Heed! See! Cry Out!

[SW333] 6/30/2018 message notes by 

Pastor Susan J. Wynn ©2018

Heed! See! Cry Out!

Text: Matthew 5:1-12

When you heed Jesus Christ’s words in the Sermon on the Mount, and see the spiritual condition of your heart, and cry out for the Lord to change your heart, you will be blessed (supremely spiritually happy)! 

The Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5 – 7) is Christ’s instruction regarding the Law of Moses. The Law (Torah, which means “instruction”) was given by God to teach His people His character, and show them that they must reflect His character to the world around them. 

The Lord  knows full well that no one can “do the Law,” apart from an entire change of heart. Jeremiah prophesies —

Jeremiah 17:9 “The heart is more deceitful than all else 

And is desperately sick; 

Who can understand it?”

The Lord showed me that Verses 1-12 are the result of, ”Heed! See! Cry out!” Like me, if you have ears to hear what the Spirit is saying, you will cry out to Him for a new heart. As He says at the end of the Sermon on the Mount —

Matthew 7:24   “Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on (does) them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. ²⁵ “And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. ²⁶ “Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. ²⁷ “The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell — and great was its fall.”

Hallelujah!

Verse 1 —

Jesus’ audience was the crowd (multitudes) who had followed Him from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, and Judea. They had heard Him proclaim the gospel of the kingdom, and had seen Him heal every kind of disease and every kind of sickness among the people (Matthew 4:24-25). Also present were His disciples — The Twelve, and probably others who now wanted to follow Him. 

He spoke the entire Sermon on the Mount in the hill country, from a mountain (a hill lifted above the plain around it). Some believe it was spoken over several days. But it would have been difficult for His listeners to follow what He was saying if He had stopped in the midst, and the next day, picked up where He left off. 

Verses 2-3 —

He opened His mouth and began to teach them (a prolonged form of the word “teach”). The phrase “opened His mouth” means that He was about to speak solemn revelation to them. His words were directed to His followers, and to the rest of the people in the crowds, who were God’s people. So this applies to you and me, as followers of Jesus! 

And He said, Blessed (supremely spiritually happy) are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Who are the poor in spirit? 

The word “poor in spirit” used here means “beggarly in soul.” If you are poor in spirit, you see the poverty-stricken condition of your heart, and you beg the Lord to change it, knowing that only He can do it. You see that all of your religious activities and attempts to be good cannot change your heart.

Blessed are you, if you have come to that realization! When He changes your heart, you will be supremely spiritually happy and will know that the kingdom of heaven is yours! 

The kingdom does not belong to the proud, to those who think they are good because of the good deeds they do. It belongs to you, because you have seen the poverty of your heart and have begged the Lord to change it.

Verse 4 —

Blessed (supremely spiritually happy) are those who mourn (an all-encompassing grief), for they shall be comforted. What is the cause of your grief? You have seen your spiritual bankruptcy, and are grief-stricken over it! Blessed are you, for He will turn your mourning into dancing (Psalm 30:11)! 

He will call you near, and fill you with the Comforter, the Holy Spirit! Oh, then you will no longer mourn, for the Holy Spirit will fill you, and the Father and the Son will dwell inside of you! And it will be a joy to obey Him! Blessed are you!

Verse 5 — 

Blessed (supremely spiritually happy) are the gentle (humble), for they shall inherit the earth. Because you have grieved, because you have seen your heart, you are now humble. 

You do not rely on your religiosity. You realize you have no innate goodness. You realize that apart from Christ, you cannot fulfill the Law. You see that despite your best religious efforts, you remain bankrupt. And thus, you are humble. 

Blessed are you, for only the humble inherit the earth —

Psalm 37:9 For evildoers will be cut off (die), but those who wait for (entwine themselves with) the LORD, they will inherit the land.

Psalm 37:11 But the humble will inherit the land (earth, Hebrew-to-English) and will delight themselves in abundant prosperity.

Verse 6 —

Blessed (supremely spiritually happy) are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied (filled abundantly)! You have seen the condition of your heart, and are desperately hungry and thirsty for God’s righteousness. You see that your idea of righteousness by your own works is false, because your heart remains unchanged, and you are in an endless cycle of “sin and repent.” 

And when you cry out, He fills you — with His Holy Spirit, and all the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23)! Blessed are you! 

And you become the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus (2Corinthians 5:21) because the Holy Spirit has filled you with the righteousness of God, and the Father and the Son indwell you permanently! Glory to God!

Verse 7 –  

Blessed (supremely spiritually happy) are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. Think of the man who owed a great debt to his Master, and it was entirely forgiven, but then he went after a man who owed him little (see Matthew 18:23-35). He showed his debtor no mercy.

Your heart has been changed, and now, God’s mercy has filled your heart. As a result, you freely forgive, and you no longer keep an account of wrongs suffered (see 1Corinthians 13:5). You are filled with God’s Spirit, His love and His compassion. It is divine love, and divine compassion, called chesed in the Old Testament, and agape in the New Testament. 

You see the great need for Christ in this world. It brings you to your knees, in prayer! And you go out and speak of God’s mercy. You cannot stop speaking about what you have seen and heard! You speak this great gospel, and you live it with every breath you take.

You have received mercy from the Lord. He has heard your cry, when you saw your spiritual destitution. And He has answered! Now you are supremely spiritually happy! 

Verse 8 — 

Blessed are the pure (clean, clear, free from impure admixture, without blemish, spotless) in heart, for they shall see God! 

Only these shall see God! It is the purity without which no one will see God. The writer of Hebrews exhorts Jewish believers scattered by persecution —

Hebrews 12:14   Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification (purification of heart) without which no one will see the Lord.

Listen to David —

Psalm 24:3  Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD? 

And who may stand in His holy place?

⁴  He who has clean hands and a pure heart, 

Who has not lifted up his soul to falsehood 

And has not sworn deceitfully.

⁵  He shall receive a blessing from the LORD 

And righteousness from the God of his salvation.

The pure in heart shall see God here, for He will indwell them when He fills them with His Spirit (John 14:23), and they shall see Him face-to-face, when they are in heaven (1Corinthians 13:12)! 

You have seen the spiritual poverty in your heart, you know that you have no power to make your heart pure. You have tried and failed. But you have cried out, and He has answered! Now you have a pure heart. Blessed are you, supremely spiritually happy are you! 

Verse 9 —

Blessed (supremely spiritually happy) are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Why? They do what God does.

You are at peace with God, having been reconciled through faith in Jesus Christ. Then, you have asked Him to change your spiritually bankrupt heart, and He has answered! You have cried out, like the wretched man in Romans 7 who has seen the condition of his heart —

Romans 7:24-25a Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!

