Jeremiah – Page 48 – I'm Following Jesus

King James Bible Study – “And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” – Mark 8:34

Date: Monday, August 24, 2020
Chapters: Jeremiah 51-52
Message: Faith Is Our Substance

Hello My Friend,

Do you remember when Moses was leading the Israelites to the promised land, he sent twelve men to spy out the land, when they returned ten of them gave a bad report so, God forbid them to enter the promised land for forty years? Every elder, except Joshua and Caleb, died and never got to go into the promised land because they were too afraid to fight for what God had given them, [Numbers 14]. When you stop to think about how much God has to give us, and how much we actually forfeit because of our lack of faith, that number would be astounding. God will not tolerate unbelief, He will forsake those whom have no faith in Him. [Hebrews 11:1-3,6 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. 2 For by it the elders obtained a good report. 3 Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear. 6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.]

God loves all mankind dearly, He created us, so, of course, He wants all to live by faith. He does not force us to love Him back, He gives us the option to love Him by accepting Him as our God. And we do that through our faith and acceptance of Christ as our Saviour. Since God loves us that means He wants the very best for us, and gives us the very best through our faith, which comes by our obedience to His Word. God is also a just God, that means when we disobey Him we can expect Him to correct us, just like any father would. God will not hesitate to us the world to correct His people, but that does not mean He leaves the world to do as they please. God used Babylon to judge Judah, who were the only tribe of the twelve that actually stayed faithful to God for a time. Although He judged them, they were still His people, He would have mercy on them, but since Babylon wanted nothing to do with God, it would be to their destruction. Jeremiah continues to tell the fate of Babylon once God releases them from captivity, along with the assurance that He has not forsaken Israel.

[Jeremiah 51:5-10 For Israel hath not been forsaken, nor Judah of his God, of the LORD of hosts; though their land was filled with sin against the Holy One of Israel. 6 Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and deliver every man his soul: be not cut off in her iniquity; for this is the time of the LORD’S vengeance; he will render unto her a recompence. 7 Babylon hath been a golden cup in the LORD’S hand, that made all the earth drunken: the nations have drunken of her wine; therefore the nations are mad. 8 Babylon is suddenly fallen and destroyed: howl for her; take balm for her pain, if so be she may be healed. 9 We would have healed Babylon, but she is not healed: forsake her, and let us go every one into his own country: for her judgment reacheth unto heaven, and is lifted up even to the skies. 10 The LORD hath brought forth our righteousness: come, and let us declare in Zion the work of the LORD our God.]

[Babylon hath been a golden cup in the LORD’S hand,] The only reason why the world prospers right now is because God is using this time to correct His people. Believe it or not, this pandemic has brought many people to Christ, it has also exposed those who really were not God’s. Let me tell you, God does not forsake His faithful, I may be the worse Christian on the planet, but I am faithful, and that is more acceptable to Him than one who proclaims Him, yet has nothing to do with Him at all, [I Timothy 1:15-16 This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. 16 Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting.]

God often gets accused of being a hater, rather the people that are faithful to Him, they pick through the Bible, take every verse that talks about sin and judgment and become defensive, haters of God, and everyone who follows Him. Is is the haters of this world who are the very people that are cruel, mean, and spiteful, not God, or anyone that truly follows Him. I admit it, sometimes I read through the Bible and wonder why God is so angry, why we suffer so much when we are just trying to make something out of this life He has given us. Then I realize something, this is God, our Creator, He built us from the ground up, naturally, if you built something you would want total control over its matters. It is not a matter of God controlling our every move, it is a matter of Him keeping us in check. Through Jeremiah, we are reminded that God is in control of everything, except man, who makes up their own gods, which have no breath in them unlike Him.

