The Point of No Return
Today’s Passage – Jeremiah 14 – 17 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – click here to view the text from the Blue Letter Bible website)
(Second Milers also read – Acts 10 – 12; Psalms 86 – 90; Proverbs 18)
Scripture Memorization for June – Pre-Tribulation Rapture Passages
Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – Isaiah 40:31
Read a great article by Pastor Paul Chappell – “5 Skills for Healthy Communication“
Read the “0818 Evening and Morning” devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.
“Then the LORD said to me, ‘Though Moses and Samuel stood before me, yet my heart would not turn toward this people. Send them out of my sight, and let them go!'” (Jeremiah 15:1)
In the picture on the left, the man is jumping from one rock formation to the next. You will notice that the position of his body would make it impossible for him to change his mind at the last minute. He had reached “the point of no return”.
In our passage we see that the people of God had passed the point of no return. God said that it did not matter if Moses or Samuel came to intercede on their behalf, they had gotten too far away from Him, and judgement was unavoidable. God had warned them and corrected them previously, but to no avail. They would not receive the correction and they did not heed the warnings. They continued to travel down the road eventually leading them to the point of no return. God was about to bring in the Babylonians as a judgment for the backslidings of Judah.
I wonder how far God will allow America to get away from Him until she gets to the point of no return, where nothing can be done to escape judgment. I wonder how far the Christian can travel down the road of sin before God says, enough is enough. Don’t misunderstand, I am not saying that God will remove a Christian’s salvation if they are genuinely born again; but I am saying that He will eventually get fed up with rebellion, and will be forced to impose severe chastisement in order to rectify the situation. He may even take the offending Christian home to Heaven prematurely.
Let’s not allow our lives to get so out of control that God says we have passed the point of no return. Let’s keep an open heart, listen daily to His admonitions and exhortations from the Word of God; and heed what He says. Let’s yield to the working of the Spirit of God within us and yield to His will for our lives. I want to be used of Him all of my earthly life. I don’t want to be put on a shelf, or worse, face some sort of terrible judgment. I want to bear fruit that remains in my Christian life. I guess I had better stay close to my Saviour and far away from the point of no return.
Posted in Thoughts from Jeremiah by Phil Erickson with 1 comment.
Catching Men
Today’s Passage – Jeremiah 4 – 6 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – click here to view the text from the Blue Letter Bible website)
(Second Milers also read – Acts 1 – 3; Psalms 71 – 75; Proverbs 15)
Scripture Memorization for June – Pre-Tribulation Rapture Passages
Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – Psalm 121
Read a great article by Pastor Paul Chappell – “Unplugged“
Read the “0815 Evening and Morning” devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.
Read previous posts from today’s reading passage – “The Old Paths“, and “Fallow Ground“
“For among my people are found wicked men: they lay wait, as he that setteth snares; they set a trap, they catch men.” (Jeremiah 5:26)
“And so was also James, and John, the sons of Zebedee, which were partners with Simon. And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men.” (Luke 5:10)
As I was reading through this passage my attention was drawn to the little phrase, “catch men”. I knew that I had heard it before, so I did a little search and found that it was only used one other time in the Bible by the Lord in a conversation with Peter. The Lord told Peter that his life would no longer be about catching fish; but about catching men. The context of the passage in Jeremiah that we are currently reading has to do with the imminent judgement that is facing the southern kingdom of Judah, particularly the city of Jerusalem. There were many reasons for the coming judgement, but, in a nutshell you could say that as a nation they had forsaken God and had become like the heathen nations around them. One of the reasons that this had happened was because the devil was busy, using wicked men and women to lure the people away from a right relationship with God. These wicked people were also catching men.
Let’s fast forward now to present day America. The devil is still very busy: perhaps even busier than back in Jeremiah’s day. He may have changed some of his lures; but he is still using his servants to “catch men”. Now God has given us a commission to “catch men” as well. We are supposed to be very busy going out into the highways and hedges, the streets and the lanes of the city: with the power of the Spirit of God, and with the glorious gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. We are to be busy and bold in communicating the Truth of salvation. The question is: Are you and I more concerned about catching men than the devil’s crowd is? If we would be honest, we would have to admit that the New Testament churches have put soul winning on the back burner; but has Satan let up on his program? I don’t think so. As a result, Satan’s kingdom is advancing while the number of blood washed Christians seems to be shrinking. All because we who have the Truth have abandoned catching men.