He has given you His peace. It is not as the world gives (John 14:27). He has filled you with His divine peace. Supremely spiritually happy are you! 

Now, your heart’s motive, in all things, is to bring others to this peace. You are an ambassador, announcing that through Christ, they may be reconciled with God. 

But you do not stop with reconciliation and forgiveness. Like Christ, you announce the whole gospel, including the terms and conditions of the kingdom of God, that all may see the condition of their hearts, and cry out as you did!

Verse 10 —

Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Supremely spiritually happy are you when you are persecuted because your heart has been changed, you have been filled with the Holy Spirit, and you cannot stop speaking about what you have seen and heard. 

What? How can that be? Persecution often results in banishment, beating, imprisonment, and even death. If you flinch at this reality, then your heart has not yet been changed, beloved. 

Jesus spoke these words to His disciples —

John 15:20 “Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A slave is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they kept My word, they will keep yours also.”
Oh, beloved! If you are filled with His Spirit and then persecuted for His name’s sake, you will do as the Twelve did, for their hearts had been changed at Pentecost, when they were filled with the Holy Spirit — 

Acts 5:40   They (the Sanhedrin) took his (Gamaliel’s) advice; and after calling the apostles in, they flogged them and ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and then released them. ⁴¹ So they went on their way from the presence of the Council, rejoicing that they had been considered worthy to suffer shame for His name.

Oh, blessed are you, when you are persecuted because He has filled you with His Spirit, and thus, His righteousness! You rejoice when you suffer persecution because such persecution is the mark of one who has been made like Christ in this world!

Verses 11-12 — 

Jesus says, blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, for in the same way, they persecuted to prophets who were before you. Your reward in heaven is great!

Supremely spiritually happy are you when you are insulted and persecuted, and when people lie about you! Why? They did the same to Jesus Christ! Again, that means you are like Him in this world —

1John 4:17 By this, love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment; because as He is, so also are we in this world.

Oh, beloved! You are blessed when His love has been perfected (completed) in your heart. You are filled with His perfect love! Therefore, you are like Him in this world. 

You do not fear judgment on the day you stand before Jesus, because as He is, so are  you in this world. It was nothing you could do by your own effort, but when you saw the spiritual bankruptcy of your heart, you cried out to Him and He answered! 

Blessed are you! Are you? 

I will continue in the Sermon on the Mount, praying that you would have ears to hear, and that you would repent, as I did, and ask Him to change your heart. 

Amen, Lord Jesus! Let it be so.

SESSION 19 — “To a Church in Crisis, With Love,” a Bible study of 1 & 2 Corinthians

Text: 1Corinthians 14 

In the first thirteen chapters, Paul, who loves the church with God’s own love, has reprimanded, beseeched and instructed the troubled church in Corinth. All of what he has written, and all that they have said and done, reflects their infancy in Christ. They have not comprehended that Christianity is not about outward works or who is the greatest, but an inward work in their hearts. 

In Chapter 13, Paul taught them that if they do not have love, what they are doing profits them nothing, does not profit others, and indeed, is nothing in the eyes of the Lord. They are nothing but noisy gongs and clanging cymbals, if they are not filled with the Holy Spirit and God’s divine love, and if His love is not what compels them in all that they do.

Now, Paul deals with the fixation that the infants in Christ at Corinth seem to have, regarding the gift of tongues. If the believers at Corinth were all filled with the Holy Spirit, Paul would not have to write this chapter!

If I were to give this a title, it would be, “Do Not Be Children in Your Thinking.” 

Verses 1-4

Paul exhorts the believers at Corinth to pursue (seek after zealously, in a prolonged way) love — that is, zealously seek to be filled with the divine love of God! If they need to seek it, that means they do not have it yet! And yet, Paul also tells them to earnestly desire (be zealous to obtain) spiritual gifts, especially that they may prophesy (speak forth the wisdom of God, and foretell the future).

Why? One who speaks in a tongue (that is, a heavenly language) does not speak to men, but to God. Tongues are a gift given by the Spirit, but if he speaks tongues without interpretation in a meeting, what he is speaking is a mystery to everyone! Therefore, it is of no benefit to the church, but only to the speaker of tongues.

But if you prophesy, you speak to men for edification (bringing them to maturity), exhortation (beseeching earnestly), and consolation (comfort). Prophecy comes from the Lord, if the believer is filled with the Holy Spirit. 

The Lord gives words to one who has the gift of prophecy, and the prophet speaks what the Lord gives him or her. The purpose is that the church may be built up and brought to maturity, as Paul writes to the church at Ephesus —

Ephesians 4:11 And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, ¹² for the equipping (perfecting) of the saints for the work of service (to become servants to one another), to the building up of the body of Christ; ¹³ until we all attain to the unity of the faith (become partakers of the divine nature), and of the knowledge (full discernment) of the Son of God, to a mature (perfect, complete) man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.

No wonder Paul exhorts the believers at Corinth to eagerly seek this gift, above all the others! All are valuable, all have a purpose, but prophecy is the most important spiritual gift for the Body of Christ!

But one who speaks in a tongue edifies himself. He builds up his own faith. That is important, but the one who prophesies is the one who builds up everyone’s faith! Do you see the difference? Do not focus only on that which benefits you, beloved.

But believers will, just as Peter and the rest did, until they are filled with the Holy Spirit and God’s divine love!

Verse 5 —

Paul does not invalidate the gift of tongues. He wishes (prefers, desires) that all in Corinth speak in tongues! It is a gift from the Spirit, to edify the individual believer! But even more, he prefers and desires that they all prophesy. 

As Moses said to Joshua, when two men other than Moses were prophesying and Joshua wanted to restrain them —

Numbers 11:29 But Moses said to him, “Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the LORD’S people were prophets, that the LORD would put His Spirit upon them!”

Would that all of the church were prophets, that they all would be filled with His Spirit and hear His words! In Moses’ day, the Spirit came upon believers, but did not fill them and remain in them. So, would that all of Israel recognize Jesus as their Messiah and be saved and filled, so all of Israel would speak forth prophecy in the New Testament way!

Greater is one who prophesies than one who speaks in tongues unless the one speaking in tongues interprets, so that the church may be edified. Interpretation of tongues comes from the Lord, to make what is being said understandable and thus, beneficial to the church. Since the interpretation is from Him, it is prophetic. 

Again, tongues are for the individual believer’s edification. Prophecy is for the whole church’s edification. But in Corinth, we will see evidence that the believers treat tongues as the most important gift. Otherwise, Paul would not have to write what he is writing! I am repeating myself, for emphasis.

Verse 6 —

So if I come to  you speaking in tongues, what will I profit you? You cannot understand what I am saying! But if I speak to you either by revelation or knowledge or prophecy or teaching, that will surely benefit you! 

