Be Careful Out There!

Have you ever been in a situation when some good intentioned believer had "a message from God" for you?  I have, and it can be rather awkward at best, particularly when God has not spoken to me about the same matter.  While the other person may have your best interests at heart, I have a difficult time believing that God would speak to them before He had planted a seed in my heart concerning the "message from God" the other person claims to have heard.  Unless that person is a true prophet of God with some record of accuracy, if this ever happens to you, be wary!  I have found that God generally speaks to the person He wants to more directly - through His word, in a dream, or on some rare occasions verbally in that "still, small voice" in your mind.  Don't get me wrong, I do believe God may use another believer to confirm something you have been praying about or pondering on, but I do not think He will tell another before He has spoken with you about it.

For my scriptural basis for this belief I would refer you to Jeremiah 23:34-40.  I like the way it is recorded in the Message Remix: 

 ³⁴"And if anyone, including prophets and priests, goes around saying glibly 'God's Message! God's Message!' I'll punish him and his family.
 ^35-36"Instead of claiming to know what God says, ask questions of one another, such as 'How do we understand God in this?' But don't go around pretending to know it all, saying 'God told me this...God told me that....' I don't want to hear it anymore. Only the person I authorize speaks for me. Otherwise, my Message gets twisted, the Message of the living God-of-the-Angel-Armies.
 ^37-38"You can ask the prophets, 'How did God answer you? What did he tell you?' But don't pretend that you know all the answers yourselves and talk like you know it all. I'm telling you: Quit the 'God told me this...God told me that...' kind of talk.
 ^39-40"Are you paying attention? You'd better, because I'm about to take you in hand and throw you to the ground, you and this entire city that I gave to your ancestors. I've had it with the lot of you. You're never going to live this down. You're going down in history as a disgrace."

Ouch!  Now I have no idea if you may have been the guilty party, or the recipient of such a discourse from the guilty one, but both need to be very careful.  If you're the "God told me" person you may need to put a lid on it unless you are a true prophet (and not a self-proclaimed one), or a pastor with direct knowledge of what someone is going through.  If you are the recipient of such Godly advice, be certain you know the person very well as well as their prophetic track record. Jeremiah 28:9 says "As for the prophet ... when the word of the prophet comes to pass, the prophet will be known as one whom the LORD has truly sent.”  Just as Isiah's lips were anointed as pictured here, so should the modern day prophet be anointed to speak for God before he is sent.

So the next time someone comes to you with a "God told me to tell you..." message, be careful to heed the advice given in Jeremiah. Know that God loves you, and He will speak to you in ways that you will understand and know it is His will for you if you are truly seeking Him.

God bless you.