Jeremiah

The "NIV" and "New International Version" trademarks are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by International Bible Society. Use of either trademark requires the permission of International Bible Society.

This is something I should have written a long time ago. But you know me – I always have to procrastinate. This message reminded me...

Please read this the whole way through (or at least skim it closely). I've got some more afterwards. (And you should read ALL of that, even though it's long. Look -- it's not like you even have to go and look these up; all you have to do is read.)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Is It Really Revival?~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There has been so much in the Christian news about a worldwide revival taking place that I just had to start looking for it. Revival properly understood is essentially a new beginning of obedience to God. Jesus said you would know something by the fruit it produces. Look at the fruit of what is occurring and then ask: Is it really revival?

When the Spirit of God is poured over your city but husbands will not love their wives, and wives will not obey their husbands, is it really revival?

What the Bible is mocked and doctrine called "a divisive tool of the devil", when the "old" gifts of the Spirit are thrown out in favor of a new, secret gift allegedly from the Holy Spirit, is it really revival?

When the love of Unity supersedes the love of the Absolute Truth, is it really revival?

When a move of the Spirit of God is measured by bodies piled on the floor and not by the number of repentant prayers baptized by tears at an altar, is it really revival?

When leaders openly confess some personal lust of their heart and publicly challenge God with statements like, "This is the desire of my heart and I demand this from you, Lord. If you do not produce it immediately, on the authority of your own Word, I declare you a liar," and then the crowd of on-looking fools squeals "Amen!" - where is the fear of the Lord? Is this really revival?

When tried and tested prophets of the Lord warn of impending judgment for sin and are mocked by the Christian media who want to whoop it up with the pervading party spirit in the church, is this really revival?

When the church is more concerned with her own welfare and well being and not that of a lost, dying world, and calls it "intimacy with God," is it really revival?

When "don't judge anything" is seen as a litmus test for spiritual maturity instead of honoring the Lord who loves "righteous judgment," is this really revival?

When churches who are claiming supernatural visitations of all manner of angelic beings but cannot seem to open their doors to welcome mere humans of differing color and social and economic status, is it really revival?

When the saints of the Most High run from marathon meeting to marathon meeting blind to the needs of the widow down the street from them who cannot get her lawn mowed or has no one to help her get to the market to buy food, is it really revival?

When fellowship chat lines are filled on the net with loving, wise believers who cannot seem to spare 15 minutes outside of cyberspace to pray with their flesh and blood spouse and children before bed, is it really revival?

When believers can "bind the strongman" over a city but cannot rule their own tongues, is it really revival?

When practical holiness is branded as fleshly legalism, it is really revival?

When people walk away from awesome spiritual encounters only to then be plagued with thoughts of suicide, depression, the ability to see demons but not angels, and a pervading sense of hopelessness, is it really revival?

When the love of the saints is not extended to those who cautiously question your movement, and who are then labeled, branded really, as being possessed by "a spirit of criticism," is it really revival?

When believers flock to get a word from the prophet but cannot seem to take the time to lock themselves in their prayer closet to get a word from God, or better yet, simply commune with Him, is it really revival?

When angel worship (which means paying honor and homage) is welcomed and embraced in the church, and being touched by an angel is somehow more glorious than being touched by the Lord, is it really revival?

When Jesus is honored with passionate cries of "Lord, Lord," but is then not obeyed, is this really revival?

When you finally have God figured out and can order Him around to suit your desires, you can prophesy on cue, and behave in such an other-worldly bizarre manner that even the cults are afraid of you, is it really revival?

When being filled with the Holy Spirit is evidenced by all manner of manifestation EXCEPT Holiness, is it really revival?

Have you gone to the Cross daily to die to self? Have you come to a place of total surrender to Christ, to a new obedience to the Living God, to a true love of the Truth and genuine worship that springs from a cleansed, joyful heart?

Is there a declaration of the absolute Lordship of Jesus Christ in your life? If so, then you have experienced true revival. If not, ask yourself: Is this really revival?

Be revived, and strengthen the things that remain.

What are you chasing?

Ask yourself how much of your faith is a psychological inherence to any faith. You might be surprised at what you have.

A few months ago, during Spiritual Emphasis Week at school, I was talking to God about ... a problem of mine. Then, I was told to read "Jeremiah". No reference was given (I waited), so I dedicated that evening and the next day to reading all of Jeremiah. It didn't give me resolve to the issue I'd been agonizing over, but it did give me an interesting message that I should have broadcast a long time ago.

Following is a group of Scriptures that I strongly encourage you to read in full. Keep in mind as you read the references that Jeremiah is not written in chronological order, so ignore the apparent discrepancies in the numbers.

Now, to set the stage...

