Guarding Against Evil Reports - Part 3 — K.P. Yohannan

The Destructive Effects of Evil Reports

Ministries have been destroyed, churches have split, and friendships have disintegrated, all because of an evil report. Often the truth comes out later on down the road, but the damage has already been done.

The Bible has a lot to say about our speech and how to guard against evil reports, and K .P. Yohannan will draw our attention to that today on the road to reality.

Recognizing the Symptoms of Defilement

Symptoms of defilement, this is the biggest problem I had to deal with. Now, brothers and sisters, you need to believe me. It's not a matter of pride or arrogance that I've been involved in counseling literally thousands over the years, and some I could not help.

And the people I could not help are people that listen to the gossip, and they're not even aware about it. Their inside is already defiled, and they don't understand how to find cleansing for the defilement that already took place within themselves.

And I show them the way, and some of them refuse to do it, and they continue to wither away in their understanding and walk with God. Now, there are some symptoms. This is something you need to look, I mean, for all of us always.

One, believing the report is true. Without checking it out, without any way to figure this out, we simply, oh, he said it, okay, I believe it. Second, forming negative opinions based on the report. I mean, you had nothing to do with that person, but somebody tells you all these terrible things about them based on their experience, and you say, what a creep devil he is, and you never even met that person.

All of a sudden, your inside is feeling the anger. Number three, focusing on negative aspect of a person involved. Number four, interpreting the person's actions as supporting evidence. You know, study this, you'll be surprised.

If you are looking for, you know, when I'm driving on the road, every VW bug I notice. There's a million cars goes by, I don't even see them, but if there's one bug anywhere, I'm terribly curious, what year is that?

What model is that? And you, all of a sudden, you see things that already that is inside. You never thought those things before. Your inside got defiled already. Number five, judging motives on the basis of the report.

That's the most terrible thing to do. You know, I think the worst thing about this whole thing is, you know, somebody does something nice or says something nice or do something and say, yeah, I know, you know, he, judge the motives is one of the most serious thing because only God does it.

We are not supposed to be. Number six, withdrawing your spirit from the person slandered. Have you done that? You have nothing to do with that person, but all of a sudden, you walk and smile, but your inside is already cold.

The shield is up. Number seven, telling evil report to others. When you start want to tell others what you heard, guaranteed your heart is already defiled, is poisoned. Number eight, how to respond to an evil report.

Testing Reports and Rejecting Gossip

First Thessalonians 521, test all things, hold fast what is good. You know, don't, you know, say in your heart, in name of Jesus, through the blood and the word, I don't receive all these things. I didn't, I didn't want to become victim.

I didn't want the seed to fall on my heart until you check it out. And some points, ask God to cleanse your mind from the defilement of an evil report. Pray for God to give you genuine love for each one involved in the evil report.

Cleanse your mind with appropriate scripture. Avoid them. Withdraw fellowship from those who will not be approved in these matters. And, you know, the entire Old Testament, if you look at God and his people, he will say a statement like this, come out from among them.

Be separate. Don't touch the unclean thing. Have nothing to do with them. Why God was so upset and judges people when they walk across the line and get involved with people that are not his people? Because they, God knew they're going to be destroyed.

Spiritual Bondage and the Influence of Relationships

One other thing I learned, counseling people, casting out demons on people, it is called the bondage in which people are held captive by the silver cord ecclesiastics. That is, without you knowing, unless you are careful, there's an unseen bondage take place emotionally between you and a person when you surrender your heart to evil things.

And you struggle continually and you know something is wrong. And being freed by prayer and renouncing sin and renouncing listening to these things is important to be freed from that. And another time, maybe I can talk more about it, but you need to understand.

Bondage Breaker is a good book to read, understanding about your acquaintance and relationship, whichever you maintain with people does influence you and can give room for demons to influence your mind.

No matter how many Bible verses you know, it don't help. We have to be careful. Okay, how to know when your heart is cleansed? When you lose your heart to tell someone else the evil report. Two, when you grieve over the fact the report was given.

Number three, when you have genuine love toward the person involved. Number four, when you regain lost confidence in the one slandered. Five, when you are prompt to examine your own life for failure, counseling yourself lest you also be tempted.

Galatians 6 .1, 1 Peter 2, 1 and 2 and on. In conclusion, how do you handle all this? Contact the one who gave you the evil report. Two, contact the person involved in the situation. Contact those who are spiritually responsible for the people involved.

Following Matthew 18 in Resolving Conflict

And always, always, you want to absolutely commit to Matthew 18 before you do anything. That is, if you got something, go to the person directly and say, look, can I talk to you? Maybe some misunderstanding, maybe I don't know what is going on.

I just want to share this with you. And go direct. And if you are convinced that is not the right response in the person, you take another person and follow the scripture. And in those Bible verses on Revelation and Psalm, set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth.

Keep watch over the door of my lips. The older I get, you know, the more convinced I become. On the radio interview continually, I say the same thing everywhere. You know, if the tree is good, the fruit is good.

Purity, Conscience, and Life in Community

If you walk with God, if your heart is pure, and you go to bed with a clear conscience, and I tell you, even if you are not so capable, God will do his work through your life. And so it is a paramount important that we as a community, as a people, live in love, in unity, and absolute oneness.

And there's no other way. And what hurt unity and the love among us in the family, and among friends, church, wherever you may be, it always usually gossip. One of the graduates from Criswell College that went to college, their school with me, you know, they ended up in pastors.

They're pastors even today, many of them, most all of them. Some of them are great leaders, leading seminaries. And I remember one, you know, his agony and his pain. He got a wife and three beautiful children, and he was passing along with the time I was passing also.

And he had two or three hundred people. And in the end, he had to leave with this family with tears and weeping. Lost his church, lost his credibility, and continued no more in the ministry. And it all began with a lady in the congregation started spreading a rumor about him.

And I know him so well, he didn't even look at her, nothing to do with it. And not that he committed any big sin, it's just that the rumors started becoming bigger, and then influential people talked to this person.

In the end, you know, he said, I can't survive anymore. I don't know where he is today. And you can imagine how many lives are destroyed, you know, ministries destroyed by people saying things they don't think, and it has huge consequences.

Just be aware about it and live by God's Word. And some of the so-called more spiritual people who know Bible are the worst in this. There seems to be authority from God to go around and say anything they want to say.

Among us, it should not be so. And the Lord said, you should do this among my people, for I am God, and let's fear Him. And spend next few minutes in prayer, praying for the Lord to cleanse and purify our hearts.

Confession, Repentance, and Restoring Relationships

Then if you are one who need to ask forgiveness or confess, or say, you know what, I should not have listened to that, or I should not have said that to you, you need to make the list on the inside of your heart today, and commit this to the Lord that as early as possible, you will make it right.

And ask the Lord, 1 John 1, 8 and 9 says, if you confess, He is faithful to cleanse and purify our hearts. No one can cleanse you. If a man cleanses himself from these things, God cannot do that for you.

You have to repent and change. And whatever that may be, you have to write an email to someone or make a telephone call. And in some case, you had to make a decision that this is it. I cannot maintain this relationship with this person anymore.

And the book of Jude is an extremely powerful book that talks about people that will destroy your life. They are dangers hiding within your meal. And you need to be concerned about, I need to be concerned about, what does God say all about this?

And so those are private decisions you should make. But then the prayers we offer tonight, let's pray for unity and love and for people that are hurting or whatever comes to your mind. But then I pray tonight will be a night when you will have began a new journey in your dealing with these matters and keep your heart pure.

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