Too Late For America
Year Preached sometime between 1980-1988
Revelation 10:1- Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven. He was robed in a cloud, with rainbow above his head; his face was like the sun, and his legs were like fiery pillars.
The last days will come with power and authority. We won’t be able to stop them or contain them. God has set them down and they will come into motion.
Revelation 10:2- He was holding a little scroll, which lay open in his hand. He planted his right food on the sea and his left foot on the land,
The last days will cover everything.
Revelation 10:3- and he gave a loud shout like the roar of a lion. When he shouted, the voices of the seven thunders spoke.
Everything about God’s plan will be unified in heaven. Nobody objects to what God is doing. They understand he is a God of love and justice, and his plans are perfect and pleasing.
Revelation 10:4- And when the seven thunders spoke, I was about to write; but I heard a voice from heaven say, “Seal up what the seven thunders have said and do not write it down.”
Many of the things we will examine in Scripture about the last days we will not full understand. Indeed, we can see in the Scripture above things which will happen that we are not even allowed know. We must not examine things that are difficult to understand, until they happen. But, if we store these things in our hearts and are found carrying our cross, if we are dressed and ready for him who is coming, we will understand at the time. We will be able to have the power and grace at that time to overcome.
Revelation 10:5- Then the angel I had seen standing on the sea and on the land raised his right hand to heaven.
Over and over again it comes with power and beauty even a rainbow. It comes with fire and majesty. It is the Lamb of God who causes men to war against one another. It comes with great authority.
Revelation 10:6- And he swore by him who lives for ever and ever, who created the heavens and all that is in them, the earth and all that is in it, and the sea and all that is in it, and said, “There will be no more delay!”
There comes a time when everything will be set into motion and no man can stop it. No prayer that can be prayed. We cannot hope for a moment that God will change his mind. Once he has set these things in motion, they will continue until they are completed. Many people think God will bless America if America repents. It won’t happen for several specific reasons. Number One: America is past the point where there are enough hearts that would ever repent for God to do that. Number Two: Even if there were enough hearts that would repent, we don’t live in that time period. The end time is coming without delay, and America will not be saved. Indeed, the whole world will not be saved.
Revelation 10:7- But in the days when the seventh angel is about to sound his trumpet, the mystery of God will be accomplished, just as he announced to his servants the prophets.
We will be here. Christians will be here on the earth. They will not be raptured out. They will face the Antichrist.
Revelation 10:8-9- Then the voice that I had heard from heaven spoke to me once more: “Go, take the scroll that lies open in the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land.” So I went to the angel and asked him to give me the little scroll.
It is small in the scope of things, but powerful in its effect. This is something that man should be able to reason out, understand, and take in. I won’t bring charts that fill the room and go around the upper part of the ceiling and say, “Okay, this is the rapture, this what comes out over here, and this is fifteen years later.” We won’t complicate this because it is not all that complicated. Men want to complicate this because we don’t want to face what lies ahead. It is a little scroll, something that we can take in enough to understand and rejoice in. We may not, however, understand the particulars or how it will turn out or where we will be in the scope of things.
Revelation 10:9-10- So I went to the angel and asked him to give me the little scroll. I took the little scroll from the angel’s hand and ate it. It tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten it, my stomach turned sour.
It is the word of God, and we shall eat it, come to understand it, and rejoice in it. Verse 10 says it will turn your stomach sour. It will be death to our flesh, to our bellies. It will not be what our flesh likes to hear or experience. We will examine things in Revelation that are very uncomfortable. We looked at rejoicing when calamity comes upon the world. That is not comfortable to take or relax in. In your mouth it will be as sweet as honey, but it will turn your stomach sour. It is the word of the Lord. It is the will of the Lord. It is his plan and it is something that tastes sweet. We long to eat more of it. We long to take it in even though it turns our stomach sour. Many find this to be a bitter honey and they refuse to even eat and partake of it. They don’t want their stomachs to turn sour.
Revelation 10:10- I took the little scroll from the angel’s hand and ate it.
He was obedient. We want to be obedient, look at everything that Revelation has to say, and ask the Holy Spirit how that applies to us. No matter what the consequences might be; whether we are raptured out or not, we ant to know the truth. We want to know the sweetness of the word that we eat with our mouths and the sourness of a stomach that comes from him.
Revelation 10:10- It tastes as sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten it, my stomach turned sour.
He was obedient. He took it and accepted it. He didn’t say, “But God, this isn’t my doctrinal position.” He didn’t ask the Lord to reason things out or to explain more. When God said, “You won’t understand this part and do not write this down,” he didn’t argue and debate about it. He didn’t discuss it to death. He ate the scroll. He let his stomach turn sour. He ate it with delight. “It tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten it, my stomach turned sour.” Let us eat something that will not be easy to digest and that will not be comfortable to take in. It will not be a joy to take into your body, but it is a joy nevertheless in the Lord. We can rejoice fully in that, even though it may be unsavory in terms of digestion.
There are two things we will look at today, that we should understand fully. Number One: This sermon is not a reaction to what took place with the bombing of the World Trade Center. This is a message I have been preaching for at least thirteen to fifteen years. I have always maintained from the Lord that American cannot and will not repent. It will not succeed. Number Two: It is too late for America and has been since the 1970s. There is no hope. There is no chance ever that America will repent and blessed by God. It is a pipedream. It is a delusion preached by pastors who know neither the mind nor the heart of God. This began when Ronald Reagan was popular. Christians thought they were on the winning side. When Rush Limbaugh began to be popular, Christians looked for everything to change. Indeed, there was a sense in the air that victory would be at hand. People argued with me and showed me facts to tell me that I was wrong in this matter. I told people in the Pro-Life Movement, “You will never overcome. You will never overturn abortion in this land. You will not succeed” I didn’t tell them they shouldn’t protest or try to rescue babies, I just said, “You won’t win until Jesus Christ comes back.” Men don’t want to face the fact that we will lose at this, but just as Jesus Christ hung on the cross and it looked like he had lost, that is how we win. When Jesus Christ comes back, then abortion will be done away with and judgment will come. But, it is too late for this land and this world. You fight a lost cause thinking you will win. The more we participate in that truth, the more we realize we are not to preach a Pro-Life Movement or Ronald Reagan or Rush Limbaugh, but preach the message of the cross. The message of the cross is the only winning cause.
Again, this is not a reaction to the events that happened on September 11th. This is something God set in motion a long time ago. I don’t claim this to be prophesy. We won’t set dates down. We will examine something that everyone should be able to examine if they picked up only a small portion of the cross of Jesus Christ and had their opinions crucified. The Lord spoke and said to Ezekiel:
Ezekiel 2:1- He said to me, “Son of man, stand up on your feet and I will speak to you.”
We need to stand up, look, and examine. We need to listen. This is not for just easy contemplation. This is to sit down at your desk and get all of the charts about the end-times together. That is nothing more than dryness that will leave people empty-handed and powerless to fact the Antichrist. What we need for the last days is for the heart and mind of God.
Ezekiel 2:2- As he spoke, the Spirit came into me and raised me to my feet, and I heard him speaking to me.
We need his grace to understand these things and lift us up.
Ezekiel 2:3- He said: “Son of man, I am sending you to the Israelites, to a rebellious nation that has rebelled against me; they and their fathers have been in revolt against me to this very day.”
