Jeremiah 23:14-15 ESV
But in the prophets of
Jerusalem
I have seen a horrible thing:
they commit adultery
and walk in lies;
they strengthen the hands of evildoers,
so that no one turns from his evil;
all of them have
become like Sodom to me,
and its inhabitants like Gomorrah.”
Therefore thus says
the Lord of hosts concerning the prophets:
“Behold, I will feed
them with bitter food
and give them poisoned water to drink,
for from the prophets
of Jerusalem
ungodliness has gone out into all the
land.”
The prophets of old were people of God who spoke God’s
direct words to the people. They were the word of God to the people, like we
have the written word of God today, our Bible (Genesis to Revelation). But in
these last days God has spoken to us through his Son Jesus Christ – God the Son
(Heb. 1:1-2). He is the fulfillment of the law and of the prophets (Matt.
5:17).
And, now Jesus Christ, in the person of his Spirit, dwells
within the lives of all who have truly trusted in Jesus Christ as Lord and
Savior of their lives. And, the Spirit of God who dwells within us counsels,
guides, and instructs in the ways of the Lord, and he empowers us to live godly
and holy lives, pleasing to God.
But, he also gives us spiritual gifts, as he determines, for
the building up of the body of Christ for the unity of the faith and maturity
in Christ Jesus. And, we are each given assignments within the body of Christ,
too, for the mutual edification of one another. And, some of these gifts
involve giving God’s messages to the people, too, such as the gifts of
prophecy, teaching and knowledge (Rom. 12:3-8; 1 Co. 12:4-31; Eph. 4:11-16).
So, some of these people who are teaching or preaching
(prophesying) the Word of God from the Bible, as applied to our lives and world
today, in all practicality, are doing some of these same things as the prophets
did of old. And some of these same words from God, as applied to the prophets
of old, can also be said about some teachers or preachers of the Word today.
For, in America, at least, we have many who are preaching or
teaching the Word of God who are lying to the people and who are living in sin.
In fact, many of them are even promoting sinful actions or they are certainly
giving free license to continue in sinful practices while promising heaven to
their adherents. And, so they are strengthening evil doers when they tell their
listeners (or imply) that faith in Jesus Christ requires no repentance, no
obedience and no submission to Christ and to his cross.
So, they do not turn people away from their sins, but rather
they convince them that faith in Jesus Christ means forgiveness of sins and
eternal life with God, but that forsaking our sins and walking in obedience to
the Lord are optional. For, they teach a faith absent of death to sin and
living to righteousness, as required for our salvation and eternal life with
God. So, they are teaching forgiveness of sins, but they are not teaching
deliverance from bondage to sin, which Jesus died for (1 Pet. 2:24; Rom. 6:1-23).
Jeremiah 23:16-20 ESV
Thus says the Lord of
hosts: “Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you, filling
you with vain hopes. They speak visions of their own minds, not from the mouth
of the Lord. They say continually to those who despise the word of the Lord,
‘It shall be well with you’; and to everyone who stubbornly follows his own
heart, they say, ‘No disaster shall come upon you.’”
For who among them has
stood in the council of the Lord
to see and to hear his word,
or who has paid attention to his word and
listened?
Behold, the storm of
the Lord!
Wrath has gone forth,
a whirling tempest;
it will burst upon the head of the wicked.
The anger of the Lord
will not turn back
until he has executed and accomplished
the intents of his heart.
In the latter days you
will understand it clearly.
Vain hopes are what many preachers and teachers of the Word
of God are giving people today. For, when they teach salvation from sin and
eternal life with God absent of true repentance and obedience to Christ, they
are giving people a false hope of heaven based on a lie. For, scripture is real
clear on this subject. We must walk according to the Spirit and no longer
according to the flesh if we want to have eternal life with God (Lu. 9:23-25; 1
Jn. 1:5-9; Rom. 6:1-23; Rom. 8:1-17; Eph. 4:17-24; Tit. 2:11-14; Gal. 6:7-8).
So, what these preachers and teachers of the Word of God are
teaching, for the most part, are not God’s words from the Bible, but they are
words coming from their own minds where they twist and distort the scriptures
to their own advantage in order to appease the flesh rather than put it to
death. And, they are giving people the idea that it will go well with them even
if they live in gross sin against God, despising the Lord.
