It's Never Too Late

Jeremiah 7:1-7 It’s Never Too Late 2/19/23 a.m.

Have you ever thought what the word “TOO” means? Now there are a lot of “TOO’S”

There’s the numeral “TWO”. 1, “2”, 3, 4, 5

There’s “TO” that means also. “I to like to eat candy.”

There’s “TO” that means approaching or nearing. “He’s been driving all day but now he’s close to home.”

There’s “TO” identifying a particular relationship. “Bill is married to Janet.”

There’s the adverb “TO”. It means to be closed or nearly closed. “He pulled the door to.”

Of course there’s a double “TO”. A “TUTU” is what a ballet dancer wears and most women shouldn’t.

But the “TO” that I want you to get this morning is “TOO T-O-O.” It means to a higher degree than is desirable, permissible, or possible; excessively. “That COSTS TOO much.” Or, “It’s TOO late.” Meaning it’s PAST TIME. It can’t happen.

Back in 2017, we had a little old lady that came to church here. Her name was Opal. She had been married 3 times and widowed three times. She was looking for the FOURTH one, but I think, with that track record, they were all TOO SCARED to marry her. She told me one time. “I just like men!!!” She was 94 and was still driving. She loved to play her organ. But Sister Opal came to me one day and said, “I’ve never been baptized. My brothers and sisters were all baptized but I was sick and I didn’t get to. Is it TOO LATE?” She had trusted the Lord as her Savior and she wanted to get BAPTIZED. I said, “No way, I’d LOVE to baptize you. It would be an honor.” She never had any children but her nephews and nieces were here to witness it. So at 94 years old, she made her way up those back stairs and down into the water. It was kind of cold but that didn’t matter. She was BAPTIZED. It was an OUTWARD SIGN of an INWARD WORK. And that’s what Sister Opal did that day. At 94 years old she showed the world that SHE HAD BEEN BORN AGAIN. It was late but not TOO LATE.

And that’s what I want to preach to you today. Let’s read Jeremiah 7:1-7 today.

“The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying,

2 Stand in the gate of the Lord's house, and proclaim there this word, and say, Hear the word of the Lord, all ye of Judah, that enter in at these gates to worship the Lord.

3 Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Amend your ways and your doings, and I will cause you to dwell in this place.

4 Trust ye not in lying words, saying, The temple of the Lord, The temple of the Lord, The temple of the Lord, are these.

5 For if ye throughly amend your ways and your doings; if ye throughly execute judgment between a man and his neighbour;

6 If ye oppress not the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, and shed not innocent blood in this place, neither walk after other gods to your hurt:

7 Then will I cause you to dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers, for ever and ever.”

Let’s go ahead and ask the Lord to bless us this morning as we study His Word.

Brother _____, would you lead us in Prayer.

In Jeremiah 1, Jeremiah is called by God to preach to the Nation of Judah. And in Verses 5 and 6 we see his response.

“Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.

6 Then said I, Ah, Lord God! behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child.”

But SPEAK HE DID!!! He started as a young man and he literally prophesied for 39 years and through the reign of FIVE different KINGS. He was the WEEPING PROPHET crying out to the people of Judah to REPENT and turn back to God.

And that’s what we’ve read here in the SEVENTH CHAPTER, he is crying out to the people.

I can see him getting up early in the morning. His wife asking him, “What are you going to do today honey?” “Well, I’m going down to the TEMPLE and I’m gonna stand in the GATEWAY and I’m gonna PREACH to the people. I’m gonna warn them that JUDGMENT is coming. I’m gonna tell them that it’s LATE but not TOO LATE to repent.”

I may be way off here but I can imagine her saying, “Ok, but they’re not gonna listen. You’re just wasting your breath.” And Old Jeremiah would say, “I know honey, but I have to tell them because RIGHT NOW it’s not too late.”