July 18th - Judges 1; Acts 5; Jeremiah 14; Matthew 28

L

laholmes Jul 18, 2003

Jeremiah 14:8 "O the hope of Israel, the saviour thereof in the time of trouble..." We can plan and scheme and have meetings and read and listen to sermons all we want, but our only hope is the the Lord, may we be desperate for Him. Jeremiah 14:20-22 "We acknowledge, O Lord, our wickedness, and the iniquities of our fathers: for we have sinned against thee. Do not abhor us, for thy name's sake, do not disgrace the throne of thy glory: remember, break not thy covenat with us. Are there any among the vanities of the Gentiles that can cause rain? or can the heavens give showers? art not thou he, O Lord our God? therefore we will wait upon thee: for thou hast made all these things."Do not abhor us, for thy name's sake, do not disgrace the throne of thy glory: remember, break not thy covenat with us.Let this be the cry of our hearts. Not for us Father, but for you and you alone. Do it for your glory. Do it so the nations will watch and be amazed. Do it so people will know who you are. Do it for your glory. Let the peoples praise you Father. Acts 5:41 "And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name."Father, let me suffer shame for your name. I long to be counted worthy to be persecuted for your name. Let me suffer so that the nations will know who you are. Do it for your name. For your glory. Please Father. I long to suffer for your name.

sermonindex Jul 18, 2003

Although our sins testify against us, O Lord, do something for the sake of your name. For our backsliding is great; we have sinned against you. O Hope of Israel, its Savior in times of distress, why are you like a stranger in the land, like a traveler who stays only a night? Why are you like a man taken by surprise, like a warrior powerless to save? You are among us, O Lord, and we bear your name; do not forsake us! - Jeremiah 14:7-9These verses of scriptrues are really convicting me and I havent meditated on them that much. I believe that much of Christianity is a 'stranger in the land' we are not living up to what our stature and authority and freedom in Christ is! We have lost the power of the apostolitic church the ear of God, we think we can do it ourselves, man we need God so badly these days! My cry is 'do something for the sake of your name'!!! Do something God please for your name is being maligned and people are saying where is the God of the Christians?We 'bear your name' O God and its an awesome thing help us to live up to it! 'do something for the sake of your name'

M

Maria Jul 20, 2003

Don't have too much time, but this was interesting:"But Manasseh did not take possession of Beth-shean and its villages... so the Canaanites persisted in living in that land."It came about when Israel became strong, that they put the Canaanites to forced labor, but they did not drive them out completely."Ephraim did not drive out the Canaanites who were living in Gezer; so the Canaanites lived in Gezer among them."Zebulun did not drive out the inhabitants of Kitron, or the inhabitants of Nahalol; so the Canaanites lived among them and became subject to forced labor."Asher did not drive out the inhabitants of Acco, or the inhabitants of Sidon, or of Ahlab, or of Achzib, or of Helbah, or of Aphik, or of Rehob. So the Asherites lived among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land; for they did not drive them out."Naphtali did not drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh, or the inhabitants of Beth-anath, but lived among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land; and the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh and Beth-anath became forced labor for them. Then the Amorites forced the sons of Dan into the hill country, for they did not allow them to come down to the valley; yet the Amorites persisted in living in Mount Heres, in Aijalon and in Shaalbim; but when the power of the house of Joseph grew strong, they became forced labor..." Judges 1:27-endWe see that the sons of Israel did not drive out all of the inhabitants of the land...Let's look at Exodus 23:28:"I will send hornets ahead of you so that they will drive out the Hivites, the Canaanites, and the Hittites before you. I will not drive them out before you in a single year, that the land may not become desolate and the beasts of the field become too numerous for you. I will drive them out before you little by little, until you become fruitful and take possession of the land. I will fix your boundary from the Red Sea to the sea of the Philistines, and from the wilderness to the River Euphrates; for I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand, and you will drive them out before you."You shall make no covenant with them or with their gods. THEY SHALL NOT LIVE IN YOUR LAND, because they will make you sin against Me; for if you serve their gods, it will surely be a snare to you."And Deuteronomy 9:"Know therefore today that it is the LORD your God who is crossing over before you as a consuming fire. He will destroy them and He will subdue them before you, so that you may drive them out and destroy them quickly, just as the LORD has spoken to you." Deuteronomy 9:3 Note: God desires that we DESTROY and CUT OFF our spiritual enemies... not dwell with them, even if we are "masters" over them.There is much more to this, but that's all I have time for right now.Peace,Maria

M

Maria Jul 21, 2003

There's some great stuff in Jeremiah 14!"That which came as the word of the LORD to Jeremiah in regard to the drought: ... Their nobles have sent their servants for water; They have come to the cisterns and found no water. They have returned with their vessels empty; They have been put to shame and humiliated, And they cover their heads." Jeremiah 14:1,3How often do thirsty people go to a church building in hopes of finding "Living water" and find none? This is tragic. Oh Lord, you see! Have mercy, dear Father, on those who are yearning for You in Truth!"For even the doe in the field has given birth only to abandon her young, Because there is no grass." Jeremiah 14:5How often does this happen at the altar? Hundreds come forward and "pray the prayer." But, what is there for nourishment afterwards??"Although our iniquities testify against us, O LORD, act for Your name’s sake! Truly our apostasies have been many, We have sinned against You." Jeremiah 14:7God's response to the above:"Thus says the LORD to this people, "Even so they have loved to wander; they have not kept their feet in check. Therefore the LORD does not accept them; now He will remember their iniquity and call their sins to account." So the LORD said to me, "Do not pray for the welfare of this people. When they fast, I am not going to listen to their cry; and when they offer burnt offering and grain offering, I am not going to accept them. Rather I am going to make an end of them by the sword, famine and pestilence." Jeremiah 14:10-12 And Jeremiah's cry:But, "Ah, Lord GOD!" I said, "Look, the prophets are telling them, ‘You will not see the sword nor will you have famine, but I will give you lasting peace in this place.’" Jeremiah 14:13 Then the LORD said to me, "The prophets are prophesying falsehood in My name. I have neither sent them nor commanded them nor spoken to them; they are prophesying to you a false vision, divination, futility and the deception of their own minds." Jeremiah 14:14In Jeremiah 15:1 God responds furthur:"Then the LORD said to me, "Even though Moses and Samuel were to stand before Me, My heart would not be with this people; send them away from My presence and let them go!" How frightening that God considers the wickedness and adultery in some of His people to be beyond cure - not that He could not have mercy, but they do not want it! (Please do not misunderstand - God will have mercy on many who are at the "wrong" altars - but, there are still many who do not even desire mercy. This is what frightens me.)"The prophets prophesy falsely, And the priests rule on their own authority; ANd MY PEOPLE LOVE IT SO! But what will you do at the end of it?" Jeremiah 5:31Maria

sermonindex Jul 23, 2003

How frightening that God considers the wickedness and adultery in some of His people to be beyond cure - not that He could not have mercy, but they do not want it!thats very true... they do not want it!. It's sad but true that when we are in declension and fallen away from God we sometimes don't even realize our position. When God shows us our awful condition we need to earnestly pray for him to revive us again to the place that he wants us to be.. wholly devoted to him.