This was the message for America, not just thirteen years ago, but a long time ago. God did not send Ezekiel over to India or to a nation that he couldn’t understand. He sent him to a people who should understand and accept the message of the gospel. This supposedly is a Christian nation and much is made of that fact. Yet, they refuse the message of the cross more then those in India would refuse it.
Ezekiel 2:4-5- The people to whom I am sending you are obstinate and stubborn. Say to them, “This is what the Sovereign LORD says.” And whether they listen or fail to listen for they are a rebellious house they will know that a prophet has been among them.
We will hear over and over again not just the words of Go, but the feelings and emotions of God. When he came to the House of Israel he kept saying that they were rebellious and stubborn. They argued and debated. They did all kinds of things. They studied and examined but rebelled in every form and fashion. They missed the very heart of what he tried to communicate.
Ezekiel 2:5- And whether they listen or fail to listen for they are a rebellious house they will know that a prophet has been among them. And you, son of man, do not be afraid of them or their words.
We need to take this to heart and not be afraid of men and their words, especially in this religious nation that we live in. There is so much talk and debate in the name of Jesus Christ. We need not be afraid of their words or actions.
Ezekiel 2:6- Do not be afraid, though briers and thorns are all around you and you live among scorpions.
When we try and live the message of the cross the sting is there. Men rebel and are stubborn against the message of the cross. We cannot be Christians without living this message. We barely live up to the minimum of what it would mean for one to call himself a Christian. We are in India, or China. We do not live where we are persecuted and beaten. God has only called us to live the minimum level here. Woe, unto anyone who will not come up to that level, because we are barely there.
Ezekiel 2:6- Do not be afraid of what they say or terrified by them, though they are a rebellious house.
Mention one commandment that God has in mind one specifically from Scripture and they run for the cover of legalism or call you a cult. They argue, debate, whine, and complain. “They are a rebellious house.” Go back, sit down, and say, “You know, here is a commandment that we should live. It is something that grinds against the flesh. Let us sit down as brothers and sisters, and talk about how we would live this command.”
Ezekiel 2:7- You must speak my words to them, whether they listen or fail to listen, for they are rebellious.
Many times people have said, “Well, they won’t listen if I tell them.” It doesn’t matter whether they will listen or not. We are to declare the truth. We are to live the truth whether men will listen to those words or not. God told Ezekiel that right up front. He said, “It doesn’t matter whether they listen or not, you just simply have to declare what I tell you to declare.”
Ezekiel 2:8- But you, son of man, listen to what I say to you. Do not rebel like that rebellious house; open your mouth and eat what I give you.
Let us receive from the Lord the message he wants us to speak and declare, and not rebel. Let us not debate or argue the matter.
Ezekiel 2:9-10- Then I looked, and I saw a hand stretched out to me. In it was a scroll, which he unrolled before me. On both sides of it were written words of lament and mourning and woe.
There is not a ray of sunshine or hope in what we are about to look at. There is, again, no chance whatsoever that America will repent or be blessed.
Ezekiel 3:1- And he said to me, “Son of man, eat what is before you, eat this scroll; then go and speak to the house of Israel.”
Speak to that Christian nation. Speak to everybody who takes the name of Jesus Christ on their lips and everyone who bows their head in prayer.
Ezekiel 3:2-3- So I opened my mouth, and he gave me the scroll to eat. Then he said to me, “Son of man, eat this scroll I am giving you and fill your stomach with it.” So I ate it, and it tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth.
Where did we read that? This is not some Old Testament thing that applied only to the Israelites back there.
Ezekiel 3:4-6- He then said to me: “Son of man, go now to the house of Israel and speak my words to them. You are not being sent to a people of obscure speech and difficult language, but to the house of Israel not to many peoples of obscure speech and difficult language, whose words you cannot understand. Surely if I had sent you to them, they would have listened to you.”
We sent over several thousand copies a book called Hating for Jesus to India. They welcomed them with great joy, but you can’t even begin to talk about it in America. You can’t even suggest that Jesus said such a thing. Indeed, when you first quote it to this nation this Christian nation they don’t even believe you quote from the Bible. When you tell them you are quoting from the Bible, they ask, “Well, what version? Is it the same one everybody else uses?” People can spend years in churches, and never know they are called to hate their own life. They never understand the depth that Jesus Christ spoke about.
Ezekiel 3:7- But the house of Israel is not willing to listen to you because they are not willing to listen to me, for the whole house of Israel is hardened and obstinate.
Look at the book of 1 John sometimes. It says: “This is how we test the truth. This is how we test those who belong to Jesus Christ. If they listen to us, they are of God. And, if they don’t listen to us, they don’t belong to God.” Oh, I know that sounds cultic. It sounds like he is very exclusive. But, those who love God can hear what God says. Everyone else runs to their stubborn opinions, ideas, and concepts. “But the house of Israel is not willing to listen to you because they are not willing to listen to me, for the whole house of Israel is hardened and obstinate.” They fight, kick, scream, argue, debate, whine, and persecute.
Ezekiel 3:8- But I will make you as unyielding and hardened as they are.
We will not cave in or turn one little thing away. We will not soften the gospel in any form or fashion. The harder they become the harder the message will be to them.
Ezekiel 3:9- I will make your forehead like the hardest stone, harder than flint.
When they strike against your thoughts you will spark back at them. They will not be able to silence you or to make you quiet.
Ezekiel 3:9- Do not be afraid of them or terrified by them, though they are a rebellious house.
It is too late to save America. As you talk to people you see this rebellion everywhere. They will accept certain portions of the message of the cross or a certain measure of it, but there is always one area they want to hold onto. There is always something they cling to. Finding someone who has fallen to the ground and just surrendered everything they have, every though and every aspect of their life, is rare indeed. Luke 12:54 tells us very clearly that it is too late for America.
Luke 12:54- He said to the crowd: “When you see a cloud rising in the west, immediately you say, ‘It’s going to rain,’ and it does.”
He said you are able to tell the weather, “It’s going to rain, and it does.”
Luke 12:55- And when the south wind blows, you say, “It’s going to be hot,” and it is.
Jesus said that you can see the signs of the weather. You can tell what your life will be about.
Luke 12:56- Hypocrites!
What is the church full of today? Hypocrisy. What is hypocrisy? Hypocrisy is simply thisyou state that you believe some thing, but you don’t live it. The church is well known for its hypocrisy and double-mindedness. Indeed, every church says every other church is full of hypocrisy and points to it. Hypocrisy causes people not to see that America can’t be saved.
Luke 12:56- Hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky. How is it that you don’t know how to interpret this present time?
You can tell all of these things. God gives you signs everywhere. It is easy to look around and tell which way the wind will blow and what the weather will do. But, you can’t look at what God does right now and understand what goes on because you are hypocrites! You turn a blind eye to the facts. You don’t want to see the truth. You want to keep your American lifestyle. You want to keep your way of worship and your worthless doctrines.
1 Chronicles 12:23 talks about David’s fighting men. We need fighting men like these for the gospel. David needed to take his position of kingship, so men gathered around him to insure that happened. They removed Saul, What was Saul but a hypocrite?
