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  THE COUNTERFEIT 'KNOWLEDGE'
  by G.W. North
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Summary: The gift of Word of Knowledge is a divine revelation that
should not be confused with human soul-power or psychic manifestations.

Topics: "Discernment", "True Knowledge vs. Counterfeit Knowledge"
Scripture References: Isaiah 47:13

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G.W. North addresses the distinction between divine knowledge and
counterfeit knowledge derived from human spirits, emphasizing that the
latter is often mistaken for genuine insight. He warns that such psychic
knowledge, while it may seem accurate, originates from human experience
or deceptive spirits rather than from God. North highlights the dangers
of relying on this counterfeit knowledge, which can lead to confusion
and spiritual bondage, particularly within the church. He stresses that
true knowledge from God is given freely and often without the speaker's
awareness, rooted in humility and a recognition of one's own
limitations. The sermon serves as a caution against the allure of human
wisdom that lacks divine authority.

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CONTENT
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This gift, however, is not to be confused with knowledge gained by
reason of a man's spirit becoming familiar with the spirits of other
men, for all such knowledge and every statement from it is but the
psychic utterance of mediumistic souls. Instead of being the means
whereby God's knowledge is imparted to men, the familiar spirit picks
up, transmits and inflicts the possessor with the conflicts, bondages
and afflictions of fellow humans. Such a person may quite correctly
diagnose and pronounce upon the state or feelings of a fellow human, and
often does so with the best intentions, but this in no way alters the
fact that the source of the power is human and not divine. Consequently,
whether ignorantly or deliberately, in operation it makes pronouncements
which are either merely based upon its own feelings, or culled from its
store of acquired knowledge, or else it makes statements which are
deliberately imparted by deceiving spirits as superimpositions upon the
human ability.

Such statements or prognostications are not Words of Knowledge, although
they may be mistakenly made and often accepted as such, and in some
instances may prove to be correct. Of old the Lord spoke with fine scorn
about such practices, linking the monthly prognostications with
stargazers and astrologers. This kind of psychic manifestation was rife
among the Children of Israel in their carnal state; it substituted the
genuine gift with the result that it practically deceived the whole
nation. This disconcertingly dangerous power is most prevalent among
persons who, by reason of extrasensory perception, are naturally aware
of other people's states. It is rife in the churches today and is the
direct result of man having become other than spiritual.

God's gift of the Word of Knowledge to any person is not to be confused
with any kind of highly developed human soul-power. It is most often
spoken by an individual quite apart from his knowledge of having spoken
it. It is certainly at its best when spoken from such ignorance -- 'I
know nothing of myself' is the great understanding from which to
commence in this gift.

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Source: https://sermonindex.net/speakers/gw-north/the-counterfeit-knowledge/
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