ARCC Sermons

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August 22nd

The bible reading today is in Jeremiah chapters 46,47,48.

The text today is a prophecy about God’s judgment upon the nations. We remember the anguish in Habakkuk’s QandA with God...”How long will it be before you bring justice upon the nations that have terrorized and brutalized Your people?”

Well, the prophet Jeremiah was about to answer Habakkuk’s question. And to begin with, Egypt was going down by the arm of Babylon...at God’s direction.

Right about now, I remember, not only the 400 years of Egyptian cruelty placed upon Jacob’s children, but I remember from our last week of reading in Jeremiah that many in Judah relied upon Egypt’s trade and muscle instead of God’s wisdom and supply. Thus, the prophecy against Egypt was correspondingly going to affect the unfaithful in Judah.

“Draw near to battle Pharoah Necro...get your war machine ready...get all you have and take the highest ground...and be as confident as you can be in your horses and chariots and gleaming spears and swords and armor that is supposed to strike fear into the enemy...but know this...at the end of the day, all of your military fanfare and strategic advantage is in vain. Babylon will win the day. The battle will cost you greatly in death and destruction. And I God will see to it.”

And Jeremiah saw the prophetic vision and further described the coming battle of Egypt and Babylon saying... “Egypt, your confidence will quickly leave you. Your faces will tell of your own fear and panic and consternation. As the battle begins, you realize that the Babylonian armies are not just in front of you, but are circled all around you. There is no way out. You will try to retreat, but only a few will escape the Babylonian sword. You're finished."

“That day is the day of the Lord God of hosts, a day of vengeance, to avenge himself on his foes. The sword shall devour and be sated and drink its fill of their blood. For the Lord God of hosts holds a sacrifice in the north country by the river Euphrates.”

‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭46:10‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Jeremiah said that what was coming upon Egypt was not the day of Babylon, but the day of the Lord. The day of God’s vengeance upon his foes. Wherein His power and holiness and justice were going to be perfectly displayed.

“Egypt, use your medicines and skills to heal and repair your broken bodies. But know this, your day has come and gone. You will not be utterly destroyed, but you will never recover your former glory. From the days of Moses till now, you Egypt, have had opportunity after opportunity to hear and see the God of your creation. But instead of bowing in worship of Him, you worshipped yourselves. You’re done.

“But fear not, O Jacob my servant, nor be dismayed, O Israel, for behold, I will save you from far away, and your offspring from the land of their captivity.

Jacob shall return and have quiet and ease, and none shall make him afraid. Fear not, O Jacob my servant, declares the Lord, for I am with you. I will make a full end of all the nations to which I have driven you, but of you, I will not make a full end.

“I will discipline you in just measure”, and I will by no means leave you unpunished.”

‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭46:27-28‬ ‭

So what about the remnant of Judah that followed Johannon down to Egypt rather than obey God’s command to stay in Judah after their defeat by Babylon? Were they killed in the slaughter of Egypt by the invading armies of Babylon? Not according to Jeremiah’s prophesy. God was going to get them back to Judah, but God would also discipline them in just measure and not leave them unpunished for their unbelief.

Oh, friends, some will say that it was God’s mercy and grace that saved the Johannon faction from death in Egypt. I agree. But the same people will say that the discipline/punishment that God would mete out upon his rebellious kids was law and not grace. I disagree. God’s discipline always has a gracious redemptive purpose, especially for His children of faith.

By the way, Jesus’ death on the cross for us was “God’s grace” to save us from the penalty of our sin. He took our place, saved us from hell and eternal separation from God. His gracious death on the cross reconciled us to God and made us apart of His forever family.

But God‘s grace also includes loving discipline to save us from that which would lead us away from fellowship with Him.

Have a great day

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August 21st

Our Bible reading today is in Jeremiah chapters 41-45.

Most of the citizens of Judah were taken captive by the victorious Babylonians. Only a handful of the defeated Judean military were left in hiding in Judah. Most of the older adults, along with the physically infirmed were left in the countrysides and burning villages and cities.

How long was it going to take for Judah to get back to normal? Or better still, get back to God? Well, it wasn't going to be any time soon.

A Judean named Ishmael convinced 10 other Jews to join him in assassinating the new Governor of Judah. His name was Gedaliah. He was somewhat famous among the faithful. He stood up to Zedekiah and his crooked city councilmen and saved Jeremiah’s life. Gedaliah was leading the survivors to obey Jeremiah’s message of submitting to Babylon’s demands. Ishmael had a different plan...and it included murder.

