Why is it that God’s children allow themselves to be so easily fooled and succumb to the schemes of those that would prey on weak mindedness? The fact is that most of us are not weak minded at all, but choose to open our spirits up to those that would take advantage of the most vulnerable part of our character, our emotions. Our emotions are the number one assault of our enemy at all times. When the devil is allowed to drive our emotional well being, he then has access to every critical facet of our lives.
1 Peter 5:8 NLT-8
Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.
The Devil was very well aware of the fact that he could not take Job’s life. Job however, was not as aware of this. The enemy had him so beaten down that Job said :
NKJVJob 13:15-
“Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him. Even so, I will defend my own ways before Him.”
The enemy had attacked Job to the point that he was weak and utterly hopeless. He had come to grips with the thought that if God decided to kill him, he was ok with that. The enemy had him convinced mentally that this might be the outcome. I don’t know about you, but when I get sick I am a big baby! Thus I become very emotional.
Take Eve in consideration, the devil preyed on her life ambitions to deceive her.
He used her passions and lack of wisdom against her. Simply said….. he took advantage of her emotions.
Let us take a look at Jeremiah chapter 37:1-21
Zedekiah son of Josiah succeeded Jehoiachin[a] son of Jehoiakim as the king of Judah. He was appointed by King Nebuchadnezzar[b] of Babylon. 2 But neither King Zedekiah nor his attendants nor the people who were left in the land listened to what the LORD said through Jeremiah.
3 Nevertheless, King Zedekiah sent Jehucal son of Shelemiah, and Zephaniah the priest, son of Maaseiah, to ask Jeremiah, “Please pray to the LORD our God for us.” 4 Jeremiah had not yet been imprisoned, so he could come and go among the people as he pleased.
5 At this time the army of Pharaoh Hophra[c] of Egypt appeared at the southern border of Judah. When the Babylonian[d] army heard about it, they withdrew from their siege of Jerusalem.
6 Then the LORD gave this message to Jeremiah: 7 “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: The king of Judah sent you to ask me what is going to happen. Tell him, ‘Pharaoh’s army is about to return to Egypt, though he came here to help you. 8 Then the Babylonians[e] will come back and capture this city and burn it to the ground.’
9 “This is what the LORD says: Do not fool yourselves into thinking that the Babylonians are gone for good. They aren’t! 10 Even if you were to destroy the entire Babylonian army, leaving only a handful of wounded survivors, they would still stagger from their tents and burn this city to the ground!”
Jeremiah Is Imprisoned
11 When the Babylonian army left Jerusalem because of Pharaoh’s approaching army, 12 Jeremiah started to leave the city on his way to the territory of Benjamin, to claim his share of the property among his relatives there.[f] 13 But as he was walking through the Benjamin Gate, a sentry arrested him and said, “You are defecting to the Babylonians!” The sentry making the arrest was Irijah son of Shelemiah, grandson of Hananiah.
14 “That’s not true!” Jeremiah protested. “I had no intention of doing any such thing.” But Irijah wouldn’t listen, and he took Jeremiah before the officials. 15 They were furious with Jeremiah and had him flogged and imprisoned in the house of Jonathan the secretary. Jonathan’s house had been converted into a prison. 16 Jeremiah was put into a dungeon cell, where he remained for many days.
17 Later King Zedekiah secretly requested that Jeremiah come to the palace, where the king asked him, “Do you have any messages from the LORD?”
“Yes, I do!” said Jeremiah. “You will be defeated by the king of Babylon.”
18 Then Jeremiah asked the king, “What crime have I committed? What have I done against you, your attendants, or the people that I should be imprisoned like this? 19 Where are your prophets now who told you the king of Babylon would not attack you or this land? 20 Listen, my lord the king, I beg you. Don’t send me back to the dungeon in the house of Jonathan the secretary, for I will die there.”
21 So King Zedekiah commanded that Jeremiah not be returned to the dungeon. Instead, he was imprisoned in the courtyard of the guard in the royal palace. The king also commanded that Jeremiah be given a loaf of fresh bread every day as long as there was any left in the city. So Jeremiah was put in the palace prison.
We see in this passage, that just like the church today, the people wanted the prophet to bless them, pray for them, and give them a pretty sounding word to encourage them from the Lord. They found themselves in a distressful situation and expected that God would take care of them even though we read that the people and the King did not listen to or heed anything that God spoke through Jeremiah. They had an emotional need for reassurance that all would be well. I love it when Jeremiah asks,” Where are your prophets now who told you the king of Babylon would not attack you or this land?” The prophets had spoken what the people and the king wanted to hear. We see that again the king requests Jeremiah, only he does so secretly. Why a secret? The king became desperate for a word from the Lord, maybe he thought he could get a prettier word this time, either way he didn’t want to suffer the political ramifications of the people knowing he had summoned Jeremiah. Politics in the church?! Sound familiar? I just threw that in for good measure.