The believers at Corinth meet, but all are speaking in tongues, so no one can understand. Why do they all speak in tongues when they meet? I can think of no other reason than that they want to show off their ability to speak in tongues, for it is of no benefit to their hearers.

Because the believers in Corinth are infants in Christ, they are still self-centered and boastful. They do not eagerly desire gifts that will help others, but the gift that will make them appear to be spiritual. We know they are not yet spiritual (1Corinthians 3:1)!

Verses 7-9 — 

Paul uses another illustration — the flute, the harp, and the bugle (literally, trumpet), which are of no benefit unless they sound a distinct and distinguishable difference in tones (notes) so as to make a song! 

No one will know what is being played, if the notes are not played in order. And if a bugle does not play a distinct sound when calling men to battle, who will prepare himself for battle?

So, unless the believers at Corinth utter by the tongue speech that can be understood, they speak into the air. No one will know what they have spoken!

I see this in many Pentecostal and charismatic circles. Many will speak in tongues, until it sounds like a cacophony — just a harsh, loud mixture of unintelligible noise! At one conference, the speaker finished and said, “Now, everyone speak in tongues!” And they did, but it profited no one. None knew what the other was saying!

Verses 10-11 —

Paul now uses another illustration. There are many languages in the world that have meaning. These are the “known languages” spoken by various countries. But if I do not know the meaning, I will be like a foreigner to the one who speaks, and the one who speaks will be like a foreigner to me! 

Verses 12-13 —

Now Paul says very specifically, correctingthe believers at Corinth, who are zealous regarding spiritual gifts, but misuse them. He says, Seek to abound in gifts for the edification of the church!

Therefore, if you speak in tongues, pray that you may interpret what you have said, so it benefits the church! As I have said, that qualifies as prophecy, because the interpretation has come from the Lord.

Verses 14-17 —

If I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind will not understand what I am saying. What then? I will pray in the Spirit, in a tongue, but I will also pray in an understandable language, so others can profit. I will sing in the Spirit, in a tongue, but I will also sing in an understandable language, so others can worship with me!

If you bless (praise) in tongues, giving thanks to the Lord, who can know what you are saying? Unless they have the gift of interpretation of your tongues, they do not know that you are blessing and giving thanks to the Lord. How then, can they say, “Amen!” to what you are saying? You may be giving thanks well enough, but the other person is not edified. 

Verses 18-19 —

Lest we think Paul is “against tongues,” he thanks God that he speaks in tongues more than all of the believers at Corinth! BUT .  . . 

In the church of God, he desires to speak five words that are understandable, so he may instruct others also, rather than 10,000 words in a tongue that no one can understand.

Verse 20 — 

Now Paul chides them, telling them not to be children in their thinking (understanding). They are yet infants, but he calls them to be mature! For they desire gifts to edify themselves, not the whole church! They are self-centered because they are yet infants.

Verses 21-22 —

Paul speaks of the Law, quoting from the words the Lord gave Isaiah for His rebellious people who followed after false gods but did not believe God would judge them for it —

Isaiah 28:11  Indeed, He will speak to this people 

Through stammering lips and a foreign tongue,

¹²  He who said to them, “Here is rest, give rest to the weary,” 

And, “Here is repose,” but they would not listen.

So, tongues are a sign for unbelievers. What kind of sign? Tongues (the Akkadian spoken by the Babylonians) were a sign of God’s judgment upon Israel, but I had a hard time connecting that to the situation at Corinth. 

So I consulted Gordon Fee from The New International Commentary on the New Testament (NICNT). Both Fee and his fellow commentators are puzzled, too. The scripture seems to have been taken somewhat out of context, and actually reversed, which I have never seen Paul do. 

And usually, if everyone is puzzled, Paul is parroting back to the Corinthians some false teachings they have heard and begun to follow, as was the case in 1Corinthians 11. 

In this case, I believe that Judaizers are in view. Such ones use the Old Testament scriptures to try to prove that Gentiles must follow the Law of Moses, in order to be saved. 

With all of this in view, I will set aside any attempt to correlate Isaiah 28:11 with what is happening in the church at Corinth. I feel like I am back in 1Corinthians 11, where it seemed that Paul was teaching the opposite of what he teaches! But again, he was parroting back to the Corinthians the false teaching they were falling for — one that required specific rules about external appearance, in order to be pleasing to God.

But I will say this — in the situation in the church at Corinth, tongues are being spoken constantly when they gather. When unbelievers enter their meetings, they cannot understand what is being said. They do not understand nor do they believe that these tongues are from God. So they shake their heads and leave, and say the church is crazy! That was and is never the Lord’s intent for His church!

The infants in Christ at Corinth have forgotten the Lord’s intent for His church — that unbelievers hear the message of salvation through Him, in His churches! Again, this speaks to their infancy. 

Because of their behavior in their services, unbelievers will not stay and hear the gospel of Jesus Christ in the church at Corinth, because all they will hear is unintelligible tongues! 

And that’s the bottom line of this somewhat puzzling passage — the believers at Corinth are misusing tongues, and their misuse results in the dire consequence that unbelievers leave, rather than hear the gospel and receive salvation.

Verses 24-25 —

But if all prophesy, then what they say is intelligible. Then, when an unbeliever or unlearned believer comes in, he is convicted and called to account by all. Why? Because the secrets of his heart are exposed. 

It is like the pastor in that prayer meeting at the pastors’ conference. I had a word that someone was contemplating divorcing his wife and needed to repent. When he heard it, he fell on his knees and repented. 

By repenting, that pastor worshiped God and declared by his words and actions that God was certainly in the midst of us. Why? No one knew what he was planning. But God knew, and God spoke!

Verse 26 —

What should the believers at Corinth do, when they meet? Paul will now instruct them! 

When they are filled with the Spirit, they will each will have a psalm, they will each have a teaching, they will each have a revelation from God’s Word, they will each have a tongue and they will each have an interpretation to go with it. 

Verses 27-33 —

Paul’s instructions for the church at Corinth are specific:

— Only two or three should speak in a tongue. They must not all speak at the same time, but one after the other. And someone must interpret.

— If no one can interpret the tongue that was spoken, then the one who spoke in a tongue should keep silent in the church, and speak to himself and God privately.

— Two or three prophets may speak, one after the other. Then the others should judge what is said, as to whether it was from the Lord. 

— If someone who is seated has a revelation that is a prophecy, then the first one speaking is to be silent while that one speaks. 

— All are to prophesy one by one, so all may learn and be exhorted (implored, beseeched, or comforted).

— The spirits of prophets are subject to the prophets. The prophet does not lose control of his tongue, so as to interrupt or override another’s prophecy.

— For God is not a god of confusion, which is what is going on at Corinth! He is a God of peace (quietness and unity), in all the churches of the saints, those who are set apart to God by believing into Jesus Christ, and filled with His Spirit!

