The End - Part 4

Matthew 24:32-41

8-31-08

The End - Part 3

Matthew 24:29-31
8-24-08

Jer 7:1-11

8 “Behold, you are trusting in deceptive words to no avail. 9 “Will you steal, murder, and commit adultery, and swear falsely, and offer sacrifices to Baal, and walk after other gods that you have not known, 10 then come and stand before Me in this house, which is called by My name, and say,’ We are delivered!’ — that you may do all these abominations? 11 “Has this house, which is called by My name, become a den of robbers in your sight? Behold, I, even I, have seen it,” declares the Lord.

Can you pick up the theme in these verses? Imagine this if you can: A group of people gathered to worship God singing songs of praise like the one listed in verse 4. “This is the Temple of the Lord, the Temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord.! The sing it with such gusto and emotion and their faces are etched with intensity and it seems to be powerful worship. And yet, they are not really worshipping at all. They are going through the motions and doing what needs to be done in the house of the Lord to be able to declare their salvation and holiness while their lives remain unchanged and full of the sin. It is this hypocrisy that God decries! Just because you are in the house of the Lord on Sunday and praising His name through song and saying a hearty “‘Amen” to the preaching does not mean you are SAVED! Salvation is not just the forgiveness of our sins! It also is a changed and repentant heart that is moving away from sin and towards God. Don’t be fooled by outward activity and a sense of security that comes from being a part of the right congregation. God is not interested in where you attend church and whether or not you participate in right activities at church. He is interested in your repentant heart that longs to become more and more godly with each passing day. Living for the Lord puts an end to sin. It never justifies or okays sin!

The End - Part 2

Matthew 24:15-28

8-17-08

Jer 6:22-30

22 Thus says the Lord, “Behold, a people is coming from the north land, And a great nation will be aroused from the remote parts of the earth. 23 “They seize bow and spear; They are cruel and have no mercy; Their voice roars like the sea, And they ride on horses, Arrayed as a man for the battle Against you, O daughter of Zion!” 24 We have heard the report of it; Our hands are limp. Anguish has seized us, Pain as of a woman in childbirth. 25 Do not go out into the field And do not walk on the road, For the enemy has a sword, Terror is on every side. 26 O daughter of my people, put on sackcloth And roll in ashes; Mourn as for an only son, A lamentation most bitter. For suddenly the destroyer Will come upon us.
27 “I have made you an assayer and a tester among My people,That you may know and assay their way.” 28 All of them are stubbornly rebellious, Going about as a talebearer. They are bronze and iron; They, all of them, are corrupt. 29 The bellows blow fiercely, The lead is consumed by the fire; In vain the refining goes on, But the wicked are not separated. 30 They call them rejected silver, Because the Lord has rejected them.

Paul says “all things work together for good for them that love God and are called according to His purposes (Rom 8:27).” God’s people had abandoned Him and this fierce enemy from the North was about to overrun the nation. But even in the midst of this terror God uses it for purpose in the lives of those who are truly His. In verse 27 we are told this enemy coming will be like “an assayer and a tester among my people!” Even though God’s anger has turned against them for their rejection and sin, still His mercy and grace were at work refining His people and purifying them for His plan. I am reminded by Paul that all things work together for good and later in Hebrews that “God disciplines whom He loves.” Even in the middle of great difficulty and trial, God is at work in us, purifying us and drawing us to Himself. No matter what you face, God is in it for your good!

Jer 6:10-20
10 To whom shall I speak and give warningThat they may hear?Behold, their ears are closedAnd they cannot listen.Behold, the word of the Lord has become a reproach to them;They have no delight in it. 11 But I am full of the wrath of the Lord;I am weary with holding it in.” Pour it out on the children in the streetAnd on the gathering of young men together;For both husband and wife shall be taken,The aged and the very old. 12 “Their houses shall be turned over to others,Their fields and their wives together;For I will stretch out My handAgainst the inhabitants of the land,” declares the Lord. 13 “For from the least of them even to the greatest of them,Everyone is greedy for gain,And from the prophet even to the priestEveryone deals falsely. 14 “They have healed the brokenness of My people superficially,Saying, ‘Peace, peace,’But there is no peace. 15 “Were they ashamed because of the abomination they have done?They were not even ashamed at all;They did not even know how to blush.Therefore they shall fall among those who fall;At the time that I punish them,They shall be cast down,” says the Lord.
16 Thus says the Lord,”Stand by the ways and see and ask for the ancient paths,Where the good way is, and walk in it;And you will find rest for your souls.But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’ 17 “And I set watchmen over you, saying,’Listen to the sound of the trumpet!’But they said, ‘We will not listen.’ 18 “Therefore hear, O nations,And know, O congregation, what is among them. 19 ” Hear, O earth: behold, I am bringing disaster on this people,The fruit of their plans,Because they have not listened to My words,And as for My law, they have rejected it also. 20 ” For what purpose does frankincense come to Me from ShebaAnd the sweet cane from a distant land? Your burnt offerings are not acceptableAnd your sacrifices are not pleasing to Me.”

Paul talked to Timothy about people in the last days who really looks like people during the day of Jeremiah. Paul said people in the last days will have the “appearance of godliness but deny the power there of.” That is really what was happening here. The Priests and the Prophets had become superficial and were giving the wrong message to the people, but it was the message the people wanted to hear from them. The people were still doing sacrifices and burnt offerings but it was all for show and symbolic instead of sincere. There was a great effort on the part of the people to cover up their real heart toward God by doing a laundry list of things outwardly that could be viewed as religious in nature. But in reality they were not delighting in the word of God nor were they truly listening for the voice of God. Be careful not to go through the motions or use outward activity to hide the deadness in your heart. Pursue the “ancient paths, where the good way is, and walk in it; and you will find rest for your souls!”

