September 25, 2022 - Who Are You Following? - Pastor Paul Vallee

Jeremiah 23, Jeremiah Series Who is influencing and shaping your life? Who are the people that are knowingly or unknowingly influencing you? Some of the most significant influences in our lives are friends, media, and people who we respect and embrace what they are telling us. How do we know where we are headed unless we know the character and direction of those influencing us? We have been looking at the book of Jeremiah, where God has been warning His people that their direction in life was leading them to exile, which is simply being separated from God. We discover the importance of those who are leading or influencing us. One key reason for the exile was the leadership crisis in Judah. In the end, it became a carousel of ungodly leaders exploiting the people rather than empowering them and redirecting them toward God. Roland Harrison summarizes it: “Bad leadership is the ultimate attributive cause of the exile.”1 We may not always have a choice in our parents, teachers, and political leaders, but we do have a choice in listening to those who champion biblical values. So when and where we have a choice in who we will listen to, let’s choose the right kind of leaders to follow. Here we are about to see the difference between two leaders and the effects they had on the people being influenced by them. In Jeremiah 23, we find a contrast between godly and ungodly leaders and their impact on others. Then what can we learn about the kind of leaders we are following and shaping our lives. So, what kind of a leader are we going to follow? What are the qualities we should be looking for?