Jeremiah 9 March 19, 2017 Everything

Transcription

1 Jeremiah 9 March 19, 2017 Everything The Word for today is solution. We need solutions. People are so angry, we are missing the mark in many ways, and solutions to our problems, the keys to improving our situation seem to be evading us. We have placed so much emphasis on civil government, having given way to much power to centralized leaders, allowing that monster even to regulate things belonging clearly to God Himself, things like the licensing of worship organizations and leaders for tax purposes, which may not sound like much but cuts a very large swath. Things like education, child rearing, health and welfare, marriage and moral conduct, clearly all of which are under the domain of the Church, not the legislature. And we have subjugated these things under the influence of elected leaders, who we replace at the whim of the hearts of man, forgetting that ever increasingly unpopular passage from God s Holy Word, Jeremiah 17:5-10 Thus says the LORD: Cursed is the man who trusts in man And makes flesh his strength, Whose heart departs from the LORD. 6 For he shall be like a shrub in the desert, And shall not see when good comes, But shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, In a salt land which is not inhabited. 7 Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, And whose hope is the LORD. 8 For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, Which spreads out its roots by the river, And will not fear when heat comes; But its leaf will be green, And will not be anxious in the year of drought, Nor will cease from yielding fruit.

2 9 The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it? 10 I, the LORD, search the heart, I test the mind, Even to give every man according to his ways, According to the fruit of his doings. Sadly, our hearts cannot be trusted, and when we surround ourselves with leaders, at home, in the statehouse and even in the Church house, who operate at the mercy or whim of their own hearts, or the hearts of their members or constituents, then our entire lives are being directed, influenced and governed by the most deceitful, desperately wicked elements possible. And we blame the devil, who cackles and screeches his pleasure at our own selfimposed demise. Today, more than one third of Americans foolishly seek a system focusing on selfidentity, where every person, regardless of their age or level of responsibility determine their own course in life, entirely lead by their deceitful heart, and demand a government to uphold and protect their so-called right to their selfish pursuits. They demand a Church subordinate to their whim. They demand a culture devoid of accountability. They demand their needs be met. They demand a media and press that stifles truth and elevates free speech, which more often than not is devoid of accountability or reality, but sounds good to their itching ears. Their solution, resist. Fully another one third see the civil government as the solution for this mess. And this has created tremendous problems for our people in this time. While these two forces are duking it out, people are dying in the streets, people are being subjected to enormous personal strife, love is lacking, sin is abounding! I think the most frustrating part of this entire mess, which I have barely even mentioned, is the lack of real solutions.

3 When every deceitful heart is given to pursue its own solution, chaos and anarchy are the only possible results. But God has a real solution. Romans 5:20 says, where sin abounds, Grace abounds so much more! Jeremiah Chapter Nine sets the stage for relevance to our contemporary situation, why we are in the mess we are in, God s response and the ultimate solution. Jeremiah 9:1-26 Oh, that my head were waters, And my eyes a fountain of tears, That I might weep day and night For the slain of the daughter of my people! 2 Oh, that I had in the wilderness A lodging place for travelers; That I might leave my people, And go from them! For they are all adulterers, An assembly of treacherous men. 3 And like their bow they have bent their tongues for lies. They are not valiant for the truth on the earth. For they proceed from evil to evil, And they do not know Me, says the LORD. 4 Everyone take heed to his neighbor, And do not trust any brother; For every brother will utterly supplant, And every neighbor will walk with slanderers. 5 Everyone will deceive his neighbor, And will not speak the truth; They have taught their tongue to speak lies; They weary themselves to commit iniquity. 6 Your dwelling place is in the midst of deceit; Through deceit they refuse to know Me, says the LORD. One of the biggest challenges we face today is that of conviction of sin, and a real understanding of where we are and what we are doing, the true condition of our heart. 1 John 1:9 teaches if we confess our sin, God is Faithful and Just to forgive our sin and cleanse us from all un-righteousness. In order to confess our sin, we must realize our sin, and in order to realize our sin, we have to have preachers sharing the Gospel, the Truth of God and His Will and Word for our lives.

4 By and large we have become a deaf and mute Church. We need to unstop our own ears, even in the small numbers we enjoy today in the Church, and we need to open our mouths and declare the Mighty Works and Great Word of God! To all the Nations, starting within the walls of our own homes among our own people. And we need to obey God s Word our own selves. We need to examine our own hearts, evaluate our own lives and we need to weep before the Lord, tears of broken hearted repentance. We need to separate ourselves from wickedness and sin and live holy lives before God! And this needs to happen today! It s past time for the Church of Jesus Christ to get right with God and get real! We are the problem! If we will confess our sin, He will cleanse us! 7 Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts: Behold, I will refine them and try them; For how shall I deal with the daughter of My people? 8 Their tongue is an arrow shot out; It speaks deceit; One speaks peaceably to his neighbor with his mouth, But in his heart he lies in wait. 9 Shall I not punish them for these things? says the LORD. Shall I not avenge Myself on such a nation as this? 10 I will take up a weeping and wailing for the mountains, And for the dwelling places of the wilderness a lamentation, Because they are burned up, So that no one can pass through; Nor can men hear the voice of the cattle. Both the birds of the heavens and the beasts have fled; They are gone. 11 I will make Jerusalem a heap of ruins, a den of jackals. I will make the cities of Judah desolate, without an inhabitant. 12 Who is the wise man who may understand this? And who is he to whom the mouth of the LORD has spoken, that he may declare it? Why does the land perish and burn up like a wilderness, so that no one can pass through? 13 And the LORD said, Because they have forsaken My law which I set before them, and have not obeyed My voice, nor walked according to it, 14 but they have walked according to the dictates of their own hearts and after the Baals,

