Jeremiah 6
“Run for your lives!” If I were to shout that message out in the midst of a Sunday morning worship service, people would not necessary conclude that I was seriously urging them to get out of their seats. However, if there was a massive explosion in the kitchen and flames could be seen from the sanctuary and I said these same words, my guess is that everyone would immediately pay attention to my words. The reason for that difference is that we use these wonderful senses that God has given us in order to figure out if someone is speaking literally or just making some other point that requires reflection rather than swift legs.
If we do not sense danger with our eyes and ears, it is very hard for us to take a strong message of warning as seriously as it is intended. God tells His people to flee for safety. They would have been smart to hear Him and believe Him.
If we are to take a message of warning seriously, we need to know in what direction to run in order to find safety. The prophets call us to run toward God, to run toward His Word, to run toward Christ and the Holy Spirit, to run toward a new humility of heart that is willing to hear, repent, and follow the Lord. This is the only pathway of safety for us. Of course we also need to run away from the grave danger of a life of sin and self-satisfaction.
Many of God’s people are simply not going to respond to a prophetic warning. It all sounds so distant until the northern adversary is alright at the city gates. The lovely and delicately bred daughter of
To make good use of the prophetic Word, the people of God need circumcised ears. The hearts that are unwilling to listen to the Lord may be marked in the flesh as covenant keepers, but their souls have only the mark of the beast of worldliness, for they will not hear and repent. What can be done when people take no pleasure in the Word of the Lord and God’s message is an object of scorn to those who are far too wise in their own eyes? They are bringing the wrath of God against themselves.
The wrath that is coming upon
In the sight of the nations of the world, God will judge wickedness among His covenant people. Through a foreign destroyer the Lord will finally bring terror on every side to the remaining people in the Land. Yet no matter how much the Lord warns and corrects, both with stern words and actions of chastisement, it would appear that the refining of his people will simply not change their hearts.
What we see in the prophets is that a strong clear message from God will not alone change the rebelliousness of his own people. Something more is required. We need a powerful change from within that comes only through the work of the Holy Spirit. This is the promise of God that is so desperately needed. Yet the Spirit will not be poured out until the Son of Man returns victorious from His battle with our enemies – sin and death. Our sin stood in the way of the pouring out of the Spirit of God upon the church. First things first. First the problem of our unrighteousness had to be objectively solved through the perfections of Jesus Christ. Then our debt had to be paid through the highest price imaginable, our Lord’s own holy blood. With that great work completed, our Risen Savior could enter the
This gift so generously distribute to the New Testament Church is absolutely essential. It is what distinguishes our situation from the Old Covenant people, who may have affirmed the Lord in some sense, but who were generally quite unwilling to give in to the way of faith. We praise God for the gift of the Holy Spirit, and we thank the Son of God for this great gift bought at such a very heavy price. Through this powerful Spirit, and according to the decree of our glorious God, we are actually being refined for His glory.
Run for your lives! When you hear the warning of the prophets, run away from your sin, and run toward the loving embrace of the Savior who died for your everlasting joy.
posted by Pastor Magee @ 7:00 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home