Self-centered evil was still resident in Judah. After the murderous massacre of the governor and his men in Mizpah, fear and outrage led a man to gather the scattered soldiers of Judah to hunt down Ishmael and his raiders. That leader was Johannon.

He and his men found Ishmael at the waters of Gibeon, just north of Jerusalem. Ishmael and eight of his conspirators escaped with their lives and went down to Amnon. Then a couple of “firsts” happened.

“Then all the commanders of the forces, and Johanan the son of Kareah and Jezaniah the son of Hoshaiah, and “all” the people (in Judah) from the least to the greatest, came near and said to Jeremiah the prophet, “Let our plea for mercy come before you, and pray to the Lord “your God” for us, “for all this remnant”— because we are left with but a few, as your eyes see us— that the Lord your God may show us the way we should go, and the thing that we should do.”

‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭42:1-3‬ ‭ESV‬‬

The remnant of the populace of Judah gathered before the prophet and sought his help to get God into the matter of their tenuous future. “They wanted a word from God”...”the first time”...in the 40 year ministry of Jeremiah before the fall of Jerusalem.

Was this a good thing for God’s people? In principle, yes. But our reading shows us great hypocrisy by the mob at Jeremiah’s door. They came with respect it seemed. This audience with the old prophet would have been right. Except for one thing, their hearts were still far from broken over their long time sinning. They weren't looking for a word from God concerning His will for them. They wanted a pass from God’s messenger to do their own will, not God’s.

Outwardly, they put on a good show. But inwardly, in their hearts, there was no humble submission to the will and ways of God.

O Lord, how much of my life looks good on the outside in front of others, while all along You see my heart wanting my own way and not yours. I'm sorry Lord. Forgive me. I don't want to be a pretender any more. Help me, Lord!

O the other first...? Jeremiah, The first since Moses to prophesy to Jacob’s children in Egypt....?

You see, Jeremiah was kidnapped by Johannon and his remnant of Judah and taken to Egypt against the prophet’s oracle to remain in the promised land for God’s blessing. Jeremiah prophesied to that rebel remnant using a visual aid like he did 40 years before. But instead of a ruined waste band to make his point, he used two large stones placed outside the Pharoah’s palace. Here is where Babylon will place their throne over Egypt and the world. It’s coming. And most of you won't make it back to your homeland.

The will of man...to save himself...only to do just the opposite.

Jesus says I Am The Way! We believe...help our unbelief, Lord.

Have a great day

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August 20th

The bible reading today is in the three chapters of Habakkuk.

“O Lord, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not hear? Or cry to you “Violence!” and you will not save?”

‭‭Habakkuk‬ ‭1:2‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Habakkuk was a contemporary of Jeremiah during the Babylonian conflict with Judah. He was one of the unnamed prophets ministering in Judah and Benjamin. Habakkuk was calling upon Judah to repent and believe God for their salvation.

This prophecy not only addresses the Judeans and the Babylonians but also includes a Q and A with God. Habakkuk was having his own “struggle of faith” in those very stressful days before Babylon showed up.

Like Jeremiah, Habakkuk apparently got his prophetic start during Josiah’s Godly reign in Judah. Spiritual revival was taking place in Judah. It wouldn't last forever, but while it did, the prophets’ ministry was more of a support role alongside young Josiah.

The spiritual reformation in Judah did not last a full generation. Idolatry began seeping back into the life of the people. The Judeans began to adopt the ways of their foreign neighbors.

Habakkuk cried out to God. “I've been trying to help the true God followers stand with the Laws of God...for the reforms in spiritual life and worship that You led Moses and Aaron and David and now Josiah to champion. But the evil kings and wicked elders in Judah that came after Josiah have desecrated the Temple, put ungodly men into the priesthood, and set up foreign idols on the Temple Mount to open the way to the wrongful worship of foreign gods.

I have cried out to You O Lord for help to restore spiritual integrity upon the throne. How long will It be before you step in and do that? I have cried, “God, See the violence taking place against the just. How long will it be before You step in and save your promised land people?”

“Why do you make me see iniquity, and why do you idly look at wrong? Destruction and violence are before me; strife and contention arise.”

‭‭Habakkuk‬ ‭1:3‬ ‭ESV‬‬

How long will You wait to answer my heart’s prayer? Wow, sounds a lot like some of my desperate prayers to my God Savior.