Why don’t we get back out there in our community with some gospel tracts in one hand, a New Testament in the other; and start winning people to the Lord. Let’s stop letting Satan catch more men than the people of God. There are plenty of people out there that need to be saved and will be saved if we would simply obey God’s Great Commission.
“The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise.” (Proverbs 11:30)
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Turn Around
Today’s Passage – Jeremiah 1 – 3 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – click here to view the text from the Blue Letter Bible website)
(Second Milers also read – John 21; Psalms 66 – 70; Proverbs 14)
Scripture Memorization for June – Pre-Tribulation Rapture Passages
Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – Psalm 119:105
Read a great article by Pastor Paul Chappell – “Unplugged“
Read the “0814 Evening and Morning” devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.
Before I share the my main thought from the Scripture this morning, I just wanted to point out from the passage that the writer, Jeremiah, was a hand made child of God that was uniquely designed by Him to be a prophet to Israel and Judah. (see Jeremiah 1:4 – 6) God has also made you and and I, and wants to use us in a special way to fellowship with Him, glorify Him, and fulfill His plan for the ages. We are not here by accident. We were specially created the way we are on purpose, and for a purpose.
Now for today’s main thought:
“They say, If a man put away his wife, and she go from him, and become another man’s, shall he return unto her again? shall not that land be greatly polluted? but thou hast played the harlot with many lovers; yet return again to me, saith the LORD.” (Jeremiah 3:1)
Throughout the history of Israel, the people of God have gone through periods where they would fall away from God. Here in this passage the word “backsliding” is used seven times. Here in this passage Jeremiah is pleading with the backsliding people of Israel to come back to the Lord. Our God is awesome! Who else but God would love these people and keep taking them back, even though they would turn against Him over and over. He never gives up on His children. I must confess that I have a tough time forgiving people in the same way that God has forgiven me. I want to write people off; but God is not like me. He continues to reach out to those who have forsaken Him. Notice what God required of the people in order for them to come back into a right relationship with Him:
“Only acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou hast transgressed against the LORD thy God, and hast scattered thy ways to the strangers under every green tree, and ye have not obeyed my voice, saith the LORD.” (Jeremiah 3:13)
“Turn, O backsliding children, saith the LORD; for I am married unto you: and I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion:” (Jeremiah 3:14)
God says that if the people would acknowledge their sin, and then turn, He would take them back. Turning means that they would put away all of the things that they were doing that God was displeased with. This is a pretty good definition of repentance, which involves more than just acknowledging.
The people of God today could follow this same simple formula in order to come back to their God. We must acknowledge where we have gone wrong. It may not be some deep sin or rebellion. It may be just apathy, coldness, or laziness. Then we have to confess it to God and turn away from it. God loves us deeply and wants more than anything for us to be in love with Him. If you have “slidden” away from God, return again to the Lord.
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A Word to the Shepherds
Today’s Passage – Jeremiah 49 – 50 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – click here to view the text)
(Second Milers also read – 1 Corinthians 1 – 4; Psalms 131 – 135; Proverbs 27)
Scripture Memory for July – John 3:1 – 21
Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – Psalms 92:1
“My people hath been lost sheep: their shepherds have caused them to go astray, they have turned them away on the mountains: they have gone from mountain to hill, they have forgotten their restingplace.” – (Jeremiah 50:6)
“Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD unto the shepherds; Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! should not the shepherds feed the flocks? Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill them that are fed: but ye feed not the flock. The diseased have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed that which was sick, neither have ye bound up that which was broken, neither have ye brought again that which was driven away, neither have ye sought that which was lost; but with force and with cruelty have ye ruled them. … Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against the shepherds; and I will require my flock at their hand, and cause them to cease from feeding the flock; neither shall the shepherds feed themselves any more; for I will deliver my flock from their mouth, that they may not be meat for them.” – (Ezekiel 34:2-4, 10)
“The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed: Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; Neither as being lords over God’s heritage, but being ensamples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.” – (1 Peter 5:1-4)
“I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.” – (John 10:11)
“I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.” – (John 10:14)
In our Bible reading passage today from the Book of Jeremiah, God is sending His warning of judgment to the nation of Babylon because of their treatment of the nation of Israel. The interesting thing about this is that God actually allowed the Babylonians to conquer His people because the Israelites had turned their backs on Him. Notice the statement in Jeremiah 50:6: “My people hath been lost sheep: their shepherds have caused them to go astray”. Notice that God states very clearly here that the reason His people had gone astray was because the shepherds were not doing their jobs. The shepherds of Israel were the spiritual and political leaders who had lead the people of God into apostasy and immorality.
