Value

 There is no value in imitation. It may be flattering to the person being imitated, but as far as having value, especially when it comes to spiritual matters, there is none. The sons of Sceva thought they could fake their way through casting out a demon, but the demon knew better. Something happens when you are in the presence of Christ. A change takes place, a transformation occurs, and that part of Him that now resides in you is what the devil is afraid of.

Seven young men in the prime of their life got wrecked by one man in whom an evil spirit resided, and the moment he leaped on them, they realized things weren’t going to go the way they’d envisioned it. It must have been a sight, watching these seven brothers plan their assault. If it had existed back in the day, they surely would have sung the song about having the enemy under their feet.

The only problem was that they were trying to buy real-world goods with monopoly money, and the evil spirit sniffed them out faster than they could form an offensive. Second-hand knowledge of Jesus won’t do anyone any good. That your momma knows Jesus won’t help you any, and that you know a guy who knew a guy that got saved won’t do a thing to further you toward your own salvation.

The soul that sins will die, but by the same measure, the soul that repents, is washed by the blood of Jesus, and is reconciled unto the Father will live. That we would be so disinterested regarding eternity that we outsource our knowledge thereof to someone else is incomprehensible to me. If your pastor knows Jesus, it doesn’t mean you do. If they study to show themselves approved, it doesn’t mean you have.

The issue isn’t a lack of resources or a lack of time; it’s a lack of prioritization. You find a way to make time for the things you want to make time for. The things you want to find, you will find.

If you’ve got time to catch up on the last thirty seasons of Days of Our Lives because you used to watch it with your mom before she passed, and it’s nostalgic for you, you can find time for Jesus. The question is, do you want to? If not, why not? If the desire to be in His presence doesn’t fill you to overflowing, have you really met Jesus?

The absence of hunger and desire for the deeper things of God by those professing to be His is a harbinger of the overall spiritual condition of the church. We got to this place because we allowed ungodly men to convince us that we can substitute Jesus for other things and somehow still remain mighty warriors, full of the spirit, and ready for battle. Because for some, it’s been ages since they’ve been in the presence of Jesus, when they finally encounter the enemy, their experience will be akin to the sons of Sceva.

There is a difference between imitation and counterfeit. There are times when imitation is innocent enough, wherein someone is so impressed by an individual’s oration that they attempt to mimic their style, but when it comes to counterfeits, the intent is always nefarious.

When something is counterfeited, it is done with the purpose and intent of passing it off as the real thing. Always and without fail, the thing being counterfeited has a considerable amount of value. Chances are you’ll never see a counterfeit penny because there is no value, perceived or otherwise, in counterfeiting such a meager denomination. Likely, you’ll never see a counterfeit dollar bill either, but the higher the denomination, the more chances there are of running across a fake because it becomes more tempting to try and copy one.

By the same logic, the devil doesn’t counterfeit worthless things. Jesus didn’t warn us to beware of false tambourine players or false praise banner waivers. He did warn us to be on guard against false prophets and false teachers. There are two critical takeaways from Christ’s warning that we would do well to meditate upon.

First, if He warned of false prophets, we must allow that there are true prophets. The enemy would not counterfeit something that didn’t exist; he would no longer be a counterfeiter; he’d be a creator. If no true prophecy existed, what would be the point of false prophecy? What would be the point of false teachers if no true teachers existed? Even the warning itself would have been worded differently if all there were was false prophets and false teachers.

The second takeaway is that it’s not beyond the average believer to spot the counterfeit, the false prophets, and the false teachers. But how will we know that they’re lying? By knowing the truth. Simple enough if you’re willing to take the time and learn the truth.

When discerning whether someone is a false teacher or a false prophet, you must strip away their likeability, their dress, their presentation, their delivery, and their fame until all you have is the message itself, the words that they speak, then take those words and compare them to what the Bible says. If what they say contradicts the Bible, if, as Jude says, they are attempting to turn the grace of God into lewdness or deny the Lord Jesus, then you know the truth of it.

It is at this moment that you must choose to walk away and reject their deception. The only problem is that most people don’t because the deception sounds so good, they’d rather live a lie than surrender to the truth.

With love in Christ,

Michael Boldea, Jr.