Now let’s listen to God’s answer to Habakkuk, and to all the justified who walk by faith...“LOOK among the nations, and see; wonder and be astounded! For I am doing a work in your days that you would not believe if told.”

‭‭Habakkuk‬ ‭1:5‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“Look around” and see me at work...” be astounded”...” ponder the wonder and the mystery” of Me and My Working in and among my faithful...even among those who have been oppressed and bitterly treated... Believe Me...I am hearing you...your heart-rending prayers...My people will be saved...My way!

Wow sounds like Jesus speaking to Peter who rebuked the Christ when He said that He had come to suffer and die. Jesus was saying, My people will be saved...My way...my suffering... my death ...my resurrection...and my coming again...O in fewer words...I AM the WAY!

Habakkuk, in a Question and Answer time with the God Savior...prophesied the Gospel to all who would read the plain truth he was writing down...his generation of the faith all the way to ours and beyond. Awesome!

Have a great day

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August 19th

The bible reading today is in 2 Kings 24,25 and 2 Chronicles 36.

Before we move on from the Babylonian captivity of Judah, we read some more content for application.

150 years before now, Judah watched Assyria totally defeat and destroy the 10 tribes of Israel’s northern kingdom. The land and the cities were laid waste and plundered of anything of value. Thousands upon thousands of Israelites lost their lives in that war. And twice that many were led to Ninevah as slaves.

The prophets reminded Judah of God’s judgment upon their northern kinsmen. Judah was given years to repent of their own sins against God. Judah was warned time and time again to turn from their willful, wicked ways and back to their God Savior.

But backslidden Judah would not repent. And God’s promised judgment came upon them. Death and destruction touched every part of Judah...from the countryside to the fortified cities.

The king of Babylon struck Judeans down and put them to death in brutal ways. For instance, Judah’s King Zedekiah tried to run from Nebuchadnezzar's army. But they caught up with and his family in the plains of Jericho. The Babylonians murdered each member of his family while making Zedekiah watch the butchering. Then the king’s captors put his eyes out and bound him in shackles and took him to Ninevah to suffer and die in the darkness.

All of this happened to the nation of God’s promise because kings in Judah, including Zedekiah, refused to listen to God, and instead chose to shed the innocent blood of God’s faithful. Oh, how all of Israel needed a spiritual awakening.

Oh, friends, I cannot help but think of our own nation and the innocent blood that is shed in our streets through cold, self-centered lawlessness. I think of the 1 million unborn children that were legally aborted on demand in America in 2018. And that’s only the ones reported.

Judah had blood on her hands. And so does our nation.

I'm sure that there were believers in Judah that went to Temple to pray and worship and beg God to revive their nation...to save their nation before it was too late. Let us be those believers in America that worship and pray and beseech the Lord for His holy fire from above that will revive the church to a life of repentance and a first love for Jesus and people again. A revival of the fresh oil of the Holy Spirit upon the churches so we can be salt and light once again. Living in our towns and cities and neighborhoods to preserve life and expose the darkness and the destruction that comes from there upon our land.

Jeremiah the prophet wept over the sin of Israel...Jesus shed tears for Jerusalem...Lord give us broken hearts for the salvation of our nation too.

Have a great day.

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August 18th

The bible reading today is in Jeremiah 38-40 and Ps 74 & 79.

“Then the officials said to the king, “Let this man be put to death, for he is weakening the hands of the soldiers who are left in this city, and the hands of all the people, by speaking such words to them. For this man is not seeking the welfare of this people, but their harm.”

King Zedekiah said, “Behold, he is in your hands, for the king can do nothing against you.”

So they took Jeremiah and cast him into the cistern of Malchiah, the king’s son, which was in the court of the guard, letting Jeremiah down by ropes. And there was no water in the cistern, but only mud and Jeremiah sank in the mud.”

‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭38:4-6‬ ‭ESV‬‬

The Babylonians were at the gates of Jerusalem, within days of taking the city, after an 18-month siege. Things were going down just as planned. Jeremiah had prophesied for years that because of Judah’s unfaithfulness to God, they and their great city would go down to their enemies. The enemy was Babylon.

God gave a last message to Judah through the prophet. “Surrender to Babylon. Submit to her king. And God would watch over them and restore them to their land one day.”

That one day would turn out to be 70 years. God would raise up spiritual leaders for the exiles in Babylon and, for the most part, would give them favor with their captors.