Verses 34-36 —

Now Paul corrects an error again related to the women of the church, as in 1Corinthians 11. The men who are believers at Corinth have likely been influenced by Judaizers. 

Again, Judaizers declare that all believers must not only believe in Jesus, but also follow the Law of Moses, in order to be saved. And in Jewish synagogues, at least at that time, women were required to be silent, and were separated from the men.

NOTE: Gordon Fee thinks this section was probably added by someone, long after Paul wrote this letter. That is also possible, but to me, this smacks of Judaism.

The believers at Corinth, influenced by false teaching by Judaizers, have thus decided that women should not speak, but must keep silent in the churches. They are to thus subject themselves, just as the Law also says.

If they want to learn anything, it should be through their husbands, at home. It is improper for a woman to speak in church! 

But remember that Paul speaks of women prophesying in church, in his earlier correction of another false teaching the church at Corinth has decided to follow —

1Corinthians 11:5 But every woman who has her head uncovered while praying or prophesying disgraces her head, for she is one and the same as the woman whose head is shaved.

Praying may be audible. Prophesying surely is audible! So for Paul, it is normal for women to speak in the church. Again, in this passage from 1Corinthians 11, Paul refutes false teaching that has led to many rules and regulations regarding outward works in the church at Corinth — ones he never taught them. 

After listing these false beliefs, Paul replies to the church at Corinth. The KJV includes a, “What?” as Paul’s first word in his rebuke. Did the Word of God come from you? Or did it come only to you? The believers at Corinth once again think they know better than Paul about such things. They have heard a word from a Judaizer, and that is better than the Spirit-filled Paul’s instructions!

Verses 37-40 —

Paul closes with a synopsis of his instructions:  

— If you think you are a prophet or spiritual, you will recognize (understand and heed) that what I have said is from the Lord and is a commandment.

— But if anyone does not recognize (ignores) that Paul gets his orders and words from the Lord, they are not recognized (they are ignored). Hard words, but truth!

— Paul exhorts them again, to desire earnestly to prophesy. He also warns them not to forbid to speak in tongues! How many churches have forbidden tongues because of their misuse, or because of fear! It is an insult to the Lord, whose Spirit gives this gift! 

But the one speaking in tongues must be filled with the Spirit and compelled and a captive of God’s divine love. Otherwise, they are nothing but unintelligible noise. The church does not benefit unless the speaker of tongues, or another, can interpret what the speaker has said.

— All things must be done properly, and in an orderly way. The meetings of the believers at Corinth are filled with confusion, and no one is being edified. 

I have seen this in many Pentecostal and charismatic venues that I have attended. Their meetings fall apart, and they spend the meeting laying hands on one another so as to cause both of them to laugh hysterically. Jesus is not glorified in it. May such churches come to their senses and seek to be filled with the Holy Spirit, so their sin natures — vividly on display in such cases — may be crucified and their hearts purified and filled with the Holy Spirit! Then such scenes will be absent, and the Word of God will be spoken in power.

Next time, we begin Chapter 15, often called the Resurrection Chapter. I will teach it in at least two sessions, because it is chock full of truths that must be carefully taught. May we all learn from Chapter 15, and my teachings up to this point! May I continue to learn, as I prepare the sessions, and may you continue to learn, as I teach what the Lord has shown me!

Lord Jesus, may Your errant church heed Paul’s words. May she seek to be filled with Your Spirit and Your love, so all gifts are used to profit all believers, and so that many come to faith, hearing the gospel of Jesus Christ!

FOR THOSE WHO REPENT

[SW332] 6/23/2018 message notes by 

Pastor Susan J. Wynn ©2018

For Those Who Repent

Text: Jeremiah 29:1-14, etc.

There is very good news for the church, and for individual believers, if they will repent from their sin against the Lord! He will restore them, and gather them, and bring them back to Him. It will be even greater than His restoration of Judah! I will show it to you.

When the church repents, she will no longer depend upon the broken cisterns she has made. And she will know the way of the Lord because she will be filled with His Spirit!

In Jeremiah 29, the Lord spoke to Jeremiah. The Lord’s words were then sent as a letter to His people in exile in Babylon, ones who had survived the long and difficult journey of their deportation from Jerusalem. 

They were sent away from His presence, because they had strayed far from Him and followed false gods. It is the same in the church today. She is in exile, separated from the Lord’s presence by her sin (Isaiah 59:1-3). She does not understand that she is in exile. It was the same for me, for 42 years!

When I was a child and teenager in church, no one ever told me that I could know the Lord and have an intimate, 24/7 relationship with Him. So Christianity was just a set of beliefs, to me. Why had I not been told of the indwelling Holy Spirit? Most of the church does not believe it is necessary or is “for today!”

In Judah’s exile to Babylon, His presence was no longer with them, but His people continued to rebel by listening to the false prophets who were deported with them. But the Lord did not fail to send His word to His people in Babylon. 

Oh, the mercy of the Lord! It is the same in the church today. He has sent many to her, to call her back to Himself. But she continues to prefer to listen to false prophets who tell her only pleasant things, even in her exile! 

The Lord’s letter contained a warning for His people to repent of their continued sin, but He also gave a promise of what would be, if they repented! It is the same today. The letter from the Lord to His exiles is also a letter to the church of today!

Verse 1-3 — 

The Lord’s letter was addressed to the elders, priests, prophets, and all the people who had been taken into exile by Nebuchadnezzar.

King Jeconiah (Jehoiachin), his family and his officials were now in exile in Babylon. King Zedekiah reigned in what remained of Jerusalem, as merely a vassal king appointed by Nebuchadnezzar. The situation in Jerusalem was desperate.

It is true in the church today. Her situation is desperate, indeed! Her membership is declining, and what is taught is less than the full truth, and in some cases, entirely false. Many who are in pulpits are vassal preachers, hired to keep peace in the church, just as Zedekiah was hired to keep peace in what remained of Jerusalem. These vassal preachers do not warn their members of their sin and call them to repent. The Lord did not send them, beloved (see Verse 9).

Verse 4 — 

The letter said, Thus says the Lord of hosts (the captain of the armies of God), the God of Israel (He is God alone). He says He is speaking “to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile.” 

What? Would the Lord do that? Yes! Just as it is with today’s church, exile from His presence is His punishment for a people who do not listen and repent. The Lord sends this letter today, that His church may repent and cry out for Him to lead her.

Verse 5-6 — 

The false prophets in exile in Babylon with Judah prophesied that the people would be returned to Jerusalem within two years (see Jeremiah 28:3). Though they said, “Thus says the Lord,” He most certainly did not say such a thing!

