Welcome to Nick Stevens, long-time member at Hope Church as well as Chair of the Hope Church Leadership Team. He will share his reflections on the readings from Jeremiah 1-6.
SCRIPTURE: Jeremiah 4:1-12
OBSERVATIONS:
(ver 1-2) God’s offer to His people if they will return to serving Him. God says ‘If you will put away your abominations out of my sight’ ….I guess that means more than humanly just putting them somewhere were someone might not see them anymore …..God sees everything so that means when He says out of sight, they need to really be gone gone.
(ver 3-4) Gods challenge to the men of Israel and Judah ….. start doing some real work in the good areas, commit yourself to me God says and lay bare your hearts for Me. Do it before I get so enraged by your evil stuff that I will not be able to stop myself from punishing you so severely ….
(ver 5-9) a vivid description of what an invasion by God’s wrath will be like ….even repenting then (ver 8) will not stop it anymore.
(ver 9) the result of God’s anger will be so great that even the hearts of strong people like kings and princes will fail ….even to the point of making the prophets, the loyal ones wonder what is happening.
(ver 10) Jeremiah even wonders if God has said one thing ….offered peace…… but done something totally different ….. pierced the heart instead.
(ver11-12) The winds of God’s fury will blow across everyone ….even the good people will be swept away.
APPLICATION:
I definitely do not want to take a chance on dealing with God’s anger …..his anger towards sin and evil is greater than anyone can imagine or bare. That is why I am so thankful that Jesus has stepped in, He has taken my place to bear the wrath for me.
PRAYER:
Thank you Jesus ….it should have been me but You stood in my place ….Thank you Jesus.
OBSERVATION/APPLICATION:
The passage starts with an invitation to repent sincerely (internal circumcision, not just external ritual), then promises blessing for the nations! This is amazing, its not just for Israel, but for every person on the planet. God`s missionary people are His way of sharing His love with the whole world, but if they refuse, the whole world suffers. God`s judgment is against His missionary people, who instead of bringing blessing to the world have joined the world in its immoralities, and therefore its miseries. Jeremiah wonders how God can promise peace (v.2) when the enemy is on its way (v.10). God`s answer seems to be, its too late for repentance now, its gone beyond winnowing and cleansing, its now time for judgment!
If this was God`s first warning, we might be justified in questioning God`s mercy. But again and again and again He urges us to turn back. God`s patience is amazing, but it is not forever. The time comes when God gives us over to our foolish choices, to experience the consequences of them. No more bailing us out of our own folly.
PRAYER:
Lord, I feel Your gentle nudge in regards to an area of folly in my life, and I admit You have patiently warned me for years. Help me to stop putting it off, and genuinely repent… Amen.
Happiness is living for Jesus. That is the heart of the matter. Total commitment. We are a heart driven people for from the heart come the issues of life. As Lot, his wife and children left the city of sin fleeing from sin, so I too need to flee from sin and give my all to Jesus. No looking back. Nowhere am I safer than in the hand of God. I need to follow His leading, His guiding, His direction and not be left to my own desires. The passage clearly shows the results of sick is death and yet the people refuse to hear the Word of the Lord. Open my ears Lord so I hear Your Word clearly saying If you want Life, follow Me.
Create in me a clean heart oh God,
And renew a right spirit within me.
Create in me a clean heart oh God,
And renew a right spirit within me.
And cast me not away from Thy presence oh Lord,
And take not Thy Holy Spirit from me.
Restore unto me the joy of Thy salvation,
And renew a right spirit within me.