Our nation today is also failing due to the fact that the shepherds are not doing their jobs. Our political leaders are leading people in a godless path, and the spiritual leaders are not much better. There is little that I can do to influence the political direction of our country, but as one of God’s “under-shepherds”, I can do my part to see that the flock that God has entrusted to my care is healthy. But, what is the job of the “under-shepherd” (pastor) of a New Testament church?
1 Provide for the flock – “feed the flock of God which is among you” – It is the job of the pastor to make sure the people of the church are getting the whole counsel of the Word of God. The pastor should be making sure that the people are getting a healthy diet of sound Bible doctrine. Too many churches are limiting the tie that is spent in teaching and preaching, and are replacing it with forms of entertainment. I am not opposed to some of the other things that we do in our church services, but they should not replace the time spent in the Word. The further away our nation gets from God, the more we will need to be strengthened by the Word.
2 Protect the flock – There are a lot of things out there that will hurt God’s people. It is the job of the pastor to warn the people against false teachers who lead them astray doctrinally. We also have the obligation to stand strong and hold the line in the area of morality. The world, the flesh, and the devil are all pushing our churches into immodesty and immorality. It is the pastor’s job to see to it that carnality and worldliness are kept as far away from the church as possible. The pastor should also be the first one to offer help to the hurting and even the straying Christian.
3 Pattern for the flock – This is perhaps the area where we fail the most. Many times we do not practice what we preach. We are to be “enamples” to the flock. It seems that there has been a tsunami lately of moral failure in the pulpits of many of America’s leading churches. This both grieves me, and scares me. It grieves me because it has cause some of “the enemies of God to blaspheme”. In other words it has given strength to the crowd that opposes God. It scares me because I know that some of these men were far better Christians than I. I don’t want to fall. I must do whatever I can to stay humble, because moral destruction cannot come unless there is pride because pride always precedes destruction.
America is failing today. God’s people, for the most part are failing today, and it is all my fault because I am one of those “under-shepherds” that have been entrusted by God to watch out for the flock. Pray for the shepherds.
Posted in Thoughts from Jeremiah by Phil Erickson with 1 comment.
Unconditional Love
Today’s Passage – Jeremiah 46 – 48 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – click here to view the text)
(Second Milers also read – Romans 13 – 16; Psalms 126 – 130; Proverbs 26)
Scripture Memory for July – John 3:1 – 21
Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – Psalm 89:1
“Fear thou not, O Jacob my servant, saith the LORD: for I am with thee; for I will make a full end of all the nations whither I have driven thee: but I will not make a full end of thee, but correct thee in measure; yet will I not leave thee wholly unpunished.” (Jeremiah 46 – 48)
The Book of Jeremiah is book of judgment: most of it dealing with the coming captivity for the people of Judah in the land of Babylon. However, these three chapters that we have read to day deal with the judgment that God had prepared for three nations: Egypt, the land of the Philistines, and Moab. All three of these nations have had a bad history with God’s people Israel. For most of history these nations have been bitter enemies of the people of God. God would not spare these nations when he judged them: they would not receive the mercy that Judah would receive. Notice in the above verse that God says regarding His people that He would correct them “in measure”, but he would not make a full end.
I thank God that He loves me unconditionally and that, even though there are times when He needs to correct me and chasten me, He never stops loving me. We know that there is a principle throughout the Bible of reaping and sowing; but I know that God has not caused me to reap in judgment to the same degree what I sowed in disobedience. On the other hand, I have reaped far more blessing than I deserve. God has been very good to me: He loves me, and I am not very lovable most of the time. I am His child: I came in through the door, Jesus Christ; and God will never kick me out of the house. It’s mind boggling; but I am not complaining. People who do not know God misunderstand this unconditional love: they claim that it sounds like a license to sin. However, his unconditional love for me has constrained me, and His grace has taught me to deny ungodliness. When I think about His love, I want to sin less and serve more.
I thank God for His correction; but even more, I thank God that no matter how bad I get, He never stops loving me!
