The Time of the Gentiles

Judgment on Gentile Nations

Book of Jeremiah 25

Without a doubt, as the Bride of Christ we should be anxiously watching and waiting for the return of the Lord.

We must also understand that "All" nations are accountable to God!

They are not watching nor waiting for the return of Christ because they will His wrath!

Mat 25:31  When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:

Mat 25:32  And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:

Mat 25:33  And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.

Mat 25:34  Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:

There is a great difference between the voice of love and the voice of death!

Jesus Christ is the Lamb of God, but He is also the Lion of the tribe of Judah.

There is no place to hide from the wrath of God!

There is no security outside the will of God!

Every person and every nation have a choice to drink of the cup of submission to the will of the Lord or the cup of His wrath!

The cup of God's wrath is the consequences of sin!

Jesus Christ is in the future of every human being that has ever lived whether good or bad, we will all face Him!

Year after year Jeremiah preached these things to Judah and many of his words had reached into other nations and many hated Jeremiah for the words he was preaching.

The Judgment of God is not a pleasant thing to think about!

Why is this so true? They will be held accountable for the way they have treated God's People. "Vengeance is mine saith the Lord".

This includes the Church but also the nation of Israel.

Listen as Jeremiah preached to Judah:

*****Jer 25:11  And this whole land shall be a desolation, and an astonishment; and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years.

True history agrees with the Word of God.

Babylon is the first of four kingdoms that Daniel said by the Holy Spirit that would conquer the known world of that day to form a great empire.

Daniel and Ezekiel were both taken captive in the time of Jeremiah who God had chosen to remain in Judah at this time.

Nebuchadnezzar had captured Judah in 605 BC. His army had also defeated the powers of Egypt and the powers of Assyria.

Some believe that this period of time began the fulfillment of Luke 21:24.

Luk 21:24  And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.

The time of the Gentiles is not yet complete and will not be complete until the Church has been removed and the Lord sits on the throne of David.

We should understand that God knows the ending at the same time of the beginning and He has a Master plan in place. We can see God work in the generation that we live in and Jeremiah would see God work in his own generation.

In that 70 years most all those non-believers would die off and those that were born would live in a land of idol worshippers and learn the truth of God.

The thing we also see is that the nation of Babylon as powerful as they were would only last for 70 years.

*****Jer 25:12  And it shall come to pass, when seventy years are accomplished, that I will punish the king of Babylon, and that nation, saith the LORD, for their iniquity, and the land of the Chaldeans, and will make it perpetual desolations.

We know that God uses some human as a servant to fulfill His will and Nebuchadnezzar was used of God at this time.

The greatest lesson we can learn of these times is that we need to pay attention to what God says! We must certainly never reject the Word of God.

When these things went according to the plan of God, He then brought "Judgment" upon Babylon because of its cruelty not only to God's people but also to all the people in that Empire.

Isa 13:19  And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees' excellency, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah.

Isa 13:20  It shall never be inhabited, neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation: neither shall the Arabian pitch tent there; neither shall the shepherds make their fold there.

God keeps His eyes on each and every generation!

Jeremiah prophesied against all nations and that includes the nations of today.

*****Jer 25:13  And I will bring upon that land all my words which I have pronounced against it, even all that is written in this book, which Jeremiah hath prophesied against all the nations.

We must understand that the people of Judah hated the words that Jeremiah spoke, and many sought to kill him.

We also see that Jeremiah spoke of the seventy years of Babylon's existence and many of them would take it out on the Jews as we read in the Book of Esther along with the other prophets of that day.

God would next use Persia, then Greece and then Rome as said by Daniel.

Dan 9:1  In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the seed of the Medes, which was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans;

Dan 9:2  In the first year of his reign I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem.

And Daniel would then relate all these things to the Birth of Christ!

Dan 9:25  Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.

God does never forget His people no matter where they are.

*****Jer 25:14  For many nations and great kings shall serve themselves of them also: and I will recompense them according to their deeds, and according to the works of their own hands.

God warns us that we must not close our ears to the "Gospel". We must never refuse to hear the Word of God!

Joh 5:39  Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.

