“DO YOU NOT FEAR ME?”

Jeremiah 5:18-23                                                          (ESV)

“18 "But even in those days, declares the LORD, I will not make a full end of you.

19 And when your people say, 'Why has the LORD our GOD done all these things to us?' you shall say to them, 'As you have forsaken ME and served foreign gods in your land, so you shall serve foreigners in a land that is not yours.'"

20 Declare this in the house of Jacob; proclaim it in Judah: 

21 "Hear this, O FOOLISH and SENSELESS people, WHO HAVE EYES, but SEE NOT, WHO HAVE EARS, but HEAR NOT. 

22 “DO YOU NOT FEAR ME?” declares the LORD. Do you not tremble before ME? I placed the sand as the boundary for the sea, a perpetual barrier that it cannot pass; though the waves toss, they cannot prevail; though they roar, they cannot pass over it. 

23 But this people has a stubborn and rebellious heart; they have TURNED ASIDE and GONE AWAY.”

The book of Jeremiah was purportedly written in 13th year of the reign of King Josiah (627/626 BC) and continued he his ministry until after the siege and capture of Jerusalem by the Babylonians in 586 BC.  The nation of Israel was in a terrible rut ‘as you have forsaken ME and served foreign gods in your land’.  Why did the forsake ALMIGHTY GOD, their CREATOR?  Why would a people that had been BLESSED with so much seek to serve other gods, to voluntarily surrender to their enemy???

Then again, why has the AMERICAN CHURCH become so weak and ineffective to be led astray by every wind of doctrine (Ephesians 4:4)?  Could it be that we have become a “...FOOLISH and SENSELESS people, WHO HAVE EYES, but SEE NOT, WHO HAVE EARS, but HEAR NOT”?  Have we become the people who “DO YOU NOT FEAR ME?”  

This land was founded on July 04, 1776 by a document that begins with these words, “We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness”.  A definite FEAR (Respect) for our CREATOR existed then, but it appears that, ESPECIALLY THE MEDIA in our country, has deliberately excluded ANY reverence to GOD ALMIGHTY as our CREATOR and SUSTAINER?  

GOD’S WORD doesn’t change to fit the sins of the day, nor does HIS JUDGEMENT.  The Believers that we’re used to found our country were NOT perfect people.  They ALL were sinners, but were used to give us the gift of FREEDOM that we have enjoyed for 243 years this week.  And we show our thanks by our arrogance and pride???  There have been MANY WARNINGS sent by GOD ALMIGHTY in the last 50+ years, but we have become they “WHO HAVE EYES, but SEE NOT, WHO HAVE EARS, but HEAR NOT”.  GOD is quietly asking “DO YOU NOT FEAR ME”!!!  What will your response be???

“I GO!”

John 14:1-6                                                    (ESV)

“1 "Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in GOD; believe also in ME.

2 In my FATHER’S house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that “I GO” to prepare a place for you?

3 And if “I GO” and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to MYSELF , that where I am you may be also.

4 And you know the way to where I am going."

5 Thomas said to him, "LORD, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?"

6 JESUS said to him, "I am the WAY, and the TRUTH, and the LIFE. No one comes to the Father except through ME.”

Cancer can be a devastating diagnosis for our bodies.  My younger sister was diagnosed with Gastric Carcinoma (Stomach Cancer) in October 25, 1996.   She was a seemingly healthy, physically fit, 33 year old mother of one that was very active and full of life.  After only two chemo treatments she was considered TERMINALLY ILL and she slipped into her eternal reward on December 26, 1996, only two months later, weighing less than 90 pounds and looked as though she was 100 years old!  In talking ABOUT HER FUTURE she stated “I want to see JESUS”!  She didn’t want to linger any longer in “this world” for she KNEW that her destination was clear!  

A lot of people actually live as though they are everlasting, that nothing can happen that they will not be able to overcome.  They save money for a rainy day and then get killed in an automobile accident or something similar, spending nothing on the needs of themselves, OR OTHERS!  

Putting OTHERS needs first is EXACTLY what JESUS did when HE left Heaven to physically live in this world for 33 years.  The Health, Wealth, and Prosperity Gospel would probably say that GOD IN THE FLESH didn’t have GOD‘S HAND on HIS life because HE didn’t own HIS own private jet!  Allowing our focus to be on anything other than our eternal reward is akin to saying that JESUS’ preparations for us aren’t satisfactory for us, isn’t it?

