Jeremiah 28:15 Then the prophet Jeremiah said to Hananiah the prophet, “Listen, Hananiah! The Lord has not sent you, yet you have persuaded this nation to trust in lies.”

We don’t think much about false prophets, but they certainly exist among us. We also don’t think much about how things were in the time of Jeremiah, with multiple prophets competing for attention. We ourselves would probably be somewhat dismissive of someone who was wearing a yoke on his neck, as Jeremiah obviously was. (verse 10) Even so, we need discernment as to who is speaking for the Lord and who is not, just as much as the people back then did. This has been a continuing issue for all of history, as Paul wrote, “For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.” (2 Timothy 4:3) People want to hear what they want to hear, and dismiss all other voices. A major problem today is that channels of communication are being controlled so that many people never have an opportunity to hear the truth, and so are controlled by lies. However, God is still working, and lies are being uncovered at a great rate. Some might protest that politics aren’t spiritual, but the issue over which Jeremiah and Hananiah clashed was certainly political. God cares about everything, and He desires truth to prevail everywhere.

Only in recent years have I become more interested in politics, and at the same time I know that our dependence must be on the Lord, and not on any human instrument. My awareness of the lies that are pushed on the general population has greatly heightened in the recent health scare. Those lies are still being uncovered, and various “experts” are still claiming they are true. The thing is, today we don’t need to depend on specific “prophets,” because God has made His Spirit available to all who will receive Him in repentance and faith. Every believer needs to submit the things they are told to the Lord and ask Him to show them which are true and which are not. Above all, we are not to be controlled by fear of anything other than the Lord Himself. The devil and those submitted to him love fear and use it as a weapon to attack and control others. As James said, I’ve got to submit to God alone, not to fear, and resist the devil, and teach others to do likewise. (James 4:7)

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You for Your plans for this morning’s service. I pray that each of us who share will speak Your truth indeed, defeating the lies of the enemy and building up our hearers, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!