Wrong Number
Jeremiah 29:1-14
1 Now these are the words of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem unto the residue of the elders which were carried away captives, and to the priests, and to the prophets, and to all the people whom Nebuchadnezzar had carried away captive from Jerusalem to Babylon;
2 (After that Jeconiah the king, and the queen, and the eunuchs, the princes of Judah and Jerusalem, and the carpenters, and the smiths, were departed from Jerusalem;) {eunuchs: or, chamberlains}
3 By the hand of Elasah the son of Shaphan, and Gemariah the son of Hilkiah, (whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent unto Babylon to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon) saying,
4 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, unto all that are carried away captives, whom I have caused to be carried away from Jerusalem unto Babylon;
5 Build ye houses, and dwell in them; and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them;
6 Take ye wives, and beget sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons, and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters; that ye may be increased there, and not diminished.
7 And seek the peace of the city whither I have caused you to be carried away captives, and pray unto the LORD for it: for in the peace thereof shall ye have peace.
8 For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Let not your prophets and your diviners, that be in the midst of you, deceive you, neither hearken to your dreams which ye cause to be dreamed.
9 For they prophesy falsely unto you in my name: I have not sent them, saith the LORD. {falsely: Heb. in a lie}
10 For thus saith the LORD, That after seventy years be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you, and perform my good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place.
11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. {expected...: Heb. end and expectation}
12 Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you.
13 And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.
14 And I will be found of you, saith the LORD: and I will turn away your captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations, and from all the places whither I have driven you, saith the LORD; and I will bring you again into the place whence I caused you to be carried away captive.
The problem with the false prophets in Jerusalem was the same among the captives in Babylon.
There were false prophets there, as well proclaiming that the yoke of Babylon would be thrown off, therefore giving the people a false hope.
Ezekiel was the major exception in Babylon.
Jeremiah sent a letter to these captives declaring the opposite of what these false Prophets were proclaiming.
Jeremiah said that the captivity would be long, even 70 years.
Jeconiah, who was the King, before they were taken into captivity, had reigned for 3 months and 10 days before he was taken into captivity.
The letter that was written by Jeremiah was given to him.
In verse 3, the letter was carried by Elasah and Gemariah, who were good men.
Verse 4 says:
4 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, unto all that are carried away captives, whom I have caused to be carried away from Jerusalem unto Babylon;
Intelligence in the ways and counsels of God as revealed in His Word, is the key to things happening in your life even while we are in captivity.
God would bless obedience to His Word and judgment on disobedience.
Verse 5 says:
5 Build ye houses, and dwell in them; and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them;
Apparently these unhappy captives had not been doing such, they were thinking according to the false prophecies given by the false prophets, that they would be restored to Judah any day.
Jeremiah’s letter said the very opposite.
The phrase in verse 6, “that you may be increased there, and not diminished, this pertains that the Nation was to be kept alive”.
Jeremiah 29:7
7 And seek the peace of the city whither I have caused you to be carried away captives, and pray unto the LORD for it: for in the peace thereof shall ye have peace.
When it says, “and seek the peace of the city”, it refers to Babylon and the blessing that God’s people, even though they were under chastisement, correction came from God.
This is also proclaiming the power of God’s people.
Jeremiah 29:8-9
8 For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Let not your prophets and your diviners, that be in the midst of you, deceive you, neither hearken to your dreams which ye cause to be dreamed.
9 For they prophesy falsely unto you in my name: I have not sent them, saith the LORD. {falsely: Heb. in a lie}
During this time of history, the false prophets were telling dreams that were not from God.
They were prophesying falsely in God’s name, and God was warning the people not to listen to them, they were telling things that were coming from their own heart.
Some might ask, “How were the people to know what to believe since Ezekiel was standing alone and every one else had another version of what God had said?”
They should have been able to tell by the fruit of the false prophets.
Mathew 7:10-15
15 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?
17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.
18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.
If someone says they are a prophet sent from God, know them and watch their fruit.
No fruit, not a prophet sent by God.
After 70 years, the promise of restoration was going to take place; God was going to do what He had truly spoken.
Jeremiah 29:11
11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.
Upon obedience to the Lord, with a sincere attempt to follow His way and His Word, His thoughts toward us is of peace and not of evil.
Jeremiah 29:12-14
12 Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you.
13 And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.
14 And I will be found of you, saith the LORD: and I will turn away your captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations, and from all the places whither I have driven you, saith the LORD; and I will bring you again into the place whence I caused you to be carried away captive.
Israel was going to be restored in Gods time no matter what the false Prophets spoke.
The people had to call upon God and pray unto Him and He would hearken to them.
I’ve entitled this today wrong number and here’s the reason why:
Dream 2-5-08
I dreamed that an individual called our phone number. I answered the phone and they asked for someone else. I told them that they had the wrong number. I said to Susan, “I wonder why they did that”.
Interpretation
I knew in the dream this person called our phone number on purpose and asked for someone else.
They called the wrong number on purpose.
How many of us call the wrong number on purpose?
Instead of dialing up God, we turn to something else to help us in the situations that we are in.
Sometimes people know what God has said to do, and they choose to act like God has spoken something else.
Sometimes people speak things that they want God to be saying instead of what God is really saying.
Do we have false prophets in the church world today? The answer is definitely yes and you will know them by their fruit.
Are we calling upon God for our answers?
Are we praying in faith believing that God can and will answer us?
Do we feel like we are being held captive by the enemy?
If we do, are we calling the right number?
When we call the right number, we apply the message that is being spoken by God to our situations.
Just like in Jeremiah’s day, there are people who will speak what they want things to be instead of really hearing a true message from God.
There is the real and there is the counterfeit.
2 Corinthians 11:13-15
13 For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ.
14 And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.
15 Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.
Satan has workers and he has a false word that he will give. he will make the word enticing; the problem is that it is still false.
Satan will come as an angel of light; you need to remember he was an angel so he knows a lot about how they can work.
Verse 15 says his ministers can be transformed into ministers of righteousness.
During Jeremiah’s time there were very few who had a true Word from the Lord.
We do live in a prophetic generation, but we need to try the Spirits and we need to judge prophesies to make sure that it is a true Word that is being spoken.
We need to make sure when someone speaks a Word over someone else, that we know them, and we can see their fruit.
We need to make sure that it is God on the other line of our phones.
Closing
Who are we calling and are we sure that it is the right number?
The Word teaches me to know those who labor among us.
Jeremiah 29:12
12 Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you.
Mathew 6:33
33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
Who are we calling today?
Who are we seeking?
What kind of life are we
If you are interested in seeing some God given dreams go to:
http://www.ourchurch.com/member/w/windoffaithdrea/
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