TONGUES
Matthew 24:23-24 "Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There!’ do not believe it. (24) "For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.
Luke 21:8 And he said, Take heed that ye be not deceived: for many shall come in my name, saying, I am [Christ]; and the time draweth near: go ye not therefore after them.
2 Thessalonians 2:9-12 The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, (10) and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. (11) And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, (12) that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
Romans 1:28-32 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; (29) being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, (30) backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, (31) undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful; (32) who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them.
1Tim 4:1 Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;
1 John 4:2-3 By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, (3) and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world.
FALSE SPIRITS LEAD YOU AWAY FROM GOD -
Deuteronomy 13:1-5 "If there arises among you a prophet or a dreamer of dreams, and he gives you a sign or a wonder, (2) "and the sign or the wonder comes to pass, of which he spoke to you, saying, ‘Let us go after other gods’ which you have not known‘and let us serve them,’ (3) "you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams, for the LORD your God is testing you to know whether you love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. (4) "You shall walk after the LORD your God and fear Him, and keep His commandments and obey His voice, and you shall serve Him and hold fast to Him. (5) "But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has spoken in order to turn you away from the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of bondage, to entice you from the way in which the LORD your God commanded you to walk. So you shall put away the evil from your midst.
Acts 13:6-12 Now when they had gone through the island to Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew whose name was Bar-Jesus, (7) who was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, an intelligent man. This man called for Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God. (8) But Elymas the sorcerer (for so his name is translated) withstood them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith. (9) Then Saul, who also is called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him (10) and said, "O full of all deceit and all fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease perverting the straight ways of the Lord? (11) "And now, indeed, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you shall be blind, not seeing the sun for a time." And immediately a dark mist fell on him, and he went around seeking someone to lead him by the hand. (12) Then the proconsul believed, when he saw what had been done, being astonished at the teaching of the Lord.
TRUE SPIRITS LEAD YOU TOWARD GOD & AGREE WITH SCRIPTURE -
Deuteronomy 13:1-5 "If there arises among you a prophet or a dreamer of dreams, and he gives you a sign or a wonder, (2) "and the sign or the wonder comes to pass, of which he spoke to you, saying, ‘Let us go after other gods’ which you have not known‘and let us serve them,’ (3) "you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams, for the LORD your God is testing you to know whether you love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. (4) "You shall walk after the LORD your God and fear Him, and keep His commandments and obey His voice, and you shall serve Him and hold fast to Him. (5) "But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has spoken in order to turn you away from the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of bondage, to entice you from the way in which the LORD your God commanded you to walk. So you shall put away the evil from your midst.
Isa 8:20 To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, [it is] because [there is] no light in them.
John 14:26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.
John 16:13-15 However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. (14) He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. (15) All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you.
1 Corinthians 3:10-11 According to the grace
of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the
foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he
builds on it. For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is
laid, which is Jesus Christ.
{The true Holy Spirit will NOT focus
on Himself, but rather will point to Christ & the Gospel (John
16:14) (the foundation laid down by Christ & the apostles). The
false spirit (Satan) will focus on himself through signs & wonders,
thus making the main focus the signs & wonders rather than the
Gospel.}
1 John 4:2-3 By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, (3) and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world.
ARTICLE: Are Prophets for Today?
by James M. Frye
ALWAYS TEST THE SPIRITS -
1 John 4:1-6 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. (2) By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, (3) and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world. (4) You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. (5) They are of the world. Therefore they speak as of the world, and the world hears them. (6) We are of God. He who knows God hears us; he who is not of God does not hear us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.
1 Thessalonians 5:21-22 Test all things; hold fast what is good. (22) Abstain from every form of evil.
2 Corinthians 11:13-15 For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. (14) And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. (15) Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works.
Deuteronomy 18:20-22 ‘But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in My name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet shall die.’ (21) "And if you say in your heart, ‘How shall we know the word which the LORD has not spoken?’ (22) "when a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if the thing does not happen or come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him.
Acts 16:16-18 Now it happened, as we went to prayer, that a certain slave girl possessed with a spirit of divination met us, who brought her masters much profit by fortune-telling. (17) This girl followed Paul and us, and cried out, saying, "These men are the servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us the way of salvation." (18) And this she did for many days. But Paul, greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, "I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her." And he came out that very hour.