According to the text, the prophecy did not sit well with the princes of Judah. Instead of listening to God and going along with His plan, they listened to their financial advisors apparently. These powerful princes probably had great wealth tied up in the city. They probably superintended government deals with surrounding countries that were primed and ready to make them even wealthier. So giving up to the Babylonians would cost them greatly. And apparently they would have sacrificed military lives to keep their wealth and power intact.

So to what lengths did these “kingmakers” go? They told lies about Jeremiah and convinced a weak character king Zedekiah to put him away for good.

This reminds me of some similar actions against God’s servants recorded in the bible. Moses was a very humble man...He was accused of pride by the rebellious Korah. Job was a righteous man...He was accused of great sin by his friends. Jesus was the spotless one...He was accused of being demon-possessed by religious leaders in Jerusalem.

Yes, God’s servants can be attacked and railroaded into muddy dungeons without water and food to die, so self-serving men can prosper. Jeremiah, Paul, and Jesus...now that would be good company for obeying God.

Another thing about God’s servant/leaders, they all have to deal with hypocrites. Earlier in the siege, King Zedekiah came to Jeremiah. He begged the prophet to pray for him and Jerusalem...saying, “Pray to “our” God that He might help us.”

Zedekiah was playing Jeremiah...playing the hypocrite...pretending.....acting. He wanted the prophet’s prayers, but he didn't want the prophet’s preaching nor his counseling. Zedekiah was putting on a religious show for God’s prophet, looking to score some favorable points perhaps with Jeremiah and maybe God.

But in today’s reading, we learn that the friendship of Zedekiah to the prophet, was a self-serving fake at best, and outright betrayal at worst.

Wow, but what you and I don't hear...Jeremiah blaming God for his terrible life-threatening circumstances. Like Jesus and Paul, he gloried in being a part of God’s work. No matter what.

Have a great day

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August 17th

Our bible reading today is in Jeremiah chapters 35,36,37.

“Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Go and say to the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, Will you not receive instruction and listen to my words? declares the Lord.”

‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭35:12-13‬ ‭

Now Go to the house of the Rechabites and speak with them and bring them to the house of the Lord, into one of the chambers; then offer them wine to drink.”

‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭35:2‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Today’s message, apparently, was given to Jeremiah prior to his imprisonment in Jerusalem. God was going to use Jeremiah, through his preaching and a living illustration, to call Judah back to cheerful obedience to God.

“Judah, will you not receive instruction and listen to my words?” This is the heavenly Father speaking to His strong-willed, rebellious children. Why have you turned a deaf ear to my words? Why have you stopped accepting my instructions? Why is someone or something “else” more likely to gain your attention than Me?

Have I not proven my loving commitment to you and to our covenant relationship? Have I not kept my promises to protect you and supply your every need? Why then do you no longer pay close attention to my voice and my instructions?

Wow, that sounds a lot like some conversations my Dad had with me. He knew that I could be easily distracted, so when something was really important, he would turn the tv off and demand that I listen to him, not only with my ears but also with my eyes. Therefore, I learned early on to face my parents when they addressed me, and to look them in the eye.

Judah “too” was easily distracted from listening and obeying the Lord. So God sent prophets to preach and teach the people to respect His authority and instructions for living. But when vocal preaching did not reach the hard hearts of the Judeans, God used a “visual aid”...something they could see.

Jeremiah invited the Jewish clan, the Rechabites, to the Temple mount. This large family, of Godly Jonadab, agreed to the meeting. Our text says that it was a public gathering. There would be people outside this family unit that would be privy to Jeremiah’s conversation with the Rechabites.

Jeremiah offered the Rechabites wine to drink. That would have been a hospitable thing to do. But God and Jeremiah had another reason for the sharing of wine with Jonadab’s family that day. The Rechabites declined the wine. They went on to explain why. Our forefather, Jonadab, forbade his family to drink wine. And for over 450 years we have obeyed our fathers. Now if drinking this wine has something to do with God’s commandments, we will drink. Otherwise, we will continue to respect and obey our Fathers’ instructions.

The lesson applied?...If these brethren are so committed to obeying their earthly fathers, how much more should the rest of us enthusiastically obey our heavenly Father?

Father, forgive us for being so careless with your presence, your words, your instructions. Holy Spirit give us ears to hear and hearts to readily obey the Father of our salvation.

Have a great day

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August 16th

Our bible reading is in Jeremiah 32-34.

My dad would oftentimes quote the British born American poet, Edgar A Guest. Known for his 24 line poems written in the first half of the 20th century. The one that I remember the most was “I would rather see a sermon than hear one any day.”