1 Chronicles 12:23-32- These are the numbers of the men armed for battle who came to David at Hebron to turn Saul’s kingdom over to him, as the LORD had said: men of Judah, carrying shield and spear6,88 armed for battle; men of Simeon, warriors ready for battle7,100; men of Levi4,600, including Jehoiada, leader of the family of Aaron, with 3,700 men, and Zadok, a brave young warrior, with 22 officers from his family; men of Benjamin, Saul’s kinsmen3,00, most of them had remained loyal to Saul’s kinsmen until then; men of Ephraim, brave warriors, famous in their own clans20,800; men of half the tribe of Manasseh, designed by name to come and make David king18,000, men of Issachar, who understood the times and knew what Israel should do200 chiefs, with all their relatives under their command;
What was special about these warriors? It says they “understood the times.” Not only did they understand the time period, but they also knew how to respond.
1 Chronicles 12:32- …men of Issachar, who understand the times and knew what Israel should do200 chiefs, with all their relatives under their command;
They understood the time period in which they lived and they had wisdom about how to conduct themselves during that time period. There might be a lot of preachers out there who can talk about the end-times, look at the signs, and say, “These are the things that could be happening,” but do they tell people what to do and how to get ready? Do they talk about specific things so people can understand what should be done? You need mighty fighting men for thatmen who understand the way of the cross and have been crucified to self for years. These are men who are ready to do battle. It is not the proper time period to plan revival in the land. It is not the time to even pray and ask God to save America. That is contrary to the current time period, even if America were a godly nation. Jesus Christ was a godly man, was he not? He was the Son of God. He was God. He knew better than to go into the garden and pray that the cross pass and then thwart God’s will. He knew what he was supposed to do. It is not time for grand projects in the name of the Lord. They won’t last or succeed. They won’t be of him, because the timing is not correct. It is time for simple humility, meekness, and preparing the meet the Antichrist.
In Esther we see the same thing repeated. The king gave a command for his queen to come to him. She refused. We live in a rebellious time.
Esther 1:12-13- But when the attendants delivered the king’s command, Queen Vashti refused to come. Then the king became furious and burned with anger. Since it was customary for the king to consult experts in matters of law and justice, he spoke with the wise men who understood the times
Many men understand the law and can speak Scripture. There might even be a few men who understand justice. But, very few men understand the time period in which we live. Very few in the pulpits to say, “Prepare to meet the end.” We love our projects and our works. The judgment of God stands over this whole world. We quickly approach the time for judgment.
Revelation 14:18- Still another angel, who had charge of the fire, came from the altar and called in a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle…
This is a dull sickle. It is prepared for its day of use and it will do it well. A very fine judgment that comes in very precise
Revelation 14:8- Take your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of grapes from the earth’s vine, because its grapes are ripe.
Hypocrites! You can look at the weather, but you can’t tell that the grapes are ripe? This is what we talked about last time. If someone went out into the forest during the fall time, and all of the leaves had changed and some had fallen off, and they said, “Well, spring will be here tomorrow,” they would be extremely dull, you would be lying yourself, and full of deceit to look at America, and say, “God will save America,” especially during the time period in which we live.
Revelation 14:19- The angel swung his sickle on the earth, gathered its grapes and threw them into the great winepress of God’s wrath.
What does the whole book of Revelation speak about? It is the preparation of God’s wrath to be fulfilled. Even though most have charts, graphs, and discussions about it, we will talk about contemplating the wrath of God. So, where is the fear and trembling in every church to examine this issue? This isn’t like picking up a book saying, “Okay, I will examine the last days and get this all doctrinally down.” This is about looking square in the face at the wrath of God that is coming and men are not prepared. Churches everywhere should be shaking and preparing for it.
Revelation 14:20- They were trampled in the winepress outside the city, and blood flowed out of the press, rising as high as the horses’ bridles for a distance of 1,600 stadia.
Should we look at this like a cold doctrine? Are we to write in our last days’ books and walk away from it saying, “Okay, there is going to be blood about this high for 1,600 stadiaoh great!” We need to ask, “Will I be a part of that judgment and wrath? And, if it’s not me, what about my neighbors and those around me?” It is time to work and labor. It is time to snatch those few people to rescue from this wrath.
Revelation 15:1- I saw in heaven another great and marvelous sign: seven angels with the seven last plagues last, because with them God’s wrath is completed.
We won’t examine pre-tribulation, post-tribulation, mid-tribulation and all of those other things. We will look at the wrath of God and what Revelation tells us to prepare for. Why do you think the Book of Revelation begins with talk to the churches, telling them to repent and get ready? We need to sit down, be very quiet, and examine. We need to eat the little scroll that he will give us to eat.
The following verse is used to say that if we confess with our mouth, basically, America will be saved.
2 Chronicles 7:14- If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.
This has become the prayer which everyone wants to claim will happen. This will not happen for two reasons. Let me repeat it: Number One: We don’t live in that time period. It will not take place. Number Two: There aren’t enough righteous men and women in America to avert judgment. Many years ago there used to be a book called, something like, “If God Doesn’t Judge America, He Will Have to Apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah.” That was a good twenty years ago, and we are way past that!
2 Chronicles 7:11-14- When Solomon had finished the temple of the LORD and the royal palace, and had succeeded in carrying out all he had in mind to do in the temple of the LORD appeared to him at night and said: “I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for myself as a temple for sacrifices. When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people, if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”
We will see whether we can claim that or not.
2 Chronicles 7:15-18- Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place. I have chosen and consecrated this temple so that my Name may be there forever. My eyes and my heart will always be there. As for you, if you walk before as David your father did, and do all I command, and observe my decrees and laws, I will establish your royal throne, as I covenanted with David your father when I said, “You shall never fail to have a man to rule over Israel.”
With all of the talk of revival, and all of the prayers for God to save America and the church, are things worse or better? Are there fewer women in leadership or more?
2 Chronicles 7:19-22- But if you turn away and forsake the decrees and commands I have given you and go off to serve other gods and worship them, then I will uproot Israel from my land, which I have given them, and will reject this temple I have consecrated for my Name, I will make it a byword and an object of ridicule among all peoples. And though this temple is now so imposing, all who pass by will be appalled and say, “Why has the LORD done such a thing to this land and to this temple?” People will answer, “Because they have forsaken the LORD, the God of their fathers, who brought them out of Egypt, and have embraced other gods, worshipping and serving them that is why he brought all this disaster on them.
I read all of that to read one of the symptoms from 1 John 5:21, because this is not same Old Testament story or something that doesn’t apply to us in America. Christians and the church are being spoken to directly in 1 John 5:21 because people say, “I don’t worship idols. I worship the Living God.” Yet, self is still alive and impurity is rampant.
1 John 5:21- Dear children, keep yourselves from idols.
Keep yourself from loving anything above God, or finding satisfaction in anything but the Lord and his will. If you can’t eat this little scroll that will turn your stomach sour, then you are clinging to an idol that you don’t want to lose.
First, we need to realize that there is a time and a place when a nation reaches the point of no return. Let’s at least give that concept approval and say that is true. Someone may argue and debate that, saying that it doesn’t apply to America. Let’s first see that is very possible for God to say, “It doesn’t matter whether they pray or fast or whatever they do. I will not heal, bless, sanctify, or make holy.”
Jeremiah 11:11- Therefore this is what the LORD says: “I will bring on them a disaster they cannot escape.
