Saturday, October 24,
2015, 2:30 a.m. – The Lord Jesus put in mind the song “For Our Nation.” Speak, Lord, your words to my heart. I read Jeremiah 1 (Selected vv. NASB).
Do Not Fear (vv.
4-10)
Now
the word of the Lord came to me saying,
“Before
I formed you in the womb I knew you,
And
before you were born I consecrated you;
I
have appointed you a prophet to the nations.”
Then
I said, “Alas, Lord God!
Behold,
I do not know how to speak,
Because
I am a youth.”
But
the Lord said to me,
“Do
not say, ‘I am a youth,’
Because
everywhere I send you, you shall go,
And
all that I command you, you shall speak.
“Do
not be afraid of them,
For
I am with you to deliver you,” declares the Lord.
Then
the Lord stretched out His hand and touched my mouth, and the Lord said to me,
“Behold,
I have put My words in your mouth.
“See,
I have appointed you this day over the nations and over the kingdoms,
To
pluck up and to break down,
To
destroy and to overthrow,
To
build and to plant.”
Jeremiah was a prophet of God in Old Testament times. A
prophet is one who is called of God to give out God’s messages to the people,
to confront them with their sins, to warn of wolves in sheep’s clothing, and
against false doctrines, to warn of judgment, to call people to repentance, and
most always to promise the hope of salvation, forgiveness of sins and/or
restoration to fellowship with God to the repentant. These Old Testament
prophets spoke the very words of God to the people. Their words, which were
God-breathed, have become part of our Old Testament scriptures in The Holy
Bible. Jesus Christ, God the Son, was the fulfillment of the prophets. In the
past God spoke to his people through the prophets, but now he has spoken to us by
his Son, Jesus Christ (See: Heb. 1:1-2).
What this means for us, God’s people, is that we are not
dependent on a human prophet to tell us what God is saying, for we can read his
words in the scriptures, and if we are his, through faith in Jesus Christ, we
have the Holy Spirit living within us speaking God’s words to our hearts,
teaching, guiding, directing, counseling, warning, urging and encouraging us in
our walks of faith, as well as empowering and strengthening us to live holy
lives pleasing to God. Yet, God did not do away with human messengers. He has
given to the body of Christ those who preach, teach, and counsel, and those who
do the work of an evangelist or who do missionary work, as well as those who
prophesy. In fact, Paul said that we should desire the gift of prophecy, and
that he would rather have the people of God prophesy than speak in tongues, so
that the church may be edified (instructed, taught, enlightened).
Gift of Prophecy: “A person with this gift, like its Old
Testament counterpart, has a keen awareness of current events and the cultural
implications of not following God’s word. This is important because each church
is made up of people, customs, and circumstances that are different from
others. Prophecy helps us apply the scriptures to where we live. A person with
this gift has a burden to warn of God’s judgment and the need for us to
repent... This gift helps the church live holy in the culture and time that
they are appointed. It rebukes, strengthens and encourages believers.” http://spiritualgifts.wordpress.com/2007/06/27/65/
I believe all God’s people have been commanded to go and to
make followers of Christ of people of all nations, teaching them to obey Christ’s
commands (Matt. 28:18-20), and that when we are indwelt with the Holy Spirit,
when we trust Jesus to be our Savior, that we then become Christ’s witnesses
(Ac. 1:8). I believe that all believers in Christ are to be the light to the
world and the salt of the earth in sharing the truth of the gospel of Jesus
Christ in word and in deed (Matt. 5:13-16), and that we have all been called of
God to share the praises of him who called us out of darkness into God’s
wonderful light (1 Pet. 2:9). Yet, I also believe this gift of prophesy, in the
Spirit of God, is alive and well today, though certainly there are also many false
gifts of all kinds, too, so we must be discerning.
Yet, whether we have this gift of prophecy or not, we are
all to be the Lord’s hands, feet and mouth to the world around us in sharing
the gospel of our salvation in telling people how they can be rescued out of
darkness (of sin) and be brought into God’s wonderful light (salvation from
sin). As his followers, we are all his servants and messengers in one way or
another. God created each and every one of us for a purpose, even before we
were formed in the wombs of our mothers (Ps. 139). And, not one of us is to
operate in our own flesh, but in the power and working of the Spirit within us
in doing whatever God has called and equipped us to do. We must all speak what
God gives us to say, and not our own words, and for the salvation of human souls,
and for the encouragement and strengthening of the body of Christ. And, we are
to trust the Lord, and not be afraid of how humans might respond or what they
might say or do to us.
