Scripture
But the LORD said to me, “These prophets are prophesying a lie in My name. I did not send them, nor did I command them or speak to them. They are prophesying to you a false vision, worthless divination, the deceit of their own minds.”
Quote
Beware of false prophets, they use God’s name in vain to promote their own evil agenda which is usually connecting to gaining accolades or wealth.
~www.believers4ever.com
Prophecy amazes me. I love reading Jeremiah and Isaiah and noting the prophecies that have been fulfilled and the ones yet to be fulfilled. In Jeremiah 25 he predicts the Babylonian Captivity to last 70 years and it did to the day. This is absolutely incredible. We all know that no human can predict the future and yet this man predicted exactly what would happen. Peter said, Above all, you know this: No prophecy of Scripture comes from the prophet’s own interpretation, because no prophecy ever came by the will of man; instead, men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. What a beautiful word picture. The prophet is the sailing vessel and the Holy Spirit {Ruach–wind} drives him along. This is a great picture of inspiration. Paul said, All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. The word inspired comes from a Greek word which is used only here and it means ‘divinely breathed.’ It is the exact same principle, the word is inspired by God’s breath or Spirit. What Jeremiah, Isaiah and the other prophets did was a miracle: in other words, there is no human explanation but have you thought about preaching? Does God inspire pastor’s?
Jesus said in John 7:18, “The one who speaks on his own seeks his own glory.” In John 12:49, Jesus said, “For I have not spoken on my own, but the Father Himself who sent Me has given Me a command to say everything I have said.” Wow, sounds like Jesus was inspired. In Chapter 23 of Jeremiah, God tells Jeremiah how to identify a false prophet: beware of the prophet [1] who gets his message from another prophet [2] who declares their own message and [3] those who major on the subjective {dreams, visions, feelings and experiences}. The Holman Commentary on Jeremiah gives Ten Characteristics of a false prophet…
- False Prophets do not have a personal relationship with the LORD {no quiet time, communion}.
- False Prophets play to the audience. They are concerned with the praise of men, no the approval of God.
- False Prophets lack integrity. It you watch them closely, their behavior will betray them.
- False Prophets lie.
- False Prophets are not divinely inspired. They have no unction.
- False Prophets offer false hope {health and wealth}.
- False Prophets enable sin and rebellion.
- False Prophets are stumbling blocks that trips people up.
- False Prophets are given to greed.
- False Prophets seldom put emphasis on repentance. They tickle ears and preach feel good messages.
There is a lot more to be said about false prophets but I want to talk for a moment about ‘unction’ or ‘divine anointing’. Most are going to agree that O.T. Prophecy is a miracle but what about N.T. preaching? I beginning to think it is a miracle as well. I know one thing: I can’t preach without a message and I don’t have a message unless God gives me one. In other words, if God does not speak to me and give me a message, I really have nothing to say. To be honest with you, there have probably been times when I said nothing. God also said to Jeremiah, “The prophet who has only a dream should recount the dream, but the one who has my word should speak my word truthfully, for what is straw compared to grain? ” — this is the LORD’s declaration. “Is not my word like fire” — this is the LORD’s declaration — “and like a hammer that pulverizes rock?” I’m pretty sure some of my sermons have been straw but I want them to be grain. I do believe in the miracle of divine unction. I believe that God can speak through man and yet get the glory. I’ve learned over the years not to underestimate the power of His word–it’s a hammer that breaks or pulverizes the hardness of our hearts. When all else fails, preach the word.
- I love holidays and so I have been looking forward to Labor Day. They are predicting extremely hot weather but with the summer we have had, I don’t think we should complain. Although we are in summer heat, fall is in the air. We have football galore and leaves are falling in abundance at 1120.
- I will go ahead and invite all my readers to our BLOCK PARTY October 13th at 4:00 p.m. We have two door prizes already: a 40 inch Smart TV and a leaf blower. We will have prizes for children and adults. We don’t have as much food as we do at the DBC party but we will have plenty of burgers and dogs. We are doing this party primarily to honor Ray Edwards and Elbert Vest. I’m also going to try to talk Clyde Gillott and Mrs. Self into coming. It is a LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR PARTY.
- LORD willing, we will be building a barn for Seth today and hoping to finish in time for the ball game tonight. We will have donuts this Sunday but no biscuits. Got a memo from the boss on that yesterday.
