Jeremiah 33:3 "Turn Around"
Jeremiah had seen his world torn apart. His people had been taken captive.His message had been rejected. He had been imprisoned.
However in this time of trial GOD still came through. He told Jeremiah
"Call on me"
Then God promises a time of restoration- (later verses)
Today we find ourselves held captive – God’s word is pushed aside –
And we are imprisoned
You may be able to come up with a few answers to who is the adversary –
but you may be surprised
According to Paul Lee Tan, "The Romans sometimes compelled a captive to be joined face-to- face with a dead body, and to bear it about until the horrible situation destroyed the life of the living victim. Virgil describes this cruel punishment: ’The living and the dead at his command/Were coupled face to face, and hand to hand;/ Till choked with stench, in loathed embraces tied,/The lingering wretches pined away and died.’" -----
Without Christ, we are shackled to a dead
corpse -- our sinfulness.
The Bible speaks about the fruit of the righteous.
Today our fruit is not Spirit filled worship, powerful preaching, holy living, or soul winning.
Today’s church fruit is- pitiful laziness, unconcearned attitudes, divisions, anger, wrath, and a general coldness.
George H. Gallup
There’s little difference in ethical behavior between the churched and the unchurched. There’s as much pilferage and dishonesty among the churched as
the unchurched. And I’m afraid that applies pretty much across the board: religion, per se, is not really life changing. People cite it as important, for instance, in overcoming depression--but it doesn’t have primacy in determining behavior.
In his book I Surrender, Patrick Morley writes that the church’s integrity problem is in the misconception "that we can add Christ to our lives, but not subtract sin. It is a change in belief without a change in behavior."
He goes on to say, "It is revival without reformation, without repentance."
2 Tim 3:5 "But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconciliable, malicious gossips, without self control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God; holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power." NASB
It is time that we stop resembling the world and stop denying God’s power.
In vs.3 God says He will reveal powerful things.
He described such a time in 2 Chron. 7:14 "and My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray, and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin, and will heal their land." NASB
But in today’s church we deny the problem of sin:
some say,
1. I have no sin !
1 John 1:8,10 " If we say that we have no sin, we are decieving ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 10. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us." NASB
2. I cannot be forgiven !
1 John 1:9 "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." NASB
You cannot move on if you don’t let God forgive you- If you stay where you are you are disobedient to God thus sinning.
3. Somebody else is to blame.
What a deception ! - we will see in a minute that accepting responsibility is primary to repentence and revival.
We are standing accused! - our transgressions are why War Creek has not seen the hand of God in a mighty way.
Jeremiah 3:11-14 describes the process to Revival!
1. Understand God’s grace (vs.12) REALIZATION
2. Acknowledge our sin (vs.13) CONFESSION
3. Return (vs.14) REPENTENCE
4. Let God have control SUBMISSION
One road in- One road out --- turn around