The Book of Revelation is the wrath of God that will come across the whole world. No one will escape it. We will see that the Antichrist will force everyone, whether free or slave, no matter who they are, to take a mark. That will be the contest.
Jeremiah 11:11- …Although they cry out to me, I will not listen to them.
There reaches the point when the rebellion is so great, and the stubbornness is so firm that it would do God no good to bless or deliver his people. They would go right back to their sin. Again, contemplate all of the revivals you have seen. Think of all the different altar calls and seminars, all they talk about revival and God bringing purity and holiness. Can you name me one church, one denomination, one revival meeting where anybody gave up his or her pet doctrine because Jesus Christ had crucified that doctrine and put it to death? Can you name one instance where they discovered another law or another command within God’s word and they left that seminar or revival meeting finding something new to go out and obey? No. Every revival meeting, every prayer meeting only confirms their liewhat they want to liveand they call it a blessing. Show me one place where anyone has given up what they believe. They are still the same babies they were thirty years ago.
Jeremiah 11:11-12- Although they cry out to me, I will not listen to them. The towns of Judah and the people of Jerusalem will go and cry out to the gods to whom they burn incense, they will not help them at all when disaster strikes.
You find when a nation reaches this place, or a church reaches this level, they have their idols and the Living God, and they pray to both. Only in America we are a little more sophisticated with our blaspheming. We tack on the name of the Lord to all of our idols so that we can’t tell the difference anymore.
Jeremiah 11:13- You have so many gods as you have towns…
Churches everywhere! Usually when we go to another town and talk about beginning a new church, people will say that this town doesn’t need another church. Because of everyone’s opinion and doctrine, they start a new church. You have different idols to fit every opinion. If you don’t like the opinion in one church, you can go down the street and find a different opinion. The message of the cross is the beginning. It is the basic starting point. If we can’t come together on that one doctrine, if we can’t live the offense of the cross, if we can’t declare it with fire, then we have nothing.
Jeremiah 11:13- You have as many gods as you have towns, O Judah; and the altars you have set up to burn incense to that shameful god Baal are as many as the street of Jerusalem.
Everywhere you see a worship of self, a love of man’s opinions doctrines, effort, ministries works, and plans. Day in and day out I hear messages, and get e-mails, and calls from people. They read one little line that they don’t like, and all hell breaks loose! Straining at every little “i” and every little “t” because you don’t want to accept everything else it has to say about the message of the cross. You strain on a gnat and swallow a camel as Jesus put it. In verse 14, how does God tell Jeremiah to respond to all of this?
Jeremiah 11:14- Do not pray for this people nor offer any plea or petition for them, because I will not listen when they call to me in the time of their distress.
Do not pray for America to be delivered. Do not offer any petition. It is past the point of no return. Judgment will come. If you want out of that judgment, there is a way. There are a few who understand what should be done.
In 1 John 5:16, John tells us that there are certain things that you can’t pray for. He said:
1 John 5:16- If anyone sees his brother commit a sin that does not lead to death, he should pray and God will give him life. I refer to those who sin does not lead to death. There is a sin that leads to death. I am not saying that he should pray about that.
There comes that point in time when you can’t pray for a nation to be blessed, healed, or come to revival. Let me say very, very clearly that anybody praying for revival is in sin. We can pray for people to come to Jesus Christ. We can pray for them to pick up their cross and follow him. We can pray to see the remnant. But, if you are praying for revival in this land, and for it to be blessed, you are praying sin in the ears of God.
Jeremiah 11:15- What is my beloved doing in my temple as she works out her evil schemes with many?
If you look at people’s lives, what do you see? They constantly scheme to take Scripture and apply it to bless themselves. It is like everybody gets together and says, “Let’s come up with a scheme to live this doctrine and have a good time.”
Jeremiah 11:15- Can consecrated meat avert your punishment?
Can you come in and say, “Oh, Lord, we give you this and we sacrifice this to you. Let’s give the Lord a hand of applause”? “Let’s come in with praise and rejoicing. Let’s take up this thank offering.”
Jeremiah 11:15- Can consecrated meat avert your punishment? When you engage in your wickedness, then you rejoice.
Show me a revival meeting where the women went in and came out repenting about the kind of clothes they wear and how they represent themselves. Name me a single legalistic group that went in, had their hair up in buns, and were all nice and tidy, but they didn’t walk out with any joy in the Lord. Where are the changes if we’re talking revival here? All of this praying, fasting, and giving what is the result of that? It is nowhere to be found because we come to the Lord with deceitful lips and deceitful hearts.
Jeremiah 11:16-17- The LORD called you a thriving olive tree with fruit beautiful in form. But with the roar of a mighty storm he will set it on fire, and its branches will be broken. The LORD Almighty, who planted you, has decreed disaster for you, because the house of Israel and the house of Judah have done evil and provoked me to anger by burning incense to Baal.
We cannot engage in our wickedness and then go and rejoice in his temple. It reaches that point when God says, “Do not pray for these people. Do not offer a petition.” There are many people God does not permit me to pray for.
Go to Jeremiah 14:7, and look at what the people said and how they prayed. They talked about all these signs of repentance. I don’t know how many people have told me, “Oh, I have a good heart.” They claim they seek after God and say they will accept whatever God brings, but they can’t eat a little scroll.
Jeremiah 14:7- Although our sins testify against us, O LORD, do something for the sake of your name.
“Come on, God, do something for your namesake. We really want you!”
Jeremiah 14:7- For our backsliding is great; we have sinned against you.
All the words are there. People say them all the time. They come with many of acts of humility. They seem so hungry and cry out for relief. Why do you think all of these revival meetings happen? People sense inside that something is missing so they come and pray. They say, “Oh, Lord, our backsliding is so great.” In another sermon, we have talked about a church that has been repenting for fifteen years.
Jeremiah 14:8- 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?
They asked God, “Why do you only come for a moment and then disappear?” Maybe they do cry out for repentance and asked to be forgiven. He comes and visits them, and begins to work his grace mercy. Then, all of a sudden, God disappears and they ask, “God, why did you disappear like a stranger in the night?” It is because their words were lies! In the same way, you say you give all to God, but your actions and what is in your heart proves that you are liar. You don’t want what he brings. At the firs sign of correction you rebel. The first time he tries to crucify your understanding of ink on paper, called the Bible, you rebel and run. “O Hope of Israel, its Savior in times of distress…” They flatter the Lord. They talk so high and mighty. “Why are you like a stranger in the land, like a traveler who stays only a night?”
Jeremiah 14:9- Why are you like a man taken by surprise, like a warrior powerless to save?
In other words: “God, why don’t you do anything? We pray for revival. We ask for all these things. Why is all of this happening?” Because, when they claim they want God and want to humble themselves, they live a lie. What do we see more and more in the land now that the message of the cross goes out more and more? We see people mocking the word back and forth. It will only get worse because we live in a nation that, for years, has practiced deceit and lies. Hen you bring the message of the cross, they will just mock your words back to you. They don’t understand it and would rebel against it if God honestly gave it to them.
Jeremiah 14:9- You are among us, O LORD, and we bear your name; do not forsake us!