Joh 5:40  And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.

Joh 5:41  I receive not honour from men.

Joh 5:42  But I know you, that ye have not the love of God in you.

We would think if we got to see a portion of the wrath of God before it actually came, it would change the way we think but those in the time of Jeremiah only got madder at God

*****Jer 25:15  For thus saith the LORD God of Israel unto me; Take the wine cup of this fury at my hand, and cause all the nations, to whom I send thee, to drink it.

Jer 25:16  And they shall drink, and be moved, and be mad, because of the sword that I will send among them.

Jeremiah was allowed to see the wrath of God in a vision so when he preached of the wrath of God, he could teach the complete story.

It was not just Judah who would see the wrath of God it was every nation of that day as one empire was taken down another one would begin all seeking world domination.

This was the message of Jeremiah to all people of that day including Judah. Only Judah was told that their captivity would only last 70 years.

Babylon was to be the agent for God's "judgment" not only for Judah but also for all the nations of that day!

Psa 75:7  But God is the judge: he putteth down one, and setteth up another.

Psa 75:8  For in the hand of the LORD there is a cup, and the wine is red; it is full of mixture; and he poureth out of the same: but the dregs thereof, all the wicked of the earth shall wring them out, and drink them.

This is the lesson we learned down at the Potter's House.

*****Jer 25:17  Then took I the cup at the LORD'S hand, and made all the nations to drink, unto whom the LORD had sent me:

Again we see Jeremiah did not question the Lord even after he had seen this terrible vision. Jeremiah was "faithful" to make sure God's message was shared with every nation that they would be devoured by Babylon, but Babylon would only rule them for 70 years.

These nations would get this opportunity to see the truth of God and to make a choice to believe or not believe.

Those who were wicked would be like staggering drunks trying to defend themselves.

God would prove to the world that it was He who held all the power.

Judah would learn that Jehovah was not exclusive to the Jews.

We already know the Lord is no respecter of persons and it is easy to see that He is no respecter of nations, so He would begin with Judah.

Rev 14:10  The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:

Rev 14:11  And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.

When we do not worship the Lord then by default, we worship Satan!

None of us have the means to defend ourselves against the Sword of the Lord!

*****Jer 25:26  And all the kings of the north, far and near, one with another, and all the kingdoms of the world, which are upon the face of the earth: and the king of Sheshach shall drink after them.

Jer 25:27  Therefore thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Drink ye, and be drunken, and spue, and fall, and rise no more, because of the sword which I will send among you.

The world would not understand how Babylon an impenetrable fortress could be overrun.

The truth of the "Judgment" of God is that it will be a complete and irreversible and unstoppable!

The truth of the "Judgment" of is that God will begin with His own people!

Just as sure as in this day of Jeremiah were God began with Judah, it will be the same for the Church.

1Pe 4:17  For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?

1Pe 4:18  And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?

1Pe 4:19  Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator.

God will always "Judge" His people first, so that that this world will see that it cannot go unpunished!

To drink of the "cup" of God is to submit to the will of God. To reject this cup is to have this cup poured out first on your head then the rest of your body. It is the same for the human being as it will be for all the nations that reject the Lord Jesus Christ!

All the wicked of this earth will be helpless as a drunk trying to defend itself.

In fact this was a prophesy of Babylon who felt so confident of her power that when the enemy came they would have a drunken party.

This is the way Cyrus found them when he occupied Babylon.

*****Jer 25:28  And it shall be, if they refuse to take the cup at thine hand to drink, then shalt thou say unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Ye shall certainly drink.

Jer 25:29  For, lo, I begin to bring evil on the city which is called by my name, and should ye be utterly unpunished? Ye shall not be unpunished: for I will call for a sword upon all the inhabitants of the earth, saith the LORD of hosts.

We should clearly understand that if God is willing to destroy His own people and the city where He had placed His name to rid this world of evil and its sin, then He certainly would have no problem in destroying all this world.

Remember God has already said there will be a New World and a New Jerusalem.

Rev 21:1  And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.

Rev 21:2  And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

Rev 21:5  And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.