Here is what the Lord said, in His letter to the exiles — build houses, plant gardens, eat their produce, take wives, have children, and let their children have grandchildren. It would be a LONG exile, according to the word of the Lord — long enough for an entire rebellious generation to die out!

Verse 7 — 

What is more, they were to seek the welfare (shalom, peace) of the city of Babylon, where the Lord had sent them, and pray to the Lord on their behalf. What? Nebuchadnezzar was a despot, and Babylon was a pagan nation! But if Babylon was at peace (in the natural), the exiles would also be at peace, in that same way. 

Verses 8-9 — 

But the people were not at peace with their God, because they continued to listen to false prophets! Why? The false prophets spoke smooth, comforting things! 

But the Lord’s response was this —Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Do not let your prophets (they are not His) who are in your midst and your diviners (fortune tellers) deceive you! Do not listen to the dreams which they dream!

O, that the church would hear these words from the Lord! They are just as applicable to her, today! Many in the church are not at peace with their God! 

Many false prophets are in the midst of her. They have dreams of their own imagining. They paint a rosy picture for the church — one of great success and material prosperity, of demanding that God must do what His Word says, regardless of the spiritual condition of the asker!

They prophesy falsely, yet use the Lord’s name. He did not send them. They say, “Thus says the Lord” and “I declare and decree,” but they willfully disobey the Lord, as do those who eagerly follow them.

Verse 10 — 

It is not just two years, but seventy years that they will be in exile. The entire generation of those taken into exile will die in captivity in Babylon.

But then! Hallelujah! But then He will visit them and fulfill His good word to them, to bring them back to Jerusalem. His good word is that it will be seventy years. But then He will bring them back!

You need not wait 70 years to be set free, because Christ has come, beloved. This moment, if you repent and cry out to Him, He will put His plans into motion!

Verse 11 — 

For He knows full well the purpose He has for His people. He declares it to them! His plans are for welfare (peace with Him) and not for calamity (evil). His plans are to give them a future and a hope (an expected end)!

These are His plans, then and now —

Jeremiah 31:33 “But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” declares the LORD, “I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.”

Jeremiah 32:39 and I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear Me always, for their own good and for the good of their children after them. ⁴⁰ “I will make an everlasting covenant with them that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; and I will put the fear of Me in their hearts so that they will not turn away from Me.”

His plans are to give the church a hope — even Christ in her, the hope of glory (Colossians 1:27)! Even the indwelling Holy Spirit, Father and Son! Then His law will be written on her heart (2Corinthians 3:3). 

Then she will have one heart and one way. Then the fear of Him will be in her heart, and she will not turn away from Him any more. Then her sin nature will be crucified, because she will be filled with His Holy Spirit!

Then she will be able to fulfill her  purpose, to be salt, to be lights in the darkness, to be cities on hills, to be His witnesses here! When I speak of the church, I speak to each of you who are believers.

The church is in a great calamity right now because she is exiled from His presence. But He will fill her with His presence, if she will repent from her sin! O beloved, O church!

And beloved, when she and you repent, her and your future — her and your expected end — will be to see Him, face-to-face, in the very throne room of God (1Corinthians 13:12)! Her and your expected end will be to worship Him there, forever!

Verses 12-13 — 

After Judah’s 70 years in exile, the Lord said His people would call upon Him and come to Him and pray to Him (Daniel did on their behalf, in Daniel 9). And He would then hear their prayers! Why? Because they would be prayers of repentance!

They would seek Him, instead of the foolish things they had sought! And He promised that they would find Him, but only when they searched for Him with all their hearts. Oh, He is a Rewarder of those who diligently seek Him (Hebrews 11:6)!  Oh church, hear the word of the Lord through His prophet, Isaiah, and obey His command to repent —

Isaiah 55:6   Seek the LORD while He may be found; 

Call upon Him while He is near.

⁷  Let the wicked forsake his way 

And the unrighteous man his thoughts; 

And let him return to the LORD, 

And He will have compassion on him, 

And to our God, 

For He will abundantly pardon.

Verse 14 — 

At the end of the 70 years, when His exiles in Babylon search for Him with all their hearts, He will be found by them! He will come forth to them and appear to them! 

O, beloved, when you repent and return to the Lord, and ask Him to fill you with His Spirit, He will appear to you! And just as He promised the exiles. He will restore you from your captivity. But as I have said, it need not be 70 years, for Christ has come! Keep reading!

When He promises to restore their fortunes, do not try to read the prosperity gospel into the word “fortunes,” beloved! To restore fortunes means “to bring back from captivity!” And today, it is to be released from captivity to sin, and set free, indeed, just as Jesus says —

 John 8:31   So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; ³² and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” . . . ³⁴ “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin . . . ³⁶ “So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.”

But Pastor Sue, our preachers tell us it is impossible to be set free from slavery to sin! Thus, they are calling Jesus Christ a liar!

Beloved, do not let your preachers and prophets and pastors who are in your midst, and your fortune tellers, deceive you. Do not listen to them! He has not sent them!

When you turn to Him, and when Israel turns to Him, He will gather you and them as a hen gathers her chicks, for finally, you and they will be willing (Matthew 23:37)! 

He longs to gather you, O church, from all the nations, all the places of exile to which He has driven you! He will bring you back, and fill you with His presence, if you will repent and believe!

Amen, Lord Jesus. So be it, I pray!

SESSION 18 — “To a Church in Crisis, With Love,” a Bible study of 1 & 2 Corinthians

Text: 1Corinthians 13 

In the first twelve chapters, Paul, who loves the church with God’s own love, has reprimanded, beseeched and instructed the troubled church in Corinth. All of what he has written, and all that they have said and done, reflects their infancy in Christ. They have not comprehended that Christianity is not about outward works or who is the greatest, but an inward work in their hearts. 

In Chapter 12, Paul stressed that the gifts are from the Holy Spirit, their ministries are from Jesus Christ, and their power is from God. And all that the Spirit gives them is for the common good. He has addressed their lack of unity and one-upmanship. 

Now, Paul teaches them the more excellent way —  a superabounding, much, much better, abundantly better, beyond measure means of walking as a Christian.

If I were to give this a title, it would be, “Compelled By God’s Divine Love.” 

I’d give it that title because nearly the entire church and almost all of its commentators miss the entire point of 1Corinthians 13, applying human love in their interpretation.  In no way does Paul intend us to define love by way of human emotion and moral sensibility, as the commentators suggest!

Here’s the truth of the matter — in order to be the church, our hearts must be filled to overflowing with God’s actual love — the same love the Father has for the Son!  Then, and only then, can we walk in this more excellent way, this way that is  superabounding, abundantly and immeasurably better! 