You see, prophesy that comes straight from God rarely makes us popular. God is not concerned about our fame nor should we be. I have asked myself again and again, how is it that people will line up and open their wallets and even worse, their futures, to every prophetic scam that comes through the church?! Scam? YES! The New Testament clearly teaches us that Prophesy is one of the gifts from the Holy Spirit. But……I dare argue that……although we must have this gift operating in the church today, it is my opinion that there is less need for it today than in old testament times before we had the Holy Spirit dwelling in us. Am I saying there is no place for this gift in today’s church? Not at all. I have no problem with this gift, what I do have a problem with is the showboat mentality that we see demonstrated in the church today on various levels. We do not know what uncertainties lie ahead of us, this is where prophetic is needed in our lives.
People line up to get that word. Why? They are emotional about a situation in their lives. Please know that there are times we must seek a word from the Lord. But, when we find that we seem to need a new word day after day, month after month, and year after year something is wrong! It is time to open up the Bible and read it on our own for a change. Jeremiah 37 reminds me so much of a church that my husband and I pastored. The prophetic would flow so strong and freely blessing the congregation week after week. People would be so blessed by God’s interest in the intricate details of their lives. Over time, it became evident that the people wanted their words, but did not want to change their rebellious lives. Anything and everything that God promises us is of no validity unless we align our lives with the word. Of course eventually they began to make all kinds of statements along the lines that something was wrong with the leaders because there were no more pretty sounding words to give them. When the Holy Spirit would no longer move that way among the people, they chose to find someone that would give them the word they were seeking rather than repent and get their hearts right, which was all that God was interested in. He is interested in becoming great in our lives rather than us seeking how great WE will be when he reveals his plans to us.
I said all of this to say……..Like the king in Jeremiah 37, don’t allow just anyone to speak over your life, and certainly don’t bank on it. All of the prophets had spoken, but Jeremiah was the only true one. The one thing I would like for you to take from this passage above all is that Jeremiah did not give the king a Generic prophesy as did the others, but a very detailed and accurate prophesy.
The God we serve is not a generic God! He is the God that has mapped out our every intricate detail of our lives. You say……how do I avoid this kind of deception? I will give you just a few basic guidelines that will help in any situation.
We live in a spiritual world and are spiritual beings as is our enemy the devil. You must understand that the devil knows your future and God’s plans for you, thus he works overtime to thwart those plans. First and foremost, not all that speak part truths are the Holy Spirit, your enemy knows the truth as well. In many cases a fortune teller could give just as much information, especially generic details.
Prophesy must line up with the Word of God and prayer first and foremost.
Prophesy should be wisdom and confirmation.
Prophesy that never brings correction and instruction needs to be questioned.
Beware of generic prophesies or non-specific…….Always consider the validity of a generic word. As God’s children we have the Holy Spirit to guide us in all truth. We all have a measure of spiritual understanding.
Prophesy should be accurate and specific.
Prophesy should never come from left field or be something that you had no idea God would speak to you.
Prophesy that is with regards to that which you have discussed with God alone and is specific to this, should be taken more seriously. When I say more seriously I mean continue praying about it and believing God for it.
NEVER! Assume that you understand fully what God is saying and how he will do it. You do not! This is one of the greatest ways that the enemy derails God’s people. They take the word and begin to play it out in their lives on their own rather than letting God bring it about. Wait for God to show up and show off, don’t allow the enemy to cause you to seek self promotion. Remember Abraham was promised a son, as he grew impatient he decided to help God bring it about and that only interfered with God’s perfect plan.
Proverbs 2 1-9……..this is the one fail safe you can count on!
1 My child,[a] listen to what I say,
and treasure my commands.
2 Tune your ears to wisdom,
and concentrate on understanding.
3 Cry out for insight,
and ask for understanding.
4 Search for them as you would for silver;
seek them like hidden treasures.
5 Then you will understand what it means to fear the LORD,
and you will gain knowledge of God.
6 For the LORD grants wisdom!
From his mouth come knowledge and understanding.
7 He grants a treasure of common sense to the honest.
He is a shield to those who walk with integrity.
8 He guards the paths of the just
and protects those who are faithful to him.
9 Then you will understand what is right, just, and fair,
and you will find the right way to go.
Stay Blessed!
Pastor Cindy