We must understand that God never threatens anyone, God just simply tells us what is going to happen.

God does these things not as a Prophet would do it but as the true God, our Creator would do it!

This entire world will certainly drink the Cup of the wrath of God because this world refuses to repent of its wicked ways!

There is no one who rebels against the Father or His Son or His Holy Spirit who will go unpunished for rejecting the truth of the "Gospel"!

*****Jer 25:30  Therefore prophesy thou against them all these words, and say unto them, The LORD shall roar from on high, and utter his voice from his holy habitation; he shall mightily roar upon his habitation; he shall give a shout, as they that tread the grapes, against all the inhabitants of the earth.

We would be foolish to believe that these things were just written for the days of Jeremiah!

Even when the Lord "roars from Heaven", He is seeking repentance for this will be the last opportunity before He sends the sword of His wrath which is eternal death.

Joe 2:11  And the LORD shall utter his voice before his army: for his camp is very great: for he is strong that executeth his word: for the day of the LORD is great and very terrible; and who can abide it?

Joe 2:12  Therefore also now, saith the LORD, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning:

Joe 2:13  And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the LORD your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil.

Joe 3:16  The LORD also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the LORD will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel.

These were not idle words spoken by Jeremiah, these were the words of truth!

Rev 14:18  And another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe.

Rev 14:19  And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God.

Rev 14:20  And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs.

In the days of Jeremiah the grapes were trodden down by men who when they saw all the fruit of the vine had been gathered would shout the victory.

This shout of victory would turn into the battle-cry of the Lord! The Lord would roar as He had now to perform the things He had said He would do.

The Lord is never happy when He must deliver His wrath to those who have rebelled!

*****Jer 25:31  A noise shall come even to the ends of the earth; for the LORD hath a controversy with the nations, he will plead with all flesh; he will give them that are wicked to the sword, saith the LORD.

Notice that the wrath of God is only for the "wicked".

We should see this as a prelude to the White Throne Judgment.

1) There would be the Judge but there would be no jury.

2) There would be an indictment but there would be no defense.

3) There would be a sentence but there would be no appeal.

Where as to those who love the Lord, He will be our Defense!

God will have given all people plenty of opportunity to change their evil ways, admit their guilt and to repent.

For those who refuse it will be too late.

There will be no more rumors of war this world will be in all-out war with itself!

*****Jer 25:32  Thus saith the LORD of hosts, Behold, evil shall go forth from nation to nation, and a great whirlwind shall be raised up from the coasts of the earth.

What did Jesus say?

Luk 21:10  Then said he unto them, Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom:

Luk 21:11  And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.

Luk 21:25  And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring;

Luk 21:26  Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.

We must not be confused by false Preachers and teachers!

We are witnesses now as evil is going forth from nation to nation enforced by the governments of this world.

That great whirlwind is already beginning to turn and when it reaches its full rotation, you will be glad you were a Christian and missed out on the wrath of God.

*****Jer 25:33  And the slain of the LORD shall be at that day from one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth: they shall not be lamented, neither gathered, nor buried; they shall be dung upon the ground.

For the Jews, to not have a proper burial was a disgrace! This was treating a human being as common rubbish, but this is exactly the way the bodies those who are wicked will be treated in the day of the Lord.

There would be no one to mourn them.

There would be no one to bury them.

There is no place in Heaven for those who hate the Lord!

There is not one piece of dust in all of Heaven.

When Judah was overrun by Babylon it was just a prelude to the final judgment where we know things will at least be 7 times in multiples worse.

Mat 16:27  For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.

Mat 16:28  Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom.

Take Lord at His Word and just believe what He says!

Amen

Let's Pray!

When God Moves His Hand of Blessing

The Destruction of Judah

Book of Jeremiah Chapter 7

There is a phrase in our lesson manual that I really liked. One sign of "spiritual sickness" is that we keep committing the same sins over and over and expect a different outcome each time. What is the logic in doing such things!

God has made sure we have the Books of the Old Testament, so we can see the examples of what sins were done in the past with Israel and the reactions God had to those things, so we can know what God will do today because Jehovah God never changes.