5 which their fathers taught them, 15 therefore thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will feed them, this people, with wormwood, and give them water of gall to drink. 16 I will scatter them also among the Gentiles, whom neither they nor their fathers have known. And I will send a sword after them until I have consumed them. 17 Thus says the LORD of hosts: Consider and call for the mourning women, That they may come; And send for skillful wailing women, That they may come. 18 Let them make haste And take up a wailing for us, That our eyes may run with tears, And our eyelids gush with water. 19 For a voice of wailing is heard from Zion: How we are plundered! We are greatly ashamed, Because we have forsaken the land, Because we have been cast out of our dwellings. 20 Yet hear the word of the LORD, O women, And let your ear receive the word of His mouth; Teach your daughters wailing, And everyone her neighbor a lamentation. 21 For death has come through our windows, Has entered our palaces, To kill off the children no longer to be outside! And the young men no longer on the streets! 22 Speak, Thus says the LORD: Even the carcasses of men shall fall as refuse on the open field, Like cuttings after the harvester, And no one shall gather them. When we come to realize our sin, and our sinful situation, is the result of our own personal rebellion against God, and when we turn to Him in repentance, we find out, He is the Solution! He is the Ultimate Solution, He is the Only Solution! 23 Thus says the LORD: Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, Let not the mighty man glory in his might, Nor let the rich man glory in his riches; 24 But let him who glories glory in this, That he understands and knows Me, That I am the LORD, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight, says the LORD. When I consider the manifold ways God uses us, it brings me to my knees. In one day, every ordinary day, I am Husband, Father, Son and Sibling, Pastor and Protector, Provider, Employer, Vendor and Customer, Defender, Advocate, Friend and Citizen, Servant and Recipient and so much more.

6 Think about it! Thing of all of your responsibilities and the many things God has laid upon you and is counting on you to be and to do. It seems too much, and life can be overwhelming. Honestly it gets out of balance when we take our focus from the First, Foremost, Most and Last Responsibility in life, knowing God. Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, Let not the mighty man glory in his might, Nor let the rich man glory in his riches; 24 But let him who glories glory in this, That he understands and knows Me, That I am the LORD, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight, says the LORD. At the end of the day, and certainly at the end of our lives, knowing that we know God, and His Great Salvation through Jesus Christ our Lord is the most important thing! Certainly. Laying all of our responsibilities and our duties at His Feet daily is the solution to life s persistent problems. He Alone is our wisdom. Any understanding or knowledge, any sense necessary for living our lives rightly and justly comes from Him. So we must know Him, and know all about Him, more and more and even more as our lives become ever fuller and more complicated and solutions more critical. He is our solution. He Alone is our Power. The Great and Powerful King David knew where His Strength came from when he penned Psalm 20:1-9

7 May the LORD answer you in the day of trouble; May the name of the God of Jacob defend you; 2 May He send you help from the sanctuary, And strengthen you out of Zion; 3 May He remember all your offerings, And accept your burnt sacrifice. Selah 4 May He grant you according to your heart s desire, And fulfill all your purpose. 5 We will rejoice in your salvation, And in the name of our God we will set up our banners! May the LORD fulfill all your petitions. 6 Now I know that the LORD saves His anointed; He will answer him from His holy heaven With the saving strength of His right hand. 7 Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; But we will remember the name of the LORD our God. 8 They have bowed down and fallen; But we have risen and stand upright. 9 Save, LORD! May the King answer us when we call. God is our wealth. True riches. Remember He owns everything, and He meets the needs of His Children, the Faithful in Christ. In the end everything we can see will be destroyed, it will melt away, only the things of God remain. He is our Glory! Knowing Him, loving and serving Him, living for Him, walking in the fullness of His Spirit in accordance with His Will. This is life, this is real life! This is Victory! Today if you are or have been placing your hope in mankind and the systems of the heart, I encourage you, invite you to place your faith, hope and trust in the One Who truly has the solution you need. God our Father, through Jesus Christ His Son, our Only Way. He will receive you, He is waiting for you, He has been your Help and Defender all along.

8 Amen. Just As I Am 435 Return to Home Page