Pray the Word with David Platt is a resource from Radical.net.

Jeremiah chapter 5, verse 12, they have spoken falsely of the Lord and have said he will do nothing.

No disaster will come upon us, nor shall we see sword or famine.

Jeremiah chapter 5 is a picture of God denouncing the prophets who are not proclaiming His word. Specifically, they're

not proclaiming His coming judgment. They're telling people, everything is fine. Listen to Jeremiah

512. They have spoken falsely of the Lord and have said He will do nothing. No disaster will come

upon us, nor shall we see sword or famine. Later on,

in Jeremiah 5 versus 30 and 31, it says, an appalling and horrible thing has happened in the land.

The prophets prophesy falsely. The priests rule it their direction. And my people love to have it.

So, what a picture. The prophets were telling people what they wanted to hear,

but it wasn't true. Judgment was coming. Sword and famine were coming, and they needed to be

warned. Prophets needed to sound the alarm, but they weren't doing it. They were making people

happy by proclaiming what the people wanted to hear instead of what God was saying.

Oh, we desperately need to hear what God is saying. We do in the church is why pastors, elders,

overseers in the church must be able to teach the word and to teach it faithfully and clearly

and why every Christian needs to be in a Bible-believing, Bible-proclaiming church,

proclaiming what God has said, not twisting what God has said to accommodate our

personal desires or personal convictions or personal opinions, but to clearly communicate

what God is saying. This is the role of a preacher to stand up before God's people and to say,

thus says the Lord. And I remember my first preaching class, just hearing my preaching professor,

Jim Shattuck, say, you better not stand up and say,

thus says the Lord, if you are not saying what the Lord is saying.

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