Every spirit that presses on our heart needs a tried and true testing for accuracy and validity, no matter what your calling unto God is. Discernment is desperately needed in the body of Christ. 1 John 4:1-3 warns believers “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already. There are several ways you can test the Spirit to know it’s true source.”

Prophecy can be delivered through and revelations given to imperfect people, so we must always test the spirit. There is always the possibility of mixing up a word from God, because our Heavenly Father chooses to use wounded people and so we are encouraged in 1 Corinthians 14:29 to “Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others weigh what is said.” Sometimes sincere people dilute God’s word by simply adding their own insights, drawing from things in their own psyche, heart, emotions, concern or sympathy to what started out as an authentic, God-given revelation. We need to learn to discern when God has stopped talking and man has continued on.

On the flip side, we ourselves must be careful when sharing revelations or visions that God has given us for someone else, so that we don’t add anything. At the very least, we need to preface anything that comes from our own interpretation. Personally, I’m not comfortable injecting my own thoughts in a message for someone else. I’m confident God will give them insight into what it means or He wouldn’t have given the vision in the first place. At all times we must seek the Lord’s wisdom.

1. Does the revelation edify, exhort or console? The end purpose of all revelation is to build up and encourage the people of God. Anything that is not directed to this end is not from the Lord. Jeremiah the prophet had to fulfill a negative commission, but even his difficult message contained a powerful and positive promise of God for those who were obedient.

2. Is it in agreement with God’s Word? God never contradicts Himself.

3. Does it exalt Jesus Christ? All revelation ultimately centers on Jesus Christ and glorifies Him (Revelations 19:10).

4. Does it have good fruit? God’s revelations produce fruit in character and conduct that agrees with the fruit of the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 5:9, Galatians 5:22-23). Some that clearly are not the fruit of the Holy Spirit include pride, arrogance, boastfulness, exaggeration, dishonesty, covetousness, financial irresponsibility, immorality and feeding into addictive appetites and temptation.

5. If it predicts a future event, does it come to fruition? (Deuteronomy 18:20-22.) Any prediction concerning the future should come to pass if the source of revelation is God. There are some exceptions including the will of the person involved, messianic predictions that take hundreds of years to fulfill and those of national repentance where an entire nation (like Ninevah) repents and thus a word from God will not occur.

6. Does the revelation turn people toward God or away from Him? (Deuteronomy 13:1-5.) The fact that a person makes a prediction concerning the future that is fulfilled does not necessarily prove that person is moving by Holy-Spirit inspired revelation. If a person, by his own ministry, turns others away from obedience to the one true God, then that person’s ministry is false-even if his predictions were correct.

7. Does it produce liberty or bondage? “For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, ‘Abba! Father!'” (Romans 8:15) True revelation given by the Holy Spirit produces liberty, not bondage. The Holy Spirit never causes God’s children to act like slaves, nor does He ever motivate us by fear or legalistic compulsion.

Stick close to Jesus. Seek Him. Love Him! Give your all to Him. James 4:8 “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” Desire intimacy with God and walk in obedience through your relationship with Him and watch as the channels separating you and Jesus fly open as He begins to pour His voice into your life.

(Excerpts from Exploring Your Dreams and Visions by James W. Goll)