Revelation 13:11-17 Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth, and he had two horns like a lamb and spoke like a dragon. (12) And he exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence, and causes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. (13) He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men. (14) And he deceives those who dwell on the earth by those signs which he was granted to do in the sight of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who was wounded by the sword and lived. (15) He was granted power to give breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed. (16) He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, (17) and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
Rev 16:14 For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, [which] go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.
1 Kings 22:19-23 Then Micaiah said, "Therefore hear the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting on His throne, and all the host of heaven standing by, on His right hand and on His left. (20) "And the LORD said, ‘Who will persuade Ahab to go up, that he may fall at Ramoth Gilead?’ So one spoke in this manner, and another spoke in that manner. (21) "Then a spirit came forward and stood before the LORD, and said, ‘I will persuade him.’ (22) "The LORD said to him, ‘In what way?’ So he said, ‘I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ And the LORD said, ‘You shall persuade him, and also prevail. Go out and do so.’ (23) "Therefore look! The LORD has put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these prophets of yours, and the LORD has declared disaster against you."
1 Samuel 18:10-11 And it happened on the next day that the distressing spirit from God came upon Saul, and he prophesied inside the house. So David played music with his hand, as at other times; but there was a spear in Saul’s hand. (11) And Saul cast the spear, for he said, "I will pin David to the wall!" But David escaped his presence twice.
Exod. Chap. 7-12 (Some Plagues Duplicated By Magicians)
LOOK TO SALVATION, NOT SIGNS & WONDERS -
Luke 10:20 Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.
John 2:23-25 Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name when they saw the signs which He did. (24) But Jesus did not commit Himself to them, because He knew all men, (25) and had no need that anyone should testify of man, for He knew what was in man.
John 6:36 But I said unto you, That ye also have seen me, and believe not.
John 20:29 Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed [are] they that have not seen, and [yet] have believed.
2Cor 5:7 (For we walk by faith, not by sight:)
Matthew 16:4 An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign; and a sign will not be given it, except the sign of Jonah.” And He left them and went away.
1 Corinthians 1:22-23 For Jews request a
sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to
the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness,
Commentary on 1 Corinthians 1:22-23 -
Today
we want to look at the message of the Christian. Many times we become
students of the Bible and we forget the basics that we need to include
in our spiritual repository. When we look at the above set of verses,
it reminds me that some things never change. The message of
Christianity has never changed throughout the whole New Testament and
we continue to find, in our present day, the same situation that the
Apostle Paul faced. There were people who were seeking after signs and
those who were seeking after wisdom. These people caused as much
consternation for the Apostle Paul in his day, as they do for the
stable Christian in our day.
Today we see the rise in
Charismaniac Christianity where everyone who partakes of that
particular strain of Christianity needs to see signs and wonders. While
they claim they have faith, their faith based Christianity is
foundational upon the signs and wonders which God performed in the
early Church, being operational today. However, God is not performing
any miracles like handkerchief healing or raising the dead to confirm
the Gospel like He did in the time of Christ and the early church -
(Mark 16:20 KJV) And they went forth, and preached every where,
the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs
following. Amen.
Christ even warned against those who seek
signs and wonders and called them an evil and adulterous generation (
Matthew 12:39-40). If Christ warns against these types of false things
which are going to come upon the church, then why do so many millions
seek the very thing that Christ decried? It is because there is no
light in these people who must have sight for faith. You know the old
saying, Seeing is Believing, and unfortunately that is what rules the
Charismatic movement. The problem is, they believe in the miracles and
the false preacher.
Then there is the other group which
criticizes Christianity and that is the intellectual group. They claim
that Christianity cannot possibly be true because God does not exist.
Schools of philosophy have been formed from the time of the Ancient
Greeks up till today who create systems of unbelief with their many
words. Existentialism, Rationalism, Pragmatism, Empirical belief
systems and on and on. (Charismania would fit well into the Empirical
system.) The Apostle Paul faced the philosophers on Mars Hill. Today we
call them Think Tanks. Many well-educated people find Christianity a
very primitive religion and not worthy of consideration simply because
they cannot explain God’s salvation plan. However, God does save
intellects and then uses what they have learned to present the truths
of Christianity to the other unbelieving intellects. Some will be the
Elect and some will be hostile.
As we look at our two opening verses, we see that the message which we
are to preach is Christ crucified. We are to speak the basic message of
the cross as the basis of our verbal testimony and witness. Now there
is nothing inherently wrong in discussing the cross of Christ in
intellectual terms as long as those terms bring the person back to the
cross. Christ did not chide Nicodemus for not understanding the basics
of Christianity, instead He continued to speak with Him on his level.
