The way, truth and life is not an interpretation of scripture based on how man would prefer it to be or based on how you have been taught by those who went before you. Most do not test the spirits to see if the way they are following is actually the way they should be going. 1 John 4:1 “Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.” Many doctrines and theology can usually be traced to the teaching of a man or women (The Foursquare Church’s Founder and false prophetess Aimee Semple McPherson) such as Calvinism Methodism, Dispensationalism, Reformed, etc. Sometimes there are false doctrines that crossover such as the rapture (church taken, others left behind) and Millennial Kingdom (Jesus returns and reigns on earth 1000 years) where Baptists, Pentecostals and others believe but their doctrines are also radically different. If people are open about their beliefs on their websites, you can usually tell pretty quickly where their teaching is coming from and the person other than Jesus they are following. For example, this is from John MacArthur’s church. “We teach that Jesus Christ will return to receive the church, which is His Body, unto Himself at the rapture, and, returning with His church in glory, will establish His millennial kingdom on earth.” This next part is called cessationism. “We teach that there were two kinds of gifts given to the early church: miraculous gifts of divine revelation and healing, given temporarily in the apostolic era for the purpose of confirming the authenticity of the apostles’ message (Hebrews 2:3–4; 2 Corinthians 12:12); and ministering gifts, given to equip believers for edifying one another. With the New Testament revelation now complete, Scripture becomes the sole test of the authenticity of a man’s message. Thus, confirming gifts of a miraculous nature are no longer necessary to validate a man or his message (1 Corinthians 13:8–12). Miraculous gifts can even be counterfeited by satan so as to deceive even believers (1 Corinthians 13:13–14:12; Revelation 13:13–14). The only gifts in operation today are those non-revelatory equipping gifts given for edification (Romans 12:6–8). We teach that no one possesses the gift of healing today.” Though they have quoted certain scriptures, that is not what scripture states. This is what it actually says and nowhere does the bible say otherwise, unless God’s people have rebelled and God has turned His face from us. 2 Corinthians 12:9 “to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, 10 to another miraculous powers.” They believe that satan can counterfeit, which is true, but they give more power to satan than to God. John MacArthur is a false teacher and has very powerful influence over millions of people who think he is a servant of God, and he is just one of many. These few statements show you how easily you can spot counterfeit and how easily people are deceived by them. Jeremiah said Jeremiah 23:36 “But you must not mention ‘a message from the Lord’ again, because each one’s word becomes their own message. So you distort the words of the living God, the Lord Almighty, our God.”

    For some reason, as we just saw with John MacArthur, many have listened to the wrong John. Many doctrines and teaching came from John Wycliffe, John Calvin, John Knox, John Wesley, John Darby, John Piper, John Hagee, to name a few. Paul said 1 Corinthians 1:10 “I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought. 11 My brothers and sisters, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. 12 What I mean is this: One of you says, “I follow Paul”; another, “I follow Apollos”; another, “I follow Cephas”; still another, “I follow Christ.” 13 Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized in the name of Paul?” And then again he said 1 Corinthians 3:1 “I could not address you as people who live by the Spirit but as people who are still worldly—mere infants in Christ. 2 I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. 3 You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere humans? 4 For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not mere human beings? 5 What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. 6 I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. 7 So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. 8 The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor. 9 For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building.” Even if the teaching is from God’s true servants, we worship God not man.  

    The Reformation was not a good event in the church as it led to an even more distorted and desolate church than we had with the Catholics. At that time the church should have returned to the word of God but instead chose the words of many men and continued further and further from the truth. It is better to stick with the gospel of John, not what other Johns (and other names) tell you the gospel should be. You will find these teaching throughout the church and you can identify them by their belief systems. 2 Timothy 4:3 “For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 4 They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.” John is just one name that many listen to but most in the church prefer to listen to a man or a woman over the words of Jesus, even if their name is not John. I mentioned Aimee Semple McPherson. She is likened to a Calvin or a Wesley in the Foursquare movement. On the Foursquare website they have their “Declaration of Faith” which as stated is “Compiled by Aimee Semple McPherson.” She believed God gave her the Foursquare idea, which is odd because you would think God would not have forgotten to add that in the New Testament. I used to pastor in the Wesleyan church and the title of the denomination shows how men have been elevated above Jesus, though not everyone is so bold to put the man they idolize in their name. I have also mentioned I went to a seminary that even have idols of John Wesley, even Charles Wesley and Francis Asbury and for a small price (24.99) you can have a replica of them to worship in your own home. That means they are listening to a different Jesus and other gospels and will continue to say, I have done nothing wrong. Proverbs 30:20 “This is the way of an adulterous woman: She eats and wipes her mouth and says, ‘I’ve done nothing wrong.”

    God said, 2 Chronicles 7:13 “When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people, 14 if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land. 15 Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place. 16 I have chosen and consecrated this temple so that my Name may be there forever. My eyes and my heart will always be there.” The wicked ways are the ways man has chosen over Jesus, the way, truth and life. They choose a different way by following men and women. To humble ourselves means turning away from the teaching of men and women and returning to the word of God. This is not about being a better Baptist, Catholic or Methodist but turning away from them and returning to God’s word. When God turns His face back to the church, then once again the Spirit of truth will return and do just as Jesus said the Spirit would do. John 16:13 “But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. 14 He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. 15 All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.” When that happens, once again the church will do as Jesus did. There is no way that all these differing and very distinct groups who call themselves the church is being directed by the Holy Spirit. There is no such thing as a Catholic, Baptist, Reformed, Pentecostal… Christian. We were told Deuteronomy 11:16 “Be careful, or you will be enticed to turn away and worship other gods and bow down to them. 17 Then the Lord’s anger will burn against you, and he will shut up the heavens so that it will not rain and the ground will yield no produce, and you will soon perish from the good land the Lord is giving you.” The church did not listen and turned away and worshipped other gospels and this happened. 1 Kings 9:6 “But if you or your descendants turn away from me and do not observe the commands and decrees I have given you and go off to serve other gods and worship them, 7 then I will cut off Israel from the land I have given them and will reject this temple I have consecrated for my Name. Israel will then become a byword and an object of ridicule among all peoples. 8 This temple will become a heap of rubble. All who pass by will be appalled and will scoff and say, ‘Why has the Lord done such a thing to this land and to this temple?’ 9 People will answer, ‘Because they have forsaken the Lord their God, who brought their ancestors out of Egypt, and have embraced other gods, worshiping and serving them—that is why the Lord brought all this disaster on them.’” Today the church is a heap of rubble just as Jesus said it would be. Matthew 24:2 “Truly I tell you, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.” Yes, he was talking about the temple but also the future and because the church rebelled against the word of the Lord, the abomination that causes desolation was allowed to decimate the church so severely that Matthew 24:22 “If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive.” Make sure you are following the right way as your eternal destination depends on it.