#34: False Teachers Part 1: The Desire for a Word from the Lord

Published by Ben Stahl on May 11, 2020May 11, 2020

Also Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, “Please inquire for the word of the LORD today.”

I Kings 22:5

If you desire to know the will of the Lord on a particular matter, where will you go to find it? You can type the question into Google and have hundreds of websites giving you an answer. You can listen to sermons by dozens of pastors on the very topic you wish to know about. The resources on spiritual things are innumerable. The only problem is many of these resources and teachers will not tell you the truth.

Many of those listening to and supporting these teachers don’t want to hear the truth but desire to be told fables. Like good marketers, the false prophets, pastors, and teachers give their hearers what they want to hear and in so doing they reap the worldly rewards of wealth, fame, and power.

“For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.”II Timothy 4:3-4

Occasionally I will listen to ‘sermons’ from televangelists and celebrity pastors, some of whom can secure millions of listeners to a single week’s sermon while a respected Reformed pastor can top out at fewer than 1,000 clicks. Many celebrity pastors will flatter with their lips, telling people everything good they want to hear about themselves and their future, particularly related to health, wealth, and prosperity. They sprinkle in a half dozen Bible references to make the message sound biblical and leave people worse than where they began. While they may cite a verse about repentance and the work of Christ, they are unlikely to call people to repent of their sins, flee from the wrath of God to come, and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ alone for salvation.

All people want to hear a word from their god. The Christian seeks to know the Word of the true God and ought to give ear only to those pastors and teachers who give people a sense for the meaning of the Scripture. The unbeliever deludes himself into thinking the lies he wants to hear about his god are the actual Word of the true God. In both cases, there is a desire for knowledge and understanding from God but only one source contains the truth. 

Although Jehoshaphat foolishly went to Israel and made an alliance with Ahab to fight against Syria, he also made a wise decision: to seek the will of the Lord (vs. 5). We too should seek the will of the Lord in all things. Are we thinking and acting in accordance with Scripture or after our own deceitful lusts? We have been given the mind of Christ in the Word, and we should seek after Him where and while He may be found. 

The events that transpired after Jehoshaphat’s request teach us many things about false prophets and teachers. May the Lord use this portion of Scripture to help us protect, proclaim, and promote the truth of the Lord Jesus Christ to a dead, dying, and delusional world. 

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