Change In Never Impossible

“Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me?” (Jer 32:27 AV)

The context of this rhetorical question is the real beauty of it.  The context is the correction and restoration of Israel.  Several concerns enter the mind of the Judean captive as he goes into Babylon.  Will Babylon destroy Jerusalem beyond repair?  Will the land be farmable when they return, or will it be poisoned beyond fruitfulness?  Will the nation survive seventy years of captivity and enslavement so there might be a remnant who can return to rebuild?  All these worries are temporal ones.  The real concern is found a bit further in the passage.  The real concern is whether God can transform that surviving remnant into a people who will love the LORD and never backslide again!  That is the real concern.  Spiritual growth and change is the real goal here.  Not houses, lands, and name, health, or wealth.  That has always been the goal.  For saints who live the struggle of Romans chapter seven, we understand this!

The God of the impossible can change the hearts of men.  It is the most difficult of all miracles.  Feed five or seven thousand with a few loaves a fish manipulates inanimate objects.  Preparing a whale to swallow a bitter prophet is working with a creation that has no sense of self-determination.  Sending rain or cleaving a sea is working with forces of nature that cannot argue in return.  But, working with a being that has a will, a heart, and can act upon his desires is the greatest miracle of all.  It is the miracle which many of us fall far short of believing in the omnipotence of God.  It all starts with a desire.  If the child of God desires to walk with God, then God can work with that.  If the sinner desire to know God, God can work with that.  The world, the devil, and even the flesh is no match for an omnipotent God.  Even a nation that is stiff-necked and set in their rebellion still has hope if there is even the slightest flicker of hope they might respond to the grace of God.

We give up way too early on a God who can do all things.  Whether we are the one struggling, or there is someone else in mind, God has got this.  If we are honest, there are those we do not pray for as we should because we think there is nothing even God can do.  If we are not careful, we can succumb to the presumptuous sin because we have failed to conquer it after years of trying to get victory.  But God is greater than all this.  He is greater than our wicked desire and greater than our wills.  God has got this!  Honest.  He can change you and He can change another.  There is still hope as long as there is breath in the longs.  God can do this.  All we need to do is have faith and keep praying!

Praise The LORD For Those Who Respect

“Then said the princes and all the people unto the priests and to the prophets; This man is not worthy to die: for he hath spoken to us in the name of the LORD our God.” (Jer 26:16 AV)

Praise the LORD for people who still have a fear of the LORD even when they hear things they do not like to hear.  The context here is Jeremiah being confronted in the house of the LORD because the people did not like the message he was preaching.  He was encouraging the people to repent lest the kingdom of Babylon comes and takes them away.  The majority wanted the king to take Jeremiah and kill him.  Yet, a few stood up and protected the prophet.  There is a principle that the people of God do no harm to the man of God just because they do not like the message he is preaching.

The old testament did not protect the prophet no matter the circumstances.  He was held to a standard.  If his message did not come to pass, they he was to be stoned to death.  If he did not live a lifestyle required of the man of God, then he was not to be heeded.  But what the people could not do is to disrespect the man of God just because they do not like the truth he is bringing.  There is a certain fear that is required for certain status of life and society.  People are not perfect.  We know this.  But there are certain callings which people fulfill that requires a certain level of respect, despite their faults.  We taught our children there is no back-talking to adults.  Teachers are to be obeyed and respected.  If they are at fault, then Mom and Dad will handle it privately.  I law enforcement officer is to be respected.  They are to be heeded even if we think they are being unfair.  Complaints can be filed and lawsuits pursued at a later date.  Judges are to respected.  Umpires and officials at athletic contests are to be respected.  Even if they make a bad call.  When it comes to the man of God, this goes doubly so.  He is God’s mouthpiece.  These things are necessary for a relatively efficient and peaceful society.