So, they are lying to the people, but they are giving them
what their itching ears want to hear. For, many people want to hear that they
can “believe” in Jesus Christ and have heaven as their eternal destiny, but
that their “faith” in Jesus Christ does not necessitate that they alter their
lifestyles a whole lot, or at all. They also want to believe that they will be
raptured up to heaven and that they will never have to suffer any judgment of
God because they professed faith in Jesus Christ, even though they dishonor him
with their lives.
But, these liars and deceivers, these wolves in sheep’s
clothing, these who are thieves and robbers are convincing people by the masses
that a mere profession of faith, or some words repeated after someone in a
prayer, guarantees heaven for them no matter how they live their lives from
this moment forward, so they are, instead, sending them straight to hell.
For, the Word of God says we will reap what we sow. If we
sow to please the flesh, from the flesh we will reap destruction (decay,
death). But, if we sow to please the Spirit, from the Spirit we will reap
eternal life (Gal. 6:7-8).
Jeremiah 23:21-24 ESV
“I did not send the
prophets,
yet they ran;
I did not speak to
them,
yet they prophesied.
But if they had stood
in my council,
then they would have proclaimed my words to
my people,
and they would have
turned them from their evil way,
and from the evil of their deeds.
“Am I a God at hand,
declares the Lord, and not a God far away? Can a man hide himself in secret
places so that I cannot see him? declares the Lord. Do I not fill heaven and
earth? declares the Lord.”
Those who are truly sent from God and who are speaking his
messages to the people, from his Word, are going to turn people away from their
sins, and they are going to turn their hearts to walk in obedience to our Lord,
continually, persistently and faithfully to the very end. They are going to
teach the whole counsel of God and not a half-truth gospel absent of repentance
and obedience. They are not going to twist the scriptures to appease the flesh,
but they will, in all sincerity, teach what is true to the glory and praise of
God.
So, if the teaching or preaching of the Word you are
receiving is not leading you to forsake your sins and to live to Christ and to
his righteousness, then it is not of God. If the teaching you are receiving is
convincing you that faith in Jesus Christ is a one-time experience which
guarantees you heaven no matter how you live once you “believe,” then it also
is not of God. For, if it is of God, it is going to turn you from your evil
deeds, not pacify you in them.
So, know that God sees all, and he knows all, and that he is
all powerful, and he will do everything he said he will do. If we keep on our
sinful addictions after we claim to have faith in Jesus Christ, and we do not
walk (in lifestyle) according to the Spirit of God, then heaven is not
guaranteed us, and we don’t have eternal life with God, but a fearful expectation
of judgment and of hell (Lu. 9:23-25; Rom. 8:1-17; Gal. 5:19-21).
For, to believe in Jesus Christ is to die with him to sin
and to live with him to righteousness. It is to love him, and to love him is to
obey him. It does not mean we will never sin again or that we will be perfect,
but it does mean that, by the Spirit, we are putting to death the deeds of the
flesh, and by the Spirit we are walking with Christ in holy and godly living
(Tit. 2:11-14). And, it means that Jesus Christ is now truly Lord (owner-master)
of our lives.
It’s All You
Lyrics by Tosin Iyawo
Ogaga & Sue Love
Music by Sue Love @
Original Works
Vocals by Tosin Iyawo
Ogaga
May 31, 2019
You are the reason I want to dance.
You are the reason I want to sing.
You are the reason, expressing myself,
I serve You in all the ways You lead me.
You are the reason my heart gives You praise.
You are the reason that I am alive.
I bring out Your best moves
Just so I do embrace You;
Sing out loud as You lead just to please You.
Let myself follow You. I don’t care who watches me.
All I want to do is to make You smile.
Let every fiber of me bring You praise.
Your love has lifted my feet to dance.
Your faithfulness leaves me singing for joy.
You, Jesus, are the reason, it’s all You.
Your grace gives me life.
*full lyrics used by
permission of the lyricists
Tosin singing:
Monday, June 24, 2019, 11:11 p.m.
No comments:
Post a Comment