And it is a lovely, joyful, powerful walk. What kind of power? The power of God’s divine love, in human hearts! That is the wellspring for all of the gifts of the Spirit, beloved! Hallelujah! Is it just for some? No! Jesus Christ commands all of His followers to be filled with the Spirit and the divine love of God!

2Corinthians 5:14 For the love of Christ controls us (compels us, takes us prisoner — I love this!), having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died; ¹⁵ and He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf.

The problem in Corinth is lack of unity, which reflects (once again) that they are infants in Christ. They are not yet filled with the Spirit, and therefore, they are not yet filled with God’s actual love. And His divine love is the means by which everything works as He requires it to work, in the church. When you are taken captive by His divine love, all ministry is then done in the power of His love and His Spirit!

Paul will spend a good portion of 1Corinthians 14 exhorting the believers at Corinth not to be children in their thinking (Verse 20 of that chapter). Why? Because they are still infants in Christ, as are many in today’s church. 

But the Holy Spirit purifies your heart, crucifies your sin nature, and fills you with God’s divine love! Then you are no longer children, but Christ’s witnesses here, compelled by and captives of that love! That is what Paul is teaching us all, in this chapter!

So, let’s get to it!

Verse 1 —

If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noising gong or a clanging cymbal. Why?

So, if you are not filled with God’s divine love, yet you speak in the tongues of men (a foreign language they do not know) or of angels (a heavenly language), you make a lot of noise, but it benefits no one. It cannot, because you have not been  taken captive by, and thus compelled by, God’s divine love until the Holy Spirit has filled your heart with it!

“If I speak . . . but do not have love.” Paul repeats this phrase three times in the first three verses. The church lacks something. There is something they need that they do not have. My leader in another denomination told me I should never tell Christians they need something they don’t have. We don’t want them to feel bad about themselves. They have had a hard week. Just preach something nice. May it never be that I would follow that particular exhortation! 

Paul is not referring to natural, human love. Even pagans have that kind of love. But Paul is referring to having the divine love that God pours out WITHIN us —

Romans 5:5 and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

It is the love OF God, not love FOR God. It is to have within you the same love the Father has for the Son! How do we possess this love within us? It is poured out to overflowing, spilling out to everyone around us, when we have been filled with His Spirit!  Oh my! It is a whole new kind of love — selfless, outward-focused, self-giving —  that you do not possess when you are born.

It is Jesus’ prayer answered —

John 17:25   “O righteous Father, although the world has not known You, yet I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me; ²⁶ and I have made Your name known to them, and will make it known, so that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.”

I pray you understand! It is the same love with which the Father loves the Son. And it fills those who are filled with the Holy Spirit! 

And when Jesus prays about giving us His “glory” which the Father has given  Him, He is speaking of the infilling of the Holy Spirit. He is asking His Father in advance of Pentecost, so that at Pentecost, it will be made so —

John 17:22 “The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; ²³ I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me.”

Beloved, either you have experienced your own personal Pentecost and have His love, or you do not have His love because you have not yet been filled. I speak these words to show you that your own natural, human love will never do. It fails every time, despite your own estimation that your intentions are good. But Paul will show you that if you have been taken captive by and thus compelled by God’s divine love in your heart, His love in you will NEVER fail!

Believers in today’s church have tried to love each other with human love, and the landscape is strewn with those they wound with their words and their actions. Many have been driven away from local churches because the members are not taken captive by God’s divine love, and compelled by it.

But the Lord is ready, here and now, to fill you with His Spirit and His love, just as Jesus commands you! That is the very good news of the whole gospel of Jesus Christ!

Verse 2 — 

Again, you may have the gift of prophecy, you may know all mysteries and all knowledge, and even have faith to move mountains. But if you do not have love, you are nothing. You are not anything at all, in God’s eyes!

Again, your motive cannot be right, because you have not been filled with God’s actual love. So you have not been taken captive by, and thus are not compelled by it.

Many study for years and obtain many degrees so they can analyze and dissect the Word of God. They have plenty of man’s knowledge of the Word of God. But because they don’t know and are not filled with the Author, they twist it. Or they abnegate and disallow the truths that are in the Word. They do these things because they are not filled with God’s love. They are not its captives, and thus, they are not compelled by it!

Even if you have faith to move mountains, your mountain-moving is useless. You must be filled with God’s Spirit and His love, so that you are taken captive by it, and compelled by it! Otherwise, your motive will not be right, and what you do will not be for the common good of the Body of Christ. 

In today’s church, those who are not filled with God’s love, taken captive by it and compelled by it, will go after well educated men with seminary degrees. But in many cases, these men have no degree of experiential knowledge of the Lord, and are not filled with His love. It isn’t about “head knowledge,” but about being filled with God’s Spirit and God’s love, taken captive by it, and thus, compelled by it!

Verse 3 —

If God’s divine love has not filled your heart, then giving all your possessions to feed the poor, or surrendering your body to flames in place of another, profits you nothing. It is noble. It is an act of human philanthropy, human compassion, human love. Even pagans do such things. 

Apart from being filled with and taken captive by and thus compelled by God’s actual love, these sacrificial acts have no eternal value in the kingdom of God. Do they have eternal value if you are humble and do these things in secret? No. Unless you are filled with God’s actual love, taken captive by it and compelled by it, they will profit you nothing, when you stand before the judgment seat of Christ. 

Why? Aren’t these good deeds? Don’t poor people get fed? Haven’t I taken the flames so someone else is spared? How brave I have been! Yes, but those you have helped or those for whom you died have not received from you the very thing they need more than anything else — the gospel of Jesus Christ! 

Only through believing into Christ can they be forgiven for past sins, and be given a new heart full of His Spirit and His actual love! Only then do they gain freedom from slavery to sin. Only through Christ will they receive eternal life rather than eternal death. If God’s actual love in your heart has made you its captive, and you thus are compelled by it, you will surely tell the world this great gospel!

Verses 4-7 — 

So how do you know whether God’s actual love has filled your heart? Being filled with God’s Holy Spirit and His love is an indescribably powerful, moment-in-time experience! Then, you exhibit God’s fruit, not the human variety —

— You are patient. You are glad to suffer long, in spite of troubles caused by others, for the sake of Christ. It is His patience in you.

— You are kind (gracious). You are full of the grace of God — that is, His divine work in your heart which is reflected in your life — when you are filled with His Spirit!

— You are not jealous (envious). There is no one-upmanship in you, there is no desire to wield power over others in the church, no desire for prestige, and you do not envy anyone. All of that was taken away, when your sin nature was crucified and you were filled with the Spirit.

— You do not brag. You do not boast about yourself, but always boast in Christ, and what He has done in your heart!

— You are not arrogant, which is to inflate yourself so that you seem bigger than those who are your brothers and sisters in Christ. 

— You do not act unbecomingly. You adorn the gospel of Jesus Christ, by your words and actions. 

