Pastor
Steve Geiger Last Judgment
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Jeremiah 26:1-6
1 Early in the reign of Jehoiakim son of Josiah
king of Judah, this word came from the LORD: 2 “This is what the LORD says:
Stand in the courtyard of the LORD’s house and speak to all the people of the
towns of Judah who come to worship in the house of the LORD. Tell them
everything I command you; do not omit a word. 3 Perhaps they will listen and
each will turn from his evil way. Then I will relent and not bring on them the
disaster I was planning because of the evil they have done. 4 Say to them,
‘This is what the LORD says: If you do not listen to me and follow my law,
which I have set before you, 5 and if you do not listen to the words of my
servants the prophets, whom I have sent to you again and again (though you have
not listened), 6 then I will make this house like Shiloh and this city an
object of cursing among all the nations of the earth.’”
You
Will Speak for the Lord Jeremiah 26:1-6
1.
Do not omit a word
2.
Perhaps they will listen
Evacuate.
So distant it now
seems. Florida. Hurricane warning. Do you remember?
Policemen going through the streets, telling people to evacuate. Leave your home. Danger.
Some may have wished they
could stay in their homes. “Leave your
home.” How cruel. You make me abandon what I love? You’re telling me that I can’t sleep in my
own bed? You’re saying that my plants
and my garden and my television and my easy chair . . . I must leave them?
Under normal circumstances,
that would be cruelty. But when the
danger coming is so great, it is actually love to make someone uncomfortable.
Do we ever hesitate to show
such love? No, you might say. If there’s a tornado coming, I’ll be the
first to run to my neighbor’s house to warn them.
With tornadoes we might be
brave.
But are we afraid to talk to
someone who belongs to a different denomination in our community, to begin a
conversation that we hope will lead to a discussion of the truth fo God’s word,
on differences that may exist? Are we
afraid to talk to a family member who has gotten caught in a sin? Are we afraid to speak with someone who is
living a lifestyle clearly opposite of God’s commands for life?
There are moments when we
are afraid to warn. Today let’s be
encouraged. To Jeremiah, to you, to me
. . . to people who come into contact with false teaching and false living . .
. to us God says, “You will speak for the Lord.”
And
don’t omit a word.
That
was Jeremiah’s job. He was a prophet.
The year, around 600 B.C. The people,
not obeying God. The message? God is coming to judge.
Jeremiah
was to give this warning. Jeremiah was
to do this in church. “Stand in the
courtyard of the Lord’s house and speak to all the people of the towns of Judah
who come to worship in the house of the Lord.”
His audience was people who come to church.
Do
we think that we have no one to talk to in our community because so many
already go to a church?
Jeremiah’s
audience was people who were coming to his church. But something had happened.
The pastors weren’t boldly speaking God’s truth anymore. They claimed to telling the truth, and
they’d say, “We’re using the Bible.”
But listen to Jeremiah’s response.
“How can you say, ‘We are wise, for we have the law of the Lord,’ when
actually the lying pen of the scribes has handled it falsely’” (Jeremiah 8:8).
Isn’t
it true in our own day that some religious leaders imply, and maybe we even
assume, that because the Bible is used, that means that a church must be
OK? Sometimes it is also said that no
one can ever know for certain whether babies should be baptized or not, whether
speaking in tongues is to be expected or not, whether one should take the
Lord’s Supper at a different denomination or not, whether one needs to believe
that God created the world in six days or not.
Isn’t it said by some that we can never know for sure? That God’s word is unclear. That it all depends on the interpretation,
as if all interpretations must be equally right or equally uncertain. No.
Whenever there are differences, it is because the lying pens of
religious leaders have handled the word falsely.
Jeremiah’s
audience was people who were coming to church.
But the pastors weren’t sharing all of God’s truth anymore. The people were also not living God’s truth
anymore. Coming to church. Putting on a good appearance. But once they walked outside temple walls .
. . sexual sins; dishonesty; not
defending the rights of the poor; not loving the words of God.
Is
life much different today? Are you
brave to confront such sin? If God says
to you, as he has done, “You will warn; you will speak for the Lord,” do we
reply, “I’m afraid of what they may say if I warn?”
We
can be afraid. We imagine the struggles
that may result. Jeremiah experienced
them.
Jeremiah’s
struggles: “When your words came, I ate them; they were my joy and my heart’s
delight, for I bear your name, O LORD God Almighty . . . why is my pain
unending and my wound grievous and incurable” (Jeremiah 15:16 & 18)? Do you ever wonder why standing up for God’s
truth can seem to bring only pain?
You’re tempted to think you’re wrong because outwardly you seem to be
failing, no one listening? Hear God’s
reply: “If you repent, I will restore you that you may serve me; if you utter
worthy, not worthless, words, you will be my spokesman. Let this people turn to you, but you must not
turn to them” (Jeremiah 15:19).
Jeremiah’s
prayer: “They keep saying to me, ‘Where is the word of the LORD? Let it now be fulfilled!” . . . Let my
persecutors be put to shame, but keep me from shame; let them be terrified, but
keep me from terror” (Jeremiah 17:15 & 18).
