April 6, 2015
On Being God’s Mouthpiece!
Key Text: "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
Despite my best efforts to write and speak clearly, betimes I am
clearly misunderstood. I have often felt bad about my failure and have sought to
improve my speaking and writing skills. Occasionally, however, readers take
words out of context or read into them something that bears no resemblance to
the intended meaning. This can prove quite frustrating and sometimes very
disconcerting because there's no way to control how people use words once
they are published or spoken.
While some of what I write and more of what I preach do (deliberately and with
intent) speak to the times in which we live. I do resist the temptation
to personalize an issue related to the text, or attack from my pivotal position of
pen, paper and pulpit. I do however, listen to the urges of the "still, small voice"
of the Holy Spirit who guides as He sees fit, and puts in my mouth words that
are appropriate for any given situation.
This brings to mind a much more serious offense---that of misusing the words
of the Lord. The prophets in Jeremiah's day were quite guilty of this. They put
their own words into God's mouth by claiming He said things they wanted to be
true but that God had never said. So the Lord told 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 want to speak for the LORD!"
(Jeremiah 23:16). Then the Lord warned the people that he would forsake
those who pervert His words and cast them from His presence (vv. 36, 39).
In contrast, the apostle Paul made a point of saying that he did not handle the
Word of God deceitfully (2 Cor 4:2). He knew the danger of preaching his own
ideas rather than God's. All of us need to be careful to use God's words for His
purpose, rather than for our own agenda. We therefore must align ourselves
with the Bible and never try to align the Bible to ourselves.
By Lester A. Parkinson – Director of Resource Development
1
University Of the Southern Caribbean