Eventually Nicodemus came into the Kingdom. God does not condemn us for
using the intellectual abilities He gave us. Humanistic Philosophy or
Evolution is man’s intellect gone awry through sin. When a person
becomes saved, they can reclaim the use of their mind to the Glory of
God. The Christian has two basic functions in terms of witness: The
first, is we are to present the truth of the Gospel; the second, is
that we are to be an apologetic for the Gospel.
(Phil 1:17 KJV) But the other of love, knowing that I am set for the defence of the gospel.
The word defense is apologia in the Greek and it is where we derive the
word apologetic from which simply means we need to go beyond turn or
burn as our defense of the Gospel and Christianity. We need to declare
and defend the Gospel. The secret of being a good salesman is to
thoroughly know the product you are selling and to be able to derail
the arguments another company may make against your product to the
client. If a product salesman can responsibly do this, how much more
should we, who hold the eternal truths, be astute at declaring and
defending the Gospel? The verse below says, be ready always, it doesn’t
say, if you feel like. God is not glorified by the ignorance of His
people.
(1 Pet 3:15 KJV) But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be
ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of
the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:
Rom 10:17 So then faith [cometh] by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
John 8:31-32 Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, "If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. (32) "And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."
Heb 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
Jas 1:18 Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.
TRUE BELIEVERS SEEK THE TRUTH, NOT WONDERS -
Mat 16:4 A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas. And he left them, and departed.
Luke 16:29-31 "Abraham said to him, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.’ (30) "And he said, ‘No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ (31) "But he said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.’"
Luke 8:21 And he answered and said unto them, My mother and my brethren are these which hear the word of God, and do it.
Isa 48:3 I have declared the former things from the beginning; and they went forth out of my mouth, and I shewed them; I did [them] suddenly, and they came to pass.
Jos 23:14 And, behold, this day I [am] going the way of all the earth: and ye know in all your hearts and in all your souls, that not one thing hath failed of all the good things which the LORD your God spake concerning you; all are come to pass unto you, [and] not one thing hath failed thereof.
Deuteronomy 18:20-22 'But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in My name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet shall die.' (21) "And if you say in your heart, 'How shall we know the word which the LORD has not spoken?'; (22) "when a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if the thing does not happen or come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him.
John 16:13-14 "However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. (14) "He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you.
FALSE SPIRITS CAN CAUSE CONFUSION -
1Cor 14:33 For God is not [the author] of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.
James 3:16-18 For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there. (17) But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. (18) Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.
2 Corinthians 1:3-4 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, (4) who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.
1 Samuel 16:14, 18:10-11 (14) But the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and a distressing spirit from the LORD troubled him.
(10) And it happened on the next day that the distressing spirit
from God came upon Saul, and he prophesied inside the house. So David
played music with his hand, as at other times; but there was a spear in
Saul’s hand. (11) And Saul cast the spear, for he said, "I will pin
David to the wall!" But David escaped his presence twice.
TONGUES SHOULD BE UNDERSTANDABLE, NOT BABBLING -
Acts 2:4-6 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. (5) And there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under heaven. (6) And when this sound occurred, the multitude came together, and were confused, because everyone heard them speak in his own language.
1 Corinthians 14:7-13 Even things without life, whether flute or harp, when they make a sound, unless they make a distinction in the sounds, how will it be known what is piped or played? (8) For if the trumpet makes an uncertain sound, who will prepare himself for battle? (9) So likewise you, unless you utter by the tongue words easy to understand, how will it be known what is spoken? For you will be speaking into the air. (10) There are, it may be, so many kinds of languages in the world, and none of them is without significance. (11) Therefore, if I do not know the meaning of the language, I shall be a foreigner to him who speaks, and he who speaks will be a foreigner to me. (12) Even so you, since you are zealous for spiritual gifts, let it be for the edification of the church that you seek to excel. (13) Therefore let him who speaks in a tongue pray that he may interpret.
1 Corinthians 14:1-5 Pursue love, and desire spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy. (2) For he who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God, for no one understands him; however, in the spirit he speaks mysteries. (3) But he who prophesies speaks edification and exhortation and comfort to men. (4) He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church. (5) I wish you all spoke with tongues, but even more that you prophesied; for he who prophesies is greater than he who speaks with tongues, unless indeed he interprets, that the church may receive edification.
Acts 2:11 Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God.