Look at how they pray and talk. If we are to listen to their words, if we sit down, and listen to their words, we think, “Man, they’re really hungry for God.” But a man who has seen the flattery in his own heart and has seen his own rebellion by the power of the cross will not tolerate those who come in with lying lips.
Jeremiah 14:10- This is what the LORD says about this people: “They greatly love to wander;”
They don’t want to be nailed down on the cross. They will go back and forth, studying here and examining there, one meeting after another, one discussion after another, and one prayer meeting after another, but nobody wants to be nailed down so that the flesh is put to death.
Jeremiah 14:10- They greatly love to wander,
Because by wandering they think that they are doing something.
Jeremiah 14:10- So the LORD does not accept them; he will now remember their wickedness and punish them for their sins.
God instructed Jeremiah in his prayer life. He said, “Jeremiah, I want you to pray this for these people, and this is how I want you to conduct yourself in the prayer closet.”
Jeremiah 14:11- Then the LORD said to me, “Do not pray for the well-being of this people.”
It would have been sin for Jeremiah to go into the prayer closet and say, “Oh, Lord, please bless Israel.” The Prayer of Jabez is far more blasphemous than people realize. Every time we go into the prayer closet and pray, “Oh, Lord bless me, do these things for us, and save America,” we are pray against the will of the Lord. When a halfway lukewarm Christian (I don’t even know what that is you can’t even find on-fire lukewarm people anymore), asks for prayer, you need to turn to them and say, “No, I can’t pray for that. I will not pray for you to be blessed. I will pray for you to repent.” Honestly and truly, do not pray for the well-being of these people. Let me tell you, the last thing this nation and we as Christians need is for thing to go well for our flesh. We need some trials. We need some fire, opposition, and difficulties to purge away the flesh that is in us. We need to stand up and speak the truth, declare the message of the cross, and not be afraid of thorns, briars, and scorpions in the land. We need to stand up and declare that this is the truth, and these are the basics.
Jeremiah 14:12- Although they fast, I will not listen to their cry; though they offer burnt offering and grain offering, I will not accept them. Instead, I will destroy them with the sword, famine and plague.
They came with burnt offerings, prayers, incense, and fasting. This nation could fast for a whole year and America will never ever be saved.
Jeremiah 14:13- But I said, “Ah, Sovereign LORD, the prophets keep telling them, ‘You will not see the sword or suffer famine. Indeed, I will give you lasting peace in this place.’”
This battle always goes on. Jeremiah told them the truth. Sometimes you need to read the book of Jeremiah. He declared this message for years. He predicted they would be taken into captivity. They went all the way into captivity and they still wouldn’t listen to what he had to say. By the way, for those of you who are interested, Jeremiah never won a single convert, as far as I know.
Jeremiah 14:14- Then the LORD said to me, “The prophets are prophesying lies in my name. I have not sent them or appointed them or spoken to them. They are prophesying to you false visions, divinations, idolatries and the delusions of their own minds.”
2 Thessalonians 2:11 says God will send a powerful delusion in the last days. According to Jeremiah, what would the delusion be? Peace, prosperity, and a second chance when there is no second chance. They want a cheap, easy kind of revival, and to build up their ministry, plans, and goals.
Jeremiah 14:15-16- Therefore, this is what the LORD says about the prophets who are prophesying in my name: I did not send them, yet they are saying, “No sword or famine will touch this land.” Those same prophets will perish by sword and famine. And the people they are prophesying to will be thrown out into the streets of Jerusalem because of the famine and sword. There will be no one to bury them or their wives, their sons or their daughters. I will pour out on them the calamity they deserve.
If all of this sounds harsh, it is because you’ve gotten so far away from the message of the cross that there is no contrast for you. Many of you were in churches looking for God for years and the message of the cross was not there. Indeed, by the time you bumped into us, it was the first time you had ever heard of it and you don’t think this nation is ripe for judgment? Indeed, you should pray and long for God to make distinction, purify, and end the lies and deceits by false prophets.
Luke 23:27- A large number of people followed him, including women who mourned and wailed for him.
They don’t weep for me. Don’t weep because this message sounds so hard, unloving, or unkind. I know I sound rude and my tone probably isn’t what you like…
Luke 23:28-30- Jesus turned and said to them, “Daughter of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep for yourselves and for your children. For the time will come when you will say, ‘Blessed are the barren women, the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!’ Then they will say to the mountain, ‘Fall on us!’ and to the hills, ‘Cover us!’”
A study of Revelation is a study of the wrath of God to come. It prepares us to face and escape God’s wrath. Sometimes you need to read Revelation 6:14-17 where these exact words are given in greater details.
Luke 23:31- For if men do these things when the tree is green, what happen when it is dry?
They crucified Jesus Christ thousands of years ago and the tree is much drier now. That is another reason why America will not be saved. The Christianity around us is drier than when they crucified Jesus Christ. The Pharisees are more abundant. The talk of religion is greater. It is a 2 Timothy 3:1-5 kind of Christianity because the tree is dry.
2 Timothy 3:1-5- But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of Godhaving a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them.
Understand the time period in which we live. It is not a time for revival. The tree will not be made green again until he returns.
Jeremiah 5:1- Go up and down the streets of Jerusalem, look around and consider, search through her squares. If you can find but one person who deals honestly and seeks the truth, I will forgive this city.
Now, I don’t even want to hear word games like, “Jeremiah could have sat up and said, ‘Well, I am obviously that one man.’” People will say, “Surely there is somebody that deals honestly!” Find him! Everywhere you turn, when you talk about the message of the cross and losing your life, you will encounter hostility. What did God have to do to those of us who have responded to it? He almost had to badger us into it. It is as if God said, “I will save you whether you like it or not.”
Jeremiah 5:2- Although they say, “As surely as the LORD lives,” still they are swearing falsely.
We live in a nation that says, “Oh, the Lord lives, and he is full of blessings and power.” But, they swear falsely.
Jeremiah 5:3- O LORD, do not your eyes look for truth? You struck them, but they felt no pain; you crushed them, but they refused correction. They made their faces harder than stone and refused to repent.
“There is no condemnation in Jesus Christ.” You struck at them and they had their excuses, and quoted Scripture back at you. How long do you think God will put up with people quoting Scripture back to him to justify their sin? “You crushed them, but they refused correction.” Paul lived the crucified life when he said he was perplexed and under great pressure, but he rejoiced in it. Not so in America! “It is so hard” and “That is legalistic.” “They made their faces harder than stone and refused to repent.” They say you have gone overboard or it is too tough, or “I’ll pray about it and get back with you on it.” Yeah, well when?
Jeremiah 5:4- I thought, “These are only the poor; they are foolish, for they do not know the way of the LORD, the requirements of their God.”
You see, it is not just a matter of preaching the message of the cross. You might know the requirements of God, but knowing the ways of God takes time. There are pastors I know right now who pitch the message of the cross and mock back the words. But they haven’t had enough time in the way of the cross to understand and preach it.
Jeremiah 5:5- So I will go to the leaders and speak to them; surely they know the way of the Lord, the requirement of their God. But with one accord they too had broken off the yoke and torn off the bonds.
Nobody wants to be “under bondage.” I want to be under bondage of Jesus Christ! I want to carry the yoke he has, and I offer it to other people. People scream and yell that there is no freedom or grace in that.
