2010-04-09
Good Morning Cherished of God,
In the last few weeks, we have examined the lifestyle of the false prophet and have begun looking at passages that depict God’s attitude toward their false doctrines. Such a passage for us to compare with MT 7 is JER 23: 21-40, Jeremiah’s message about the prophets and the Lord’s burden. (21-22), “The Lord said, ‘I did not send these prophets, but even so they went. I did not give them any messages, but still they spoke in My name. If they had know My secret thoughts, then they could have proclaimed My message to My people and could have made them give up the evil lives they live and the wicked things they do.” [You’ll remember when I was writing about the Gnostics, I made the point that God keeps no secrets. It must be explained that this is taking place 300 years before Christ’s birth, and that God had not yet revealed all His secrets, as the people weren’t ready, in His opinion, for certain truths to be known. The Gnostics were troubling God’s people with lies in Paul’s time (the first century AD)]. In returning to the main lesson of this passage, we see that real prophets and teachers on God’s mission will be sent by Him. God would never send people to spread lies; only Satan, the “father of all lies” [JN 8: 44] would do that.
What is said in HE 4: 13 about nothing can be hidden from God is supported by JER 23: 23-24, “I am a God Who is everywhere and not in one place only. No one can hide where I cannot see him. Do you not know that I am everywhere in heaven and on earth?” So God knows for sure when a false prophet is spreading lies- and in His name! He knows about their false claims that He has given them messages and dreams to convey. God describes His messages in JER 23: 29-31, “My message is like a fire and like a hammer that breaks rocks in pieces. I am against those prophets who take each others’ words and proclaim them as My message. I am also against those prophets who speak their own words and claim they came from Me.” The words of false teaching are like chaff, compared to God’s words, which are like wheat that will feed a nation. Sadly, false teaching is still with us. The power of God’s words can be felt a long way from where they are said. As God ends this first section about the false prophets, He says in (32b), “I did not send them or order them to go, and they are of no help at all to the people. I, the Lord, have spoken.”
The Lord revealed His burden to Jeremiah in JER 23: 33-40. He instructed Jeremiah to tell anyone asking what God’s message is that “he is a burden to the Lord, and He is going to get rid of you” (33). If the words, “The Lord’s burden” are used by either a prophet or a priest, he and his family will be punished (34). Instead, the question should be asked, “What has the Lord given?” (35) Anyone using the words, “the Lord’s burden,” will find that the Lord will make His message a real burden on them. The Lord further states, in (36), “So they must no longer used the words ‘the Lord’s burden,’ because if anyone does, I will make My message a real burden to him. The people have perverted the words of their God, the living God, the Lord Almighty.” Here we see Jehovah Tsidkenu [the Lord Who is Righteous], also showing Himself as the El Shaddai [the Lord Almighty]. His omnipresence [ability to be in all places at once] and omniscience [ability to know everything] makes for His omnipotence [His ability to be all-powerful]. Everyone must remember that, if they are to live a godly life “in Christ.” When we live righteously and refuse to tell lies, then we can live in comfort and peace. Jeremiah was given the uncomfortable task of asking prophets, “What answer did the Lord give you? What did the Lord say?” (37). And yet, it was out of God’s righteousness that Jeremiah was given this tough duty to identify who were the false teachers. At the end in (40) God says, “I will bring on them everlasting shame and disgrace that will never be forgotten.” Those are the fighting words of a God fed up and angry with people who spread false doctrine and mislead the people into sinning. The real lessons in all of this come with God’s love of the truth and His desire [JN 6: 39-40; EPH 1: 4-5] to bring as many people as possible back to Him through salvation, obedient faithfulness, and love of God’s truth [2TIM 1: 13-14]. Is it any wonder with what is going on today in things like the secularization of America, the spread of disbelief in Europe and Asia, and the teaching of the occult in places like Haiti and Venezuela that this is so important to God? We must each examine our own lives for elements of lies and foolishness in them. The idea is to get at the truth, and asking for God’s help first is a great way to start.
PRAYER: Dearest Abba, we are aware that we can’t live lives of righteousness and obedient faithfulness to You without some important truths in them. First, we are helpless without Your loving intervention and presence in our lives [MT 5: 3]. Second, we must come to You first and often to remain on track with the truth in view of all the lies out there which the adversary uses to tempt us [MT 7: 7-8]. Third, we must recognize Your omnipresence, omniscience, and omnipotence. No other teacher, prophet, or god is as righteous, just, powerful, loving, compassionate, or wise as You. We recognize and celebrate Your sovereignty over us [PS 9: 7-8; PS 24: 1]. Fourth, we understand the consequences of immorality, sinning of all kinds, including making judgments in the areas where only You have the right [RO 1: 18-32]. We pledge ourselves to walking through that narrow gate that leads to a hard path to eternal life with You [MT 7: 13-14]. You have shown us that good deeds [fruit] can only be produced by godly people [the healthy trees –MT 7: 15-20]. We understand that You will reject us, if we continually reject You [MT 7: 21-23]. False prophets do this. The adversary has built his strongholds in them. Whether they know it or not, they are doing his work and not Yours. Anyone who wishes to do Your work is building his house out of rock on a strong foundation of Your teaching. Anyone who doesn’t do this, but erects his house on weak sand-believes the lies false prophets tell-is on the road to spiritual death [MT 7: 24-27]. Your authority is supreme, and You have given Your Son, Jesus Christ, the right to be the final Judge [DN 7: 13-14]. Dearest Lord, I have been able to cite verses and passages in this prayer from all over mankind’s history. This proves the consistency of Your teaching and its eternal nature. Only a God as wise as You could have written these words, and we must take them with all due reverence, as You meant them for our lives. Having faith in a God like You is huge blessing in our lives. Through the death of Your Son on the cross and our faith in Him, You have given us salvation, justification, the Holy Spirit, love and peace [JN 3: 16]. We thank and praise You forever for being the wonderful and awesome God You are. In Christ’s holy name we pray. Amen.
NEXT WEEK: I am led by the Holy Spirit to discuss EZK 22: 28, another verse that reveals God’s attitude toward false messages. The spread of any kind of lies is destructive to people and often done with hidden motives [PHIL 1: 17; 1 TIM 6: 9-10]. I personally have seen this in my own experience while in middle school. A group of students formed a clique that declared wrongful statements about another group of good students. The good students were tormented from class to class by these lies, until the real motivation was revealed by an incident in which one of the members of the clique got tired of all of this lying. She went to the principal and told all that was going on, expressing her desire to put an end to it. The principal had the situation investigated and recognized it had been going on for a couple of years. The members of the clique were suspended from school for a time and made to apologize to the others personally for their behavior before being allowed back in school. In view of their young age, I believe God was lenient in this situation, but with adults, He will not be. RO 12: 19-21 is an important reminder of where our right to judge stops and God’s takes over. “Never take revenge, as the Scripture [DT 32: 35] says, ‘I will take revenge, I will pay back,’ says the Lord. Instead, as the Scripture [PR 25: 21-22] says, ‘If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for by doing this you will make him burn with shame.’ Do not let evil defeat you; instead, conquer evil with good.” This is tough to do in view of the emotions of the situation, but it fits right in with MT 5: 44-45a, which is also part of the Sermon on the Mount. “But now I tell you: love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may become the sons [and daughters] of your Father in heaven.” Know that these consistent truths are given to us by a loving God Who wants nothing more than to see us return to Him at the appointed time of our physical deaths. His forgiveness to true believers in the Lord Jesus is sweet and eternal [HE 8: 12]. He wants us by His side for a blissful eternity of sweet fellowship with Him. Praise and thanks to Him forever!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn