4 . They Make The People To Forget The Name Of The Lord Jer 23:27 “… Who devise that men may forget my law by their dreams .”
The ministry of the false prophets makes the people to forget the Name of the Lord . They always promote themselves and their ministry . They want to show from the pulpit that they are more spiritual and are equivalent to Christ Himself . They give an impression that they can pray for people and it would be heard . They indirectly say , ' I am Christ .' We should not forget that there is no mediator apart from Christ Jesus . What we need is not another Church to go ? What we need is not another ' Great Man ' of God ? What we need is Christ Himself ! We need to seek Him directly and turn to His Word . But sadly , we find idolatry among the Christians .
5 . They Are Dreamers Jer 23:28 “ The prophet who has a dream , let him tell his dream ; and he in whom is my word spoken to him , let him tell my word truly : what is the chaff to the corn ? So are my words , says the Lord .”
The false prophets are vivid dreamers . Although God sometimes speaks through dreams and visions , we should not forget that it was never meant to impress people , to be spoken from the pulpit . In the Book of Acts , we find God speaking to apostle Paul through dreams on more than one occasion . But it was all for guidance and not for pulpit preaching . During Jeremiah ' s days , there were scores of prophets who were dreamers . God compared those dreams to chaff whereas His Word was like a hammer and fire . Today we need prophets like Jeremiah who can speak God ' s Word and not just dreamers .
6 . They Speak Lies Jer 23:26 “ How long shall these things be in the heart of the prophets that prophesy lies , when they prophesy the purposes of their own heart ?”
The false prophets speak lies from the heart . What they think to be true , they preach it as if it is the Word from the Lord . Today , we find this kind of lying spirits operating from the pulpits . A minister may have a desire for a new project . But when he says to the congregation ,
he says that it was God who told him to do . All such lies needs to be discerned and exposed .
Some believers seek after prophets to predict the result of an exam ; to know God ' s will in their marriage , business etc . These so called prophets gladly say that they would pray and reveal God ' s will . We should be aware that nowhere in the Bible we can find such practices . The prophets are God ' s agents to bring God ' s Word for a particular situation . They are not soothsayers . What a pity today we find Christian soothsayers everywhere !
7 . They Are Of No Use Jer 23:32 “ So they do not profit this people at all , declares the Lord .”
The ministry of the false prophets will be more beneficial to themselves rather than for the people of God . People will be neither edified nor encouraged through their ministry . They will not lead a holy and pleasing life before the Lord . If they sin , they would continue to sin . They will not produce fruits of repentance and righteousness . They will be a burden to the Church and the ministry . Hence , ' Watch Out .'
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