“Then the LORD put forth his hand, and touched my mouth. And the LORD said unto me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth. See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant.” – Jeremiah 1:9-10 KJV
History Repeats Itself
“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.” – Proverbs 1:7 KJV
“A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels” – Proverbs 1:5 KJV
It’s tragic that there are people professing to be Christians who don’t like to hear others call sin by its rightful name, but only look for feel good messages, which convince them that everything is alright when things are terribly wrong. They don’t want to be told that something is lacking in their relationship with Jesus, but want to believe that grace gives them a license to sin. Thus, they allow personal preference to take precedence over God’s will, placing their hopes in things that are going to burn up and pass away, simply because it makes them feel good to do so.
So it was in the days of Jeremiah. God raised Jeremiah up to warn His people of impending doom, and to awaken them to the reality of their sinful condition. He sought to give them an opportunity to turn from their evil ways, but they wouldn’t listen. For the message didn’t sit well with their feelings. It didn’t tickle their ears, so to speak. And so they threw out God’s blessing for a lie; a lie that ultimately caused them to go away into captivity.
Has anything changed since then? Here we are centuries later, being warned by God to repent and turn from our evil ways; yet many are ignoring the voice of truth. God is raising people up all across the world to herald the truth as it is in Jesus Christ. He is calling people to repentance. But many refuse to learn from the past; they won’t let history tell His story.
Have you learned your history lesson yet? Are you responding to God’s message to the Church in such a way as to invite the Spirit to build up your life in Jesus Christ? Are you letting God’s messengers plant seeds of righteousness within your heart? Or are you trying to root out and pull down the message because something of its nature doesn’t make you feel good inside? Are you really taking God’s words seriously?
Taking it All In
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.” – John 3:16-17 KJV
“Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.” – Matthew 10:34 KJV
Indeed, one saying gives rise to peaceful thoughts while the other stirs up the emotions; one is friendly while the other cuts at the heart. Yet both sayings come from One who knows what it means to love better than any of us will ever come to understand. This just goes to show us that God isn’t always going to tell us things that we want to hear; He won’t always speak words that will make us feel good. Yet He will always give us what we need. Sometimes His word will come to us in a whisper, and other times it will come to us as a loud cry. But no matter how it comes to us, we need it! And it should be regarded as the most important part of our lives.
If we really want God to do great things within our lives then we must allow Him to wield the sword of Truth within our hearts. We must let Him show us who we really are, and allow Him to sanctify us by the word of Truth.
“For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” – Hebrews 4:12 KJV
“Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.” – John 17:17 KJV
You may not always like what God’s messengers have to tell you, but keep in mind that just because the message isn’t packaged according to your liking that doesn’t mean it isn’t inspired by God. Until we come to understand this we won’t arrive at the place where God wants us to be in our understanding of His good will. For just as God touched Jeremiah’s mouth and put His words in it, so also must we let Him touch our lives and put His laws in our hearts, to fill us up with His love.
“For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:” – Hebrews 8:10 KJV
Hear What the Spirit is Saying
In the book of Revelation Jesus spoke to the churches. One of these was the church of Laodicea. And this was His message to them:
“And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God; I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.
Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.
As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.” – Revelation 3:14-22 KJV
Notice how Jesus said “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.” What this means is that this wasn’t merely a message for people of the past. It’s also a message for us! Can you hear it? Are you really listening to the Spirit? If so, don’t just let Him change bits and pieces of your life where it feels good to do so; rather, let Him root out and pull down all that is contrary to His will and build up and plant something in your life that is pleasing to Him.
Will you let Him do that for you? The Spirit is speaking. But are you really listening?
