But how does that help? If a "word of knowledge" is not "intrusive", is it true? "God told me that He will heal your brother of cancer." That's not intrusive or manipulative. But, as it turns out, it wasn't true, either. (The speaker was a guest minister, and he was talking to me.)

If more than one person gets the same "word", does that prove it's true? (I don't recall specifics, but I heard from several people that God would heal my brother, in so many words.)

Oh, how about if it "agrees with the Word?" Does that make it true? Well, the above message does agree with the many scriptures that promise healing.

Bottom line, supernatural messages (whether they be prophecies, words of knowledge, tongues and interpretations, or even that "still small voice") are always suspect. There can never be reliable confirmation that they were truly from God.

Even if there are, sometimes, actual messages from God, they are so few and far between that we must wonder, why? What is the point? If we are expected to act on these messages, they better be accurate, wouldn't you say? But we can never be sure.

The problem is not just with the fringe wackos, though we tend to focus on them a lot, on this forum. The "prophet" who promised healing for my brother was pretty normal, otherwise. And the church wasn't very crazy, most of the time. Most of the pastors were good, loving, well-meaning, honest (mostly) guys. Just deluded.
Tim