AI-generated image of Paula White-Cain, Joel Osteen, Joyce Meyer, Rick Warren, John Piper, T.D. Jakes, & Rod Parsley.
There are moments when we read the Bible and suddenly realize that what God was confronting thousands of years ago does not feel ancient at all. It feels uncomfortably familiar.
I had that experience recently while reading Jeremiah 23. What began as an ordinary time read in Scripture turned into something else entirely. As I reflected on the verses, I could not help but see how familiar they felt in light of many churches today.
Sometimes a Christian can sit in a church for years and sense that something is not quite right, even if they cannot explain why. The sermons may sound spiritual. The leaders may speak with confidence. The atmosphere might feel exciting because people are constantly talking about visions, and dreams. Yet, somewhere beneath the surface, there is a growing uneasiness. A thoughtful Christian may begin to wonder why so much attention is given to these experiences instead of the simple teaching of God’s Word.
As I read the chapter, I was struck by how blunt God’s rebukes were toward the leaders of Israel. The shepherds who were supposed to care for the people had done the opposite. Instead of protecting the flock, they had scattered it. Instead of guiding the people toward truth, they had led them blindly into harm. The people were suffering because of the failures of the leaders.
There is something sobering about realizing how seriously God takes spiritual leadership. These shepherds had been entrusted with the care of His people, yet they had neglected that responsibility. Rather than feeding the flock with truth and God’s warnings, they were filling the people’s minds with teachings that pulled them further away from the truth and into judgment.
As I kept reading, another problem emerged in the chapter. God also confronted the false prophets who claimed to speak in His name. They used spiritual language and appeared as confident servants of God. Yet the Lord exposed that they were speaking from their own hearts, not from Him.
What made this so dangerous was that they sounded convincing. Their words carried the tone of authority. They spoke as if they had stood in the council of the Lord, yet God declared plainly that He had never sent them.
Many of their messages were wrapped in dramatic claims of dreams and spiritual revelations. Jeremiah records their repeated claim: “I have dreamed, I have dreamed” (vs. 25). They presented their dreams as proof that God was speaking through them.
As I sat with these verses, I could not help noticing how familiar this sounded. In many places today, the focus of ministry has drifted away from the simple proclamation of the Holy Bible. Rather people are often drawn to leaders who claim new dreams, visions, or private revelations. Their experiences begin to take prominence, while the authority of God’s written Word fades into the background.
Then the chapter arrives at one of its most striking moments.
The Lord contrasts these dreams with His actual Word: “The prophet that hath a dream, let him tell a dream; and he that hath my word, let him speak my word faithfully. What is the chaff to the wheat? saith the LORD” (vs. 28).
The picture is powerful. Wheat is nourishing and full of substance. Chaff is the useless husk that blows away in the wind.
God’s point is unmistakable. A person may tell dramatic stories about dreams, visions, spiritual revelations and experiences, but if those things are not truly from Him and grounded in His Word, they have no real substance. They are chaff, not wheat.
Later in the chapter, the Lord reveals another troubling practice. He declares that He is against the prophets who “steal” His words from one another (vs. 30).
At first, that statement seems a little puzzling. How could someone steal God’s words from another?
But the picture becomes clearer when we consider what was happening among these men. Instead of studying the Scriptures and seeking the Lord, they were listening to each other. One man would claim to have a message, another would repeat it, and soon the same impressive messages were spreading from voice to voice.
Before long, many prophets were repeating the same spiritual-sounding statements and presenting them as if they had come directly from God. In reality, they were simply borrowing each other’s words and attaching the Lord’s name to them.
God called this exactly what it was: stealing.
As I reflected on this, I could not help seeing the parallels in our own time. Many Christian circles have become fascinated with personalities who constantly claim new revelations. Conferences, churches, and online ministries often elevate those who say they have seen visions, received dreams, or heard direct messages from God.
I have even seen this pattern within fundamental Baptist churches. One person says something that sounds powerful. Another repeats it. Soon the same message begins echoing from voice to voice, and before long it starts to carry the weight of authority—even if it never truly came from God in the first place.
It is not difficult to understand why people are drawn to these claims. They feel mysterious. They appear deeply spiritual.
But Jeremiah’s warning reminds us of something vital.
Impressive spiritual claims are not the same thing as truth.
When the spotlight shifts toward someone’s personal experiences, the focus often drifts from the authority of God’s Word. When dreams, visions, and private revelations dominate the conversation, Scripture moves into the background.
And in that shift, something has gone terribly wrong.
Jeremiah’s message calls God’s people back to something far more stable and trustworthy. The faithful servant of God is not the one who constantly announces new revelations. The faithful servant is the one who opens the Scriptures, studies them diligently, and rightfully divides what God has already spoken.
God’s Holy Bible carries a weight and substance that human ideas never can. Human inventions, no matter how spiritual they may sound, eventually prove to be empty and without substance.
This is why studying God’s Word is so important for each one of us Christians. Not every confident voice represents the Lord. Not every passionate leader has truly been sent by God.
God never asked His people to blindly follow personalities. He calls us to know His Word for ourselves.
The church does not need more spiritual celebrities announcing visions, dreams, and private revelations.
What the church desperately needs are humble servants who will simply open the Scriptures and faithfully say, “Thus saith the LORD.”