Jer 6:1-9

1 “Run for your lives, you people of Benjamin! Get out of Jerusalem! Sound the alarm in Tekoa!Send up a signal at Beth-hakkerem! A powerful army is coming from the north, coming with disaster and destruction. 2 O Jerusalem, you are my beautiful and delicate daughter—but I will destroy you! 3 Enemies will surround you, like shepherds camped around the city. Each chooses a place for his troops to devour.4 They shout, ‘Prepare for battle! Attack at noon!’ ‘No, it’s too late; the day is fading, and the evening shadows are falling.’5 ‘Well then, let’s attack at nightand destroy her palaces!’”
6 T his is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: “Cut down the trees for battering rams. Build siege ramps against the walls of Jerusalem. This is the city to be punished, for she is wicked through and through. 7 She spouts evil like a fountain. Her streets echo with the sounds of violence and destruction. I always see her sickness and sores.8 Listen to this warning, Jerusalem, or I will turn from you in disgust.Listen, or I will turn you into a heap of ruins, a land where no one lives.”
9 This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: “Even the few who remain in Israel will be picked over again, as when a harvester checks each vine a second timeto pick the grapes that were missed.”
Holy Bible, New Living Translation ®, copyright © 1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved.

When you think about it, was Israel more evil than all the countries around her? Was Israel more wicked than those countries who sacrificed their own children on the altars of their gods? If we measure wickedness by the things that are being done then we would have to say they were more wicked than Israel! But if we measure our wickedness by the rejection of things we know to be true, then Israel was more wicked than all the nations around them! How could I say that? Israel knew their God alone was God! Israel was aware of the righteousness of their God and the rightness of His law! Israel was aware of the grace and mercy of their God and His hand of protection over their land. These other nations had not experienced the grace of God or His daily presence in their lands. They were ignorant in their sin. But Israel was intentional and arrogant about their sin! Don’t measure wickedness by what you see! Measure it by knowledge and truth that is intentionally rejected. Israel was rejecting their God inspite of knowing the truth! That is what made their wickedness greater than all the nations around them. We have the truth as God’s people in this world. Let’s make sure we do not make the mistake of Israel and set it aside for the sake of our own desires. Don’t intentionally set aside the truth of God’s word or you will be counted among the wicked!

Jer 5:30-31

30 A horrible and shocking thing
has happened in this land—
31 the prophets give false prophecies,
and the priests rule with an iron hand.
Worse yet, my people like it that way!
But what will you do when the end comes?
Holy Bible, New Living Translation ®, copyright © 1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved.

It is bad when the prophets and the ministers who lead the people are giving false information. But that is exactly what was happening in Jeremiah’s day. Instead of giving the people the truth and confronting them about their wicked lifestyles, the prophets were giving them what they wanted to hear and the priests were giving them the grocery lists of what they needed to do each day to be okay. That is what the people wanted and that is what they got. But it was not okay and it did not protect them from the coming wrath of God. We have to be very careful we are not doing the same thing in our modern day. Are we to easy on people and only giving them what they want to hear about God instead of bringing out the truth from His word? Have we become so careful to contextualize the gospel to the culture that we have lost the truth of what God has called us to be and what He has called us to do in this world we live in? The whole Gospel confronts us in our sin and calls us to repentance! It never whitewashes our sinful behavior or overlooks the wickedness we have let into our lives. Let God’s word be your source of truth about you!

The End - Part 1

Matthew 24:1-14

8-10-08

Jer 5:20-29

20 “Declare this in the house of JacobAnd proclaim it in Judah, saying, 21 ‘Now hear this, O foolish and senseless people,Who have eyes but do not see;Who have ears but do not hear. 22 ‘Do you not fear Me?’ declares the Lord.’Do you not tremble in My presence?For I have placed the sand as a boundary for the sea,An eternal decree, so it cannot cross over it.Though the waves toss, yet they cannot prevail;Though they roar, yet they cannot cross over it. 23 ‘But this people has a stubborn and rebellious heart;They have turned aside and departed. 24 ‘They do not say in their heart,”Let us now fear the Lord our God,Who gives rain in its season,Both the autumn rain and the spring rain,Who keeps for usThe appointed weeks of the harvest.” 25 ‘Your iniquities have turned these away,And your sins have withheld good from you. 26 ‘For wicked men are found among My people,They watch like fowlers lying in wait;They set a trap,They catch men. 27 ‘Like a cage full of birds,So their houses are full of deceit;Therefore they have become great and rich. 28 ‘They are fat, they are sleek,They also excel in deeds of wickedness;They do not plead the cause,The cause of the orphan, that they may prosper;And they do not defend the rights of the poor. 29 ‘ Shall I not punish these people?’ declares the Lord,’On a nation such as thisShall I not avenge Myself?’

The real reason people take advantage of God’s mercy and grace is that they have no real fear of God. They have lost the sense of His utter holiness, His hatred for sin and darkness, and His wrath to come on those who reject Him. It’s not just a matter of a stubborn and self centered heart, it is a total and complete disregard for what God can do to those who go their own way. We really have no choice in the matter of God’s Sovereignty. It is an eternal decree as the sand is an eternal boundary to the sea. As much as the seas roar and push into the sand everyday, it cannot overcome the boundary. As much as we rebell and turn aside from listening to God we cannot remove the fact that He is indeed sovereign and in control and we will ultimately pay the price of our rebellion. The writer of proverbs said, “the beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord!” Do you tremble at the thought of what God can do to those who ignore His ways? Do you tremble at the thought of what He has a right to do to you if your sin and rebellion is not erased in the cross?