Eighth Sunday after Trinity

Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you, filling you with vain hopes. They speak visions of their own minds, not from the mouth of the Lord” (Jer 23:16). These words are God’s warning to his beloved church. They are his warning to you. There have always been false prophets in God’s church. They are always speaking, filling the world with their flattery and lies. They are prophesying to you whether you know it or not. You have heard their voice, but God warns, “Do not listen to their words!”

God gave his word to the first Christians, Adam and Eve. They didn’t have a written Bible. Instead, they had a single word from God: “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die” (Gen 2:16–17). Here we have the first gathering of God’s people, the first church, and their worship consisted of one thing: believing God’s Word by not eating of the forbidden tree. But along came the serpent, the false prophet, saying, “Did God really say you will die? You will not die.”

So it is today. The false prophets say continually to those who despise the word of the Lord, “It shall be well with you”; and to everyone who stubbornly follows his own heart, they say, “No disaster shall come upon you” (Jer 23:17). Do you know someone who openly despises the Word of the Lord? Do you know someone who has chosen to continue in sin in defiance of the clear teaching of Scripture? Tell me, how many voices are telling that person, “It shall be well with you”? How many so-called friends surround, offering support and reassurance, saying, “No disaster shall come upon you”? These are the words of the false prophets. Do not listen to them!

These prophets stand in the pulpits of countless churches and proclaim, “God is a God of love. He would never punish wickedness. He would never send anyone to hell. There is no reason to turn from your sin. There is no need for repentance. Keep doing exactly what you are doing. Never mind what the Word of God says. No disaster shall come upon you. You will not surely die!” The Lord Almighty answers, “Who among them has stood in the council of the Lord to see and to hear his word, or who has paid attention to his word and listened? Behold, the storm of the Lord! Wrath has gone forth, a whirling tempest; it will burst upon the head of the wicked. The anger of the Lord will not turn back until he has executed and accomplished the intents of his heart” (Jer 23:18–20).

These are tough words to hear. Naturally, we like the idea of a God who is soft and cuddly like a great teddy bear, but who wants to hear about the God whose wrath is revealed against all unrighteousness? Yes, he is the God of love. And in love, he warns sinners, “Turn from your sin and live. Do not listen to the false prophets.” Why do so many listen? Because they tell us what the sinful nature wants to hear. What does the man with a mistress want to be told? “Follow your heart, divorce your wife, and marry your mistress. God wants you to be happy.” And do you think he can find a pastor who will tell him just that? Of course, he can. This is why the devil always has the biggest churches and the most prophets. In the days of Elijah, the great prophet of God, he stood alone and confronted 450 false prophets who were on the king’s payroll. Show me a pastor who has grown rich through his ministry and I’ll show you a false prophet. Show me a church that is successful according to the standards of this world and I’ll show you a church that has abandoned the Word of God.

A little over a year ago, I stood before you on my first Sunday as your pastor with a confession: “Dear brothers and sisters, I must confess to you today that I have no plan to make the church grow. In fact, that’s not by business, and it’s not yours either. Before God and his church, I have taken a solemn vow to preach and teach the Word of God with faithfulness. My business here is to preach Christ crucified, to call you to repentance, to forgive your sins, to invite you to the table of our Lord, to visit you when you are sick, and to be with you at the hour of your death. And your task, which you also have promised before the Lord to do, is to hear the Word of God with gladness, and to support the work of the ministry with your gifts and prayers.”

Perhaps you remember these words. Over the past year, in spite of my shortcomings as a sinful man, I have endeavored by the grace of God to be faithful to this vow. And you too have kept your promise. You have heard the Word of God with gladness. It hasn’t been easy for anyone. Faithfulness never is. It’s always easier to listen to the words of the false prophets, but their words lead to destruction. We cling to the words of Christ, because they are life and salvation. But don’t forget the most important promise – not the promises we made, but Jesus’ promise to us. He promised that upon the foundation of his Word, he would build his Church. He promised that when we come together in his name, he would be among us with the forgiveness of sins. He promised that his Holy Spirit would work within our hearts, strengthening our faith and teaching us all of his words.

Look back on the last year, and you will see God keeping his promise. He has been building his church. And not just here, and not just in the last year. Wherever and whenever believers gather in the strength of Jesus’ promise to receive his holy sacraments, there he is among us forgiving every sin, bestowing peace and comfort, and delivering from death and the devil. Wherever the Word of God is taught in truth and purity, there is the true Church of God, and it only ever grows. Every time we have a baptism the Church grows. Every time a dear saint departs in the faith, the Church grows. Every time God’s Word is taught and preached, strengthening the seed of faith that was planted in your heart, the Church of God grows. We read in Acts that the early believers “devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to the prayers. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved” (Acts 2:42, 47). Our task is to be faith to God and his Word. His task is to make the Church grow—and he does. His Word never returns void. He will not turn back until he has executed and accomplished the intents of his heart.

Yes, God is a God of love – so loving, that he has prepared a way of escape from the destruction and judgment that is coming upon the world. God loved the world in this way: that he gave his only Son into death, so that by believing in him we might receive eternal life. Here is the way of escape: our Lord Jesus. Salvation is found in no one else. There is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved (Acts 4:12). The words of the false prophets cannot save. They lead only to disaster and calamity. Do not listen to them. The Lord God says, “Let the false prophets tell their dreams, but let him who has my word speak my word faithfully” (Jer 23:28). May God keep us steadfast in his Word, for it alone is life and salvation. Amen.