It won't just cost you a piece of cheese. It can cost you a kingdom.
Rehoboam, Solomon's son, learned this firsthand. The people asked him to lighten the heavy burdens carried under his father. The elders counseled wisdom: "Listen to them." But Rehoboam "forsook the counsel of the old men which they had given him, and took counsel with the young men who had grown up with him" (1 Kings 12:8, WEB). His buddies. The ones who wanted to stay close to the future king. The ones who had everything to gain by seeing him rule on their terms.
Their answer flattered him: "My little finger is thicker than my father's waist. Make their yoke heavier." Rehoboam followed their advice. Result: the schism. Ten tribes revolted. Israel split into two kingdoms. Decades of brotherly wars would follow. One bad piece of advice, listened to at the wrong moment, shattered a nation's unity.
Why is bad advice so seductive? Because it speaks to the flesh. The flatterer knows exactly where to press. He knows what feeds pride. He knows what makes you likeable in your own eyes.
By contrast, Proverbs says: "Faithful are the wounds of a friend." (Proverbs 27:6, WEB) Someone who loves you will tell you the truth, even when it stings your flesh. Nathan came to David with a parable, gently at first; but he ended up telling him: "You are the man." (2 Samuel 12:7, WEB) That word is what saved David.
When someone flatters you, be careful. When someone corrects you with love and truth, listen; even if it hurts.

4. Beware of yourself

Who is your enemy number one? Not your neighbor. Not your spouse. Not even Satan. It's you. It's your own heart, your own pride, your own ambitions.
Saul is the sad example of a man who listens to his own thoughts. Samuel was supposed to come and offer the sacrifice at Gilgal. Seven days of waiting. Saul waits almost the whole time. But "almost" means "not at all." He breaks just before the prophet arrives and offers the burnt offering himself. His justification is terrible: "I forced myself, and offered the burnt offering." (1 Samuel 13:12, WEB)
"I forced myself." In other words: I made myself disobey. Samuel's answer: "You have done foolishly. You have not kept the commandment of Yahweh your God, which he commanded you; for now Yahweh would have established your kingdom on Israel forever." (1 Samuel 13:13, WEB)
And after the failure? False repentance. Saul says to Samuel: "I have sinned... honor me now, please, before the elders of my people." (1 Samuel 15:30, WEB) Even in his regret, he's still chasing honor, first place, image. That's what an unexamined heart reveals.
Your inner enemy is that double nature living within you. Born of the Spirit, yes, but still tied to the flesh. And the flesh knows exactly how to dress up its desires as spirituality.
James goes very far in his diagnosis. He contrasts wisdom from above with wisdom from below, and this latter one he calls "earthly, sensual, and demonic" (James 3:15, WEB). Demonic? Yes; and the proof? When Peter, out of love, said to Jesus, "Far be it from you, Lord! This will never be done to you," Jesus answered him: "Get behind me, Satan!" (Matthew 16:23, WEB) A human intention, sentimental, sincere; and yet demonic because it tried to turn Jesus away from the cross.
This is why you need not only the Word, but also the Holy Spirit. The Bible is your compass; the Spirit is the one who helps you discern, through prophetic words, words of wisdom, words of knowledge, what your own heart cannot see.

Key Takeaways

A revival is coming; and with it a counter-revival that will imitate the Holy Spirit. The only way not to be caught off guard is to test everything by the Word.
In the spiritual realm, the stakes aren't only to tell true from false: it's to tell the true from the almost true. The greatest imitator is Satan.
Appearances deceive (Samuel before Eliab). Favorable circumstances deceive (the moderate south wind, Acts 27). Flattery deceives (Rehoboam and his buddies). And you yourself are your own first enemy (Saul at Gilgal).
Human wisdom alone isn't enough. It can be "earthly, sensual, and demonic" (James 3:15) even when it's sincere.
You need the Word (the compass) and the Holy Spirit (the one who lights up what you can't see). Take your time. A year, two years if needed, to discern God's plan. It's never time wasted.

Personal Application

What decision have you made recently simply because "the circumstances were favorable"? Had you gone through prayer before weighing anchor?
Which face, which talent, which appearance are you relying on today to evaluate a person or a project? What would happen if you asked God to show it to you "as he sees it"?
Who around you flatters you? Who, on the other hand, dares to tell you the truth even when it stings your flesh? Who do you listen to most?
Is there a disobedience you've "forced yourself" into, like Saul at Gilgal, finding yourself a spiritual justification for it? What do you need to confess today?
How much time do you actually take to seek God's plan before deciding? Are you willing to wait a year, two years, rather than take the wrong path?

Verses Cited

1 Thessalonians 5:20-21 · "Don't despise prophesies. Test all things, and hold firmly that which is good."
Acts 17:11 · The Bereans received the word with all readiness and examined the Scriptures daily.
1 Samuel 16:7 · "Man looks at the outward appearance, but Yahweh looks at the heart."
Acts 27:10-13 · Paul's warning and the moderate south wind that pushed them to weigh anchor.
1 Kings 12:8 · Rehoboam forsakes the counsel of the elders and consults the young men who grew up with him.
Proverbs 27:6 · "Faithful are the wounds of a friend."
2 Samuel 12:1-7 · Nathan confronts David with the parable of the ewe lamb: "You are the man."
1 Samuel 13:12-13 · Saul offers the burnt offering at Gilgal: "I forced myself."
1 Samuel 15:30 · "I have sinned! Now please honor me before the elders of my people."
James 3:15 · "This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, sensual, and demonic."
Matthew 16:23 · "Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling-block to me."
Isaiah 30:21 · "Your ears will hear a word behind you, saying, 'This is the way. Walk in it.'"
Revelation 13:11-14 · The beast rising from the earth, a deceptive imitation of the Holy Spirit.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I recognize a "false" revival or an "almost" true teaching?

The pastor gives two simple markers: the Word and the Spirit. Run everything you hear through the filter of Scripture, like the Bereans who examined the Scriptures every day, even against what the apostle Paul himself told them. And let the Holy Spirit give you discernment; prophetic words, words of wisdom, words of knowledge. A teaching that flatters, that reassures without ever correcting, that puts man forward rather than Christ, deserves to be examined very closely.

What should I do when I believe I've heard from God, but I'm not sure?

Take your time. The pastor shares that he spent a year in prayer, trembling, to discern God's plan for his life. Another pastor told him: "Me, it took two years." There's nothing lost in waiting. There's everything to lose in rushing ahead just because a moderate south wind has started to blow.

How do I tell flattery apart from sincere encouragement?

Flattery inflates your flesh. It makes you bigger in your own eyes while quietly calculating what it stands to gain from your rise. Sincere encouragement turns you toward God, points you back to his grace, and; when needed; corrects you in love. "Faithful are the wounds of a friend." A true friend accepts hurting you a little to save you; a flatterer accepts losing you rather than risk your good graces.

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