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Covenant and Consequence: Lessons from Jeremiah 11
February 7, 2025 · 12 min
Exploring the enduring message of Jeremiah’s confrontation with idolatry and its relevance to our faithfulness to God.
Series Stand on the Word - Video On Demand February 7, 2025 · 12 min · Stand on the Word - Video On Demand
Exploring the enduring message of Jeremiah’s confrontation with idolatry and its relevance to our faithfulness to God. ...more Show the full description Show less Exploring the enduring message of Jeremiah’s confrontation with idolatry and its relevance to our faithfulness to God.
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The Conspiracy and the Call to Obedience 0:10 Good morning. Welcome to Stand on the Word. Thanks for joining me this morning today. Jeremiah chapter 11 verse 9, and the Lord said to me, a conspiracy has been found among the men of Judah and among the inhabitants0:22 of Jerusalem. The Internet is filled with various conspiracies, and I'm often asked about my thoughts regarding this conspiracy or that conspiracy. I'll be very candid.0:34 I do not spend a lot of time tracking or focusing on conspiracies because this we know. Satan is the father of lies, and he is influencing many in0:45 this world to counter the truth of God willfully and intentionally. And in this chapter, the Lord reveals this conspiracy to Jeremiah. And when Jeremiah exposes it, as we'll read0:57 here, those involved in the conspiracy wanna cancel him. There truly is nothing new under the sun. Now, the rediscovery of the law of Moses and,1:09 the Mosaic covenant became a central part of Josiah, who was the king, his policy reforms. And as we've discussed, it was reform and it was good. It was good.1:21 But revival of the heart and the reformation of the ways of the people, well, those were absent as we see throughout the book of Jeremiah. Now bottom line, the people's hearts were not1:32 changed. There is evidence that God honored the genuine efforts of Josiah by staying his hand of judgment upon Judah for a season, but the people refused to return to turn1:44 from their idolatry and return wholeheartedly to the Lord in worshiping him and serving him. Now, this may be a topic for another day, but this should caution us against overemphasizing theConsequences of Disobedience and the Cancel Culture 1:56 impact of elections. Now before you, hit the the the pause button there, look, I advocate for us as Christians being involved in elections. We need to elect godly2:08 men and women to office. Leadership does matter. Alright? It's it's it's critical. But politics is generally downstream from the culture, and2:20 culture is downstream from the church. We need to get the first things first. Alright. Verse 1, chapter 11, the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord saying, hear the word of this2:32 covenant, and speak to the men of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and say to them, thus says the Lord God of Israel, cursed is the man who does not obey the words of this covenant. Now breaking the covenant2:43 puts us under the curse of the law. Verse 4, and that's, of course, why Jesus came to redeem us from the curse. Verse 4, which I commanded your fathers2:55 in the day I brought them out of the land of Egypt from the iron furnace saying, obey my voice and do according to all that I command you, so shall you be my people and I will be your3:07 God. So what makes us the people of God? Obedience to God. Now, we cannot earn our salvation through obedience3:18 because our sinful nature keeps us from perfect obedience. Can't happen. We can't do it. However, by God's grace, we can experience the forgiveness of sin and then have the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit3:30 that combined with the word of God sanctifies us. Remember, Jesus said, if you love me, you'll keep my commandments. So we we can't say that we love the Lord and live like the3:42 devil. We're not saved because we obey. We obey because we are saved by his grace. Verse 5, that I may establish the oath which I have sworn to your3:54 fathers to give them a land flowing with milk and honey as it is this day. And I answered and said, so be it, lord. Then the Lord said to me, proclaim all these words in the cities of Judah and in the4:06 streets of Jerusalem saying, hear the words of this covenant and do them. For I earnestly exhort your fathers in the day I brought them out of the land of Egypt until this day, rising early and4:17 exhorting them, saying, obey my voice. Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, but everyone followed the dictates of his evil heart. Therefore, I will bring upon them all the words of this covenant,4:30 which I commanded them to do, but which they have not done. And the Lord said to me, a conspiracy has been found among the men of Judah and among the inhabitants of Jerusalem.4:41 So what was the conspiracy? Verse 10. They have turned back to the iniquities of their forefathers who refused to hear my words, and they have gone after4:53 other gods to serve them. The house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken my covenant which I made with their fathers. Alright. First, let's define conspiracy.5:06 This is an intentional, coordinated, and willful act of evil, of sin. Alright. Number 1, they turned back. They had repented. They took the5:17 pledge to uphold the covenant. Remember after the word was discovered in the temple, and they and and and Josiah led them, back to renew the covenant. But now they are willfully5:29 with intent doing just what their fathers did, refusing to listen to God and refusing to follow God, trading the truth for a lie as they