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.
Children are being corrupted by worldly things, philosophies… because parents are not paying attention to what their kids are doing, what kind of friends, music, books their reading, TV.
Many have become careless about their church life. Careless with attendance, attitude, words, and commitment. Some have become careless with their walk with Christ. They’re careless in the study of the word, prayer time, self-discipline, and careless with sin…
Hebrews 2:1-3a, “We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. For if the message spoken by angels was binding, and every violation and disobedience received its just punishment, how shall we escape if we ignore such a great salvation?”
Psalm 101:2-3, I will be careful to lead a blameless life… I will walk in my house with blameless heart. I will set before my eyes no vile thing. We need to renew our commitment daily, being careful with our walk, our actions, our attitudes, study, prayer time, that we set no wicked thing before our eyes. Hebrews 2:1, “We must pay more careful attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away.
Luke 21:34, “Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with dissipation, drunkenness and the anxieties of life.” I think that describes a lot of Christians who have been careless with their walk with Christ, they are weighed down by the cares of this world. 1 Peter 5:8, “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”
III. His Word To The Lost - Repent
There are a lot of messages being preached today. We have heard the message of prosperity, physical healing, posses what you confess, cheap easy believism, but what we really need is to hear the word of the Lord. To the lost – Repent.
John the Baptist came preaching, “Repent for the kingdom of God is at hand.” When Jesus began His ministry He preached the same message, “Repent for the kingdom of God…”
Luke 13:1-5, “Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. Jesus answered, "Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.”
There are two types of repentance found in the Bible, Godly repentance unto salvation, and worldly repentance (sorrow- regret) unto death – Saul & David; Judas & Peter. 2 Corinthians 7:10, “Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.”
Repentance is a simple message, but people don’t want to hear it. They want God to except them as they are. God is a God of love… if He loves me He will accept me as I am. God is a God of grace, “Where sin abounds, grace much more abounds…” Good, but quote it all…
Romans 6:1-2, “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?”
Acts 17:30, “In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent.” HOLY, HOLY, HOLY>>> A holy and a righteous God cannot dwell with sin
2 Corinthians 6:14 “Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?”
That is why God sent His Son into this world, John 3:16-17, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.”
Conclusion: Are you backslidden, careless, or lost? God’s word to you is very clear, “This is the day to Return, Renew, or Repent.”
Max Lucado, “If there are a thousand steps between us and God, He will take all but one. He will leave the final one for us.” The choice is yours. That step is to turn to God and in so doing, turning away from the things of this world.
