JEREMIAD, NO BALM?
By Wade Martin Hughes, Sr. Kyfingers@aol.com
TEXT:
2 Timothy 4:3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; 4 And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.
We live in a day that the norm will be that there will be times when people will have no desire or stomach for the solid word of Biblical teaching. Seems we will love sugar coated, spiritual junk food that is appealing to the taste buds and love to chase the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow?
WHERE ARE THE PREACHERS AND DOCTORS? THE MEDICINE THAT CURES?
Jeremiah 8:22 Is there no balm in Gilead; is there no physician there? why then is not the health of the daughter of my people recovered?
Why is there no healing for the wounds of my people? Why is there little to no hope? Why do we accept things the way they are? WHERE ARE THE PERSONAL REVIVALS? We hear the cry for corporate revival… Can we accept BAD ATTITUDES and SIN ARE HINDERING the healing of our land?
JEREMIAH WAS A PREACHER IN THE OLD TESTAMENT.
He served in a dark day where sin and bad attitudes became the acceptable norm. (JER-E- MY-AD)
***Let us learn a new term: JEREMIAD. (Jer-a- MY- AD) Jeremiad means a long mournful complaint, lamentations. Jeremiads have an element of doom and gloom. It will always include a message of optimism and hope if the society will listen and correct the problem.
The tone of a JEREMIAD expresses grief and distress. A real JEREMIAD PREDICTS: UNLESS THE BEHAVIOR IS CORRECTED THERE WILL BE A FALL, A COLLAPSE AND A DESTRUCTION OF THE LIFE STYLE.
Jeremiads can be written, spoken and sang. They can be about SPIRITUAL or SECULAR MATTERS. The root of the problem is almost always PRIDE and selfishness and EGOS. In seasons of ABUNDANCE and BLESSINGS there are tendencies that make people FEEL GOOD. THEY SEEK TEACHERS THAT SAY WHAT THEY WANT TO HEAR…. Society has so sought entertainment that we have developed short attention spans.
JEREMIADS ARE TRYING TO CHALLENGE PEOPLE. BY CONVICTION WE NEED TO CHANGE EVIL, SIN, BAD ATTITUDES, MEAN WORDS AND SHORTCOMINGS TO THE WAYS OF GOD.
One reason for a JEREMIADS IS TO BRING SHAME AND CORRECTION... A JEREMIAD is almost always OFFENSIVE so much that it would normally anger those that are paying attention.
OFTEN TODAY WE LOVE BIG PRICED, LUXURIOUS TOYS. MANY PEOPLE ARE DISRESPECTFUL TO AUTHORITY. The norm is anger, bad manners, disrespect for elders, lazy, braggarts, big mouthed, haters of those that are good, gripe, complaining, CRITICAL and bad attitudes. HEALING IS AVAILABLE.
2 Chronicles 7:14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
ARE WE HABITUAL COMPLAINERS? CAN WE HEAR THE CALL OF THE JEREMIAD? TODAY WE HEAR VERY LITTLE ABOUT REPENTANCE AND CONVICTION. WE HEAR MUCH ABOUT COMPLAINING, BEING OFFENDED AND ANGER. WHAT IS A GREAT GIFT TO GIVE A FRIEND? HOW ABOUT FORGIVENESS? Jeremiads are offensive. We tend to be UN-CORRECTABLE. My complaining and griping is not that bad…
Jude 1:16 These are murmurers, complainers, walking after their own lusts; and their mouth speaketh great swelling words, having men's persons in admiration because of advantage.
*COMPLAIN: cycle of unhappiness or no joy, To express pain, grief, discontent; strive, quarrel, attack, a law suit, cry, lament, to express dissatisfaction, to be annoyed. Complain is a verb. Complaint is a noun.
*HABIT: a settled tendency or norm of behavior, an acquired behavior, to rule as almost an involuntary pattern, frequent repetition, prevailing disposition…
*TOLERANCE: INDULGENCE, the capacity of the body to endure and become less and less responsive and require more.
We used to hear of CONVICTION in the church. Today we hear of BEING OFFENDED on a regular basis.
COMPLAINING CAN BE IS A HABITUAL REALITY!
Numbers 21:4 And they journeyed from mount Hor by the way of the Red sea, to compass the land of Edom: and the soul of the people was much discouraged because of the way. 5 And the people spake against God, and against Moses, Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? for there is no bread, neither is there any water; and our soul loatheth this light bread. 6 And the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died. 7 Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD, and against thee; pray unto the LORD, that he take away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people.
MOSES INTERCEDES FOR THE COMPLAINERS… the habit of MURMURINGS… needs us to recognize the problem and “NIP IT IN THE BUD” as Barney Fife would say.
JOB COMPLAINED TO THE POINT HE HATED HIS LIFE? Job was pushed and shoved, he had to learn God is in control even in dark seasons. JEREMIAD--- BECOMES THE NORM? JOB CORRECTED HIS PROBLEM.
Job 10:1 My soul is weary of my life; I will leave my complaint upon myself; I will speak in the bitterness of my soul.
Job 10:1 (MSG) "I can't stand my life—I hate it! -I'm putting it all out on the table, all the bitterness of my life—I'm holding back nothing."
JOB CORRECTED HIS QUESTIONS AND COMPLAINING.
Job 42:10 And the LORD turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends: also the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before.
HOW SAD IS IT WHEN THE PREACHERS REFUSE CORRECTION? WE CALL JONAH THE COMPLAINING, ANGRY PREACHER. JONAH DID NOT WANT REVIVAL. HE HATED NINEVEH AND HE HATED THE NINEVITES.
Jonah 4:1 But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was very angry.
In his anger Jonah was displeased and complained and he could not see what his complaining was all about.
Jonah 4:3 Therefore now, O LORD, take, I beseech thee, my life from me; for it is better for me to die than to live.
Jonah’s complaining cared more about gourd plants than lost souls!
Jonah 4:7 But God prepared a worm when the morning rose the next day, and it smote the gourd that it withered. 8 And it came to pass, when the sun did arise, that God prepared a vehement east wind; and the sun beat upon the head of Jonah, that he fainted, and wished in himself to die, and said, It is better for me to die than to live.
SEEMS MUCH OF LIFE IS ABOUT CYCLES…RECURRING SUCCESSION OF EVENTS… Once we fall into the habit of complaining and fault finding there opens a trap that is like quicksand, you sink deeper and deeper.
CONCLUSION: Do we have the tendency to constantly complain? Are we trapped in a circular cycle of unhappiness? Do we accept the negative communication of COMPLAINING AND MURMURING AS ACCEPTABLE? Why do we refuse to see complaining as immature? Complaining is draining and brings stress. The more we complain the more we will blame others and excuse our behavior as acceptable. Complaining will always cause us to lose sight of our goal. Life is not pie from the sky. GROW UP, QUIT COMPLAINING and start praising and thanking God.
Why not put a PRAISE JAR in the middle of the table. Then start dropping in somethings you are giving thanks. You and God are the solution! QUIT COMPLAINING.
His servant, Wade Martin Hughes, Sr. Kyfingers@aol.com
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