Jeremiah was feeling quite overwhelmed by the downfall of his nation. God made it clear that He was not going to change His mind about their overthrow by Nebuchadnezzar. In desperation, Jeremiah pleaded with God for his personal survival. "O LORD, ...remember me, and visit me, and revenge me of my persecutors; take me not away in thy longsuffering: know that for thy sake I have suffered rebuke." Even if the whole world fails, you can still be saved!
Jeremiah 15:16 - "Thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name."
PRINCIPALS - "The Unmarried And Childless Prophet"
The word of the LORD told Jeremiah not to take a wife or to have sons or daughters. They would only die grievous deaths, and would neither be buried nor mourned. God took all peace, lovingkindness and mercies from the people, to provoke them to ask why the LORD pronounced all this great evil on them. Eventually, God will force every sinner to stand face to face with his sins.
Jeremiah 16:11 - "Because your fathers have forsaken me, saith the LORD, and have walked after other gods, and have served them, and have worshipped them, and have forsaken me."
PRINCIPLES - "Take The Precious From The Vile"
God answered Jeremiah's personal plea for help with a challenge. "If thou take forth the precious from the vile, thou shalt be as my mouth: let them return unto thee; but return not thou unto them." Nothing is more effective than isolating the precious things of truth, righteousness, and holiness from all the contaminants of sin. God will be delighted.
Jeremiah 15:21 - "I will make thee unto this people a fenced brasen wall: and they shall fight against thee, but they shall not prevail against thee: for I am with thee to save thee and to deliver thee."
PROPHECIES - "I Will Send For Many Fishers; They Shall Fish Them"
Just as God closed up shop in Jerusalem, and liquidated His apostate people from His holy land, He spoke intriguingly to the future, prophesying that "Gentiles shall come unto thee from the ends of the earth." Then He added the strangest statement: "They shall fish them." How can you read that and not remember Jesus telling Peter, "I will make you to become fishers of men"? Ages ago, God knew the only way Israel would ever be saved is by the Gospel of Christ.
Jeremiah 16:16 - "I will send for many fishers, saith the LORD, and they shall fish them."
Turn Up Your Hope |
May the God of your hope so fill you with all joy and peace in believing [through the experience of your faith] that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound and be overflowing (bubbling over) with hope. - Romans 15:13, The Amplified Bible |
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You know, that's what I want to be...running over with hope! I want to dare to throw my whole life and everything I have into building a dream that comes from the heart of God. I want to get out there so far that without God's help, I can't get back. Many people don't think that way though because they're afraid to fail. Fear of failure is dangerous. If you let it dominate you, it will cause you to do the one thing that inevitably guarantees failure and that's not attempting at all. How do you counteract the fear of failure? You turn up your hope. You get alone with God and listen to Him. You meditate on His promises until the picture is so clear on the inside of you that nothing can jar it out of you. If you're lying on a sickbed and the doctor has told you you'll never walk again, instead of wallowing around in that bad report, you start dreaming. You start building a dream of climbing mountains and witnessing to people in the backwoods. Go to the Word that promises that those who wait upon the Lord shall run and walk and not faint or be weary. Look at it until you see nothing else. Picture yourself walking for miles and running from one place to the next, telling everyone that Jesus has raised you up and made you whole. That's what hope is all about. It's a divine dream. It's an inner image that's bigger than you are because it's built on the promises of God. If you're a Christian, you ought to be a dreamer. Take the Word of God and build some dreams today. |
Perfect message for these times we are living in now. Thank you, Brother.
ReplyDeleteWow! Great message!
ReplyDeletePraise the Lord
ReplyDeleteAmen! Let us build!
ReplyDelete