Thus says the LORD of hosts: “Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you. They make you worthless; they speak a vision of their own heart, not from the mouth of the LORD. They continually say to those who despise Me, ‘The LORD has said, you shall have peace;’ and to everyone who walks according to the dictates of his own heart, they say, ‘No evil shall come upon you.’ Jeremiah 23: 16, 17, NKJV.
Merciful Father, our hearts tremble at these Words! It is such a fearful thing to be Your spokesperson! May we take time to stop and listen to Your voice, that we might honestly, speak in Your name; for Christ’s sake. Amen
These words truly spoke to my heart as I remembered the story of the prophets in Ahab’s day, who told him it was okay to go to war; and as a consequence he lost his life! This story, you will remember, is found in 2 Chronicles, chapter 18. These prophets had perfected the art of telling Ahab, the things that he wanted to hear. It had become more of an entertaining session, than a delivering of, “This is what the LORD has to say!” One of the false prophets had even created some horns of iron to illustrate his point (10)!
The situation that existed in the days of Ahab, seem to be repeating itself in our day. The temptation for many ministers today, is to deliver more of what the people want to hear, instead of what the LORD is asking us to say. Listen carefully, to the Word of the LORD, “They continually say to those who despise Me, ‘The LORD has said, you shall have peace;’ and to everyone who walks according to the dictates of his own heart, they say, ‘No evil shall come upon you.’ Do you see what is implied here? Here is this special group of people, who want to hear a special message. They despise my way, says the LORD, and want to have their own way!
These people also seem to fit the description of those mentioned by Paul in his second letter to Timothy, “For the time is coming when people will not put up with sound doctrine, but having itching ears, they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own desires, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander away to myths” (2 Timothy 3, 4, NRSV). If we are not careful, we may find ourselves preaching the gospel according to “so and so!”
Can we be less diligent in delivering a faithful diagnosis of the spiritual condition of the church in our day, than the prophet Isaiah did in his? This is what he had to say: “Why should you be stricken again? You will revolt more and more. The whole head is sick and the whole heart faints. From the sole of the foot even to the head, there is no soundness in it, but wounds and bruises and putrefying sores; they have not been closed or bound up, or soothed with ointment” (Isaiah 1: 5, 6). This is not a pretty picture. But that is how the LORD described the sinful condition of His people of old. Do we really believe that we are in a better condition than they were? Every one must answer this question for his or her(self).
Here are the words of the apostle Paul, given under divine inspiration, to the young preacher, Timothy, “I solemnly urge you: proclaim the message; be persistent whether the time is favorable or unfavorable; convince, rebuke, and encourage, with the utmost patience in teaching” (2 Timothy 4: 1c, 2, NRSV). This continues to be wonderful counsel even in the Twenty-first Century!
We will say some more on this subject tomorrow.