Because in the end, God already asked the question that settles the matter:
What is the chaff to the wheat?
RETURN TO ALL BLOGS
I had that experience recently while reading Jeremiah 23. What began as an ordinary time read in Scripture turned into something else entirely. As I reflected on the verses, I could not help but see how familiar they felt in light of many churches today.
Sometimes a Christian can sit in a church for years and sense that something is not quite right, even if they cannot explain why. The sermons may sound spiritual. The leaders may speak with confidence. The atmosphere might feel exciting because people are constantly talking about visions, and dreams. Yet, somewhere beneath the surface, there is a growing uneasiness. A thoughtful Christian may begin to wonder why so much attention is given to these experiences instead of the simple teaching of God’s Word.
As I read the chapter, I was struck by how blunt God’s rebukes were toward the leaders of Israel. The shepherds who were supposed to care for the people had done the opposite. Instead of protecting the flock, they had scattered it. Instead of guiding the people toward truth, they had led them blindly into harm. The people were suffering because of the failures of the leaders.
There is something sobering about realizing how seriously God takes spiritual leadership. These shepherds had been entrusted with the care of His people, yet they had neglected that responsibility. Rather than feeding the flock with truth and God’s warnings, they were filling the people’s minds with teachings that pulled them further away from the truth and into judgment.
As I kept reading, another problem emerged in the chapter. God also confronted the false prophets who claimed to speak in His name. They used spiritual language and appeared as confident servants of God. Yet the Lord exposed that they were speaking from their own hearts, not from Him.
What made this so dangerous was that they sounded convincing. Their words carried the tone of authority. They spoke as if they had stood in the council of the Lord, yet God declared plainly that He had never sent them.
Many of their messages were wrapped in dramatic claims of dreams and spiritual revelations. Jeremiah records their repeated claim: “I have dreamed, I have dreamed” (vs. 25). They presented their dreams as proof that God was speaking through them.
As I sat with these verses, I could not help noticing how familiar this sounded. In many places today, the focus of ministry has drifted away from the simple proclamation of the Holy Bible. Rather people are often drawn to leaders who claim new dreams, visions, or private revelations. Their experiences begin to take prominence, while the authority of God’s written Word fades into the background.
Then the chapter arrives at one of its most striking moments.
The Lord contrasts these dreams with His actual Word: “The prophet that hath a dream, let him tell a dream; and he that hath my word, let him speak my word faithfully. What is the chaff to the wheat? saith the LORD” (vs. 28).
The picture is powerful. Wheat is nourishing and full of substance. Chaff is the useless husk that blows away in the wind.
God’s point is unmistakable. A person may tell dramatic stories about dreams, visions, spiritual revelations and experiences, but if those things are not truly from Him and grounded in His Word, they have no real substance. They are chaff, not wheat.
Later in the chapter, the Lord reveals another troubling practice. He declares that He is against the prophets who “steal” His words from one another (vs. 30).
At first, that statement seems a little puzzling. How could someone steal God’s words from another?
But the picture becomes clearer when we consider what was happening among these men. Instead of studying the Scriptures and seeking the Lord, they were listening to each other. One man would claim to have a message, another would repeat it, and soon the same impressive messages were spreading from voice to voice.
Before long, many prophets were repeating the same spiritual-sounding statements and presenting them as if they had come directly from God. In reality, they were simply borrowing each other’s words and attaching the Lord’s name to them.
God called this exactly what it was: stealing.
As I reflected on this, I could not help seeing the parallels in our own time. Many Christian circles have become fascinated with personalities who constantly claim new revelations. Conferences, churches, and online ministries often elevate those who say they have seen visions, received dreams, or heard direct messages from God.
I have even seen this pattern within fundamental Baptist churches. One person says something that sounds powerful. Another repeats it. Soon the same message begins echoing from voice to voice, and before long it starts to carry the weight of authority—even if it never truly came from God in the first place.
It is not difficult to understand why people are drawn to these claims. They feel mysterious. They appear deeply spiritual.
But Jeremiah’s warning reminds us of something vital.
Impressive spiritual claims are not the same thing as truth.
When the spotlight shifts toward someone’s personal experiences, the focus often drifts from the authority of God’s Word. When dreams, visions, and private revelations dominate the conversation, Scripture moves into the background.
And in that shift, something has gone terribly wrong.
Jeremiah’s message calls God’s people back to something far more stable and trustworthy. The faithful servant of God is not the one who constantly announces new revelations. The faithful servant is the one who opens the Scriptures, studies them diligently, and rightfully divides what God has already spoken.
God’s Holy Bible carries a weight and substance that human ideas never can. Human inventions, no matter how spiritual they may sound, eventually prove to be empty and without substance.
This is why studying God’s Word is so important for each one of us Christians. Not every confident voice represents the Lord. Not every passionate leader has truly been sent by God.
God never asked His people to blindly follow personalities. He calls us to know His Word for ourselves.
The church does not need more spiritual celebrities announcing visions, dreams, and private revelations.
What the church desperately needs are humble servants who will simply open the Scriptures and faithfully say, “Thus saith the LORD.”
Because in the end, God already asked the question that settles the matter:
What is the chaff to the wheat?
RETURN TO ALL BLOGS