[Jeremiah 51:17-19,45-47,50 Every man is brutish by his knowledge; every founder is confounded by the graven image: for his molten image is falsehood, and there is no breath in them. 18 They are vanity, the work of errors: in the time of their visitation they shall perish. 19 The portion of Jacob is not like them; for he is the former of all things: and Israel is the rod of his inheritance: the LORD of hosts is his name. 45 My people, go ye out of the midst of her, and deliver ye every man his soul from the fierce anger of the LORD. 46 And lest your heart faint, and ye fear for the rumour that shall be heard in the land; a rumour shall both come one year, and after that in another year shall come a rumour, and violence in the land, ruler against ruler. 47 Therefore, behold, the days come, that I will do judgment upon the graven images of Babylon: and her whole land shall be confounded, and all her slain shall fall in the midst of her. 50 Ye that have escaped the sword, go away, stand not still: remember the LORD afar off, and let Jerusalem come into your mind.]

[and Israel is the rod of his inheritance:] Salvation has always been about freewill redemption, and Christ made redemption permanent at the cross, where He suffered and died a sinless death, was buried, then resurrected. All who are saved are one with Israel, they are the rod of His inheritance. Yes, they will face some chastening if they live in sin, and sometimes when they are not, but they belong to Him, He will never leave nor forsake them, and one day there will be an end to all suffering, [Revelation 7:16-17 They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. 17 For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.]

[And lest your heart faint,] The faint heart is the one that once had faith in God, but lost it due to some event. Let me tell you, Jesus is all the proof anyone needs of there only being one living, breathing God, and one event does not cause one to lose their faith in Him. The problem was that they believed while God gave them the things they wanted without obedience, then when He started requiring it, they stop believing. God had no choice, but to give them up because they gave up on Him. [Romans 1:21-25 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, 23 And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things. 24 Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: 25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.]

God loves us too much to see us dying in our sin, that is why He gave us some rules to live by and corrects us when we continuously fail Him with no repentance. God may allow suffering, He may chasten His people, and let them fall into trouble sometimes, but He never stops loving them, and if you look carefully you will see that He is always faithful, even when we let Him down sometimes. It is not about being perfect, we will never be perfect until we get to heaven, it is about having a relationship with Him that separates us from the world and brings others to Him. The last chapter of Jeremiah, gives an account, four-thousand and six hundred Jews were carried into captivity while Nebuchadrezzar was king, during their seventy year captivity something incredible happened.

[Jeremiah 52:28-33 This is the people whom Nebuchadrezzar carried away captive: in the seventh year three thousand Jews and three and twenty: 29 In the eighteenth year of Nebuchadrezzar he carried away captive from Jerusalem eight hundred thirty and two persons: 30 In the three and twentieth year of Nebuchadrezzar Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away captive of the Jews seven hundred forty and five persons: all the persons were four thousand and six hundred. 31 And it came to pass in the seven and thirtieth year of the captivity of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, in the five and twentieth day of the month, that Evilmerodach king of Babylon in the first year of his reign lifted up the head of Jehoiachin king of Judah, and brought him forth out of prison, 32 And spake kindly unto him, and set his throne above the throne of the kings that were with him in Babylon, 33 And changed his prison garments: and he did continually eat bread before him all the days of his life.]

[And changed his prison garments:] This is what Jesus does to us when we are captive to our sin, sometimes, it may take a few years of correction, but as long as we trust Him, and have faith in Him, He will change us out of those prison garments, and give us new clothes, in fact, wedding garments, [Revelation 21:2-4 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. 4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.]

Today’s Prayer: God, There is no amount of words that can describe just how merciful and forgiving You are no matter what we have done. To think of the things we have allowed in our lives or been caught up in due to others is astounding, but You are always there to catch us, to pick us up, to mend the wounds, and heal everything from a broken heart to a broken ego. Lord, give us your power and strength to set free anything that we have brought into our lives, whether we are imprisoned by it or held captive to it. Lead us and guide us, give us Your mercy and grace, and keep us looking to You through all of our trials, and suffering as we await the joyful day that Your Son comes to get us. I ask these things in Your name, Jesus. Amen.

God Bless You, I am praying for you,

Christina

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