Christ Returneth / H. L. Turner / James McGranahan
It may be at morn, when the day is awaking,
When sunlight through darkness and shadow is breaking
That Jesus will come in the fullness of glory
To receive from the world "His own."
O Lord Jesus, how long, how long
Ere we shout the glad song,
Christ returneth! Hallelujah!
Hallelujah! Amen. Hallelujah! Amen.
Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read Jeremiah 35:12-17:
12 Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, saying: 13 “This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Go and tell the men of Judah and the people of Jerusalem, ‘Will you not learn a lesson and obey my words?’ declares the LORD. 14 ‘Jonadab son of Recab ordered his sons not to drink wine and this command has been kept. To this day they do not drink wine, because they obey their forefather’s command. But I have spoken to you again and again, yet you have not obeyed me. 15 Again and again I sent all my servants the prophets to you. They said, “Each of you must turn from your wicked ways and reform your actions; do not follow other gods to serve them. Then you will live in the land I have given to you and your fathers.” But you have not paid attention or listened to me. 16 The descendants of Jonadab son of Recab have carried out the command their forefather gave them, but these people have not obeyed me.’My Understanding: God wanted to teach his idolatrous people a lesson, so he used the Recabite clan to illustrate that lesson. He asked Jeremiah to invite the Recabites to a side room in the house of the Lord and to give them wine to drink, knowing that they would not drink it. The Recabites refused the drink because they were following the commands of their forefather, Jonadab. They said, “We obeyed everything our forefather Jonadab son of Recab commanded us.” So, God used this tribe of people to illustrate a very important lesson to his people. The lesson to be learned was one concerning obedience. The Recabites’ forefather, Jonadab, ordered his offspring not to drink wine, among other commands, so they did not drink wine, because they obeyed their forefather’s command.
17 “Therefore, this is what the LORD God Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘Listen! I am going to bring on Judah and on everyone living in Jerusalem every disaster I pronounced against them. I spoke to them, but they did not listen; I called to them, but they did not answer.’”
Yet, in contrast to the Recabites’ obedience to their forefather and his commands, God’s people living in Jerusalem and Judah had not obeyed God’s commands, even though he had spoken to them again and again, instructing them to turn from their wicked ways, to reform their actions, and to not follow others gods to serve them. God had spoken to his people again and again, and yet they had not obeyed him. They were following their own stubborn wills instead. They did not listen or pay attention to God, their Father. God then declared that the people of the Recabite clan had carried out the commands of their forefather, yet “these people,” referring to his people in Jerusalem in Judah, “have not obeyed me.”
So, God declared that he would bring upon his people every disaster he had pronounced against them. “I spoke to them, but they did not listen; I called to them, but they did not answer,” God said of his people.
It is now 2011. Jesus Christ, God the Son, came to earth 2,000 years ago, took upon himself human flesh, suffered as we suffer, was tempted as we are tempted, yet without sin, and then was crucified on a cross, although he had done no wrong. He did all of this for us so that he could be our faithful and compassionate High Priest (mediator between us and God the Father), and so that he could be our sacrificial Lamb in taking upon himself the sins of the entire world, having crucified and buried our sins along with himself, and then he rose from the dead, thus conquering death, hell, Satan and sin so that we could go free. He did all of this, not only so we would be free from the ultimate penalty of sin, i.e. eternal punishment in hell and eternal separation from God, but he died for our sins so that we would be free from bondage to sin and the control of sin over our day-to-day lives.
So, when we come to faith in Jesus Christ, God the Son, we are crucified with Christ, we repent of our sins, leaving them behind (buried), and then we are raised to new life in Christ Jesus in which we make a conscious decision to now walk with him in obedience to his commands. This transformation of the Spirit of God within us is thus symbolized in baptism. This is what it means to believe in Jesus Christ – death to our old way of life, turning from our sin, and turning to walk in faith and obedience to Jesus Christ via the working and power of the Holy Spirit of God within us as we cooperate with his work of transformation in our hearts and minds to conform us into the image of Christ.
Yet, many professing Christians have skipped over this understanding of what it means to truly believe in Jesus, and have reduced faith in Jesus Christ to nothing more than an intellectual assent to what he did for us on the cross and/or to an emotional decision to have him as Savior of their lives so that they will escape hell and will go to heaven one day. They have bought into the lie that repentance and obedience are not required of God for salvation, yet the New Testament teaches us just the opposite. So, not only have they believed a lie, but they are trusting in a false hope that will not save them.
And, there are many who, at one time, made a right decision to believe in Jesus Christ via genuine repentance and faith, followed by obedience, but have since slipped away from their pure devotion to their Lord Jesus Christ and are now following after men and man-made idols and their own selfish passions and desires of the flesh rather than following and obeying their Lord Jesus Christ. In fact, they have, as well, stopped listening to God’s voice when it speaks against their sinful behavior. God is still speaking to their hearts, yet they will not pay any attention to what he is telling them, they will not listen, and they refuse to obey because they want to live their lives how they want while giving God lip service, or only doing for God what they feel comfortable doing, thinking God is pleased with them.
And God, who is the same yesterday, today and forever, and who does not change like shifting shadows, feels the same way about our sins, our rebellion, and our refusal to listen and to obey as he did about his people and their disobedience back in Jeremiah’s day. And, he will send his judgments upon us if we refuse to repent and to turn from our wicked ways, because he is a loving and just God who wants us to come back to him before it is too late.
The song that follows was given to me by the Lord, and is the prayer of my heart to him. I pray that it will be the prayer of your heart, as well, and that you will make him the Lord of your life today and that you will leave your sins behind and will walk with him in faith and obedience from this day forward.
By Your Grace / An Original Work / June 27, 2011
Speak Your words to my heart,
Let Your grace and love impart.
Be to me all I need
To love and serve Christ my King;
To love and serve Christ my King.
Change my heart; be like You;
Let me love and serve in truth.
Guide my steps ev’ry day,
As I bow my knees and pray;
As I bow my knees and pray.
Love You, Lord. You love me.
You died so that I’d go free
From my sin; pure within;
By Your grace I’m saved from sin;
By Your grace I’m saved from sin.
Invite You in my heart;
Now I have a brand new start.
Repented of my sin,
So that I’d be cleansed within;
So that I’d be cleansed within.
Live for You ev’ry day,
List’ning to the words you say.
Make You Lord of my heart;
Be Your witness, grace impart;
Be Your witness, grace impart.
Obey Your ev’ry word;
Do the things I’ve seen and heard.
Your word, Lord, in me burns,
While I wait for Your return;
While I wait for Your return.
Song Lyrics @ Public Domain
Link to Song
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