Futile Hopes

 Scripture:

“This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says to his people: “Do not listen to these prophets when they prophesy to you, filling you with futile hopes. They are making up everything they say. They do not speak for the Lord!” ‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭23‬:‭16‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Observation:

God speaks here to Jeremiah and the people of Judah about those who prophesy lies and fill people with hope when bad things are coming. The Lord told him that they were making up everything they were saying and not truly speaking from the Lord. God called it giving “futile hope.”

Application:

If we are going to speak on the Lord’s behalf, we better not just preach or teach what we think people want to hear. We must firmly and boldly declare what God is saying in our generation. Many churches today only preach messages of hope because hope keeps people coming back. We are not in the business of getting people to come back. We are in the business of speaking on the Lord’s behalf. I need to seek the Lord more and lean on self less for each message I preach. I need to lean in to Jesus and hear from His heart before declaring His word.

Prayer:

Father, help me to accurately speak what You are speaking. You have entrusted me with people’s lives. Help me to feed them well and accurately discern what You are speaking at any given time. Teach me to hear Your voice clearly and speak what You are saying, not just a helpful, positive, message. I don’t want to fill people with futile hopes.

Your Son,

Jeff