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Judah's Judgment and God's Mercy: A Study of Jeremiah 4
January 30, 2025 · 15 min
Explore Jeremiah's call for repentance and how removing spiritual obstacles can lead to sanctification and stability in faith.
Series Stand on the Word - Video On Demand January 30, 2025 · 15 min · Stand on the Word - Video On Demand
Explore Jeremiah's call for repentance and how removing spiritual obstacles can lead to sanctification and stability in faith. ...more Show the full description Show less Explore Jeremiah's call for repentance and how removing spiritual obstacles can lead to sanctification and stability in faith.
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Call to Repentance and Spiritual Renewal 0:09 Good morning. Welcome to stand on the word. Thanks for joining me this morning. Alright. Let me remind you once again, we have a special study of the book of Jeremiah booklet. It's, the 40 days through the book of0:20 Jeremiah. If you'd like that to supplement this journey, you can find it at f r c dot o r g slash bible. Also, it makes a great, giveaway to someone else to to introduce them0:32 into this study, this journey through the bible, stand on the word. So, again, you can find that at f r c dot o r g slash bible. Chapter 4 today, verse 18. Your ways and your doings have procured0:44 these things for you. This is your wickedness because it is bitter, because it reaches to your heart. Now, god is telling Judah payday is coming and, that they had earned what they had coming to0:56 them. Verse 1, chapter 4, let's jump right into this. If you will return, oh Israel, says the Lord, return to me, and if you will put away your abominations out of my sight, then you shall not be moved.1:08 And you shall swear, the Lord lives in truth, in judgment, and in1:24 the northern kingdom of Israel, which is was already in captivity in Assyria. Now the message was this, if you want to return to your land physically, you must spiritually return to me your1:35 god. Now here's the good news is that god can and he will restore. You're not beyond god's grace as long as you're breathing. If we will repent and1:47 return, the issue is never with god. Alright? He is waiting. Right? If the message was to the Northern Kingdom, it was said in the presence of the Southern Kingdom as a1:59 warning to them. Alright? Keep in mind now, Josiah's reforms had already been underway. Alright? He began removing the high places in the twelfth year of2:11 his reign. Jeremiah began preaching in the thirteenth year of Josiah's reign, and the law of god, the word, was rediscovered in the eighteenth year. So we're2:23 not there yet, but we are in the period of reforms. Now the message was this, that the idols might not be in public view. They may have hidden them because of Josiah's reforms. He had torn down the high places,2:35 but they were still present in their lives and in their hearts, and god sees everything. Take note that removing the idols, the objects that stand between2:48 god and us, is the key to not being moved. He says he says in in in verse, he says, take these abominations out of my sight,3:00 then you will not be removed in verse 1. So the the the key to not being moved, to not being shaken, not wandering aimlessly through this world is seeking3:11 God, putting him first, and that is what gives puts us on a path to meaning and a purpose driven life. But when we have things between us and god,3:23 idols, well, we're gonna be easily moved. Alright. Verse 3. But thus says the lord to the men of Judah and Jerusalem, break up your fallow ground and do not sow among the thorns.3:36 Alright. Their hearts were like fallow ground. It was hard ground that had not been plowed, had not been broken up, that could not produce. Alright? Repent. It's what it means here. Repent.3:47 Break up that fallow ground, and it would produce a good outcome, sparing Judah from judgment and destruction, which was become which was coming because of the fury of god4:00 stoked by the evil of their doings. Now verses 5 through 18, Jeremiah provides a a a vivid description of the coming destruction of Jerusalem and why it was coming. And as you read4:12 this passage, it appears as if he's describing it not as something that will happen, but something that was unfolding right then. Now this is called a, prophetic present tense.4:24 Some scholars suggest that this could have been a description of the Sith Scythian invasion that occurred sometime during this period, which, a, should have been a warning to4:36 them, and, b, would have served as a vivid illustration of what was to come. Alright. Verse 5. Declare in Judah and proclaim in Jerusalem and say, blow the trumpet in the4:47 land, cry, gather together, and say, assemble yourselves, and let us go into the fortified cities. Set up the standard towards Zion. Take refuge. Do not delay for I will bring disaster from4:59 the north and great destruction. So even in the midst of this unfolding judgment, we see god's underlying mercy and his desire not to destroy5:11 completely, but to restore in holiness. Verse 8. For this, clothe yourself with sackcloth, lament and wail, for the fierce anger of the lord has not turned back from5:22 us. Lament. Lament. Realize what is happening. They needed to realize they had a problem, a big problem.5:34 This was not just a spike in in violence or another record set for crime. This was the judgment of god coming upon them. But they were distracted, and they were5:46 deceived thinking, it'll never happen. We're fine. You see, they had grown calloused and indifferent to the spiritual and cultural decline of their society. God5:58 said, take notice and lament, repent, and be saved. Now look at verse 10. Then I said, ah, lord god, surely you have greatly deceived this people in Jerusalem saying you shall have peace, whereas the6:10 sword reaches to the heart. At that time, it will be said to this people and to Jerusalem, a dry wind of the desolate of my people, not to6:21 fan or to cleanse. A wind too strong for these will come for me. Now I will also speak judgment against them. Behold, he shall come up like clouds and his chariots like a whirlwind.6:33 His horses are swifter than eagles. Woe to us, for we are plundered. Now it may be that they thought the6:45 political reforms of Josiah. I mean, he was tearing down the high places, and he was doing and and all that was good, but they may have thought that they were covered when what they needed was spiritual6:57 revival. Reform was not enough. They needed revival. We must not think that government policy that reflects biblical truth, as much as we welcome that and want that, is the same as7:09 spiritual renewal. The the 2 very different things. And and oftentimes, the the reform will come after the revival, but when the reform comes before