Someone might argue this opens the door for abuse.  Yes, it does.  There are laws of society that assist in justice.  One thing to remember, God’s timing of justice is eternal.  He is not bound to right every wrong on this side of glory.  In fact, He often does not.  Persecution and injustice continue.  However, eternity is an awfully long time.  When God does deal with it, He will do so in a way that is permanent.  In the meantime, respect and honor should be given to those in positions of authority even if they are not perfect or we do not appreciate the truth.  Specially for the man of God who is only trying to serve both God and man for the benefit of both.

The Coming Government

“Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth.” (Jer 23:5 AV)

As I age, I am taken aback by the lack of quality in human leadership.  This is not typical of one nation only.  Rather, it seems to be pandemic.  It doesn’t matter if the government is that of a banana republic, or one of an advanced and civilized culture.  It seems the closer we get to the end of days, the less maturity, humility, and genuine servitude is missing from our leadership.  We stand back and watch two and a half parties destroy one another for no other reason to gain control.  They use the people whom they govern for their own selfish ends.  These problems even infiltrate the body of Christ.  It is becoming an ever-increasing problem of zeal and ego over servitude.  The sheep are seen as chattel to meet the ambitions of a zealous opportunist whose goal is to gain a name.  Few are the servants whose heart is with the condition of the individual sheep and more on attaining some goal by the means which the sheep supply.   The promise above puts and end to all of this nonsense.

There is coming a day when the LORD will return.  He will set up His kingdom here on Earth and there will be no more need for human government.  IT reminds me of a classroom when the teacher steps out for a bit.  Or the playground without adult supervision.  A great number of injustices happen in these instances.  I know.  I received my lion’s share worth of it.  It is interesting to take note of the nature of human beings.  A school is a laboratory of it.  I remember my grade school and the way the administration broke up the population into different groups so that all of us were not in the playground all at the same time.  I remember distinctly sitting in a classroom while another group was out during recess.  I also remember those of us in the classroom gazed out the windows at those playing.  But in our heart of hearts, we were looking to see if a fight was going to break out.  Some secretly wished one would.  Watch other play was boring.  Watch two ruffians go at it was not.  That is our nature when no one of authority is watching over us.

Like the book Lord Of The Flies, it is our nature to do evil.  Only with the presence of the LORD Jesus Christ will this world be any better for it.  The promise of His return is a promise of justice.  The promise of His return is a promise of lasting peace.  The promise of His coming is a promise of paradise on earth which no wickedness can corrupt.  This promise above is one that gets us through this life.  It is a promise that tells us that as bad as the present is, the future is eternally brighter!  Done deal!

For The Goodness Of God, Turn

“If that nation, against whom I have pronounced, turn from their evil, I will repent of the evil that I thought to do unto them. And at what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it; If it do evil in my sight, that it obey not my voice, then I will repent of the good, wherewith I said I would benefit them.” (Jer 18:8-10 AV)

Under our current government, our nation is experiencing a revival of sorts.  If we were to look strictly at economic growth and religious liberty, it would appear that God is once again smiling on our nation.  However, we need to remember we have a long way to go.  What is terrifying is to think of what might happen to this great nation of ours if the financial rug is pulled right out from under us.  True: the stock market has made historic gains.  True:  the unemployment situation is at an all time low.  True:  we now have more constitutional judges on federal benches and never before.  True: Christians feel they are beginning to have some protection at a time when they feel an ever-increasing attack from those who hate God.  All these events and more point to good news on the immediate horizon.  However, at the same time our great nation has made it legal to kill the unborn and the newly born at any and all stages of gestation and life.  We have legalized same-sex marriage.  We have opened the most private areas of our public lives to the intrusion of the sodomite.  We are on the verge of legalizing more and more substance abuse.  On the one hand, there are great strides back to what made the United States different from all other nations and brought upon her God’s blessings.  On the other, we have not learned the lessons of history and are careening towards the edge of a cliff.  The promise above was for Israel and can be for the United States as well.