This is what the Lord says:

"What fault did your fathers find in me that they strayed so far from me? They followed worthless idols and became worthless themselves. They did not ask, 'Where is the Lord, who brought us up out of Egypt and led us through the barren wilderness, through a land of deserts and rifts, a land of droughts and darkness, a land where no one travels and no one lives?' I brought you into a fertile land to eat its fruit and rich produce. But you came and defiled my land and made my inheritance detestable. The priests did not ask, 'Where is the Lord?' Those who deal with the law did not know me; the leaders rebelled against me. The prophets prophesied by Baal, following worthless idols.

"As a thief is disgraced when he is caught, so the house of Israel is disgraced-- they, their kings and their officials, their priests and their prophets, they say to wood, 'You are my father,' and to stone, 'You gave me birth.' They have turned their backs to me and not their faces; yet when they are in trouble, they say, 'Come and save us!' Where are the gods you made for yourselves? Let them come if they can save you when you are in trouble! For you have as many gods as you have towns, O Judah.

"You of this generation, consider the word of the Lord:

"Have I been a desert to Israel or a land of great darkness? Why do my people say, 'We are free to roam; we will come to you no more'? Does a maiden forget her jewelry, a bride her wedding ornaments? Yet my people have forgotten me, days without number. How skilled you are at pursuing love! Even the worst of women can learn from your ways. On your clothes men find the lifeblood of the innocent poor, though you did not catch them breaking in. Yet in spite of all this you say, 'I am innocent; he is not angry with me.' But I will pass judgment on you because you say, 'I have not sinned.'"

-Jer. 2:5-8,26-28,31-35

As I read this passage, I became convinced that the many parallels between Israel of that day and the United States of today are not mere coincidence. I don't know if this is a prophetic message or if it's just some kind of a warning, but...

Throughout the book, Jeremiah gives the people the age-old message of "Repent... or else," but they refuse to do so. So -- guess what happened. That's right.

The word came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah in the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, which was the first year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.

Therefore the Lord Almighty says this: "Because you have not listened to my words, I will summon all the peoples of the north and my servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon," declares the Lord, "and I will bring them against this land and its inhabitants and against all the surrounding nations. I will completely destroy them and make them an object of horror and scorn, and an everlasting ruin. I will banish from them the sounds of joy and gladness, the voices of bride and bridegroom, the sound of millstones and the light of the lamp. This whole country will become a desolate wasteland, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon seventy years."

Early in the reign of Zedekiah son of Josiah king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord: This is what the Lord said to me: "Make a yoke out of straps and crossbars and put it on your neck. Then send word to the kings of Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre and Sidon through the envoys who have come to Jerusalem to Zedekiah king of Judah. Give them a message for their masters and say, 'This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: "Tell this to your masters: With my great power and outstretched arm I made the earth and its people and the animals that are on it, and I give it to anyone I please. Now I will hand all your countries over to my servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; I will make even the wild animals subject to him. All nations will serve him and his son and his grandson until the time for his land comes; then many nations and great kings will subjugate him.

"'"If, however, any nation or kingdom will not serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon or bow its neck under his yoke, I will punish that nation with the sword, famine and plague, declares the Lord, until I destroy it by his hand. So do not listen to your prophets, your diviners, your interpreters of dreams, your mediums or your sorcerers who tell you, 'You will not serve the king of Babylon.' They prophesy lies to you that will only serve to remove you far from your lands; I will banish you and you will perish. But if any nation will bow its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him, I will let that nation remain in its own land to till it and to live there, declares the Lord."'"

In the fifth month of that same year, the fourth year, early in the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, the prophet Hananiah son of Azzur, who was from Gibeon, said to me in the house of the Lord in the presence of the priests and all the people: "This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: 'I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon. Within two years I will bring back to this place all the articles of the Lord's house that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon removed from here and took to Babylon. I will also bring back to this place Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim king of Judah and all the other exiles from Judah who went to Babylon,' declares the Lord, 'for I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon.'"

Then the prophet Jeremiah replied to the prophet Hananiah before the priests and all the people who were standing in the house of the Lord. He said, "Amen! May the Lord do so! May the Lord fulfill the words you have prophesied by bringing the articles of the Lord's house and all the exiles back to this place from Babylon. Nevertheless, listen to what I have to say in your hearing and in the hearing of all the people: From early times the prophets who preceded you and me have prophesied war, disaster and plague against many countries and great kingdoms. But the prophet who prophesies peace will be recognized as one truly sent by the Lord only if his prediction comes true."

Then the prophet Hananiah took the yoke off the neck of the prophet Jeremiah and broke it, and he said before all the people, "This is what the Lord says: 'In the same way will I break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon off the neck of all the nations within two years.'" At this, the prophet Jeremiah went on his way.