We need to remember that we are just passing through “this world”, it is NOT our home!  JESUS says in John 14:3 “And if “I GO” and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to MYSELF , that where I am you may be also.”  My little sister recognized and realized that she was only a sojourner in “this world” and she was ready to say “I GO” to her current surroundings.  Until my SOJOURN is completed, I will continue reflecting HIS LOVE to a lost and dying world.  When it is y time, I pray that I will be able to say “I GO” to my future!!!

“THE BATTLE IS NOT YOURS BUT GOD’S!”

2 Chronicles 20:15-17                                                 (ESV)

“15 And he said, "Listen, all Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat: Thus says the LORD to you, 'Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed at this great horde, for “THE BATTLE IS NOT YOURS BUT GOD’S”.

16 Tomorrow go down against them. Behold, they will come up by the ascent of Ziz. You will find them at the end of the valley, east of the wilderness of Jeruel.

17 You will not need to fight in this battle. Stand firm, hold your position, and see the salvation of the LORD ON YOUR BEHALF, O Judah and Jerusalem.' Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed. Tomorrow go out against them, and the LORD will be with you."”

One of my favorite verses of Scripture is found in Exodus 14:14.  It says “The LORD will fight for you, and YOU HAVE ONLY TO BE SILENT."  There are SO MANY times that I want to do something FOR THE LORD instead of allowing HIM to exact HIS WILL in a situation.  It may be a trait that some of us are born with, helping those in need or correcting a wrong done by other, but Scripture says “THE BATTLE IS NOT YOURS BUT GOD’S”!

Why then do we try to do everything on our own?  We try to earn more money.  We try to eat a healthy diet (except for Blue Bell ice cream!), we try to exhibit CHRIST in our lives, and yet we cannot even do that!  All we can do is turn our weaknesses over to HIM and claim 2 Corinthians 12:9. 

When we are faced with ANY kind of problem, great or small, why don’t we(mainly I) remember that “THE BATTLE IS NOT YOURS BUT GOD’S”?  It isn’t rocket science.  However, it is realizing that HE IS GOD and I am not!  Psalms 46:10 says “"Be still, AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!"  Knowing that HE IS GOD (and we are not) and “THE BATTLE IS NOT YOURS BUT GOD’S” should take all stress and worry from our lives! 

“WHEN HEAT COMES!”

Jeremiah 17:7-8                                    (ESV)

“7 "Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose trust is the LORD. 

8 He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear “WHEN HEAT COMES”, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit."”

When I was a teenager, hauling hay was my normal summer “job”.  I was always bigger than most, and soon became stronger than others simply through hard work.  Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t haul hay for exercise, but it made me strong because of the HEAT and demands of the job.  One could deduce that I wasn’t really bright, because some of my friends were at home watching television while I was in the hay field.  But I had a few dollars in my pocket and I was developing my strength and endurance.  

“WHEN HEAT COMES” in life you can either run inside out of the misery, or you can face the uncomfortable circumstances and develop your strength and endurance. I’m sure it can happen, but most of the time those who are watching television don’t display the character to fight through and endure the struggles that comes from surviving the HEAT.  

However, “WHEN HEAT COMES” and you are used to it, your leaves remain green and you bear fruit for “this world” to observe.  It isn’t because I was extremely energetic that I worked in the hay fields, but I was poor and desperately wanted out of the life of poverty I was born in.  Later on in life, I was in a spot in life where I desperately wanted out of the life that I found myself in, so I surrendered to CHRIST and have been following HIS lead through this wilderness of life.  

There are many times when I feel like I am about halfway through the day and there are still 500 bales on the ground!  A rain cloud is coming my way and I am dog tired!  “WHEN HEAT COMES” we can either buckle down and keep hauling hay, or we can go inside and watch television.  Not experiencing the discomfort of being in the HEAT has its advantages, but developing strength and endurance usually isn’t one of those advantages.  “WHEN HEAT COMES” will you be ready for the fight?  

“IT WAS VERY GOOD!”

