“Then the LORD put forth His hand and touched my mouth, and the LORD said to me: “Behold, I have put My words in your mouth. See, I have this day set you over the nations and over the kingdoms, To root out and to pull down, To destroy and to throw down, To build and to plant.” (Jeremiah 1:9-10 NKJV)

While talking to my sister over the phone we got onto the subject of truth and how people typically tend to react to it. She had informed me of a time when she had confronted someone about what’s happening to the economy and how it relates to ‘last days’ events as spoken of in the Bible. Unfortunately, the person with whom she shared these thoughts blatantly told her that they didn’t want to know the truth, but just wanted to hope for the best.

Of course, there’s nothing wrong with wanting to hope for the best. However, to say that you don’t want to know the truth is to essentially say, “Give me a blindfold and I’ll go wherever my feet take me”; and while you’re blindly hoping for the best you won’t see that you’re walking towards the edge of a cliff just up ahead.

Now what do you think is going to happen if you don’t remove the blindfold before reaching the edge of the cliff? The answer is obvious!

So let’s be realistic here: unless we’re willing to accept the Truth for what it is, how will we know that what we’re placing our confidence in isn’t the worst possible thing that we could look to for hope? In other words, we could be staring evil right in the face, thinking that something good is before us; and we wouldn’t even know its malicious nature because we won’t let the Truth bring its true colors to light. Thus we could be hoping for the best in something that could very well invoke the worst case scenario within our lives—something that could ultimately destroy us.

You know, it’s quite tragic that there are people who profess to believe in God but act as though they don’t want anything from Him but a ‘feel good’ message.  That is, they just want to be told that everything is alright even when things are terribly wrong and out of order with their relationship to Jesus Christ. They don’t want to hear about how sinful they are and how far off course they might be from living up to God’s standards. Instead, they allow their personal preferences to take precedence over God’s commandments and place their hope in things that are eventually going to burn up and pass away, simply because these things make them feel good and pose no apparent threat to the desires of their fleshly hearts.

And this is how it was during the time of Jeremiah: God called him to build and to plant and thus awaken His people to the reality of their condition. But before he could build and plant he would have to root out and pull down that which stood in opposition to the will of God.

One would think that Jeremiah would have been received well by the people.  After all, he was not only a godly person; he offered them something that would have safeguarded them from imminent danger–the Truth. But the people had rejected his message because it didn’t agree with what they wanted to hear; it didn’t sit well with their feelings or tickle their ears, so to speak. And so they refused to repent and thereby rejected the Truth and essentially threw out God’s blessing for a curse which caused them to go into captivity.

And here we are centuries later as history is repeating itself; God is using messengers all across the world to herald the Truth as it is in Jesus Christ, to call people to repentance, to build and to plant, and to awaken people to the reality of their condition. But just as His people rejected His message in the past, many are doing the same thing today; they don’t want the Truth; they refuse to learn from the past; they won’t let history tell His story.

With that being said, have you learned your history lesson? Are you responding to God’s message to the Church in such a way as to invite the Spirit to build and to plant the good will of Jesus Christ within your heart? Or are you trying to root out and pull down the message because something of its substance doesn’t make you feel good inside? Are you following in the steps of those who came before you who loved and lived by God’s commandments or are you walking in the steps of rebellious men and women who wouldn’t take God’s warnings seriously?

What part of history are you repeating?

Jesus said,

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. (John 3:16-17 NKJV)

Jesus also said,

Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. (Matthew 10:34 NKJV)

Indeed, one saying gives rise to peaceful thoughts while the other stirs up the emotions; one saying is friendly while the other cuts at the heart. Yet, both sayings come from One who knows what it means to love more than any of us will ever understand. And it just goes to show that God isn’t always going to tell us things that we want to hear; He isn’t always going to speak words that appeal to our hearts; He isn’t always going to give us a soft message.  Nevertheless, He will always speak the Truth and inform us of what we need to know to maintain a healthy relationship with Him.

Beloved, if we 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 enter into our lives, to sanctify us by the word of Truth.

For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12 NKJV)

Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth. (John 17:17 NKJV)

If we really want to experience what God wants for us then we will have to listen to whatever He has to tell us and follow all of His Commands without compromise.  That is, we will have to step outside of our comfort zones and become all that He wants us to be in Christ if we truly desire to be blessed by Him.

Listen, 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 our 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.  For, just as God touched Jeremiah’s mouth and put His words in it, we must let Him touch our lives and put His laws in our hearts and fill us up with His love.

For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. (Hebrews 8:10 NKJV)

In the book of Revelation Jesus spoke to the churches. One of them was the church of Laodicea. And this was His message to them:

“And to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write, ‘These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God: “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot.

So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth. Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked— I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see.

As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” ‘ ” (Revelation 3:14-22 NKJV)

Notice how Jesus said, “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” What this means is that this wasn’t merely a message to a people of the past; it is 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 the will of God and build up and plant that which is pleasing and acceptable to the LORD.  For there is no other place to find happiness but in Jesus Christ.  And if we are in Christ we will live in obedience to all of His commands.

“If you love Me, keep My commandments. (John 14:15 NKJV)

Indeed, the Spirit is speaking. Are you listening?

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