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The Truth Sometimes Hurts
Today’s Passage – Jeremiah 37 – 40 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – click here to view the text)
(Second Milers also read – Romans 5 – 8; Psalms 116 – 120; Proverbs 24)
Scripture Memory for July – John 3:1 – 21
Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – Psalm 61:1 – 3
“Then Zedekiah the king sent, and took him out: and the king asked him secretly in his house, and said, Is there any word from the LORD? And Jeremiah said, There is: for, said he, thou shalt be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon.” – (Jeremiah 37:17)
Therefore the princes said unto the king, We beseech thee, let this man be put to death: for thus he weakeneth the hands of the men of war that remain in this city, and the hands of all the people, in speaking such words unto them: for this man seeketh not the welfare of this people, but the hurt.” – (Jeremiah 38:4)
How would you like to have the job that God gave to Jeremiah? He was sent to warn the people of Judah about the imminent invasion from the King of Babylon. He told them that they needed to submit themselves to Nebuchadnezzar because this judgment was of God. He pleaded with King Zedekia of Judah, and told him that if he would submit to Babylon that it would go well with him and his family and Jerusalem would not have to be destroyed; but he would not listen. So what did Zedekiah and the princes of Judah do? Did they say, “Thank you Jeremiah for loving us enough to tell us the Truth from God?” No, they threw him in prison: a place so filthy that he sunk in the mire.
The day that we live in is not much different. For the most part, people are not interested in the truth. They want preachers who will tell them what they want to hear. The televisions and radios are filled with these messengers who itch the ears. They are hirelings, not true preachers of the Truth. Now, to be honest, there aren’t too many preachers in America being thrown in a miry prison today for their preaching; but I believe that there are many that would like to put us there. It can get very discouraging sometimes, but we must remember that our reward comes not from those that we speak to, but from Whom we speak for. Remember, history bares witness that Jeremiah was right. Men wouldn’t acknowledge it right away, but God rewarded Jeremiah with his freedom and his home, not to mention the crowns that he received in eternity. What happened to the guys that threw him in prison? They were all slain, except for King Zedekiah; but he had his eyes plucked out just after he saw his sons slain.
Preachers, keep preaching to us the Truth. As painful as it may be at times, we need you to tell us what we are not willing to admit to ourselves. It may seem like the people don’t care, but many of them are listening; some might even be listening secretly like Zedekiah was. Keep on delivering the Truth. The Word will not return void.
People, cheer on the man of God as he delivers the Word of God. He loves you and is trying to help you and your family to have the very best from God. Your question on your heart everyday ought to be “is there any word from the Lord?” When you read your Bible and when you go to church, you ought to be hungering for the Word and words of God.
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Call Unto Me
Today’s Passage – Jeremiah 33 – 36 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – click here to view the text)
(Second Milers also read – Romans 1 – 4; Psalms 111 – 115; Proverbs 23)
Scripture Memory for July – John 3:1 – 21
Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – Psalm 55:17
“Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things which thou knowest not” (Jeremiah 33:3)
There are so many wonderful truths in the passages that we have read today that I had a hard time deciding which one to write about. For instance, while reading chapter 35, my attention was drawn to the account of the Rechabites, who were faithful servants to the their father, Jonadab, and also to the Lord. It would benefit you greatly to do a little study on this family. (See previous post, “Who Are the Rechabites?” ) I was also interested in chapter 36, where Jehudi, a servant of the king of Judah, actually took a knife and cut out the Word of God and burned it in the fire. There is a lot that we could say about that, and many parallels can be made to what the world and some Christians are doing to the Word of God.
I finally elected, however, to write about Jeremiah 33:3. This verse is certainly one of the more familiar verses in the Bible, which has provided much encouragement and comfort to the people of God for millennia. In it’s immediate context this verse is written to the people of Judah through the prophet Jeremiah. The city of Jerusalem and the entire land of Judah was being devastated by the armies of Babylon; but God showed them from this passage that there was yet hope, and that He would restore the land to her former glory. In verse 15, there is a wonderful prophecy concerning the “Branch”, who is none other than our Lord Jesus Christ, who would come and set up a righteous kingdom.
In a broader application of this passage, all Christians can be encouraged by this wonderful truth. God wants His children to call upon Him; and He will answer us. This is one of the many wonderful prayer promises in the Bible. I have listed some other prayer promises below. It is a glorious thought to realize that we have a God that wants us to have an intimate relationship with Him. He loves us and He desires to bless us, and show us some things; just as an earthly father desires to show things to a child that he loves. What a wonderful God we serve.
Do you have a burden today? Call unto God. Are you in need of direction? Call unto God. God wants to encourage us and direct us as we serve Him.
“Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.” – (Matthew 7:7-8)
“If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.” – (John 15:7)
“Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.” – (Mark 11:24)
“Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.” – (Philippians 4:6)
“And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.” – (1 John 5:14-15)
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Investing for the Future
Today’s Passage – Jeremiah 30 – 32 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – click here to view the text)
(Second Milers also read – Acts 25 – 28; Psalms 106 – 110; Proverbs 22)
Scripture Memory for July – John 3:1 – 21
Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – Psalm 51
“So Hanameel mine uncle’s son came to me in the court of the prison according to the word of the LORD, and said unto me, Buy my field, I pray thee, that is in Anathoth, which is in the country of Benjamin: for the right of inheritance is thine, and the redemption is thine; buy it for thyself. Then I knew that this was the word of the LORD.” – (Jeremiah 32:8)
“Behold, I will gather them out of all countries, whither I have driven them in mine anger, and in my fury, and in great wrath; and I will bring them again unto this place, and I will cause them to dwell safely:” – (Jeremiah 32:37)
In chapter 32 of the Book of Jeremiah there is a very interesting story. Jeremiah the prophet is in jail; the nation of Israel is in a complete mess; the Babylonians have already taken a good number of the citizens of Israel into captivity; and the final invasion by Nebuchadnezzar into the land is imminent. You would not think that this would be a good time to be purchasing real estate in the land of Israel. However, God had told Jeremiah, who in turn told the people, that though things were going to be horrible for a number of years, God was going to give the people of Israel their land back; and He was going to prosper them once again. Of course, this is one of those dual purpose prophecies: it was fulfilled back in this Old Testament period, but it will ultimately be fulfilled when Christ returns.
The bottom line is that Jeremiah had enough faith in the Word of God to invest his money in a piece of land that was at that time worthless. He knew that God would do what He said that he would do, and that someday the property would be very valuable. I don’t know how much land is worth in Israel today; but I know this: someday it will be priceless because Christ will make Israel the capital of His World government. I am putting my money on Israel, and on God. He will do what He says He will do. You can bank on it.
We also need to be investing more into eternity. The Bible is clear that the investments that we make into the Lord’s work here on earth will yield a great deal of interest someday in eternity; not to mention the temporal blessings that also come while we are still here. We need to believe the Word of God as Jeremiah did in this passage, and God says that our investments in Him are very secure. We really cannot depend on the fact that our earthly retirement accounts, or social security, will be there for us in the future; but we can trust that God will always be there to take care of our every need.
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Handle With Care
Today’s Passage – Jeremiah 23 – 25 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – click here to view the text)
(Second Milers also read – Acts 19 – 21; Psalms 96 – 100; Proverbs 20)
Scripture Memory for July – John 3:1 – 21
Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – Psalm 47:1
“Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! saith the LORD. Therefore thus saith the LORD God of Israel against the pastors that feed my people; Ye have scattered my flock, and driven them away, and have not visited them: behold, I will visit upon you the evil of your doings, saith the LORD.” – (Jeremiah 23:1-2)
“The prophet that hath a dream, let him tell a dream; and he that hath my word, let him speak my word faithfully. What is the chaff to the wheat? saith the LORD. Is not my word like as a fire? saith the LORD; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces? Therefore, behold, I am against the prophets, saith the LORD, that steal my words every one from his neighbour. Behold, I am against the prophets, saith the LORD, that use their tongues, and say, He saith. Behold, I am against them that prophesy false dreams, saith the LORD, and do tell them, and cause my people to err by their lies, and by their lightness; yet I sent them not, nor commanded them: therefore they shall not profit this people at all, saith the LORD.” – (Jeremiah 23:28-32)
Jeremiah 23 is a strong rebuke against the false prophets of Jeremiah’s day that claimed to be speaking on behalf of God, but were really just telling the people what they want they wanted them to hear. I do not believe that we would be doing injustice to the Scripture by making application to the many people in our world today who claim to be preaching and teaching the Word of God. This passage delivers a scathing warning for those who mishandle the Bible. In this text I have noticed three common errors that are made today by people who claim to be representing the Lord:
1 Lying – We lie to the people when we don’t tell them exactly what God said, or when we insert our philosophies and opinions. God’s word is very clear. He has very specific instructions regarding how we are to conduct ourselves on this earth. Yet, preachers will often misrepresent God by not declaring plainly and interpreting literally what God said. I wish every Christian knew the Bible intimately themselves, but unfortunately that is not the case. Many of the people that come to us for help are trusting us to tell them them what God would tell them. We have no right to just tell them what we think. Who cares what we think? What really matters is what God said!