Genesis 1:26-31                                   (ESV)

“26 Then GOD said, "Let US make man in OUR image, after OUR likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth."

27 So GOD CREATED MAN IN HIS OWN IMAGE, in the image of GOD HE created him; male and female HE created them. 

28 And GOD blessed them. And GOD said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth."

29 And GOD said, "Behold, I HAVE GIVEN YOU every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food.

30 And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food." And it was so.

31 And GOD saw everything that HE had made, and behold, “IT WAS VERY GOOD”. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.”

There are some false prophets that claim that we are ALL god’s, that when GOD created us in HIS IMAGE, HE made us equal to HIM?  Scripture says that we are CREATED IN HIS IMAGE, or LIKENESS, not with all of HIS qualities.  One dictionary defines IMAGE as “a physical likeness or representation of a person, animal, or thing, photographed, painted, sculptured, or otherwise made visible.”  I have a PICTURE of my mother and picture of my grandparents on my wall.  They are NOT HERE, but their likeness remains in me because of my raising.  

GOD created us IN HIS OWN IMAGE, but THE FALL separated us from HIM.  We can only be restored to that HOLY relationship through FAITH in JESUS CHRIST.  “IT WAS VERY GOOD” is how we were CREATED to be, but THE FALL OF MAN resulted in expulsion from the Garden of Eden.   Being BORN AGAIN gives us eternal life, NOT makes us EXACTLY LIKE HIM!  GOD has NEVER sinned! HE is incapable of that!  I sin everyday, most of the time multiple times a day!  Because of our heritage, we are born with a sin nature.  JESUS CHRIST IS OUR ONLY HOPE for redemption.  HE overcame death, Hell, and the grave and lives victorious forever more.  

We can get back to “IT WAS VERY GOOD”, but ONLY through JESUS.  HE came explicitly for the purpose of saving souls.  Will you allow HIS sacrifice to be in vain?  Will you ignore the lies of the enemy and trade the things of “this world” for an eternity with OUR CREATOR?  “IT WAS VERY GOOD” can become reality for you, but ONLY JESUS can do that!!!

“FROM NOW ON!”

2 Corinthians 5:14-17                                                      (ESV)

“14 For the LOVE of CHRIST controls us, because we have concluded this: that ONE has died for all, therefore all have died;

15 and HE died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.

16 “FROM NOW ON”, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer.

17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”

Although I am on the back side of 50 years old, I still consider myself a Spiritual Novice, someone who is so far behind in KNOWING CHRIST and ALL HE accomplished for mankind that I am sometimes ashamed when I see something as REVEALING as I saw this morning from a dear friend.  Below are the WORDS:::

The problem? clueless pastors and crossless people.  Over half of those purporting to be pastors were never called by God (James 3:1); and over half who are called, are "milk on the mustache" leaders (Hebrews 5:12-14; 6:1-3).  The people are primarily "Crossless", not knowing that, Jesus not only died for our condition (sinful), but also our disposition as Jews, Gentiles, slaves, slave owners, all cultures, and all religions (Galatians 3:26-28; Colossians 3:10,11).  Christ changed our position from, being in the flesh, to being new creations in Him.  Bottom line: in Christ, all fleshly distinctions are erroneous; and for believers to describe one another after the flesh, is a violation of the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus, and makes us vulnerable to the law of sin and death (2 Corinthians 5:14-17; Romans 8:2).  There are no Blacks nor Whites in Christ!

For most of my life I could not SEE what CHRIST had done for me with HIS perfect life, sacrificial death, and VICTORIOUS RESURRECTION from the grave!  When you FULLY UNDERSTAND that JESUS CHRIST obliterated racial, socio-economic, and gender boundaries, you are able to SEE how much HE accomplished.  Colossians 1:15-20 says “HE is the IMAGE of the invisible GOD, the firstborn of ALL creation.  For by HIM all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities-ALL THINGS things were created through HIM and for HIM.  And HE is before all things, and in HIM ALL THINGS hold together.  And HE is the head of the body, the church. HE is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent.  For in HIM ALL the fullness of GOD was pleased to dwell, and through HIM to reconcile to HIMSELF ALL THINGS, whether on earth or in heaven, MAKING PEACE by the blood of HIS cross!”