TRUE TONGUES MUST SPEAK ACCORDING TO SCRIPTURE -
Isa 8:20 To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, [it is] because [there is] no light in them.
John 16:13-14 "However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. (14) "He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you.
John 4:23-24 "But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. (24) "God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."
1Thes 2:13 For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received [it] not [as] the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe.
THE GIFT OF TONGUES ISN'T GIVEN TO ALL BELIEVERS -
1 Corinthians 12:4-11 There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. (5) There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. (6) And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all. (7) But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: (8) for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, (9) to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, (10) to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. (11) But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills.
1 Corinthians 12:27-31 Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually. (28) And God has appointed these in the church: first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, varieties of tongues. (29) Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Are all workers of miracles? (30) Do all have gifts of healings? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? (31) But earnestly desire the best gifts. And yet I show you a more excellent way.
1Cor 14:5 I would that ye all spake with tongues, but rather that ye prophesied: for greater [is] he that prophesieth than he that speaketh with tongues, except he interpret, that the church may receive edifying.
Romans 12:4-8 For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, (5) so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. (6) Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; (7) or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; (8) he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.
Numbers 11:25 Then the LORD came down in the cloud, and spoke to him, and took of the Spirit that [was] upon him, and placed [the same] upon the seventy elders; and it happened, when the Spirit rested upon them, that they prophesied, although they never did [so] again.
1 Samuel 10:10 When they came there to the hill, there was a group of prophets to meet him; then the Spirit of God came upon him, and he prophesied among them.
Acts 2:17 ‘And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your young men shall see visions, Your old men shall dream dreams.
TONGUES ARE, ALSO, A SIGN OF JUDGEMENT -
Deuteronomy 28:47-49 "Because you did not serve the LORD your God with joy and gladness of heart, for the abundance of everything, (48) "therefore you shall serve your enemies, whom the LORD will send against you, in hunger, in thirst, in nakedness, and in need of everything; and He will put a yoke of iron on your neck until He has destroyed you. (49) "The LORD will bring a nation against you from afar, from the end of the earth, as swift as the eagle flies, a nation whose language you will not understand,
Isaiah 28:11-13 For with stammering lips and another tongue He will speak to this people, (12) To whom He said, "This is the rest with which You may cause the weary to rest," And, "This is the refreshing"; Yet they would not hear. (13) But the word of the LORD was to them, "Precept upon precept, precept upon precept, Line upon line, line upon line, Here a little, there a little," That they might go and fall backward, and be broken And snared and caught.
Jer 5:15 Lo, I will bring a nation upon you from far, O house of Israel, saith the LORD: it [is] a mighty nation, it [is] an ancient nation, a nation whose language thou knowest not, neither understandest what they say.
THE CONSEQUENCES FOR BELIEVING THE LIE -
2 Thessalonians 2:9-12 The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, (10) and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. (11) And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, (12) that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
Psalms 50:16-23 But to the wicked God says: "What right have you to declare My statutes, Or take My covenant in your mouth, (17) Seeing you hate instruction And cast My words behind you? (18) When you saw a thief, you consented with him, And have been a partaker with adulterers. (19) You give your mouth to evil, And your tongue frames deceit. (20) You sit and speak against your brother; You slander your own mother’s son. (21) These things you have done, and I kept silent; You thought that I was altogether like you; But I will rebuke you, And set them in order before your eyes. (22) "Now consider this, you who forget God, Lest I tear you in pieces, And there be none to deliver: (23) Whoever offers praise glorifies Me; And to him who orders his conduct aright I will show the salvation of God."
Isaiah 30:8-14 Now go, write it before them on a tablet, And note it on a scroll, That it may be for time to come, Forever and ever: (9) That this is a rebellious people, Lying children, Children who will not hear the law of the LORD; (10) Who say to the seers, "Do not see," And to the prophets, "Do not prophesy to us right things; Speak to us smooth things, prophesy deceits. (11) Get out of the way, Turn aside from the path, Cause the Holy One of Israel To cease from before us." (12) Therefore thus says the Holy One of Israel: "Because you despise this word, And trust in oppression and perversity, And rely on them, (13) Therefore this iniquity shall be to you Like a breach ready to fall, A bulge in a high wall, Whose breaking comes suddenly, in an instant. (14) And He shall break it like the breaking of the potter’s vessel, Which is broken in pieces; He shall not spare. So there shall not be found among its fragments A shard to take fire from the hearth, Or to take water from the cistern."