If we cannot learn from all these examples, then what does that say about our "faith"?

God begins in a gentle fashion trying to remind us of our disobedience, but God will use harsher methods until we learn from our mistakes.

If we say we have "faith" in the Lord, then how can we believe the lies of this world?

We should clearly understand a Spiritual change will always have a physical result!

What we have seen with our own eyes is that when this world makes idols as God then we will see what we see today, immoral societies and this cannot be denied.

We must be clear as we witness to those who are lost. Real change can only happen from the inside out and not from outside in!

As we witness we offer, by the Word of God, an opportunity to make a choice. God will always accept the decisions we make. God offers eternal life! False gods offer eternal death and we must choose between these two. Does not seem to be a hard choice, does it?

People perish simply because they make the wrong choices!

We should also understand the true meaning of a hypocrite. Hypocrites are people who pretend to be something they are not. Something like actors.

We absolutely cannot be pretenders and say we love the Lord!

*****Jer 7:1 The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,

Jer 7:2 Stand in the gate of the LORD'S house, and proclaim there this word, and say, Hear the word of the LORD, all ye of Judah, that enter in at these gates to worship the LORD.

Jeremiah was a gentle man and we know that he cried a lot for his nation, but we see that Jeremiah was to be bold when he preached the Word of God! We are to do the same when we witness for the Lord, but the Pastor is to "preach" the Word of God!

Jeremiah was preaching to hypocrites and hypocrites already know what they are, and they need to understand who God is!

It was very important that these Jews understood what was going on in their lives but just as important, what was going on in the world.

As mighty as the Assyrians were who destroyed the Northern Tribes, they had just fell to the Babylonians who were an evil and wicked people.

It was a time when good King Josiah would find his death, getting involved in a war that he did not have to.

Josiah was replaced as Jehoahaz took his throne but even he was replaced 90 days later by Jehoiakim who was another of the evil rulers and he would only rule eleven years.

The threat of Babylon was always present, and Judah would never be able to defend themselves without the Lord God Jehovah, who had already delivered them so many times when they would repent of their evilness.

More important than all these things, attending a worship service in the House of God is useless without repentance and then obedience!

The truth of salvation is that those who can please God will be like God (Christlike)!

When we are not Christlike (Christian) we can never receive the blessings of God.

This is the message the Jeremiah was to preach as he stood in the gates at the entrance of the Temple in Jerusalem.

These people had no problem in attending the worship service at the Temple. Remember they were required by Moses's Law to attend at least 3 times each year in the time of the festivals.

Their problem was that their hearts were not settled on the Lord and as soon as they left for home they would go back to their evil ways and their false gods. (Sounds a whole lot like happens today by many who attend church but are not sincere)

Eventually some false gods were moved into the Temple, which defiled the House of God!

It is an abomination to defile the House of the Lord!

These people are like those today. They are trusting that God will accept, bless, and protect them because they are faithful in their worship, but their worship extended to false gods and false doctrine.

The Lord will have no part of such a thing. There are those today that say there is more than one way to get to Heaven, but the Lord says they are all liars.

What is the truth?

Joh 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

Joh 14:7 If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.

Those that believe differently are calling God a liar!

This is the same theme that Jeremiah preached in his day. There is only one who deserves our worship and it is Jehovah.

God will never accept our worship until there has been a repentance!!!!!!

In fact, for the Jews they had to repent their sin before Jehovah would allow them to continue living in the Promised Land!!!!!

They would soon realize just how important that this truth really was.

We may have the greatest church in the world and I believe we do, but this church cannot save us.

We may have the greatest preacher in the world and I believe we do, but Preacher Sam cannot save us.

He can only lead us to the one who can, Jesus Christ!

God the Holy Spirit may visit our Church, but He will never stay, because no building can house God!

Also, the Lord Jesus Christ may knock on the doors of every Church but until He is allowed to come in, that Church is not a house of God!

What was Jeremiah's message?

*****Jer 7:3 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, Amend your ways and your doings, and I will cause you to dwell in this place.

To amend our ways is another word for "repent" because we do not have to power to do anything ourselves!

