Sunday, November 8,
2015, 10:22 p.m. – The Lord Jesus put in mind the song “My Heart’s Desire.” Speak, Lord, your words to my heart. I read Jeremiah 24 (NASB).
Two Baskets (vv.
1-3)
After
Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had carried away captive Jeconiah the son of
Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and the officials of Judah with the craftsmen and
smiths from Jerusalem and had brought them to Babylon, the Lord showed me:
behold, two baskets of figs set before the temple of the Lord! One basket had
very good figs, like first-ripe figs, and the other basket had very bad figs
which could not be eaten due to rottenness. Then the Lord said to me, “What do
you see, Jeremiah?” And I said, “Figs, the good figs, very good; and the bad
figs, very bad, which cannot be eaten due to rottenness.”
There are two very basic classifications (or groups) of
people in this world of ours. There are those who believe in Jesus Christ to be
Lord and Savior of their lives, who have repented of their sins, who have
submitted to God, who have been transformed in heart and mind of the Spirit of
God, and who have turned to follow Jesus Christ with their lives. Then, there
are those who don’t truly believe in Jesus Christ, who have not repented of
their sins, who have not been regenerated of the Spirit of God, and who are
still walking in darkness (sin, wickedness). Within each of these two groups,
though, also exist two other basic groups. [See: Matt. 13:1-23, The Parable of the Sower, which gives us
the four groups.]
Although becoming a follower of Christ does not mean we now
live in sinless perfection, Jesus did set us free from slavery to sin so we can
now become servants of righteousness. He has empowered us to walk in the Spirit
and no longer according to the flesh, so no true believer in Jesus Christ
should still be persistent in conducting their lives after the flesh and not
after the Spirit (See: Ro. 6:1-23; 8:1-14; Eph. 4:17-24; Tit. 2:11-14; & 1
Jn. 1:5-9). And, yet, the Bible speaks of followers of Christ who have fallen
back into sin, and who need to repent and to turn back to their Lord (See Rev
2-3, for example). So, we know from scripture that it is possible to have
believed in Jesus Christ, but later to have slipped back into old ways, and to
be in need of coming to God in repentance and renewed faith.
We also know from scripture that there are many who call
themselves followers of Christ who have never truly been born again. They aren’t
in the group that makes no claims to faith in Jesus Christ, yet they are just
as lost, because they never repented of their sin, and they never trusted Jesus
Christ with their lives. They may have all the appearance of godliness, but deny
its power in their lives. They may be zealous for their religion of choice and
for good works, but they are still operating in the flesh, living by their own
rules, and not living in submission to God. Many of them make up their own
version of God/Jesus, which fits their sinful lifestyles, and they may twist
the scriptures to try to excuse away their sinful behavior, while still
claiming the promise of heaven, but one day Jesus is going to say to them, “Depart
from me, I never knew you,” unless he changes their hearts.
The Good Figs (vv.
4-7)
Then
the word of the Lord came to me, saying, “Thus says the Lord God of Israel,
‘Like these good figs, so I will regard as good the captives of Judah, whom I
have sent out of this place into the land of the Chaldeans. For I will set My
eyes on them for good, and I will bring them again to this land; and I will
build them up and not overthrow them, and I will plant them and not pluck them
up. I will give them a heart to know Me, for I am the Lord; and they will be My
people, and I will be their God, for they will return to Me with their whole
heart.
Notice with me here that God does not say these are those
who are living in sinless perfection or that they are those who have arrived
spiritually, and need no further spiritual growth or maturity. In fact, many of
these were sent into captivity because of their sinful rebellion against God,
their idolatry and their spiritual adultery, as well as because of their
refusal to listen to God and to his messengers, and to heed the calls to repent
and to obey God with their lives. God sent many of them into captivity in order
to bring them to their senses, so that they would repent of their sins, would
forsake their idols, and would return to their Lord, so that he could revive
them, refine them and purify them.
These are those who are genuinely saved, whether they are
walking in consistent fellowship with their Lord and are living in victory over
sin regularly, or whether they are struggling with sin or have temporarily
backslidden and are in need of revival. God knows those who are his, and he
will work in our hearts and lives to mature us, to make us holy, to transform
us into Christ’s likeness, and to bring us to our senses when we are led
astray. He will, like he did with his children of old, discipline us “for our
good, so that we may share His holiness. All discipline for the moment seems
not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it,
afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness” (See: Heb. 12:3-11). In
other words, He may have to send some of us into captivity, or he may take us
through a time of great trial and tribulation, but we must know it is for our
good, that he may purify us; that he may turn our hearts to him so that those
who have gone astray may return to him with their whole hearts.
The Bad Figs (vv.
8-10)
‘But
like the bad figs which cannot be eaten due to rottenness—indeed, thus says the
Lord—so I will abandon Zedekiah king of Judah and his officials, and the
remnant of Jerusalem who remain in this land and the ones who dwell in the land
of Egypt. I will make them a terror and an evil for all the kingdoms of the
earth, as a reproach and a proverb, a taunt and a curse in all places where I
will scatter them. I will send the sword, the famine and the pestilence upon
them until they are destroyed from the land which I gave to them and their
forefathers.’”
There are those, as we stated earlier, who don’t know Christ
as Savior, and who have never confessed faith in him at all. Yet, among them there
are those who make a profession of Christ as Savior, but they never repented of
their sin, and they are still persisting in conducting their lives according to
their sinful flesh, and not according to the Spirit. They pretend to know
Christ or they are self-deceived into believing they know Christ, but it is in
form and performance only. Apart from genuine faith in Jesus Christ via
repentance and obedience, which are necessary components of believing faith,
they are lost. They have no hope of eternal life with God, even though many of
them believe they do. So, they are destined to spend eternity in the fires of
hell in eternal torment and punishment.
Yet, scripture teaches us that in the last days before Jesus’
return that the gospel of Jesus Christ will go throughout the earth, and that
people from all nations will come to faith in Jesus Christ, even among those
who presently made a profession of Christ only, but don’t really know him (See
books of Isaiah & Revelation). So, even if such people are presently among
the unsaved, there is still hope that they can turn their hearts to God/Jesus
Christ in humility and repentance, that they will surrender their lives to
Jesus Christ, and that they will be regenerated of the Spirit of God and be
given new lives in Christ Jesus to be lived in the power of the Spirit, walking
daily in Christ’s righteousness and holiness.
So, we should be praying for their salvation, as well as we
should be believing God for the revival of his wayward church. In addition, we
should be faithfully sharing the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ, as he
taught it, and as his NT apostles taught it, so that many will hear and will
believe, and so many who are straying presently will return to Christ in repentance
and renewed faith. We should never give up hope, but we must persevere in our
walks of faith and in sharing our faith in Jesus Christ with all who will
listen.
My Heart’s Desire
/ An Original Work / June 29, 2013
Based off Rm. 10; Lu.
9:23-26; Ep. 4:20-24
Loved Ones, Oh, my heart’s desire
Is that you might come to Jesus.
Many appear zealous for God,
But they do not trust in Him.
They have not submitted to the One
Who saved them from their sins;
Not forsaken their sins,
Nor have they obeyed their King.
The word of the Lord is near you:
The word of faith we’re proclaiming:
That you must confess your faith
In Jesus as your Lord and King:
Believe in Him as your Lord,
And follow Him where’er He leads.
Share the gospel; be a witness,
And meet others’ needs.
Beautiful are the feet of those
Who bring the good news of Jesus:
Anyone who would come to Him
Must deny himself today;
Die to sin and self, and
Let the Spirit transform you in heart;
Put on your new self in Jesus,
Yielding to the cross.
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