At our core, we are still a Judao-Christian nation.  The MSM would have us believe it is the minority.  But we are not.  For all his faults, Jerry Falwell was right.  We are the silent majority.  At heart, we are still a nation that believes that God is real and worthy of worship.  Sure, the majority are still carnal.  But they, or we, have a foundation that other nations do not.  We are not secular.  No matter what the MSM wants us to believe, we are spiritual.  We have some values whose foundations are found in the word of God.  That is why poll after poll still reflects a majority belief that abortion, in some form, is still morally wrong.  That is why a recent poll has found that young people ages 18-34 have decreased their support for the LGBTQ lifestyle by 38%.  These things may have peaked.  Perhaps we are seeing a turn back towards those principles upon which the great nation was founded.

But we cannot quit.  Now is the time when the church needs to rise up!  Not for political gain.  Not for a single issue that happens to stir our passions.  Rather, we need to rise up and loudly proclaim the liberty that is in Christ!  All these issues will be solved if the hearts and minds our God founded nation turn back towards God.  Gone will be the sexual revolution that had produced an increase in numbers of murdering the unborn.  Gone will be the gender confusion as more and more souls find their acceptance in Christ rather than touting some gender identification that gains them affirmation and attention.  The gospel has always, and will always, be the answer for the trouble that ails mankind.  We need to turn back!  Turn back so that God can bless us again.

Spot Remover Needed

“Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? then may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil.” (Jer 13:23 AV)

The word ‘…accustomed…’ here means taught and disciplined.  Without getting into a debate about total depravity, this word does not mean a fatal condition which one cannot escape.  This condition of evil is something attained.  Not something which one is forced to live with.  This is important to realize.  The context is unrepentant Judah.  They started out completely surrendered to the LORD.  Back in Joshua’s time, they vowed to follow the LORD and His law.  They faltered in their immaturity of Judges.  But God gave them kings that led them in the ways of the LORD.  They also refused to deal with kings that did not.  Judah learned to worship idols as well as lust after the flesh from their ungodly neighbors.  This is where this word comes in.  Their neighbors taught them to backslide.  Their neighbors, through treaties and trade, gave the tools of discipline that resulted in Judah being perpetually backslidden.  What we want to consider this morning is the condition of perpetual and habitual sin that becomes so ingrained that nothing can change it.  Like the color of one’s skin or the spots of a leopard, bad habits can become a permanent lifestyle.

Working at a restaurant is not the best place to work if one wants to eat healthy.  I worked in a pizzeria for about seven years.  You would think being around pizza for twelve hours a day would make one disgusted with it after a while.  Not so.  There was a bad habit we pizza makers had upon which management frowned.  Working as hard, fast, and long as we did, we often went without eating.  So, we would help ourselves to a pepperoni sandwich. A very simple snack and one which the cook could sneak without much notice.  Take a single slice of pepperoni, put come mozzarella cheese in the center, fold it over, and throw it in one’s mouth.  It wasn’t so much about eating the profits as it was customers seeing us throw something in our mouths while over the ingredient counter.  It got to be such a habit it was almost automatic.  The temptation of being around food while not having the down time to eat was too overwhelming.  We could not help ourselves.  But it was still wrong.

We can get into habits of evil, that if not rejected and fought, will become a permanent habit of life.  Think on that one.  A permanent state of defeat.  Like being overweight; which I am.  My phone as notified my that I am officially obese.  If I do not change my habits, I will die that way.  It is not so much the condition as it is the stigma of permanent defeat.  Having to admit that we have permanently lost is something that should bother us.  Perhaps the consequences of our choices will never change us.  But the fact that we lost should.  If we are to change the spots, we need a new discipline.  If we are to change what we are, then what we do cannot continue.  It is that simple.

Someone Needs To Care

“They have made it desolate, and being desolate it mourneth unto me; the whole land is made desolate, because no man layeth it to heart.” (Jer 12:11 AV)

Paul said something similar in Philippians 2:20. “For I have no man likeminded, who will naturally care for your state.” (Php 2:20 AV) In Philippians, the concern was a bit different.  Paul could not think of someone who would naturally care.  In other words, he could not think of someone who would have a burden because of mutual background, need, or culture.  Paul’s statement was not a statement against callousness.  Rather, the LORD would need to raise someone up who’s nature it would be to care for this need.  In Jeremiah’s passage, the land lay spiritually desolate because no one cared.  Naturally or otherwise.  In short, for the work of God to flourish, it starts with caring.