ALL THINGS were made by HIM and through HIM, including the ALL the people on the earth!  We will ALL give HIM Glory, either like the Children of Israel, or like Pharaoh at the bottom of the Red Sea!  When we finally SEE that HE is WHAT/WHO HE says HE is, and we are who HE says we are (nothing more), only THEN will we be content with our lives.  We cannot achieve PEACE and CONTENTMENT outside of CHRIST.  

The ANSWER for ALL the problems of “this world” is for HIS CREATION to honor and glorify HIM!  Unfortunately, Scripture says that in the last days humans will become more and more convinced that HE is the problem, not the solution!  Exodus 14:14 says “The LORD will fight for you, and you have only to be silent."  I’ve never been real adept at being silent, but I am learning to allow GOD to be GOD and to NOT get in HIS WAY!  “FROM NOW ON” I will live try to live my life serving the GOD WHO MADE ALL THINGS!!!

“PUT ON THE NEW SELF!”

Ephesians 4:17-24                                                                 (ESV)

“17 Now this I say and testify in the LORD, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles (unbelievers) do, in the futility of their minds.

18 They are DARKENED IN THEIR UNDERSTANDING, alienated from the life of GOD because of the IGNORANCE THAT IS IN THEM, due to THEIR HARDNESS OF HEART.

19 They have become callous and have GIVEN THEMSELVES UP TO SENSUALITY, GREEDY to practice EVERY KIND of IMPURITY.

20 But that is not the way you learned CHRIST!-

21 assuming that you have heard about HIM and were taught in HIM, as the truth is in JESUS,

22 to PUT OFF YOUR OLD SELF, WHICH BELONGS TO YOUR FORMER MANNER OF LIFE and is corrupt through DECEITFUL DESIRES,

23 and to be RENEWED in the spirit of your minds,

24 and to “PUT ON THE NEW SELF”, CREATED after the LIKENESS of GOD in true RIGHTEOUSNESS and HOLINESS.”

Observing so many people who cannot SEE TRUTH, my heart is troubled by their Spiritual Blindness.  This passage of Scripture was read to me recently and it caught my eye because I had been always been taught that I was a Gentile because I was not of Jewish descent?  When I looked the word “Gentile” up though, I found that the term really means non-Jewish, or people who are not of the FAITH OF ABRAHAM.  Genesis 12:1-4 basically states that ABRAM didn’t know where he was going, but he TRUSTED GOD (had FAITH) to lead him to get where GOD wanted him to be.   

Having FAITH IN GOD is something that most people admit to having, at least they agree that there is a god!  But to TRULY SEE that GOD exists and that HE rewards those who seek HIM (Hebrews 11:6),the scales must be removed from your EYES (Acts 9:18) so they can SEE TRUTH!  Unless those scales are removed, their UNDERSTANDING is DARKENED by the IGNORANCE THAT IS IN THEM, due to THEIR HARDNESS OF HEART.  FAITH IN GOD is a GIFT (Ephesians 2:8-9) so that NO ONE should boast!  A GIFT!!!

IF we are Believers, our CREATOR has given us the privilege SEEING HIS GLORY when others minds are DARKENED.  But many of us continue adorning ourselves in the clothing of the OLD SELF, what we did and how we acted when we were NOT CHOSEN, expecting GOD to bless us because we are HIS?  JESUS says in Matthew 7:15-20 that our FRUITS, not our words, are what will be known for.  Are my FRUITS displaying CHRIST to a DARKENED WORLD?  Is my LIGHT shining so others can SEE?  

PUT OFF YOUR OLD SELF, WHICH BELONGS TO YOUR FORMER MANNER OF LIFE and is corrupt through DECEITFUL DESIRES!  Be RENEWED in the spirit of your minds!  Then “PUT ON THE NEW SELF”, CREATED after the LIKENESS of GOD in true RIGHTEOUSNESS and HOLINESS.  Putting on THE NEW SELF on top of our OLD SELF may fool the people of “this world”, but OUR CREATOR SEES our hearts and HE KNOWS, as a matter of fact, HE CAUSES us to “PUT ON THE NEW SELF”!  (Romans 2:4).  Don’t go around displaying your OLD SELF when CHRIST paid such a tremendous price for us to “PUT ON THE NEW SELF”!!!