the revival, we often think the revival7:21 is not needed. As we will see, Josiah's reforms, while drawing god's grace for a season, did not bring the spiritual revival the nation needed that would prevent7:33 the judgment of god. Verse 14, oh Jerusalem, wash your heart from wickedness that you may be saved. How long shall your evil thoughts lodge within you? Here's the bottom line. Verse7:45 18. Your ways and your doings have procured these things for you. This is your wickedness because it is bitter because it reaches to your heart. This is what your ways and7:56 your doings have procured for you. It's payday is what god is saying. And and and it reaches to your heart. It was not just casual activity, but this was coming from their heart.8:09 This is this was their passion. You know? In the remainder of this chapter, Jeremiah reflects upon what he had just seen. He he vividly saw this, and he and and and what he8:21 saw and he declared prophetically. Now, look at verse 19. Oh, my soul, my soul, I am pained in my very heart. I mean, what he saw gripped him and terrified him. My heart makes a noise in me. I8:33 cannot hold my peace because you have heard, oh, my soul, the sound of the trumpets, the alarm of war. So he saw this. He saw it coming. That was the that was the role of the prophet, the watchman, and he has been8:44 warning the people. He's warning them. Now this is still a ways away before it actually happens, but he's warning them, giving them time to turn. God will warn us8:56 and and encourage us to turn back to him. Verse 20, destruction upon destruction is cried, for the whole land is plundered. Suddenly, my tents are plundered in my curtains in a moment. See, it happens in a9:08 moment. How long will I see the standard and hear the sound of the trumpet? As followers of Christ, if we are following him and his words, we see these words of warning from the lord9:20 unfolding right before our eyes. The problem we have and and this is in the church. I'm not talking about outside the church. I'm talking about followers of Christ is that we're distracted by the things of the world, and9:31 we don't either we we we we're too busy, too distracted to see, or we don't want to see because it is a burden to see. Because it it should grieve us to see the9:43 steady drumbeat of our nation marching toward because of our rejection of god and his word. Just as Jeremiah carried this burden. He was called the weeping prophet. In fact, you might recall when the Jesus asked his9:55 disciples, who do men say that I am? And they they had different ones and 1 said, Jeremiah. Why? Because he was weeping. He was he was burdened for the people.10:07 Now, you know, this burden is there understanding the reality of hell as the coming judgment for all who do not repent. We we should be motivated to issue the same10:18 warnings as Jeremiah, repent and return, not just to save our country, but so that souls, men, women, and children, people we know, our family, our friends, our coworkers are10:30 spared from eternal damnation in hell because of sin that is unrepentant of. Now look at the, the description of the people and why they were in the predicament that they were in. Verse 22. For my people10:42 are foolish. They have not known me. They are silly children or foolish children, and they have no understanding. They are wise to do evil, but to do good, they have no knowledge.10:54 So here we see 6 things, foolish, pursuing worthless, meaningless things. Wow. That sounds very familiar. No knowledge of god,11:06 immature, oblivious to reality. You know, we have reality TV, but we're not living in reality. Wise to do evil. No knowledge of11:18 how to do good. They were good at being bad. Verse 23, I beheld the earth, and indeed, it was without form and void in the heavens. They had no light. The destruction would be so significant what11:30 Jeremiah saw and so severe. He used the description of the earth at the beginning of creation. Talk about a great reset. This was it. But take note take note here once11:41 again. We see a thread of grace woven throughout this. Verse 27, for thus says the lord, the whole land shall be desolate, yet yet I will not11:53 make a full end. God's plan for his people will be accomplished. He is a covenant keeper even when we are not. But it would be by god's grace, not by their craftiness or12:05 their creativity. They thought they could charm their way out, maybe seduce their enemies, but it wouldn't work. Look at verse 30. And when you are plundered, what will you do? Though you12:17 clothe yourself with crimson, though you adorn yourself with ornaments of gold, though you enlarge your eyes with paint, in vain, you will make yourself fair. Your lovers will despise12:29 you. They will seek your life. There is no appeasement when destruction is coming. Paul wrote about the realities of the of of of a return on what12:40 we sow in our own lives. In in Galatians chapter 6 verse 8, he says, for the 1 who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corrupt corruption. But the12:52 1 who sows to the spirit will from the spirit reap eternal life. We must not think that we can live for the devil and expect the blessings of13:04 heaven. Repent and return, says the lord, and his hand of judgment would be stayed. Father, we thank you for your word. And and, lord, I I I just pray13:15 that we would hear and we would respond. That, lord, we would not be indifferent to your word, that, lord, we would not be distracted by the things of this world, but we would be listening to the holy13:27 spirit, and we would be watching what is happening, lord, in our own day. So we ask that the holy spirit continue to lead us on this journey. Give us wisdom, insight, and understanding, and may, lord,13:39 we, personally, individually respond to you and may collectively, may the church respond to you as well. We pray and ask this in Jesus name. Amen. Alright. Thanks for being with me this morning. Again,13:51 let me remind, those that are in the Baton Rouge area. This coming Saturday night is our monthly stand on the word bible study. If you would like to, participate in that, we invite you to come and be a14:03 part of that. You can email me, tony at tony perkins dot com, and I'll get you the information on how you can join us Saturday evening at, 6 6 30 will begin. So, again,14:15 email me tony at tony perkins dot com. Until next time, keep standing on the word.14:21 Today's study comes from the Stand on the Word Bible Reading Plan available for free at f r c dot o r g slash bible. By following along in just a few minutes a day, you14:33 can read through the entire Bible in just 2 years. Learn more and request the free reading guide at f r c dot org slash bible.In this video 0:09 Call to Repentance and Spiritual Renewal
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