Jeremiah 5:6-12- Therefore a lion from the forest will attack them, a wolf from the desert will ravage them, a leopard will lie in wait near their towns to tear to pieces any who venture out, for their rebellion is great and their backsliding many. “Why should I forgive you? Your children have forsaken me and sworn by gods that are not gods. I supplied all their needs, yet they committed adultery and thronged to the houses of prostitutes. They are well-fed, lusty stallions, each neighing for another man’s wife. Should I not punish them for this?” declares the LORD. “Should I not avenge myself on such a nation as this? Go through her vineyards and ravage them, but do not destroy them completely. Strip off her branches, for these people do not belong to the LORD. The house of Israel and the house of Judah have been utterly unfaithful to me,” declares the LORD. They have lied about the LORD; they said, “He will do nothing! No harm will come to us; we will never see sword or famine.”
We are a blessed people.
Jeremiah 5:13- The prophets are but wind and the word is not in them; so let what they say be done to them.
Listen to the preaching. Is it not one more story after another, one joke after another? Don’t they read of Scripture, but not with any fire? Is it not just a wind and movement, but no life to it? There is no cutting. There is no offense. There is no crucifixion. Is it not one justification that we are saved by grace? By that they mean some type of easy grace where you just confess with your mouth and you’re in. “The prophets are but wind and the word is not in them; so let what they say be done to them.” Do we not selectively quote Scripture? Do we not like prophets who give us just portions of what Scripture has to say? The people love it that way.
Jeremiah 5:14- Therefore this is what the LORD God Almighty says: “Because the people have spoken these words, I will make my words in your mouth a fire and these people the wood it consumes.”
The message of the cross is not an idea to play around with. It is not an opinion, or a concept. It is the way of life. He is a holy God. It is what he set down and it is an act of love.
Jeremiah 5:15-17- “O house of Israel,” declares the LORD, “I am bringing a distant nation against you an ancient and enduring nation, a people whose language you do not know, whose speech you do not understand. Their quivers are like an open grave; all of them are mighty warriors. They will devour your harvests and food, devour your sons and daughters; they will devour your flocks and herds, devour your vines and fig trees. With the sword they will destroy the fortified cities in which you trust.”
Revelation 9:16- The number of the mounted troops was two hundred million. I heard their number.
The wrath and the judgment must be great to require two hundred million soldiers. And people think America will be spared? It is total foolishness.
Jeremiah 5:18- “Yet even in those days,” declare the LORD, “I will not destroy you completely.”
You know, this is not just the Old Testament.
Romans 9:27 says that Isaiah cried out concerning Israel. Even Paul points back to Isaiah and he said, “Though the number of the Israelites be like the sand by the sea, only the remnant will be saved.” Only a remnant! We are talking something very small here.
Jeremiah 5:19-21- And when the people ask, “Why as the LORD our God done all this to us?” you will tell them, “As you have forsaken me and served foreign gods in your own land, so now you will serve foreigners in a land not your own.” Announce this to the house of Jacob and proclaim it in Judah: Hear this: you foolish and senseless people, who have eyes but do not see, who have ears but do not hear:
Can’t they sense it? Don’t they feel it? Don’t they know that America can’t be saved? Can’t we even get a felling about it? Someone called for a prayer meeting to bless America, or for God to bless the government and give us success in blowing up our enemies, or getting rid of terrorism. Nobody thinks twice about it. As you drive up and down the road, flags are everywhere! Are we totally senseless? Do we not sense that something is wrong?
Jeremiah 5:22-24- “Should you not fear me?” declares the LORD. “Should you not tremble in my presence? I made the sand a boundary for the sea, an everlasting barrier it cannot cross. The waves may roll, but they cannot prevail; they may roar, but they cannot cross it. But these people have stubborn and rebellious hearts; they have turned aside and gone away. They do not say to themselves, ‘Let us fear the LORD our God, who gives autumn and spring rains in season, who assures us of the regular weeks of harvest,’”
When was the last time you heard anyone in any church says, “Our goal this week is to learn to fear God more than we feared him last week”? The first church in Acts grew in the fear of the Lord, lived in the fear of God, and learned to be afraid. When we study the Book of Revelation, I hope and pray that God gives us more fear of him.
Jeremiah 5:25- Your wrongdoings have kept these away; your sins have deprived you of good.
What had their wrongs caused? Their wrongs had kept away the fear of God. What do you see in the church today with all of the singing, dancing, clapping, and praying? There is less and less fear of God, day in and day out. Our sins keep us from fearing God, as we should. God becomes a buddy or a pal. He becomes Santa Clausa giver of blessings. He doesn’t become a God that we should fear, knowing one day we must stand before him.
Jeremiah 5:26- Among my people are wicked who lie in wait like men snare birds and like those who set traps to catch men.
Where is the judgment within the house of God? Men sit in church all the time, but they only cause trouble and find fault and this is tolerated.
Jeremiah 5:27- Like cages full of birds, their houses are full of deceit, they have become rich and powerful
The church is built upon deceit and lies. Large ministries do all kinds of things because they have practiced deceit.
Jeremiah 5:28- and have grown fat and sleek. Their evil deeds have no limits; they do not plead the case of the fatherless to win it, they do not defend the rights of the poor.
They plead a cause, but not to win. They do not defend the rights of the poor. Right now we are involved in an issue concerning a lace that we were asked to leave, and they said they would investigate. We said, “Okay, fine investigate.” They might get to it in a year or two from now. You don’t plead the cause to win it, or to find the truth. You don’t examine. You’re too busy and self-satisfied in your worship.
Jeremiah 5:29- “Should I not punish them for this?” declares the LORD. “Should I not avenge myself on such a nation as this?”
One can slander, lie, or trouble, a church doesn’t care! They just believe the lie and the sinners. Nobody pursues it to find out if it is the truth. Slander happens so easily in the land and church these days.
Jeremiah 5:30-A horrible and shocking thing has happened in the land:
Who is appalled? Who is upset? Who is shocked by all of this anymore?
Jeremiah 5:31- The prophets prophesy lies, the priests rule by their own authority, and my people love it this way. But what will you do in the end?
Who is shocked by the fact of all that goes on? We have grown used to it! We have become relaxed to it. “Ah, that’s way the way things are…”
Jeremiah 6:1-2- Flee for safety, people of Benjamin! Flee from Jerusalem! Sound the trumpet in Tekoa! Raise the signal over Beth Hakkerem! For disaster looms out of the north, even terrible destruction, I will destroy the Daughter of Zion, so beautiful and delicate.
When these people looked at themselves they saw someone who was beautiful and delicate. People look at the church and say, “The church is a beautiful thing. It is a very delicate thing. Very fragile. Very lovely.” They look at their own beauty, and say, “We’re fine! No harm will come to us. No judgment will come near.” Our lack of repentance shows it! Our lack of fear! Our lack of concern for what is holy…
Jeremiah 6:3-6- Shepherds with their flocks will come against her; they will pitch their tents around her, each tending his own portion. Prepare for battle against her! Arise, let us attack at noon! But, alas, the daylight is fading, and the shadows of evening grow long. So arise, let us attack at night and destroy her fortresses! This is what the LORD Almighty says: “Cut down the trees and build siege ramps against Jerusalem. This city must be punished; it is filled with oppression.”
