Purpose
To help people distinguish between truth and emotion.
OUR HEART AND MIND’S LIMITATIONS
Jeremiah 17:9 (Tap to Expand)
The heart is deceitful above all things
and beyond cure.
Who can understand it?
The heart is deceitful – Our hearts can and do lead us astray at times. The person who thinks, “Because I feel it in my heart, it must be true” can easily be deceived.
Proverbs 14:12 (Tap to Expand)
There is a way that appears to be right,
but in the end it leads to death.
- Appears to be right – “appears to be right” can lead us down the absolutely WRONG path.
- In the end it leads to death – The consequences of these decisions can be severe!
Proverbs 28:26 (Tap to Expand)
Those who trust in themselves are fools,
but those who walk in wisdom are kept safe.
Those who trust in themselves are fools – We need to be careful in trusting too much in ourselves, our perceptions, our feelings, our insights, etc.
1 Samuel 13:5-14 (Tap to Expand)
5 The Philistines assembled to fight Israel, with three thousand[a] chariots, six thousand charioteers, and soldiers as numerous as the sand on the seashore. They went up and camped at Mikmash, east of Beth Aven. 6 When the Israelites saw that their situation was critical and that their army was hard pressed, they hid in caves and thickets, among the rocks, and in pits and cisterns. 7 Some Hebrews even crossed the Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead.
Saul remained at Gilgal, and all the troops with him were quaking with fear. 8 He waited seven days, the time set by Samuel; but Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and Saul’s men began to scatter. 9 So he said, “Bring me the burnt offering and the fellowship offerings.” And Saul offered up the burnt offering. 10 Just as he finished making the offering, Samuel arrived, and Saul went out to greet him.
11 “What have you done?” asked Samuel.
Saul replied, “When I saw that the men were scattering, and that you did not come at the set time, and that the Philistines were assembling at Mikmash, 12 I thought, ‘Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not sought the Lord’s favor.’ So I felt compelled to offer the burnt offering.”
13 “You have done a foolish thing,” Samuel said. “You have not kept the command the Lord your God gave you; if you had, he would have established your kingdom over Israel for all time. 14 But now your kingdom will not endure; the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him ruler of his people, because you have not kept the Lord’s command.”
- Saul is the king of Israel and Samuel is the prophet.
- Saul had been instructed to wait until Samuel arrived before offering the sacrifice (v:8).
- v:12 I felt compelled – Saul felt pressure and it seemed right to him offer the sacrifice.
- v:13 You have done a foolish thing – Samuel rebuked Saul. Saul lost the kingship of Israel for his failure to obey the word of the LORD.
DREAMS AND PROPHETS
Jeremiah 23:16-22 (Tap to Expand)
16 This is what the Lord Almighty says:
“Do not listen to what the prophets are prophesying to you;
they fill you with false hopes.
They speak visions from their own minds,
not from the mouth of the Lord.
17 They keep saying to those who despise me,
‘The Lord says: You will have peace.’
And to all who follow the stubbornness of their hearts
they say, ‘No harm will come to you.’
18 But which of them has stood in the council of the Lord
to see or to hear his word?
Who has listened and heard his word?
19 See, the storm of the Lord
will burst out in wrath,
a whirlwind swirling down
on the heads of the wicked.
20 The anger of the Lord will not turn back
until he fully accomplishes
the purposes of his heart.
In days to come
you will understand it clearly.
21 I did not send these prophets,
yet they have run with their message;
I did not speak to them,
yet they have prophesied.
22 But if they had stood in my council,
they would have proclaimed my words to my people
and would have turned them from their evil ways
and from their evil deeds.
- v:16 Do not listen to what the prophets are prophesying – Ignore false prophets.
- v:16 They speak from their own minds – They say what they think people want to hear. v:21 I did not send these prophets – Many claim to be of God and are not.
- v:22 If they had stood in my council they would have proclaimed my words – They spoke of comfort when they should have been calling the people to repentance (v:17, 22).
Jeremiah 23:23-32 (Tap to Expand)
- v:25 They say, “I had a dream” – This was around the 7th century B.C.
- v:26 They prophesy delusions of their own minds – The same things happens today.
- v:28 Let the one who has my word speak it faithfully – God calls us to obeying his Word. v:32 I am against those who prophecy false dreams – God opposes false prophets.
Jeremiah 23:33-40 (Tap to Expand)
33 “When these people, or a prophet or a priest, ask you, ‘What is the message from the Lord?’ say to them, ‘What message? I will forsake you, declares the Lord.’ 34 If a prophet or a priest or anyone else claims, ‘This is a message from the Lord,’ I will punish them and their household. 35 This is what each of you keeps saying to your friends and other Israelites: ‘What is the Lord’s answer?’ or ‘What has the Lord spoken?’ 36 But you must not mention ‘a message from the Lord’ again, because each one’s word becomes their own message. So you distort the words of the living God, the Lord Almighty, our God. 37 This is what you keep saying to a prophet: ‘What is the Lord’s answer to you?’ or ‘What has the Lord spoken?’ 38 Although you claim, ‘This is a message from the Lord,’ this is what the Lord says: You used the words, ‘This is a message from the Lord,’ even though I told you that you must not claim, ‘This is a message from the Lord.’ 39 Therefore, I will surely forget you and cast you out of my presence along with the city I gave to you and your ancestors. 40 I will bring on you everlasting disgrace—everlasting shame that will not be forgotten.”
- v:36 You must not mention ‘a message from the Lord’ again – We must be EXTREMELY careful not to speak anything contrary to God’s Word.
- v:36 You distort the words of the living God – God stands strongly against embellishment.
- v:39 I will cast you out of my presence – God will punish false prophets.1
Everything we listen to, do, share, and teach must come directly from the Word of God!
JESUS AND GOD’S WORD
Luke 9:23 (Tap to Expand)
23 Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.
- Whoever wants to be my disciples must deny themselves – Christ’s followers deny their thoughts, feelings, etc. when it is contrary to the will of God.
- When we understand the dangers of following feelings, we are far more careful and less impulsive.
Matthew 7:21-23 (Tap to Expand)
21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ 23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’
- Not everyone who says to me, “Lord, Lord” – Many will be surprised on judgment day.
- Only the one who does my will – The ultimate test is obedience to the Bible.
- Did we not prophesy…drive our demons…perform many miracles? So many people believe that they are right with God because of these things. They measure their spirituality according to miracles or other signs (EX. speaking in tongues).
- I never knew you – These things do not make us right with God.
Q. If people that do these things (speak in tongues, prophesy, etc.) are convinced they are right with God, how could God get through to them?
Q: How would God communicate with them today?
Q. How do we really know if we love him?
John 14:23
23 Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.
Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching – Loving God = obeying his teaching.
CONCLUSION
Our love for God cannot be measured by feelings and emotions. It is revealed by our life and willingness to live in obedience to the scripture.