I was perusing my notes when I found some notes from a Missions Conference in 2017:
“You are not qualified to call people sinners. You can’t presume to tell people God loves them. But you do have a warrant to report what God says.”
These are God’s words, not yours! You’re the announcer.
When you say, “Thus saith the Lord,” you’d better be sure that God actually said it!
I wish I could remember who was speaking when I took those notes, but not knowing doesn’t make the words less true. We so often use God’s words as if they’re our own, and our words as if they are God’s own. We often get so wrapped up in being right because we’re sure of what God has said, but we say it the wrong way in the wrong attitude. We get so wrapped up in being right because we’re sure of what God has said, but sometimes we’re not even right about God saying it at all! Sometimes we focus so much on one thing God has said, that we forget about something else important He said.
Listen to what God has said, what He has actually said, and then say it to others the way God wants it said.