Jeremiah’s
passion: “I am ridiculed all day long; everyone mocks me . . . but if I say, ‘I
will not mention him or speak any more in his name,’ his word is in my heart
like a fire . . . I cannot [hold it in] (Jeremiah 20:7 & 9).
Jeremiah’s
confidence: “Sing to the Lord! Give
praise to the Lord! He rescues the life
of the needy from the hands of the wicked” (Jeremiah 20:13).
But
then just five verses later, “Why did I ever come out of the womb to see
trouble and sorrow and to end my days in shame” (Jeremiah 20:18)?
Do
you sense the struggle? Do see how hard
it is to be brave and speak the truth in a community where so much that is
false is presented as truth?
Jeremiah
faced the temptation to be quiet.
Jeremiah faced the temptation to conclude that because he was different
and maybe almost alone, perhaps he was wrong.
But he knew that the truth of God is never wrong.
And
he had God’s direct command to tell them everything. “Tell them everything I command you. Do not omit a word.”
Tell
them, “If you don’t listen to me and follow my law . . . then I will make this
house like Shiloh [a city that was destroyed]” (Jeremiah 26:4 & 6).
It’s
not wrong to be patient. It’s not wrong
to be gentle. It is wrong when fear
causes you to decide that there are certain topics you will not ever approach
with someone you know and love
Sometimes
I feel that fear and hesitate to talk with those I know who are struggling
spiritually. I become afraid that if I
share a gentle rebuke that is appropriate, that somehow that person won’t like
me anymore or have a problem with our church or something like that. I think we all understand the fear, the
hesitation to speak gentle and loving words of warning because we calculate the
physical consequences. We measure how
our rebuke might affect our own personal physical happiness or relationship and
overlook completely what we are doing to souls. We can be very selfish.
Permanently setting to the side words of appropriate and loving warning
is a most selfish, most self-centered perspective on life. It’s like I care more about what people
think of me than of where people will be forever.
What
is the result? If we don’t warn of a
hurricane coming, we put those we love in danger. If we don’t obey God and choose to omit certain things or words,
we are joining in the rebellion of those who are disobedient. Then we need God’s warning. Then we are sinning.
This
warning is given to show love.
“Tell
them everything I command you; do not omit a word. Perhaps they will listen and each will turn from his evil way.”
Perhaps
they will listen. Maybe they
won’t. So many didn’t when Jeremiah
spoke. But notice the heart of the
Lord. Even when so many had repeatedly
refused to listen, God kept patiently trying because he knew that some might
listen. And turn from their evil
ways. And then God would back off his
dire warnings and not bring the disaster he was planning because of the evil we
have done.
When
you sin, sometimes the worst part is imagining that it’s too late. You feel God can never make things right
again. You feel you have ruined the
life of someone you love. You feel like
you have separated yourself from God.
You feel like you no longer have any reason to live. You feel like you have ruined things to such
an extent that they can never be put together again.
Your
conscience does a good job of understanding the consequences of sin. Amazing, isn’t it, that we just naturally
know how much terror would rightly be ours for our sins accidental, our sins
thought out, our daily and repeated sins against God and others.
To
feel such fear is to hear the warning of Jeremiah, to hear the warnings of God,
and to say, “You’re right. I have
allowed fear to keep me quiet. I have
grown frustrated because I’ve seen people not listen.” If you hear and understand those warnings,
also hear and understand God’s intention.
His
purpose is not to destroy you. His
purpose is not to bury you. His purpose
is not to leave you in pain and imply that disaster is inevitable. The Lord longs to reverse the curse.
In
fact, while the lips of Jeremiah passed along such warning, they also passed
words of hope: “Perhaps when the people
of Judah hear about every disaster I plan to inflict on them, each of them will
turn from his wicked way; then I will forgive their wickedness and their sin”
(Jeremiah 36:3).
Do
you see God’s heart? He warns you
because he loves you. He can’t wait to
forgive you. He even had set in motion,
already 2600 years ago, the very way he would deal with your sin yet get rid of
your sin. “In those days and at that
time I will make a righteous Branch sprout from David’s line; he will do what
is just and right in the land. In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem
will live in safety. This is the name
by which it will be called: ‘The LORD Our Righteousness’ (Jeremiah
33:15-16).
Jesus,
the Son of David. He would do what is
just and right. He bravely warned. He was confident even when all alone. Jesus has spoken for the Lord in your place. Be comforted. Know that in Jesus the things you should have done were
done. The Lord is your righteousness. He was delivered over to death because of
our sins. He was raised to life because
we had been declared innocent.
“Perhaps
they will listen?” As you listen, know
you are forgiven.
Now
be brave. Consider your current
relationships. Establish new
relationships. Help family, friends,
neighbors know that you love them. And
speak the truth. Speak it to those who
are already have a church. Speak it to
those who have never walked into a church.
Speak it to neighbors who are in spiritual danger. Speak it to family members who may be
straying or losing love for the Word.
Let wisdom and patience control your tongue. But don’t ever let fear keep silent your tongue. Warn those who are sinning, because the
danger is real. Don’t omit a word. Know that perhaps they will listen.
You
will speak for the Lord.
Amen.