Joh_15:5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: "for without me ye can do nothing".

Every house of God in our entire nation can be full on Sunday and our nation would not be blessed unless we know the Lord Jesus Christ as our personal Savior!

We should understand that Jeremiah was not preaching that these people could dwell in the Temple, he was preaching that God was not going to allow them to dwell on the land that He had given them unless they repented of their evil and allowed God to dwell in their heart.

This does not ever mean that God would give this land to others. God will never give this land to others because of the promise He made to Abraham!

Gen 15:18 In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates:

Gen 17:7 And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee.

Gen 17:8 And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.

God will keep every covenant He has ever made, and He will also never break a promise that He has ever made!

What went wrong in the Temple of God? The priests were not preaching the truth of God!

*****Jer 7:4 Trust ye not in lying words, saying, The temple of the LORD, The temple of the LORD, The temple of the LORD, are these.

Those priests were preaching that security is in the Temple, we would say the Church.

We simply cannot trust in religious principles, we must trust in the One who gave us "His" principles, Jehovah!

We must also understand it is each Saint of God who is a Temple of God who gather together to worship that form the Church.

Our job in the church is to be discipled and/or to disciple all others, and to worship the God of truth, whose name is Jehovah!

In fact, we are to worship our Savior "in Spirit and in Truth" because He does not like it in any other fashion!

Everyone is welcome to gather but "in Spirit and in Truth" means though the lost are welcomed, they should not take part in certain parts of the worship, such as Communion until they to have a personal relationship with the Lord.

1Co 11:27 Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.

1Co 11:28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup.

1Co 11:29 For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body.

1Co 11:30 For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep.

Baptism is only for those who have invited the Lord into their heart and be "Born Again", then comes Baptism!

Do we come without any preparation of heart? Are we soon weary of the service?

Eze 14:3 Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their heart, and put the stumblingblock of their iniquity before their face: should I be enquired of at all by them?

We must know that everyone is welcomed into the church building who are seeking God and in the true Church you can find Him, not because He is present in the building, but He is present in the hearts of so many of those who are also there and there is a "preacher".

Rom 10:13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Rom 10:14 How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?

Rom 10:15 And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!

Rom 10:16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report?

Rom 10:17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

A heart that is prepared is a heart open to accepting the Lord Jesus Christ!

*****Jer 7:5 For if ye throughly amend your ways and your doings; if ye throughly execute judgment between a man and his neighbour;

Jer 7:6 If ye oppress not the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, and shed not innocent blood in this place, neither walk after other gods to your hurt:

Jer 7:7 Then will I cause you to dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers, for ever and ever.

Christianity has to do with being like Christ in His character and in His conduct!

Christianity is that which binds us to our Savior.

Christianity is holding onto to the robe of Christ and refusing to let go.

Christianity is not in emotion but is in knowledge, the knowledge of our Creator.

Jesus says it plainly:

Joh_14:15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.

Joh_15:10 If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love.

The first step in becoming a Christian is having the right view of sin!

Sin is like a cancer that you will want to get rid of but only the Lord can wash you clean.

Psa_51:2 Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.

Joh_13:8 Peter saith unto him, Thou shalt never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me.

We must come out from the world and live a separated life from those still in the world.

2Co 6:17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,

2Co 6:18 And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.

When we are like Jesus Christ we will then hate sin without hating the sinner!

We will realize our battle is not with other humans, lost or saved, our battle is with principalities and powers and the rulers of darkness in this world we live in now!

Eph 6:11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

Eph 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

Eph 6:13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

The nation of Judah had left their first love and now, they oppressed the weak, they shed the blood of the innocent, and they were worshipping idols.

We simply cannot allow anything to come between us and our Lord Jesus Christ no matter what it is!

Had these Jews listened to the words of Jeremiah and applied them to their lives they would never have been removed from their land no matter how powerful Babylon was at this time.

What did they do? They ignored the Word of God given to Jeremiah and they continued to follow in the ways of sin by listening to false words.

We must understand that our salvation, our peace, and our security, come from a personal relationship with the Lord and not in some building or the land that we dwell in.