2 Leaving Out – By this I mean that we neglect so many of the important truths of the Word. We do not declare the whole counsel of God. We conveniently select passages that promote our agenda, and we take verses out of their context. God expects us to preach and teach the whole Bible, not just the parts that will make us look good in front of the people. We are “itching” people’s ears today by ignoring the passages that deal with their sin.
3 Lightness – Notice verse 31. God mentions the prophets’ lightness. The preachers did not take their jobs seriously. It is an awesome responsibility to be God’s representative. We are to faithfully deliver and explain the Tuth of the Word of God. The people need Truth, not entertainment. We have become comedians, and story tellers, and entertainers; but our “lightness” has caused an entire generation to fall away from God. We need to get back to the sober business of declaring the Truth. When I think back to the prophets of the Old Testament, I see men that were grave, serious, bold, determined, and fearful of the God the represented. We need to get back to that in our teaching and preaching today.
God wants His Word handled very carefully. God magnifies His word even above His name, and His name is above all other names. God’s Word is important. We need to be very careful that we are delivering it clearly, and entirely to the people of God.
Oh, and by the way, according to vs. 1 & 2, God’s flock needs to be handled with care as well. Woe to the pastor that takes advantage of one of God’s children.
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A Burning Fire
Today’s Passage – Jeremiah 18 – 22 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – click here to view the text)
(Second Milers also read – Acts 16 – 18; Psalms 91 – 95; Proverbs 19)
Scripture Memory for July – John 3:1 – 21
Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – Psalm 34:6
Read “Seven Ways to See Change in Your Life Now” by Pastor Chappell
Read a previous post from this passage – “The Potter’s House”
“For since I spake, I cried out, I cried violence and spoil; because the word of the LORD was made a reproach unto me, and a derision, daily. Then I said, I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name. But his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay.” (Jeremiah 20:8 & 9)
In chapter 20 of today’s passage we read about Jeremiah being put in jail for preaching exactly what God had told him to preach. Jeremiah was not a popular guy. He was the voice of God at a time when the entire nation of Judah had slipped back into idolatry and immorality, and was content to stay there. As he continued to preach the message of imminent judgment due to the people’s lack of repentance, he became the enemy of all the people. They all thought he was crazy, perhaps a little “over the top”; too zealous, a radical. One thing is for sure, they were certainly not receiving the message. Jeremiah got sick and tired of preaching this message to deaf ears. After all, he was just as human as I am. I’m sure, every once in a while, he wanted to hear, “that was a good message, preacher”; or “that truth you preached from the Word of God really turned my life around”. He never heard those things. He was mocked and persecuted throughout his ministry, yet he was doing exactly what God had wanted him to do. So, what does he do? He quits. Wouldn’t you? I would not have lasted nearly as long as Jeremiah did. I like to have my ego stroked now and again.
However, Jeremiah could not stay. He could not refrain from preaching. Why? Because God’s Word was in his heart like a burning fire. Eventually the fire inside of him became too hot to keep inside of him and he had to let it out.
As a preacher, there are many times that I want to quit. Trials and tests come along; and, at times, it seems as if nothing is going the way it should go. There are also the critics, who feel it is their purpose in life to point out every flaw in my ministry, every mistake that I make. I begin to remember what life was like as a layman, and sometimes I desire to go back to those days. However, though I often struggle with the idea of quitting, I know that God’s Word is inside of me; and it must come out. As miserable as it may be at times inside the will of God, I know that trying to refrain from preaching and teaching the Word of God would make me more miserable.
I remember when God first called me into the ministry. He made it crystal clear to me that he wanted me to go away to school for training. I didn’t go right away. I decided that I would just stay there in South Toms River with Pastor Rick, work for my dad’s candy company, and serve there as a “lay” youth director for the rest of my life. All that would have been easier. I wouldn’t have to leave a very lucrative income; I wouldn’t have to sell my house; I wouldn’t have to leave my church; and I would not have to move my family, find a new job and go back to college. However, that was not God’s will for my life. I kind of drifted along out of the will of God for a while; but the more I drifted, the more miserable I became. God’s Word, and His will was in me; and it needed to come out. I finally surrendered to obey God’s will; and relief came.
What has God put inside of you to do for Him? You will never have peace until you surrender your will to His. By the way, the picture up top is of Bob Hamblen. He underwent major heart surgery a couple of years ago. The doctors don’t really want him to preach anymore; but he can’t stop. The Word is burning inside of him, and it must come out.
Posted in Thoughts from Jeremiah by Phil Erickson with 2 comments.