Basically Jesus was saying that to his disciples...”Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”

Jeremiah would do this in his day. He would preach with his words, but he would also preach faith in his God Savior with his life. In the days just before Babylon captured Jerusalem, the prophet Jeremiah prophesied that one day Judah and Israel would come back to their promised land. Build new homes, plant new vineyards, and repair broken down walls and live in Jerusalem again.

It seemed far fetched to most of the Judeans. They were beaten and beat down. Faith was nowhere to be found among the leadership of the nation of Judah in those days. They just couldn't believe the preacher’s hopeful words.

They saw the smoke from fires that destroyed their homes, their fields, and their cities, and their countryside. Going from beauty to ashes, from faith in the future to overwhelming pain in the present. Dark days to be sure.

And to make it even darker, Judah’s King Zedekiah judged Jeremiah a traitor and put him in the dungeon in Jerusalem. What would happen next?

God would make his preacher a living illustration of his own message. Jeremiah’s cousin came to visit him in prison. But it was more than a visit. Cousin Hanamel offered his land to Jeremiah for seventeen shekels of silver. Why the land had been confiscated by the Babylonians, and it was virtually worth nothing to Jeremiah...”unless “God was going to keep his promise” of giving that land back to the Judeans one day.

Jeremiah bought the land in front of many witnesses...”You think I'm a fool...Well, I'd rather be a fool trusting God and His promise than a man who preaches one thing and lives another.

There had to be faithful men and women of God in Jerusalem. Some must have been discouraged, especially with their spiritual leader, Jeremiah, in prison for preaching the truth. What is to become of us, they must have cried. And then someone would tell the story of Jeremiah’s faith purchase of a land God was going to keep for him no matter what.

I want to skip ahead in today ‘s text to try to answer the possible struggle with faith by the faithful in Jerusalem...“After I had given the deed of purchase to Baruch the son of Neriah, “I prayed to the Lord”, saying: “Ah, Lord God!” (A sigh of possible doubt creeping into Jeremiah’s heart)...It is “you” who have made the heavens and the earth by “your” great power and by “your” outstretched arm! “Nothing is too hard for you.”

‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭32:16-17‬ ‭

After Jeremiah preached God’s message of faith and hope in word and living illustration, Jeremiah had his own “sigh of unbelief” escape his lips from a worried heart. And he prayed...” nothing is too hard for you...”

Oh, friends, we worry about our futures. Will we be able to recover from our losses? Will we be able to come back strong and move forward with God again? We stress over our present conditions. And if we don't remember that Jeremiah prayed himself out of the creeping darkness of worry, then by all means “let us remember” our Savior Jesus. Garden of Gethsemene...night before his crucifixion...sweating drops of blood...saying, Father let this cup pass from me...but...“not my will but yours be done.”

I'd rather see a sermon...or A picture is worth a thousand words...!!

Have a great day

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August 15th

Our reading today is in Jeremiah 30 & 31.

“The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Write in a book all the words that I have spoken to you.”

‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭30:1-2‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Apparently not every message that God gave Jeremiah deserved writing down. But this one was too good to be lost. God begins to deal with his guilty people in a way of mercy and love. Spurgeon called these chapters strange, and some of the richest and most cheering in the whole bible.

Next in the reading is the strange part. “These are the words that the Lord spoke concerning Israel and Judah: “Thus says the Lord: We have heard a cry of panic, of terror, and no peace.”

‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭30:4-5‬ ‭

The Babylonian captivity was coming. That is what God was going to do to Judah. We might ask “where are the words of comfort and grace?” “Panic”, “terror”, and “no peace” don't sound much like words of mercy.

The fact is friends when God is going to comfort a man He always begins by helping the man see his need for God. Spurgeon taught that there was always “stripping” before clothing. There was always “emptying” before there was filling. That’s what God was doing with Judah.

The word “filling” is familiar to Christians, it brings to mind Paul’s instruction to the church in Ephesus..."be continually filled with the Holy Spirit”.

Emptying comes before this filling also confession of sin and brokenness over our sinful condition. The emptying before the filling. In other words, God brought on the emptying...the captivity “for” Judah so she would see anew and afresh just how much she needed her Savior God.

My reading has revealed my own need for a present “gift of captivity” that would open my heart, brand new, for my desperate need for the Lord. No more lazy indifference, but a new wholehearted desire for my God.

Next...“Ask now, and see, can a man bear a child? Why then do I see every man with his hands on his stomach like a woman in labor? Why has every face turned pale?”

‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭30:6‬ ‭ESV‬‬

When the time of mercy came, there was outward and inward travail. The pain associated with childbirth. Something good preceded by something that would feel terrible. So slowly, here comes the comforting. Here comes the light breaking through the dark skies. “Alas! That day of distress is “so great” there is none like it; it is a time of trouble for Jacob; yet “he shall be saved...not “from” it...but “out” of it.”

Jeremiah‬ ‭30:7‬ ‭

God was giving “hope” to his hopeless children. Something “good” coming from the bad. Something “greater” coming after the greatest trouble that Israel would ever face.

“And it shall come to pass in that day, declares the Lord of hosts, that I will break Babylon’s yoke from off your neck, and I will burst your bonds, and foreigners shall no more make a slave of you. But Judah shall serve the Lord their God and David their king, whom I will raise up for them. “ So “fear not”, O Jacob my servant, declares the Lord, “nor be dismayed”, O Israel; for behold, I will save you from far away, and your offspring from the land of their captivity. Jacob shall return and have “quiet” and “rest”, and “courage” again .”

‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭30:8-10‬ ‭ESV

Oh, friends, let us remember the words of Christ. There was coming a day of incomparable tribulation, great tribulation upon the earth such as has not been since the beginning of the world. Matthew 24.

Jeremiah and Jesus prophesying...The Jewish people, those not yet trusting in Jesus as the Messiah, and alive during the Great Tribulation, will endure those last days of Jacob’s trouble and be saved out of it...finally seeing and believing Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior.

Amen and amen...

Have a great day

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August 14

Our Bible reading today is in Jeremiah 26-29. The reading begins with a very hard sermon by Jeremiah.

I remember some hard sermons that Jesus preached. One to his hometown, and one he preached on the Temple mount. Most in his audience would be confused, and many would be offended.

“And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read. And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.””

‭‭Luke‬ ‭4:16-19‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Jesus was claiming to be the Messiah. You have to believe that some in His hometown knew exactly what he was claiming. “I am God”, and the year of the Lord’s favor is now, and it’s in and through me.

Wow, that was a lot to believe by those in the synagogue. No wonder most rejected their hometown boy...even His family.

“Later Jesus and his disciples came to Jerusalem. And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold and those who bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. And he was “teaching” them and saying to them, “Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations’? But you have made it a den of robbers.” And the chief priests and the scribes heard it and were seeking a way to “destroy him”, for they feared him because all the crowd was astonished at his teaching.”

‭‭Mark‬ ‭11:15, 17-18‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Now back to Jeremiah. The Father sends Jeremiah out. He would be rejected by his hometown a few miles east of Jerusalem. They would try to kill him. But now the prophet preaches in the courts of the Temple... “Thus says the Lord: Stand in the court of the Lord’s house, and speak to all the cities of Judah that come to worship in the house of the Lord “all the words” that I command you to speak to them; ...”DO NOT hold back a word.” It may be that they will “listen”, and every one turn from his evil way, that I may relent of the disaster that I intend to do to them because of their evil deeds.”

‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭26:2-3‬ ‭ESV‬‬

God said to his preacher, ”Do not hold back a word”. No matter how hard it may seem, perhaps my word will touch hearts. Perhaps the people will repent and turn back to Me that I may turn from my judgment upon their evil ways.

Oh, that our preachers and pastor/teachers will be strengthened and steadied in their resolve enough to give us “every” word from God...” and not hold back a word...no matter what.

Jeremiah was indeed a picture of Christ in his ministry of preaching. But there is another picture worth dwelling on.

“But the hand of Ahikam the son of Shaphan was with Jeremiah so that he was not given over to the people to be put to death.”

‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭26:24

Jeremiah was on his way to death for his prophecy against Jerusalem. King Jehoiakim had already struck down Urriah for a similar prophecy. There seemed nothing would stop the King’s sword from taking Jeremiah’s life. And then a courageous elder of the city council advocated, interceded for Jeremiah.

“But the hand of Ahikam the son of Shaphan was with Jeremiah so that he was not given over to the people to be put to death.”

‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭26:24‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Just what Jesus does for us...“My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an “advocate with the Father”, Jesus Christ the righteous.”

‭‭1 John‬ ‭2:1‬ ‭ESV‬‬

The devil will accuse us before the Father for our sins. Jesus is our advocate and speaks up for us showing the Judge His hands and feet, says...” they are with me.”

Have a great day