Read Jeremiah 1:11-16
In the Old Testament God often communicated to the people through the prophet He had chosen and to that prophet often through dreams and visions. These dreams and visions were told to the people and were written down as a ‘Word’ from the
Jeremiah had two such visions to encourage him and exhort him. Firstly he saw an almond tree and God assured Jeremiah that He Himself was watching to make sure that His own Word would be fulfilled. While this may sound strange to us Westerners, it would have made very much sense to a Hebrew because the word for almond tree (saqed) sounds very much like the word for “watching”” (saqad). Jeremiah would have been greatly encouraged to know that God Himself was watching over him.
In the second vision Jeremiah sees a boiling pot tilting away from the north symbolising that judgment will be poured out upon the land from the north. Judgement will come from a northern people.
The two visions to Jeremiah showed him that Judah was about to be judged for her sins. She was about to face the wrath of God. The mammoth task given to Jeremiah was to proclaim that judgement and to call the nation back to Yahweh in repentance and faith. Given that Jeremiah would be confronting a hard hearted, flint headed people, he desperately needed the encouragement that God gave him.
Does God communicate to us today? Does God still speak to us today? The easy answer is “Yes”. However, God now communicates mainly through His Word, the Bible. Certainly there are many credible accounts of God speaking to people through dreams and visions and even directly but the main form of communication is the Word of God, the Bible. There are many reliable testimonies of non believers being visited by Jesus Himself and being brought to repentance and faith through that vision. There are reports of believers being given a mission or private revelation that led to great works for the Lord.
As believers, we should not spend our energy and time looking for or praying for visions and dreams and so on but rather, we should delight in reading the Word and listening to the Word of our Lord and Saviour. Every time we open the Word of God, we are being addressed by His Majesty the Lord God Almighty. Our goal should not be to have a vision or to hear a word from the Lord. Our goal should not be to have some ecstatic experience because ever time we open the Bible we hear from the Lord. Every time we open the Bible, whether in church or in private, we should do so with a sense of awe and great expectation because the Lord, the King of Kings is about to speak with us.
Even more so, we need to ensure that all visions, dreams and private revelations from God correspond to and agree with the Word. If any form of communication disagrees with or contradicts the Word then that communication is not from God.
Prayer Points:
Using today’s Bible passage and reading notes spend time in adoration, confession, thanks and supplication.
Adoration:
Confession:
Thanks:
Supplication:
· Pray that each and every member in your congregation would be excited about reading the Word and spending time in the Word daily. Pray that the Word, being living and active, would bear much fruit in the lives of your congregation.
· Ask the Lord to be growing each person in your congregation in depth of knowledge and understanding of the Word so that they can know Him better, serve Him better and worship Him with more and more of their entire lives.
1. Have you ever had someone tell you they had a vision or Word from God? What did you do? How did you react?
2. Jarvis comes excitedly to you one morning at Church and says to that God clearly told him last night in his prayer time that He wanted him to be a missionary in South Africa. How do you respond? What is a biblical way forward?
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