— You do not seek your own. You do not seek to have your rights honored and met. Your  heart was cleansed of that, when you surrendered to the Lord and asked Him to fill you with His Spirit. You gave up your rights to yourself. 

— You are not provoked. You do not quickly become exasperated and speak sharp words against those inside or outside the church. 

— You do not take into account a wrong suffered. You do not keep a tally. You forgive, because when you are filled with His Spirit, you are filled with His love and His forgiveness. You desire no retribution. Like Christ, you pray for those who spitefully use you (Matthew 5:44). You bless your enemies and do not curse them (Luke 6:28).

  — You do not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoice in the truth. You do not take pleasure in what is done by the world. You are in the world, but not of it (John 17:14). The things done by those who are in the world is not pleasing to you, any more than such things are pleasing to God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit who fully indwell you. 

Instead, the truth, the very truth of God and the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ, gives you great joy, and you cannot stop speaking of what you have seen and heard Acts 4:20)!

— You bear all things (for the sake of Christ), you believe all things (all the promises of God). You hope all things, which means you are confident in the Lord and expecting that His promises will be fulfilled, just according to His Word. And you endure all things — even persecution, imprisonment, and death for the sake of the gospel.

Verse 8 —

Human love will fail and fall. Something will happen to make you stop loving. 

But God’s actual love in your heart will never fail. Never! If His Spirit has filled you and His divine love is in you, nothing will shake you, and you will have the right motive in all things! His love in your heart will be the motive, compelling you because you have become its captive! 

Prophecies will fail; they will no longer be needed, one day. Tongues will no longer be needed. And knowledge (gnosis, first knowledge) will pass away. It will no longer be needed. Note that these are things that the believers at Corinth have become fixated upon.

Why? The end times will have come, everything will have been revealed, and a new heaven and new earth will have been created by the Lord! There will be no need to prophesy, and all believers will speak one language!

Verses 9-10 —

Now we know in part and we prophesy in part, but THEN, the perfect (the completion, the complete fulfillment of the plan for us to intimately know God the Father and God the Son) will have come. We will know Him perfectly, completely. So we will no longer need the gifts that give us only a partial understanding.

Verse 11 — 

Paul speaks to the infants in Christ at Corinth as children, and uses a metaphor to show them that they must seek to be filled so they become mature.

Children speak like children. Children think like children, and reason like children. They are children!

But beloved, when you are filled with the Spirit in a moment of time, just as Paul was in the house on Straight Street in Damascus, you no longer will speak or think or reason like an infant in Christ. You become mature in a moment of time.  When you are filled, you put away childish speech, thoughts, and reasoning. 

Yes, the Lord will continue to form His character in you, throughout your life (2Corinthians 3:18). But you will know Him intimately, and it will be a joy to continue to learn from Him! And you will no longer willfully disobey Him. In all things, His love will be the compelling force, for you have become captive to His love! Praise God!

Verse 12 — 

Do you  understand that now we see in a mirror dimly? Even those who are filled with the Spirit do not see absolutely everything of God! 

We see through a glass darkly, says the KJV. It isn’t that God hides anything, but it is just that we do not have the capacity to see it all. 

But then, when we stand before Him, we will be face-to-face with Him, and we will fully know, in a way that only a face-to-face meeting in the kingdom of heaven can provide.  We will know Him to the ultimate degree, in a way that no human, even one filled with the Spirit, can know Him. We will know Him as fully as He already knows us!

Verse 13 —

Three things remain — faith, hope and love. We must have faith to believe into Christ. That faith is a gift from God (Ephesians 2:8). We must have faith to believe that He will fill us with His Spirit if we stay and wait. We have the expectation that His promise of the Spirit will be fulfilled.

But the greater — the exceedingly great, large and high, of these three — is to have God’s actual love fill your heart. That is the exceedingly greater! That is what the church at Corinth and today’s church must seek! That will cure all of her ills! That will set her on the path of righteousness! Then she will be compelled by no other motive but God’s love, to which she will be a captive forever! Then she will be Christ’s witnesses here! Amen, Lord Jesus! So be it!

The Way of the LORD

[SW331] 6/16/2018 message notes by 

Pastor Susan J. Wynn ©2018

The Way of the Lord

Text: Jeremiah 5 & 6, etc.

Just as the Lord commanded, I searched high and low for those who know the way of the Lord, but found that many do not know His way. I used to be one of them!

What is the way of the Lord? It is to judge rightly and seek faithfulness to the Lord. 

But now that Jesus has come and died and risen and ascended and been glorified, the way of the Lord is much more than that! When you are filled with the Holy Spirit, the way of the Lord becomes fully known to you because He is in you. So you have become a partaker of His divine nature (2Peter 1:4), and a bearer of His fruit (Galatians 5:22-23)!

The way of the Lord is easy, because your heart is purified, your sin nature is crucified, and you are filled with God’s divine love. So, you are able to walk as Jesus walked (1John 2:6), and to be as He is in this world (1John 4:17). But, sad to say, much of the church does not believe these things are possible.

The Lord said to me, as He did to Jeremiah —

Jeremiah 5:1    “Roam to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, 

And look now and take note. 

And seek in her open squares, 

If you can find a man, 

If there is one who does justice (judges righteously, with the Lord’s wisdom), 

who seeks truth (seeks to be faithful to the Lord), 

Then I will pardon her.”

But among the church, I could find only a few who intimately knew the Lord. Most said, “We believe,” but the Lord said that they did not know Him or obey Him, so they swore falsely. 

I did the same, for most of my life. And just as it was with me, He said they had refused His many calls to take correction and repent, though His faithful prophets spoke for Him, to His wayward people  — 

Jeremiah 5:2-3 “And although they say, ‘As the LORD lives,’ 

Surely they swear falsely.”

³  O LORD, do not Your eyes look for truth (faithfulness)? 

You have smitten them, 

But they did not weaken; 

You have consumed them, 

But they refused to take correction. 

They have made their faces harder than rock; 

They have refused to repent.

But just as in Jeremiah 5:4, I thought they did not know the way of the Lord because they were poor (not in high positions in the church) and foolish (lacking understanding, infants in Christ, like the believers at Corinth, per 1Corinthians 3:1-3). It used to be the same for me.

So I said —

Jeremiah 5:5  “I will go to the great 

And will speak to them, 

For they know the way of the LORD 

And the ordinance of their God.” 

But they too, with one accord, have broken the yoke 

And burst the bonds.”

After I was saved and filled with the Holy Spirit, the Lord saw to it that I became a reverend. Therefore, like Jeremiah, I had access to “the great” — the leaders — in several denominations. So I went to them. I thought they would surely know the way of the Lord, and the ordinance (the divine law) of the Lord.