A Boiling Pot
(vv. 11-16)
The
word of the Lord came to me saying, “What do you see, Jeremiah?” And I said, “I
see a rod of an almond tree.” Then the Lord said to me, “You have seen well,
for I am watching over My word to perform it.”
The
word of the Lord came to me a second time saying, “What do you see?” And I
said, “I see a boiling pot, facing away from the north.” Then the Lord said to
me, “Out of the north the evil will break forth on all the inhabitants of the
land. For, behold, I am calling all the families of the kingdoms of the north,”
declares the Lord; “and they will come and they will set each one his throne at
the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem, and against all its walls round about
and against all the cities of Judah. I will pronounce My judgments on them
concerning all their wickedness, whereby they have forsaken Me and have offered
sacrifices to other gods, and worshiped the works of their own hands.
When God speaks his words to our hearts, and when he
impresses it upon our hearts to speak to others within the body of Christ for
their edification, or to those outside of faith in Jesus Christ concerning
their salvation, he will have us speak scripture, but he will have us do so in
ways which are applicable to our lives today, yet never compromising the
message to make it more culturally relevant. In other words, he will not give
us new revelation which is to be added to scripture, but he will take his Word
and he will make it known to us in ways which apply to our lives, circumstances
and world today. This is the working of the Holy Spirit in our hearts in taking
God’s words and in making them alive to us, speaking specifically to us
concerning what we are going through in our present world.
I believe right now God is speaking to his present day
church, and he is confronting her with sins of adultery and idolatry, is warning
her against wolves in sheep’s clothing in our world today, and against false
doctrines which are prevalent in the church today. I believe he is also warning
of impending judgment, and/or is revealing the purpose for present judgment,
and he is still calling his wayward people to repent of their sins and to
return to their Lord.
I also believe that God, right now, is warning the church of
specific judgment which has already begun, and that is coming through God’s
divine instrument of judgment, i.e. the New World Order “Beast.” This “beast”
is a conglomerate of the wealthy and powerful of the world, the Trilateral
Commission, the Bilderberg Group, the Council on Foreign Relations, big banks,
CEOs of corporations, and heads of state, etc. And, their kings have come and
are coming, and are setting up their thrones in the nations of the world, i.e.
they are coming against independent (sovereign) nations, and against all who
oppose them, and against believers in Jesus Christ who hold to the testimony of
Jesus, who do not deny his name, and who keep his commandments. Yet, this is
coming as a judgment of God on his people because of their wickedness in
forsaking him, and for worshiping the gods of this world.
They Will Fight (vv.
17-19)
Now,
gird up your loins and arise, and speak to them all which I command you. Do not
be dismayed before them, or I will dismay you before them. Now behold, I have
made you today as a fortified city and as a pillar of iron and as walls of
bronze against the whole land, to the kings of Judah, to its princes, to its
priests and to the people of the land. They will fight against you, but they
will not overcome you, for I am with you to deliver you,” declares the Lord.
We who are followers of Jesus Christ, and who do not deny
his name, and who continue to stand strong in our faith and to share the gospel
of salvation, will be persecuted, hated, rejected, abandoned, betrayed, beaten,
imprisoned and/or killed for our faith in Jesus Christ. Yet, we are to continue
in speaking the word of God boldly and without fear, confronting people with
sin, and of their need of a Savior, or of the need to return to their Lord, telling
them that they must turn from their sin and follow Jesus Christ in obedience to
his will for their lives. God will give us all we need to stand strong against
all opposition and to continue to proclaim his words. Our Lord will rescue us
spiritually and will strengthen and encourage us in our faith, and one day he
will take us home to be with him forever.
For Our Nation /
An Original Work / September 11, 2012
Bombs are bursting. Night is falling.
Jesus Christ is gently calling
You to follow Him in all ways.
Trust Him with your life today.
Make Him your Lord and your Savior.
Turn from your sin. Follow Jesus.
He will forgive you of your sin;
Cleanse your heart, made new within.
Men betraying: Our trust fraying.
On our knees to God we’re praying,
Seeking God to give us answers
That are only found in Him.
God is sovereign over all things.
Nothing from His mind escaping.
He has all things under His command,
And will work all for good.
Jesus Christ is gently calling
You to follow Him in all ways.
Men deceiving: we’re believing
In our Lord, and interceding
For our nation and its people
To obey their God today.
He is our hope for our future.
For our wounds He offers suture.
He is all we need for this life.
Trust Him with your life today.
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