Neither was this true for these Jews and the Temple of God and the land promised to Abraham!

It is so easy to fall into this trap because lies can sometimes make you think you are about to win the lottery.

*****Jer 7:8 Behold, ye trust in lying words, that cannot profit.

What is the truth of the Scriptures?

Psa 2:10 Be wise now therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth.

Psa 2:11 Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling.

Psa 2:12 Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.

We live in a world that has forgotten how to be wise.

We live in a world where almost every nation is in competition with every other nation, when they should be helping one another!

Then the Lord just ask them point blank.

*****Jer 7:9 Will ye steal, murder, and commit adultery, and swear falsely, and burn incense unto Baal, and walk after other gods whom ye know not;

Jer 7:10 And come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, We are delivered to do all these abominations?

Jer 7:11 Is this house, which is called by my name, become a den of robbers in your eyes? Behold, even I have seen it, saith the LORD.

We are fools to think that God operates by some universal law made up of how we feel about Him!

God does as He pleases with everything that He says or that He does. God does not make up new laws as time goes by.

God does just as He has written it down for us. Every Word is a Word of Truth!

1) We cannot trust anyone who goes against the Word of God!

2) We certainly cannot trust anyone who rejects the Word of God!

3) We must be aware that anything we place between ourselves and the One True God, has become an idol!

When a so-called Christian allows himself or herself to do any of these things listed in this passage, they have rebelled against God's Commandments the most critical one being "Thou shalt have no other gods before Me".

When we do these things, we have rejected our God who is also our Creator!

If you really want to get on the wrong side of God, then do all these things and then gather in the house of God saying you are what you "aint"!

We are not delivered from sin, to just sin at our will!

It is when we have left the building we call Church, or Temple, or by any other name, that we enter into our mission field to serve the Lord and not to serve sin!

If you are a Christian, then you need to look into your personal mirror every day to see for yourself if you are what you say you are.

When we make the house of God into a den of robbers we have defiled our place of worship!

God always has His eyes on His children not to see if we are doing wrong but to see if we deserve His blessings.

God's House is not a sanctuary for robbers and murderers!

To be saved by the "Grace" of God is not so we can have a license to sin!

The house of God is not the place to seek impunity for our abominations, it is the House where we are to seek to gather so we can worship God in Spirit and Truth because this is the way we can please Him in our worship!

If we have served our abominations, then we need to get on our knees and beg forgiveness from the Lord and then do our best to not sin again.

God knows we are not perfect, but He also knows what we are capable of and He intends for us all to be fishers of men!

Isa 29:13 Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men:

Going to Church to worship does us no good at all if we are not living for God the rest of the time.

God will not accept our worship if we are living in sin and you cannot get into Heaven without a good relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ!

We can never say that God has not warned us of those who would teach lies for the truth!

Then the Lord says, if you think the Temple, the House of God is more important to you than truth of God then just go down to Shiloh.

*****Jer 7:12 But go ye now unto my place which was in Shiloh, where I set my name at the first, and see what I did to it for the wickedness of my people Israel.

When Joshua brought the children of Israel into the promised land, the Tabernacle was set up in Shiloh.

Jos 18:1 And the whole congregation of the children of Israel assembled together at Shiloh, and set up the tabernacle of the congregation there. And the land was subdued before them.

In the time of Eli, the High Priest, God gave the Ark that was kept at Shiloh to the Philistines and it was not recovered until David brought it to Jerusalem.

We should remember the Ark contained the broken tablets of Moses to remind them it was best to honor the 10 Commandments.

1Sa 4:10 And the Philistines fought, and Israel was smitten, and they fled every man into his tent: and there was a very great slaughter; for there fell of Israel thirty thousand footmen.

1Sa 4:11 And the ark of God was taken; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were slain.

Psa 78:58 For they provoked him to anger with their high places, and moved him to jealousy with their graven images.

Psa 78:59 When God heard this, he was wroth, and greatly abhorred Israel:

Psa 78:60 So that he forsook the tabernacle of Shiloh, the tent which he placed among men;

Psa 78:61 And delivered his strength into captivity, and his glory into the enemy's hand.

