What If That Word From God Wasn’t From God? | Testing the Spirits

“God told me” can be beautiful.It can also become dangerous when someone uses God’s name to pressure you, control you, silence your questions, or make their agenda sound like obedience.In this episode of Rethinking Faith, Nelson Jackson III looks at spiritual manipulation, Christian discernment, prophetic words, testing the spirits, and what Scripture actually says to do when someone claims, “God told me.”Because if God really said it, we should treat it with reverence.But if God did not say it, somebody put their words in God’s mouth.And attaching God’s name to a sentence does not remove your responsibility to test it.Paul tells the church in 1 Corinthians 14:29 to let prophets speak and then tells everyone else to weigh what was said. First John 4:1 says not to believe every spirit, but to test the spirits to see whether they are from God.Testing is not rebellion.Testing can be worship.This episode is not an argument that God does not speak. It is about taking God’s voice seriously enough to question whether every person who says “God told me” is actually representing Him.We walk through five biblical tests:Does it sound like Jesus?Can it be weighed?Does it build people up or break them down?What fruit does it produce?And is it confirming what God has already been forming, or conveniently appearing when someone needs leverage?We also talk about what happens when phrases like “God told me you should stay,” “God told me you should give,” “God told me you should submit,” or “God told me your questions are rebellion” become tools of spiritual pressure.You are allowed to slow down.You are allowed to test what was said.You are allowed to use Scripture, wisdom, community, discernment, and the character of Jesus.God does not need manipulation to produce obedience.And God does not need anyone to lie for Him.Be Part of the Conversation:Subscribe to the podcastFind weekly episodes on YouTube [LINK]Join our "Weekly Unlearning" newsletter for exclusive insights and reflections [LINK]