Shortly after the prophet Hananiah had broken the yoke off the neck of the prophet Jeremiah, the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: "Go and tell Hananiah, 'This is what serve Nebuchadnezzar the Lord says: You have broken a wooden yoke, but in its place you will get a yoke of iron. This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: I will put an iron yoke on the necks of all these nations to make them king of Babylon, and they will serve him. I will even give him control over the wild animals.'"

Then the prophet Jeremiah said to Hananiah the prophet, "Listen, Hananiah! The Lord has not sent you, yet you have persuaded this nation to trust in lies. Therefore, this is what the Lord says: 'I am about to remove you from the face of the earth. This very year you are going to die, because you have preached rebellion against the Lord.'"

In the seventh month of that same year, Hananiah the prophet died.

Jer. 25:1,8-11; 27:1-11; 28:1-17

Now hear this in light of the current "revival" in America, and the great heraldry of its coming. Also, remember that this came to me in the middle of Pastor Whitlock's sermon about dreams, and the great things God has in store for us. It's hard to know… I don't want to condemn… But then what…? … … <sigh> If this is prophetic, we've all got a heck of a few years ahead of us.

"Oh, my anguish, my anguish! I write in pain. Oh, the agony of my heart! My heart pounds within me, I cannot keep silent. For I have heard the sound of the trumpet; I have heard the battle cry. Disaster follows disaster; the whole land lies in ruins. In an instant my tents are destroyed, my shelter in a moment. How long must I see the battle standard and hear the sound of the battle trumpet?

"My people are fools; they do not know me. They are senseless children; they have no understanding. They are skilled in doing evil; they known not how to do good."

I looked at the earth, and it was formless and empty; and at the heavens, and their light was gone. I looked at the mountains, and they were quaking; all the hills were swaying. I looked, and there were no people; every bird in the sky had flown away. I looked, and the fruitful land was a desert; all its towns lay in ruins before the Lord, before his fierce anger.

Jer. 4:23-26

Anybody else thinking of nuclear/biological/chemical warfare? How about this:

The word came to Jeremiah from the Lord when King Zedekiah sent to him Pashhur son of Malkijah and the priest Zephaniah son of Maaseiah. They said: "Inquire now of the Lord for us because Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon is attacking us. Perhaps the Lord will perform wonders for us as in times past so that he will withdraw from us."

But Jeremiah answered them, "Tell Zedekiah, 'This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I am about to turn against you the weapons of war that are in your hands, which you are using to fight the king of Babylon and the Babylonians who are outside the wall besieging you. And I will gather them inside this city. I myself will fight against you with an outstretched hand and a mighty arm in anger and fury and great wrath. I will strike down those who live in this city – both men and animals – and they will die of a terrible plague.

"'Whoever stays in this city will die by the sword, famine or plague. But whoever goes out and surrenders to the Babylonians who are besieging you will live; he will escape with his life.'"

Jer. 21:1-6,8-9

All of our nuclear stockpiles take on a different light now, don't they? As for the surrender thing, that was one of the larger considerations in my leaving the Marines.

Sometimes, it's just hard to know…

Who are you? Whose are you?

Are you really?

How dare I ask such a question.

–Kevin S. Baba

So in the ninth year of Zedekiah's reign, on the tenth day of the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon marched against Jerusalem with his whole army. They camped outside the city and built siege works all around it. The city was kept under siege until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah.

By the ninth day of the fourth month the famine in the city had become so severe that there was no food for the people to eat. Then the city wall was broken through, and the whole army fled. They left the city at night through the gate between the two walls near the king's garden, though the Babylonians were surrounding the city. They fled toward Arabah, but the Babylonian army pursued King Zedekiah and overtook him in the plains of Jericho. All his soldiers were separated from him and scattered, and he was captured.

On the tenth day of the fifth month, in the nineteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, Nebuzaradan commander of the imperial guard, who served the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. He set fire to the temple of the Lord, the royal palace and all the houses of Jerusalem. Every important building he burned down. The whole Babylonian army under the commander of the imperial guard broke down all the walls around Jerusalem. Nebuzaradan the commander of the guard carried into exile some of the poorest people and those who remained in the city, along with the rest of the craftsmen and those who had gone over to the king of Babylon. But Nebuzaradan left behind the rest of the poorest people of the land to work the vineyards and fields.

The commander of the guard took as prisoners Seraiah the chief priest, Zephaniah the priest next in rank and the three doorkeepers. Of those still in the city, he took the officer in charge of the fighting men, and seven royal advisors. He also took the secretary who was chief officer in charge of conscripting the people of the land and sixty of his men who were found in the city. Nebuzaradan the commander took them all and brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah. There at Riblah, in the land of Hamath, the king had them executed.

So Judah went into captivity, away from her land.

Jer. 52:4-9a, 12-16, 24-27