Counterfeit Confirmations

Original Date: 2/4/09

1. Have you ever heard someone say "I received confirmation?" Well, they usually are referring to a time when they hear something repeated two or three or more times by different people. Some people receive confirmation in the form of advice, direction, or Godly council. Others receive confirmation in day-to-day happenings. One example of a day-to-day confirmation is if Jane received a diagnosis from a doctor and she wants a second opinion. She gets a second opinion from a second doctor and usually goes along with the course of treatment recommended.

2. What is so critical is that we are all searching for confirmation. We can hear something from someone one time and it may not affect us. If we hear it multiple times, then we pay more close attention to it. When something is repeated multiple times, it is very important to pay attention, especially if it is in the Bible.

3. Confirmation not only applies to the physical realm, but also to the spiritual realm. And, since it is not flesh and blood that we fight, but principalities and powers, confirmation becomes really important in the fight. In the spiritual world, Satan wants to tell us a lie over and over so that we will eventually believe it. He will tell others lies to get them to believe certain things. He will tell someone a lie to get that person to tell another person the same lie.

4. So, how do you guage whether a confirmation is from God or not? Paul says to test the spirits. This means to figure out which force is behind the confirmation. If it’s God, you will start to see some common themes:

A. The confirmation will edify and uplift
B. The confirmation will honor God and His children
C. The confirmation will shine light in the darkness
D. The confirmation will be spoken out of love

If it’s not of God then you will also see some common themes:

A. The counterfeit confirmation will breakdown and destroy
B. The counterfeit confirmation will degrade and bring doubt, fear, and worry
C. The counterfeit confirmation will be used as a defense mechanism or attack
D. The counterfeit confirmation will be commonly be spread by gossip

5. We can be taken in by counterfeit confirmations. Let’s say, for example, that a character flaw exists in John. Satan will use the person most likely to attack that person for that flaw. Let’s say that that person is Jane. Satan will tell multiple people to tell Jane about the character flaw in John. The counterfeit confirmation would then be used to tear down John for that character flaw. The confirmation would be used to “love” him out of that character flaw. Catch the difference?

6. Satan will always try to twist words to destroy humanity. He did it in the Garden of Eden. He does today. Be careful to test the spirits for counterfeit confirmations.