Is There Any Word From The Lord?

Is There Any Word From The Lord? Jeremiah 37:17

We live in an age of high technology. We have become so advanced that we can communicate with people on the other side of the earth without delay. And we can communicate in a number of ways: Mail, radio, TV, telephone, cell phone, fax, email, or the internet. And if you can’t get a hold of someone you can leave a message, a voice mail, or beep them.

We are able to get news from across the world at the touch of a button. N.Y. to L.A., U.S. to Europe and all over the world. WE CAN hear from anybody, anywhere, anytime…

But what we really need is to hear from God. Don’t need high tech. No easier access to anything. All we have to do is call on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and we are logged on.

But in this age of high technology we still need to ask the same question that Zedekiah asked Jeremiah in Jeremiah 37:17 “Is there any word from the Lord?” The answer to that question is a definite, “Yes.” God is still communicating to us today; it is not a new revelation or message, but an old one that needs to be reiterated.

I. His Word To The Backslider - Return

There has likely been times in all of our lives that we believed in the Lord but we weren’t right with the Lord, we weren’t walking with Him, we didn’t seem to care about His will, we just wanted to do what we wanted. But we didn’t realize the danger in being distant from God.

There are some that have been raised in church, were saved at an early age, but when they moved away from home, they abandoned the teaching of their parents, and they abandoned the foundation upon which they were raised. They wanted to enjoy life on their own but now they find themselves on very dangerous ground.

2 Peter 3:17, “Therefore, dear friends, since you already know this, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of lawless men and fall from your secure position.” We are secure in Christ Romans 8:1, “There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” It’s when we depart from our walk with Christ that we are in danger of falling, especially if we think we are secure. 1 Corinthians 10:12, “Let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.” You can’t stand on your own…

There are many verses that warn the believer of backsliding. Not only do we have a host of verses that warn us, we also have Biblical examples of those that fell away:

Lot went to Sodom, stayed there for many years, raised his family in the city and lost them to the philosophy of the Sodomites, lost his wealth, his wife, and his home. He was forced by the angels to leave the city or be destroyed with the city. He lived out the rest of his days in a cave and died in disgrace. He is forever an illustration of the tragedy of compromise and backsliding.

Sampson’s lust for women, his affair with Delilah, his dallying with sin testifies to his backsliding. He died the death of suicide, blind and defeated. David’s lapse with Bethsheba, his adultery, his plot for murder, all tell the story of his backsliding. His family was destroyed as a result. He was known as a man after God’s own heart…

Solomon the wisest man… married many wives and followed their idols, forsook God. Peter boldly said he would never forsake Christ and the next day denied even knowing him. SOME RETURNED… SOME DIED IN THEIR SIN.

But what exactly is backsliding? It’s a turning away from God, a love for this world and the things in it, it’s a lukewarm approach to the cause of Christ, it’s falling into sin. It’s not something that happens overnight. It is a slow process of drifting, like a ship ----------- anchor.

Far too many believers are drifting, being tossed by the waves of worldly philosophies, the opinions of others, or by the standards of our society. So, how do we avoid the danger of backsliding? Colossians 2:7 tells us that we need to be, “Rooted and built up in him, established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving.”

II. His Word to the Careless – Renew!

Far too often people get caught up in the hustle & bustle of life and they become careless with what they are doing. Countless people are being killed every year because drivers are talking on cell phones, or eating, or playing with the radio, or just not paying attention to the road. They are careless drivers and they’re endangering everyone on the road.