What do you hear? Story after story of ministries that have oppressed and taken advantage of people. They have advantage of their money, time, and effort. Some of you came out of those churches. Everywhere you turned you were or pressed, put down and shoved in a corner. No one’s sin was dealt with. There was no cross to crucify self. They talked about the cross. They talked about holiness. But, everyone took advantage of others and nothing was dealt with.
Jeremiah 6:6-7- This city must be punished; it is filled with oppression. As a well pours out its water, so she pours out her wickedness. Violence and destruction resound in her; her sickness and wounds are ever before me.
She is beautiful and delicate and wounds are all over her. Do we not all acknowledge that churches everywhere say the church is wounded? It is full of hypocrisy and sin. But, who rises to deal with it? Who lays down one command? Who say that 1 Corinthians 5 will be applied today? If anyone in this church is greedy or slanderous, we will not even eat with them. Who seeks to apply that onejust that one Scripture today?
Jeremiah 6:8-9- Take warning, O Jerusalem, or I will turn away from you and make your land desolate so no one can live in it. This is what the LORD Almighty says: “Let them glean the remnant of Israel as thoroughly as a vine; pass your hand over the branches again, like one gathering apples.”
We must look very hard and very diligently just to find the remnant. You will have to thoroughly go through and find the small people, that small group, who will honestly embrace the message of the cross. We live in the last days when the love of most will grow cold. “Pass your hand over the branches again like one gathering grapes.” We will have to go back a second time to get to the same place. It will be hard work with very little reward. It will be: “I found one grape here,” and then rejoice fully as if you had found a whole group of grapes.
Jeremiah 6:10- To whom can I speak and give warning? Who will listen to me? Their ears are closed so they cannot hear. The word of the LORD is offensive to them; they find no pleasure in it.
Isn’t that the calling card today of most churches? Quote Scripture. Mention Scripture. Bring up Scripture. Talk about it. It is offensive to even discuss it with them. With all of the talk and saying, “Bless the Lord,” and “We love the Bible,” and “We are a Bible-believing church,” go ahead and mention a Scripture and find out what happens. They find no pleasure in it.
Jeremiah 6:11- But I am full of the wrath of the LORD, and I cannot hold it in. Pour it out on the children in the street and on the young men gathered together; both husband and wife will be caught in it, and the old, those weighed down with years.
There is no favoritism with Jeremiah. There is no favoritism with God. If you refuse the hand of the Lord, if you won’t take the little scroll and eat it, then judgment will be poured out. It doesn’t matter who you are.
Jeremiah 6:12- “Their houses will be turned over to others, together with their fields and their wives, when I stretch out my hand against those who live in the land,” declares the LORD.
Verse 13 applies to the church, if nothing else:
Jeremiah 6:13- From the least to the greatest, all are greedy for gain; prophets and priests alike, all practice deceit.
Sometimes sit down and listen with the ears of the Holy Spirit. Is not deceit an art form today? I mean, just talk to someone about something they need to clean up in their life. Watch all the different ways they dance around the issue, and they’ll just keep talking. They have all kinds of excuses. We practice deceit so that it becomes an art form with us. We have prophets and priests who stand behind pulpits and give you the words you need to say for your defense. If someone comes to you and tells you that you need to change this or God comes to you and says that you need to repent of something, you’ll know how to deceitfully escape. They practice it! It is as if they sit at home and say, “Okay, how can I get out of this issue?” And the symptom the proof of itis verse 14:
Jeremiah 6:14- They dress the wound of my people as though it were not serious. “Peace, peace,” they say, when there is no peace.
How quickly the church says, “You are clean and everything is forgiven.” When a person under conviction has barely said, “Lord, I ask forgiveness,” someone says you are clean and forgiven! Forget about it all! We don’t even let the conviction settle in. We don’t let it drive into the ground. We don’t turn to a woman and say, “You dog,” and make her fight for the blessing from God. We don’t make Zacchaeus climb a tree anymore. We are so nice and proper, and everything is in its proper place. You find a pastor that’s rude and everyone hates his guts. Or, he sends flowers to his wife and everybody is surprised!
Jeremiah 6:15-16- “Are they ashamed of their loathsome conduct? No, they have no shame at all; they do not even know how to blush. So they will fall among the fallen; they will be brought down when I punished them,” says the LORD. This is what the LORD says: “Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. But you said, ‘We will not walk in it.’”
Everybody in every church must back up and say, “What is the ancient path of the message of the cross?” Forget all of the new stuff you see in magazines. Forget what you hear coming from the pulpits and all the glorious joy and revivals that are going on. Turn your back on that. You go home and get before the Lord, and ask, “God, what is the ancient path?” There is nonsense being preached out there, and it will not save your soul. You must ask God to bring the offensive message of the cross. “But you said, ‘We will not walk in it.’” God said to ask for the ancient way, ask for the message of the cross, but you responded, “I’m not going to walk in that! It is too hard and difficult. It is too scary. I may not even make it.”
Jeremiah 6:17-19- I appointed watchmen over you and said, “Listen to the sound of the trumpet!” But you said, “We will not listen.” Therefore hear, O nations; observe, O witnesses, what will happen to them. Hear, O earth; I am bringing disaster on this people, the fruit of their schemes, because they have not listened to my words and have rejected my law.
There is always a contest between the schemes of man and the law of God. The schemes of man come with lots of words. They also come with lots of gray areas and fudge factors. They tell me, “That is your opinion and belief. This is my belief.” We each have our own little scheme. “What is your problem” “Well, we’re all working it out. I ray about it and move in a certain direction.” Then you have the clear law of God. It has a direction to it. It is as clear as can be. There is always a choice between the message of the cross that crucifies flesh and the schemes of men. The bottom line is, “Where is the cross in that? Where is your flesh being crucified in that?” That is when they begin to stutter, clamor, and look for the door. Their scheme falls apart.
Jeremiah 6:20-21- What do I care about incense from Sheba or sweet calamus from a distant land? Your burnt offerings are not acceptable; your sacrifices do not please me.” Therefore this is what the LORD says: “I will put obstacles before this people. Fathers and sons alike will stumble over them; neighbors and friends will perish.”
He will put the cross before them a stumbling block that makes men stumble.
Jeremiah 6:22-24- This is what the LORD says: “Look, an army is coming from the land of the north; a great nation is being stirred up from the ends of the earth. They are armed with bow and spear; they are cruel and show no mercy. They sound like the roaring sea as they ride on their horses; they come like men in battle formation to attack you, O Daughter of Zion.” We have heard reports about them, and our hands hang limp. Anguish has gripped us, pain like that of a woman in labor.
We keep hearing, over and over again, about labor pains, all through the New Testament.
Jeremiah 6:25-26- Do not go out to the fields or walk on the roads, for the enemy has a sword, and there is terror on every side. O my people, put on sackcloth and roll in ashes; mourn with bitter wailing as for an only son, for suddenly the destroyer will come upon us.
You can’t save America, but you might be able to save yourself. Verse 27 talks about Jeremiah’s call and his ministry.
Jeremiah 6:27- I have made you a tester of metals and my people the ore, that you may observe and test their ways.
Jeremiah preached and declared the truth in such a way that it revealed their actions for what they were and the dross from what was valuable. Verse 28 tells us their response to Jeremiah. It says:
Jeremiah 6:28- They are all hardened rebels, going about to slander.
