Beware of "words" from the Lord.

Ever been around someone who got a "word" from the Lord?

Maybe their "word" came in dream form and they saw a vision of the future or the Lord's will for your life in metaphor.

Maybe their "word" came in a moment of emotional rapture and with tears streaming down their cheeks they spoke their revelation to you.

Or maybe they were deep in prayer and they emerged confident that God has sent them to you with a "word" to speak.

I will admit that these "words" make me nervous. In fact, I am almost always skeptical of them.

I am bothered by these "words" because of my belief that God has already spoken His Word to us clearly in Scripture.

And I think Jeremiah would understand where I am coming from. Listen to what God says through Jeremiah in 23:28-32

"Let the prophet who has a dream tell the dream, but let him who has my word speak my word faithfully. What has straw in common with wheat?" declares the Lord.

"Is not my word like fire," declares the Lord, "and like a hammer that breaks the rock into pieces?"

"Therefore, behold I am against the prophets," declares the Lord, "who steal my words from one another. Behold, I am against the prophets," declares the Lord, "who use their tongues and declare, 'declares the Lord.'



"Behold, I am against those who prophesy lying dreams," declares the Lord, "and who tell them and lead my people astray by their lies and their recklessness, when I did not send them or charge them. So they do not profit this people at all," declares the Lord.

The Lord uses strong language to contrast the prophets who had "words" from the Lord derived from their dreams and other strange places. He asks the rhetorical and sarcastic question, "What has straw in common with wheat?"

Their alleged inspired dreams and visions did not posses the power of God's actual Word. God says that His Word, and His Word only, was like fire and a hammer that breaks the rock into pieces.

God's Word is powerful. It does not need the assistance of people's dreams, visions, emotional outbursts, or prayer induced phrases. It speaks for itself. It stands alone.

And people should be careful about saying declares the Lord. Whether they genuinely believe it to be the Lord or not.

God says there were two kinds of prophets causing problems--the lying prophets and the reckless prophets. One knew he wasn't speaking for God and spoke anyway. One thought he was speaking for God and spoke anyway.

But God says this of both prophets, "I did not send them or charge them" and they "do not profit this people at all." Whether motivated by recklessness or ignorance, the false prophets with "words" from the Lord had led the people astray.

God has spoken through His Word and that is what He wants people to encourage, challenge, motivate, and inspire each other with.

He sums it up this way in Jeremiah 23:21-22

I did not send the prophets (both the liar and the reckless), yet they ran.
I did not speak to them, yet they prophesied (said I have a "word" from the Lord).
But if they had stood in my council, then they would have proclaimed my words to my people, and they would have turned them from their evil way, and from the evil of their deeds.

If they had stood in God's council (His Word) and proclaimed His words (from Scripture) then they would have made a positive difference.

Beware of "words" from the Lord. Turn instead to the Word of the Lord.