I am reminded of David’s words to the armies of Israel when confronted by Goliath.  “Is there not a cause?”  Apathy is the death knell of the church.  We have gotten used to the lack of response from the world and allowed apathy or down right antagonistic attitudes to steal away our passion for the truth.  We have allowed push back from the world to drain us of our passion for the souls of others.  We have given up because we see no immediate results.  We are reminded of the good Samaritan.  What made him different was he was willing to look at a need and lay it to heart.  Caring is not something for which we are absolved if we do not feel it.  Caring is something that we choose to feel or not feel.  Like any emotion, it can be exercised or ignored.  Just like lust, envy, compassion, or joy.  These are emotions that sometimes come naturally, but at other times, can be exercised at will.

Churches are declining all across the board.  It is not a United States problem.  It is not a European problem.  It is a world-wide problem.  We are dying because we are not laying it to heart.  Our lives are filled with the temporary blessings of this life.  Our families, recreation, the pursuit of happiness; as those goals are the highest to attain.  But these things will not last.  They are temporary.  Only the spiritual will last.  And no man layeth to heart.  It is not the attacks of the devil.  There were far more in the first century of the church, yet they grew.  It is not our busy lives.  We have more inventions to make our lives easier and more convenient.  It is not even the rejection of the gospel.  Mankind has been doing that since Abels’ time.  It is simply that no man layeth it to heart.  If we are to see revival, we have to care.  Period.

Mourning Is Natural and Necessary

“For the hurt of the daughter of my people am I hurt; I am black; astonishment hath taken hold on me. Is there no balm in Gilead; is there no physician there? why then is not the health of the daughter of my people recovered?” (Jer 8:21-22 AV)

These words are the prophet’s words.  The idea of blackness of face is one of mourning.  Either absent of the light of life, or, application of the ashes of mourning.  He asks a question that gives understanding to the cause of his mourning.  Not so much the condition of the sinfulness of his people, but rather, the cure is rejected.  There is a balm.  There is a physician.  Yet, the people will not be healed of their backsliding.

As a man of God, it is important to feel the troubles and trials of those to whom God as called us to minister.  Reading Jeremiah is good for the man of God.  In chapter five, the LORD tells Jeremiah that he will preach with no results.  The people will not harken.  They will not listen.  They will not repent of their sin and their lives will be irreversibly changed.  They will go off to captivity and the glory that once was Judah will be lost.  Trouble awaits them because they will not turn back to God.  The man of God can do two things.  He can preach, knowing there will be no results, and shield himself from emotional damage.  Or, he can allow the condition of the people to bother him.  Initially, Jeremiah did the later.  He mourned over the obstinate nature of his people.  He could see the result of the choices they made before these results came to be.  He knew the end from the beginning.  And, it bothered him.  However, this caused burnout.  Just a few chapters later, Jeremiah couldn’t do it anymore.  This didn’t last long as the fire of truth burned deep within his soul.  Effective ministry must allow for the sins of the people to bother the man of God.  He must allow his emotions to be stirred by the condition of which he finds the sheep.  He cannot allow himself to become calloused to the point he simply doesn’t care anymore.

This temptation is all too easy.  Every man of God goes through this cycle.  The Jeremiah cycle.  It’s not that the cease to care.  It is because they did care a lot and it got them nowhere.  The spent emotional energy in weeping and praying over their people, only to have things remain as they always were.  As a final word to those who are not called of God to preach and pastor:  If you want your preacher to last the duration, then respond to his ministry.  Know that he loves you and cares for you.  He is troubled at your condition.  But if you do not change, he will inoculate himself against further emotional damage and begin the process of calcification.  Keep him tender towards you be keeping yourself tender to the truth of the word of God.  Let him know his ministry is making a difference in your life and share those specifics.  Let him know of a particular choice you made because of a truth he shared.  It goes a long way in encouraging him to throw of the face of mourning and the astonishment of heart.