pursued idols.5:41 You know, there's a warning here for those that God has extended his mercy toward. In in verse 11, Jeremiah 11 11, therefore, thus says the Lord, behold, I will surely5:53 bring calamity on them which they will not be able to escape and through and though they cry out to me, I will not listen. Listen, you know, having6:05 enjoyed the blessings of the covenant, but not keeping the covenant, there there are consequences. The these were the terms that the people agreed to in Deuteronomy6:17 chapter 11. These terms were renewed during Josiah's reign, as I mentioned, when they rediscovered the law. God says, when you cry out under the burden of the consequences of your disobedience, I won't listen to you6:29 anymore. You know, that's not a place where we want to be where god says I've had enough. You know, when we've experienced the grace of God, we need to walk in that grace of God, not abuse the grace of God. That's what6:40 we've talked about before about cheap cheapening the grace of God. Now, the people did not like this message from Jeremiah. So what'd they do? They tried to cancel him. You know, the6:52 cancel culture that we see today that's been alive over the last decade and it's, well, I mean, it's been rolling through our culture. It's not new. Verse 18.7:04 Now, the lord gave me knowledge of it and I know it for you showed me their doings. But I was like a docile lamb brought to the slaughter and I did not know that they had7:16 devised schemes against me saying, let us destroy the tree with its fruit and let us cut him off from the land of the living that his name they remembered no more. I mean, they didn't like what he was saying. Cut off7:28 the tree and the fruit. Let's kill the guy. That way, we don't have to listen to him anymore. But the lord of host, you who judge righteously testing the mind and the heart, let me see your vengeance on them. For to7:40 you, I have revealed my cause. Therefore, thus says the lord concerning the men of Anathoth whose who seek your life saying, do not prophesy in the name of the lord, lest you die by7:52 our hand. Therefore, thus says the lord of hosts, behold, I will punish them. The young men shall die by the sword and their sons and their daughters shall die by famine. And there shall be no remnant among them, for I8:03 will bring catastrophe on the men even the year the year of their punishment. Now, these are the men of his own town. Those who were closest8:15 to him, but yet they wanted to cancel him. I mean, these were his friends. These were his neighbors. He grew up with them. Why? Why did they wanna cancel him? Well, a passage that is almost universally known,8:26 John 3 16, but what comes after it is not as well known. Verse 17, for god did not send his son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved. He who believes in him8:38 is not condemned, but he who does not believe is condemned already because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten son of God. And this is the come condemnation that the8:50 light has come into the world and men loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light,9:02 lest his deeds should be exposed. You see, Jesus was a target of the cancel culture because the cancel culture loves the darkness and does not want9:14 their deeds to be known. They hate truth. That's why we've seen such a a vicious move of the cancel culture today is because the truth is rejected. Jeremiah revealed the9:26 conspiracy and they responded by wanting to silence him. So if you speak truth, don't be surprised if it draws opposition. But repeatedly, throughout the book of Jeremiah, god assures9:37 Jeremiah that he's with him and that the cancel culture will not succeed. Jesus assures his followers the same in Matthew 28 in the great commission. He says, I am with you always even9:49 until the end of the age. Jesus is not gonna leave us. He will be beside us and he will be interceding for us. I'm sure that Jeremiah repeated these words that God gave him at the beginning over10:01 and over as he faced opposition. He had to. I think that's why the Lord told him at the very beginning back in chapter 1 verse 8. He He said, do not be afraid of their faces, for I am with you to deliver you, says the10:13 lord. In verse 18, he said, for behold, I have made you this day a fortified city in an iron pillar and bronze walls against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, against its princes, against10:25 its priest, against the people of the land. Do not be afraid to speak the word of the Lord. And that should be our call to speak the truth10:37 even in the face of the cancel culture for the Lord is with us as we stand firmly upon the truth of his word. Father, we thank you for your word. And Lord, may we stand upon it confident,Standing Firm in Faith 10:49 Lord, in in who you are and that your word, Lord, will go forth. It will accomplish what you want it to accomplish. Now, that does not mean that we won't have difficulty. We won't11:01 have opposition. But Lord, we will not stand alone. So we thank you for that. And, Lord, give us boldness, give us courage, and, Lord, may we hear clearly from11:13 you as Jeremiah did. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Alright. Thanks for joining me this morning. Until next time, keep standing on the word.11:24 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,11:36 you can read through the entire Bible in just 2 years. Learn more and request the free reading guide at frc dot org slash bible.In this video 0:10 The Conspiracy and the Call to Obedience1:55 Consequences of Disobedience and the Cancel Culture10:46 Standing Firm in Faith
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