It may be that the house of Judah will hear all the adversities which I purpose to bring
upon them, that everyone may turn away from his evil way,
that I may forgive their iniquity and their sin. Jeremiah 1:22-23
On our Wednesday morning men’s fellowship, we are currently reading through the prophecy of Jeremiah. Though sent by God who loves us, Jeremiah did not enjoy the delight of seeing much of a response to God. Yet, he was faithful in lovingly preaching the warning of sin and the way of forgiveness. I appreciate the words of Pastor Chuck Smith on this text–
“God’s prime desire is to forgive your sin. All He wants is an excuse! He just wants you to say, ‘Lord, forgive me. I’m sorry,’ and to turn from the sin destroying you. That’s all He wants.
God gives people every opportunity to repent. God gives warning after warning. God warns us in many different ways. He will put stumbling blocks in your path. He will do all that He can, short of violating your free will, to keep you out of hell. The Bible speaks of the wrath of God and the judgments of God, but those people upon whom God’s wrath will come have ‘trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace’ (Heb.10:29).
I mean, you’ve got to trample over Jesus, trample over the Holy Spirit, and trample over the Word of God, and fight God every step of the way, in order to be judged by God. Because God is going to be there to plead with you and to warn you and to turn you back. You’ve got to ignore all of that; and you’ve got to continue, stubborn, and steadfast in your evil, to make it. Hell’s the most difficult place in the world to get into, but if you’re stupid enough and stubborn enough, you can make it. But you’re going to have to fight God to get there.”
I appreciate the blunt clarity of Pator Chuck’s words. Those last two sentences are quite sobering. The Bible says–
For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus who gave Himself a ransom for all…
I Timothy 2:3-6
I, very much, look forward to the Kenya-Missions-Update-Testimonies today. Just yesterday I was reading and came across this keen insight from Oswald Chambers, himself a foreign missionary– “It is not that Jesus Christ said ‘Go,’ but that the heathen will be not saved if we do not go. The need is never the call: the need is the opportunity.” I am thankful for the opportunity our church has been given in such a unique opportunity. Thank-you for being a church family who go, send, pray and support. To God be the glory, great things He has done!
Maranatha!