Psa 78:62 He gave his people over also unto the sword; and was wroth with his inheritance.

Psa 78:63 The fire consumed their young men; and their maidens were not given to marriage.

Psa 78:64 Their priests fell by the sword; and their widows made no lamentation.

We should be able to see that God's favor is not in some building or any place of worship.

In fact, God's favor is not tied down to any location at this time.

We should understand that God will not spare His wrath to those that rebel against His Words!

What are we to do in the House of the Lord?

Deu 12:11 Then there shall be a place which the LORD your God shall choose to cause his name to dwell there; thither shall ye bring all that I command you; your burnt offerings, and your sacrifices, your tithes, and the heave offering of your hand, and all your choice vows which ye vow unto the LORD:

Deu 12:12 And ye shall rejoice before the LORD your God, ye, and your sons, and your daughters, and your menservants, and your maidservants, and the Levite that is within your gates; forasmuch as he hath no part nor inheritance with you.

Shiloh became a mass of shapeless ruins!

And what did the Lord say?

*****Jer 7:13 And now, because ye have done all these works, saith the LORD, and I spake unto you, rising up early and speaking, but ye heard not; and I called you, but ye answered not;

Jer 7:14 Therefore will I do unto this house, which is called by my name, wherein ye trust, and unto the place which I gave to you and to your fathers, as I have done to Shiloh.

God said He would do the same thing to the Temple that King Solomon built by the plans of King David which the Lord said Himself was worldly, which means there is no need for the beauty and worldly objects in any place of worship.

We know that King Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the Temple in the days of Jeremiah.

Again, we see that we are undeserving of the "Grace of God" and God's has limits to His mercy.

We know that the Lord Jesus said where two or three gathered in His name He would also be there, and this is the beginnings of the Church.

The place of this gathering is not important but the fact that we are to gather together is important.

Heb 10:25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.

We are to gather more often and not less often as we can see the day of the Lord approaching!

Worship without true repentance and then obedience will be empty, useless, and worthless in the eyes of the Lord.

God would also remove Judah from of the Promised Land.

*****Jer 7:15 And I will cast you out of my sight, as I have cast out all your brethren, even the whole seed of Ephraim.

Jer 7:16 Therefore pray not thou for this people, neither lift up cry nor prayer for them, neither make intercession to me: for I will not hear thee.

Once God has decided what He is going to do with a certain group of people, it is useless to pray for them.

These Jews were unwilling to repent and to obey the Lord, so it would do no good for Jeremiah to pray for their forgiveness.

There are times when it becomes useless to pray for certain people but now is not the time for the church to stop praying for our brothers and sisters in Christ and also for the lost.

God has told us to continue to pray for the peace of Jerusalem, so it is not time to stop preaching for the Children of the Nation of Israel.

There will come the time when those who are evil are beyond repentance, but God has not told us to do so yet!

These are the type of things that would make Jeremiah cry and maybe we should do the same for those who refuse to repent, especially those on our own family!

When God says to quit praying for certain people, He will also pull back the Holy Spirit from the convicting work that He does.

Gen_6:3 And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man,

Today all those who have itchy ears and control the preaching of the Pastor should take note, because their prayers will become useless. There will be no benefit come from their prayers.

When you refuse to hear the truth of God then God will refuse to hear from you, it just that simple!

Jeremiah knew God always has remnant who remain solid in the Word of God, and he could pray for those!

The real truth is when the Lord commands His servant not to pray for sinners and He ceases to correct them, then we can be sure the wrath of God is very close!

Eze 16:42 So will I make my fury toward thee to rest, and my jealousy shall depart from thee, and I will be quiet, and will be no more angry.

Remember the wages of sin is death and these who refuse to repent are already sentenced to death and they will get nothing else from the Lord but will join the false trio in the burning lake of fire!

The Lord will simply say " I never knew you".

God is not angry with those who are lost He has already passed His judgment.

God will always be angry with those who sin and claim to know the Lord in a personal way.

The Lord will save all those who call upon His name, but the Lord will reject all those who refuse to call upon His name again it is just that simple!

Amen

Let's Pray!