But I was greatly distressed to find that the leaders did not do these things. They walked after man’s ways, seeking man’s wisdom. And I heard no call to repentance from their lips. Why?

They did not know (yada, have extreme intimacy, as in a marriage) the Lord (Jeremiah 2:8). They did not walk and speak as He walked and spoke. They diluted or deleted portions of God’s divine law, so that the words they spoke would be more palatable to those they served.  

With one accord, the leaders made a decision. They would not be bound by the divine law any more, and they no longer needed to take Jesus’ yoke upon them and learn from Him. 

They chose to omit portions of the divine law, so no one would be offended by the Lord’s commands to His people, and so no one would get even a glimpse the condition of their heart. It is a new day, they said, and we must adapt the gospel of Jesus Christ to today’s culture and the needs of today’s people. We must think of God in a new way, they said. But the Lord does not change (Hebrews 13:8)! 

I also sought ones that stood by the ways and asked for the ancient paths —

Jeremiah 6:16-17  Thus says the LORD, 

“Stand by the ways and see and ask for the ancient paths, 

Where the good way is, and walk in it; 

And you will find rest for your souls. 

But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’

¹⁷  “And I set watchmen over you, saying, 

‘Listen to the sound of the trumpet!’ 

But they said, ‘We will not listen.’

 But many (both leaders and church members) refused to walk in those ancient paths — in the way of the Lord — so they would find rest for their souls.

They did not obey Jesus’ command to take His yoke upon them, and learn from Him, so they would find rest for their souls —

Matthew 11:28   “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest (ceasing from labor). ²⁹ “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST (re-creation) FOR YOUR SOULS. ³⁰ “For My yoke is easy (gracious, kind) and My burden is light (easy).”

The leaders chose man’s ways, instead. They reasoned that the burden of Jesus, which He says is light, was too great for the ones they served. The word “burden” sounds negative, not positive, after all.

They told me that their followers were weary and heavy laden, having had a hard week. They needed something that would make them feel good about themselves. So they needed pleasant words. 

So, with one accord, the leaders determined that natural rest — and for troubled ones, psychological assessment and counseling done by a Ph.D. or an M.D. — was better than Jesus’ rest, in which you cease from your own labor in “trying to be good” and “trying not to sin,” and ask Jesus to re-create your heart.

They determined that  their congregations did not need to have their hearts re-created by Jesus, and that it was wrong to tell people that they need something they do not have. Therefore, their followers did not need Jesus’ words calling them to repent and commanding them to be filled with the Holy Spirit so they would be holy as their Father in heaven is holy, perfect as He is perfect (1Peter 1:16, Matthew 5:48). So they avoided using such scriptures in their teachings.

Thus, the leaders broke the yoke that Jesus commanded us all to take upon ourselves. It is an easy yoke, and when we take it upon ourselves, we find that He is there with us, teaching us to be meek and lowly in heart, and giving us rest for our souls. But the leaders felt that the word, “yoke,” would not sound pleasant or positive to their hearers. So they spoke only a positive message.

Why did they not speak of the yoke? Why did the leaders themselves break the yoke? I was shocked when the Lord said —

Jeremiah 6:13  “For  from the least of them even to the greatest of them, 

Everyone is  greedy for gain, 

And from the prophet even to the priest 

Everyone  deals falsely.

¹⁴  “They have  healed the brokenness of My people superficially, 

Saying, ‘Peace, peace,’ 

But there is no peace.”

I understood Verse 14 of this passage. Verse 13 shocked me, though! But it is because they do not know Him — there is no holy intimacy between them and their Lord, as the Lord showed me.

It is no wonder that, in the coming judgment, the hearts of many leaders will fail. 

It is no wonder that the priests will be appalled. It is no wonder that the prophets will be astounded —

Jeremiah 4:9 “It shall come about in that day,” declares the LORD, “that the heart of the king and the heart of the princes will fail; and the priests will be appalled and the prophets will be astounded.”

They have used their own natural wisdom to lead, and have not sought the Lord. They have sought their own gain. They do not know the Lord. 

But what is still more appalling is this —the Lord’s own people love the false words of their leaders and prophets and preachers. 

So, Jeremiah and I are appalled and weep — 

Jeremiah 5:30 “An appalling and horrible thing 

Has happened in the land:

³¹  The prophets prophesy falsely, 

And the priests rule on their own authority; 

And My people love it so! 

But what will you do at the end of it?

In today’s church, it is the same as when Paul wrote his second letter to Timothy. The church members seek to have their ears tickled, and they gather around themselves heaps of such prophets and preachers and leaders, so they may continue hear only good things —

2Timothy 4:3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, ⁴ and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths.

Beloved, I pray you would see that even if your leaders have led you astray with a gospel that requires no change of heart, you have a responsibility to seek the Lord so you may know the truth. 

The Lord is poised to judge His church, for He says of many of today’s church leaders — 

Jeremiah 5:12  They have lied about the LORD 

And said, “Not He; 

Misfortune will not come on us, 

And we will not see sword or famine.”

The Lord is poised to judge His church, for many church leaders have determined that His true prophets are foolish and old-fashioned, and that His prophets’ call to repentance is unnecessary. So, Jeremiah and I are appalled and weep, as the leaders say — 

Jeremiah 5:13  “The prophets are as wind, 

And the word is not in them. 

Thus it will be done to them!”

And the Lord’s response to them is that He will make the words of His prophets fire —

Jeremiah 5:14    Therefore, thus says the LORD, the God of hosts, 

“Because you (leaders) have spoken this word, 

Behold, I am making My words in your (Jeremiah’s) mouth fire 

And this people wood, and it will consume them.”

Jesus Christ is poised to judge His church for her sins and apostasies (turning away from the Lord). But He will not make a complete end of her. He declares —

Jeremiah 5:18   “Yet even in those days,” declares the LORD, “I will not make you a complete destruction.”

But He also commands —

Jeremiah 5:10   “Go up through her vine rows and destroy, 

But do not execute a complete destruction; 

Strip away her branches, 

For they are not the LORD’S.”

That is not just for those who lived during the Old Testament period! Jesus warns His disciples in the same way —

John 15:6 “If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned.”

Here is His call, today! His mercy is here for you today, just as it was for me! When I repented and sought the Lord, He heard and answered and saved me and then filled me with His Spirit so I would not stray any more! 

Here is what will happen if leaders and church members turn and repent! He will hear from heaven and forgive (1Kings 8:48-49)! 

But it must be done while it is still today —

Hebrews 4:7  He again fixes a certain day, “Today,” saying through David after so long a time just as has been said before, 

“TODAY IF YOU HEAR HIS VOICE, 

DO NOT HARDEN YOUR HEARTS.”

Amen, Lord Jesus. Let it be so, I pray!