The more he preached, the more he declared, the more the truth was put forth, what did they do? They went out to slander…
Jeremiah 6:28-29- They are bronze and iron; they all act corruptly.
Go to a revival meeting. Go to these churches that pray. Go to the ones that talk about the message of the cross. Are the wicked being purged out from their churches? Does the preaching drive away those who are playing games? Are the Ananiases or Sapphiras dropping dead? When was the last time you heard that prayed at any church? When was the last time you heard of a prayer meeting where all the men got together and said, “Oh, Lord, if there be an Ananias or a Sapphira in this church kill them now”? We say we want revival.
Jeremiah 6:29- The bellows blow fiercely to burn away the lead with fire, but the refining goes on in vain; the wicked are not purged out.
There is never any action. We don’t want to make people mad. We don’t want to turn them off. That is just a scheme. You want to keep your sin.
Jeremiah 6:30- They are called rejected silver, because the LORD has rejected them.
Silver is valuable to men. But, if the Lord rejects it, it is rejected.
Jeremiah 7:1-2- This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD: “Stand at the gate of the Lord’s house and there proclaim this message:”
One thing about Jeremiah, he was always out there where everyone could hear what he was saying. This was not hidden somewhere. This message will only get louder and louder as the end-times become darker and darker. You will either be take in by the compromise, and come under the wrath of God, or you will stand up and say, “I won’t participate in that.” Stand in the church. There is a pastor standing at the door to shake everybody’s hand as they enter. This is what they need to do.
Jeremiah 7:2-3- Hear the word of the LORD, all you people of Judah who come through these gates to worship the LORD. This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Reform your ways and your actions, and I will let you live in this place.
Not just your actions, but your ways! Look at the reason you do things, the motives of your heart, and the manner in which you conduct yourself. Reform the way you conduct your whole life and the specific things that are in your life. That is why, in this body, we’re never happy when you do one or two good things. What is that? He wants your whole way of life to change, and then we will rejoice in the small acts of repentance that come about.
Jeremiah 7:3-4- Reform your ways and your actions, and I will let you live in this place. Do not trust in deceptive words and say, “This is the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD!”
I’m saying to you right now that there are hundreds and thousands of false prophets who will tell you something exactly the opposite. Indeed, your flesh will tell you the opposite. Don’t go home and pray about this, thought, without a cross because you will hear the voice that tells you that this is all wrong.
Jeremiah 7:4- Do not trust in deceptive words and say, “This is temple of the Lord, the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD!”
People go to the church. “All of this belongs to God! I know this is Scriptural, and I know our pastor is really a man of God.” Everybody I know says that from the Mormons to the Hindus and everyone else! I’ve never met one who said, “Our pastor is totally wicked, but we let him up there anyway.” “This is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord,” they say.
Jeremiah 7:5- If you really change your ways…
You know, everything has to be a contest between words and actions, doesn’t it? We use words to justify not putting forth action and keep our sin, doctrines, and ideas. God says to reform our ways and our actions. Let’s see something! Let’s let the live in the church challenge those around them.
Jeremiah 7:5- If you really change your ways and your actions and deal with each other justly,
One thing that is missing among churches is justice. Slander is rampant in the land. But, there is no justice to deal with it. In fact, men are eager for slander. Do you know how many people had told me they have gotten on the Internet, typed in the name “Tim Williams” or “Sound Doctrine Church” looking for slander? Usually they are disappointed and will say, “I can’t find anything.” That may change.
Jeremiah 7:6- if you do not oppress the alien, the fatherless or the widow and do not shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not follow other gods to your own harm,
I wish we had time to go into all of these things.
Jeremiah 7:7-10- then I will let you live in this place, in the land I gave your forefathers forever and ever. But look, you are trusting in deceptive words that are worthless. “Will you steal and murder, commit adultery and perjury, burn incense to Baal and follow other gods you have not known, and then come and stand before me in this house, which bears my Name, and say, “We are safe “safe to do all these detestable things?
I’ll go live my life the way I want to live it. I’ll keep my checkbook, and then come into the house of the Lord and say, “I’m safe just to live for me.”
Jeremiah 7:11- Has this house, which bears my Name, become a den of robbers to you?
Now what did he mean by that? It is very simple. Anytime someone says, “This message is legalistic,” they think the house of God is robbing them of something. They think when they go to church and hear this kind of tough message that it is legalism it is a cult and it will take something from you. Does God think: “I’m robbing something from you. I’m taking something away from you?” Yes, your own life, but you don’t want to give it up. “Has this house, which bears my Name, become a den of robbers to you?” He said it is offensive. He said in essence, “When you go and hear the truth about how you need to change and how God wants to deliver you from your flesh, you think some robber is taking something from you.”
Jeremiah 7:11-12- But, I have been watching! Declares the LORD. “Go now to the place in Shiloh where I first made a dwelling for my Name…”
By the way, Shiloh means peace. God is saying that everyone talks about peace but there is no joy or happiness there. Let me ask a question to anyone who is sitting here and God has crucified your flesh, “Have you lost or gained?”
Jeremiah 7:12- Go now to the place in Shiloh where I first made a dwelling for my Name, and see what I did to it because of the wickedness of my people Israel.
In other words, they weren’t spared, so why do you think you will be spared?
Jeremiah 7:13- While you were doing all these things, declares the LORD, I spoke to you again and again, but you did not listen; I called you, but you did not answer.
God wants to reveal the message of the cross. He wants to deliver his people. He wants to rob a man of his life and give him new life. But, they won’t answer. They won’t respond. They will trust in deceptive words and they’ll argue, debate, pray, fast, worship, sing, and clap, but they won’ surrender and they won’t answer back.
Jeremiah 7:14- Therefore, what I did to Shiloh I will now do to the house that bears my Name, the temple you trust in, the place I gave to you and your fathers.
America might have been founded by godly men for godly purposes, I don’t know. But, I can tell you this: Even it is so and God had a plan for America to preach the gospel and the truth, it won’t be spared now. There is no hope.
Jeremiah 7:15-16- I will thrust you from my presence, just as I did all your brothers, the people of Ephraim. So do not pray for this people nor offer any plea or petition for them; do not plead with me, for I will not listen to you.
Do you want God to get mad at you? Do you want him to get annoyed? Then begin to pray for America to come to revival! Why do you think there is so much self-effort in all this talk of revival so many gimmicks and plans? Because God isn’t answering that prayer. When he doesn’t answer that prayer, man resorts to his own efforts. This nonsense is the result of that.
Jeremiah 7:17- Do you see what they are doing in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem?
Can’t you see what goes on around you? Are you so senseless and dull that you can’t tell what time period we live in and what to do about it?
Jeremiah 7:18- The children gather wood, the fathers light the fire, and the women knead the dough and make cakes of bread for the Queen of Heaven. They pour out drink offerings to other gods to provoke me to anger.
They worship a Jesus who is not a Jesus, but an idol.
Jeremiah 7:19- But am I the one they are provoking? Declares the LORD. Are they not rather harming themselves, to their own shame?
It is to our shame that we don’t realize the time period in which we live.
This transcription has been edited to a reader friendly format. Every effort has been made to be true to the speaker’s original message. Any mistranslations are unintentional.
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