{"id":30833,"date":"2021-01-19T14:44:12","date_gmt":"2021-01-19T20:44:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/?p=30833"},"modified":"2025-08-29T21:58:29","modified_gmt":"2025-08-30T02:58:29","slug":"consider-the-source-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/consider-the-source-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Consider the Source (Hardin)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\tby Jason Hardin
\nIn God’s Image<\/em><\/a>\n

Ezekiel 13 documents a fundamental problem that plagued people thousands of years ago and continues to be a dangerous pitfall.<\/p>\n

“Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel, who are prophesying, and say to those who prophesy from their own hearts: ‘Hear the word of the LORD!’<\/em>” (Ezekiel 13:2)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"\"Did you catch the problem? At a crucial point in Israel’s history, some were teaching, reassuring, and encouraging the people “from their own hearts.<\/em>” Their guide was “their own spirit<\/em>” (Ezekiel 13:3). They were saying, “Declares the LORD,<\/em>” when the LORD hadn’t sent them (Ezekiel 13:6). They were proclaiming, “Peace,” <\/em>when there was no peace and “smearing” <\/em>fractures that desperately needed corrective attention “with whitewash<\/em>” (Ezekiel 13:10).<\/p>\n

It doesn’t take an architect or engineer to know that you can smear spackle and paint all over a crumbling wall, but “whitewash” isn’t going to keep it from falling if the foundation is compromised.<\/p>\n

These “prophets” were so convincing and deluded, they “expected” the LORD to “fulfill their word<\/em>” (Ezekiel 13:6) even though the source of their message was their own hearts. And the impact on the people around them? Devastating.<\/p>\n

“They have misled my people …<\/em>” (Ezekiel 13:10).<\/p>\n

“…you have disheartened the righteous falsely, although I have not grieved him, and you have encouraged the wicked, that he should not turn from his evil way to save his life…<\/em>” (Ezekiel 13:22).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Notice especially that last verse. What good comes from “encouraging” someone who is headed away from God if traveling that path costs them their life and possibly their soul for eternity? When God is calling someone to turn in order to save them, I shouldn’t be cheering them on in the wrong direction.<\/p>\n

For millennia there have been messengers willing to tell us what we want to hear, but passages like Ezekiel 13 remind us to consider the source. Is what I’m hearing from the heart of God or the hearts of humans? If I follow the leading of this message, am I tracking with the spirit of the mere messenger or the Spirit of God?<\/p>\n

Not all input is equally valid or valuable. Expecting the Almighty to fulfill my word is foolish. I was warned a long time ago that “the heart is deceitful above all things<\/em>” (Jeremiah 17:9). I would do well, with all that I hear, to consider the source.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Jason Hardin In God’s Image Ezekiel 13 documents a fundamental problem that plagued people thousands of years ago and continues to be a dangerous pitfall. “Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel, who are prophesying, and say to those who prophesy from their own hearts: ‘Hear the word of the LORD!’” (Ezekiel…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27],"tags":[34,169],"class_list":["post-30833","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-false-teaching","tag-prophecy"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":64428,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-seriousness-of-teaching\/","url_meta":{"origin":30833,"position":0},"title":"The Seriousness of Teaching","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 6, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"by\u00a0Jarrod M. Jacobs Twice in Ezekiel, God warns him about how serious it is to teach God's truth and warn people when they are in sin. Ezekiel 3:17-21 and 33:2-9 make it clear that Ezekiel served as a \"watchman\" for the Lord. As such, he had the duty to warn\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":64712,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/a-heart-of-stone-or-a-heart-of-flesh\/","url_meta":{"origin":30833,"position":1},"title":"A Heart of Stone or a Heart of Flesh?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 17, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jarrod M. Jacobs Twice in the book of Ezekiel, God spoke about the fact that He would take the people and remove their \"stony heart\" so they might have a heart of \"flesh\" (Ezekiel 11:19; 36:26). In context, the \"stony\" heart describes the person who has been disobedient and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":82803,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/a-brief-reflection-on-ezekiel-34-faithful-and-unfaithful-shepherds\/","url_meta":{"origin":30833,"position":2},"title":"A Brief Reflection on Ezekiel 34: Faithful and Unfaithful Shepherds","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 2, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Rowland Femi Gbamis via Unmasking Sophistry, Vol. 5, No. 1, January-March 2025 Over the years, God has blessed me by working and interacting with many leaders in the Lord's Church in Nigeria, Canada, and the United States. I have seen the finest sides of these men as they serve\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/shepherd-300x200.avif","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":86965,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-happened-to-the-dead-raised-at-jesus-death\/","url_meta":{"origin":30833,"position":3},"title":"What happened to the dead raised at Jesus’ death?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 4, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Good evening, Minister, This question has been lingering on my mind for quite a while now. In Matthew, we read of the dead being resurrected after Jesus died. So what happened to these people? I know the Bible is silent on what happened to them, but I was just\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":91133,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/digging-through-the-wall\/","url_meta":{"origin":30833,"position":4},"title":"Digging Through the Wall","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 8, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Cleve Stafford Some of the most uncomfortable parts of Scripture are the ones that feel a little too close to home. One of those moments shows up in the book of Ezekiel, in a vision that doesn't get preached on very often, but maybe should. Ezekiel 8:7-12, \"And he\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":7333,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/doesnt-ezekiel-37-speak-of-the-restoration-of-israel-before-jesus-return\/","url_meta":{"origin":30833,"position":5},"title":"Doesn’t Ezekiel 37 speak of the restoration of Israel before Jesus’ return?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 9, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I read your criticism of the article \"Eight Compelling Reasons why Christ is Coming Very Soon\" with somewhat amused interest since from the outset it was obvious where you were going. I understand why. 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