Test all things; hold fast what is good.
[1Th 5:21 NKJV]
We are called to be discerning. The bible tells us that early Christians, those who truly wanted truth, would check everything they were told against the Word of God.
These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily [to find out] whether these things were so.
[Act 17:11 NKJV]
Today, with so many ministries and churches, we are to be even more diligent in comparing what we hear to the scriptures. A solid ministry will stick to scripture and not veer from it. We are warned that as the days get closer to the end there will be more and more untruth coming from the pulpits. When we allow our minds to be filled with untruth we can be easily pulled away from true faith in Christ.
Examine yourselves [as to] whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?–unless indeed you are disqualified.
[2Co 13:5 NKJV]
Sadly, false teaching is found not just in churches but is also found in faith based books, music, and movies. This means we must be discerning in everything we choose to focus our minds on. Just because something sounds good, or make us feel good, does not mean that it is good for us.
There are some ministries I follow that have proven to be solid, and I pray they stay that way. I put them into three categories of teaching: light, medium and heavy.
Light means they are solid but tend to keep most of their teaching on a grounding for the new Christian. Medium means they will talk about topics that need to be discussed but that might be too much for a brand new Christian. Heavy means they are solid in the Bible and also talk about heavy, in-depth topics as they relate to end times.
Light
Calvary Chapel Chino Hills – Jack Hibbs
Anchor Christian Fellowship – Bobby Belt
Calvary Chapel Harbor – Joe Pedick
Medium
Rock Harbor Bakersfield – Brandon Holthaus
Olive Tree Ministries – Jan Markell
Calvary Chapel Signal Hill – James Kaddis
Educating Our World – Don Stewart
Heavy
Get a Life Media – Bill Crone
Calvary Chapel Kaneohe – JD Farag
As I told one friend, there are those I can listen to at night and those I only listen to during the day because the topics are that disturbing. My mind has to be firmly planted with Christ and not wavering because the heavy topics are where the evil attacks when my mind isn’t ready for the content.
There are many more out there, but these are the ones I follow on a consistent basis. I keep them in my prayers because they are under constant attack and will be more so as the nation continues on its current path.
Dear Lord,
Your Word is the only sure truth we have to guide our lives. Everything we read from it is God breathed and usable in all our life situations. As we watch to pastors, read books, and listen to music please guide our hearts. Help us be able to discern truth from false teaching. Help us be able to hear the Holy Spirit and know, by studying scripture, what is solid teaching and what is not solid. Lord, there are many pastors that are standing strong and teaching truth. They are under constant attack. Please give them wisdom and courage in these days and those to follow. Thank you, Lord, for their determination to remain true to you.
In Jesus Name, Amen.
