Loyal To One
Jeremiah 21:1-5 (KJV)
The word which came unto Jeremiah from the LORD, when king Zedekiah sent unto him Pashur the son of Melchiah, and Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah the priest, saying,
Enquire, I pray thee, of the LORD for us; for Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon maketh war against us; if so be that the LORD will deal with us according to all his wondrous works, that he may go up from us.
Then said Jeremiah unto them, Thus shall ye say to Zedekiah:
Thus saith the LORD God of Israel; Behold, I will turn back the weapons of war that are in your hands, wherewith ye fight against the king of Babylon, and against the Chaldeans, which besiege you without the walls, and I will assemble them into the midst of this city.
And I myself will fight against you with an outstretched hand and with a strong arm, even in anger, and in fury, and in great wrath.
Just imagine what a difficult position Jeremiah was in. When the king sent Pashur to Jeremiah everyone expected that he would pray for God to deliver them. Everyone expected the message to be one of support, peace and, perhaps, instructions how to get out of the trouble they were in. Jeremiah instead tells than that God Himself would fight on behalf of the enemy.
In the civil war the south believed themselves to be in the right. They prayed that way, they evangelized aggressively and their preachers preached messages meant to bolster morale among their people. A well-known Southern Baptist preacher brought a message declaring how God was using the Civil War to make the Baptists the strongest evangelistic movement of all time. His message was published and read throughout the south. Imagine if, instead, he preached a rebuke.
I fear much preaching today is merely intended to move preconceived notions forward.
To bring a rebuke
To challenge a direction
To correct a leader
these spell ministerial disaster. But they are the work of the preacher. He doesn’t have to be obnoxious or mean spirited but he ought to be loyal to only One, Jesus Christ and His Word.
To my readers:
First of all, thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word.
Secondly, I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.
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Jeremiah 21:1-5 (KJV) Loyal To One
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