The word undeserved means “not warranted, merited, or earned.” The word hope means “a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen.” Today we are looking at the hope we have of eternal life if we submit our lives wholeheartedly to God, repent and turn from wicked ways, but submit, repent and turn are words that most people do not want to hear. Most who call themselves Christians are content to be somewhat submitted, feel they have nothing to repent for, therefore why would they turn from the direction they have been heading, even though the direction they are heading is the wrong way and they are lukewarm. Jesus makes it very clear you do not want to be lukewarm, just as God was clear about obeying in the Promised Land. Revelation 3:15 “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! 16 So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. 17 You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. 18 I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.” Today’s church has a false sense of security and hope as lukewarm is considered hot enough, yet most believe God’s blessing is and will fall on them and they will receive eternal life. Jesus wasn’t saying that cold was a good option, just that lukewarm was worse than being cold. Those who have chosen a particular church, along with their distinct doctrines and theology, have believed those leading them that they have found the way, truth and life and they have hope of eternal life. They even think they deserve it. Some have even been told their commitment to the brand guarantees them eternal life, no matter what. Notice I said brand, not true gospel. Yes, total commitment to the true gospel of Jesus Christ is a guarantee. Total commitment to other gospels is not. For most the hope they have, they feel has been deserved and their expectation is high that they will hear well done good and faithful servant. It doesn’t even cross their mind, nor do they test the spirits to make sure, that they might hear, Matthew 25:41 “depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.” After you die is not the time you want to find out that eternity will not be spent where you were led to believe it would be. Imagine those who have gone to church their whole lives and hear those words depart from me. That thought should make us tremble before God, but most will think that is nonsense.
One of the questions you often hear asked is how could a loving God allow such evil in the world or allow someone to end up in hell for all eternity? Usually with a question most people want an answer, but for most, the question is not so much of a question but a statement of rejection. Basically, what they are saying is because there is evil in this world, I want nothing to do with this God. There are also those who are somewhat committed, as long as life is going well. When life ceases to go well, out comes the question how could a loving God allow…? The question is asked but the answer is not sought after. The answers are in scripture, but the word of God has been rejected and replaced with man’s word and man’s version of God differs from scripture. Also, man’s power and his wisdom are desired over God’s strangely enough. The church has rebelled and turned away and as scripture clearly shows when that happens, God allows our enemies to be victorious over his people. The reason most people really do not want the answer is acknowledging truth means they would have to repent and change directions. Most people are pretty set in the direction they are heading, and they just do not want to admit the way they have chosen is not the right path, so they refuse to repent, and they reject the words God has given to His servants. Most will reject the truth of God’s word because it doesn’t line up with their manmade version of truth. Proverbs 9:7 “Whoever corrects a mocker invites insults; whoever rebukes the wicked incurs abuse. 8 Do not rebuke mockers or they will hate you; rebuke the wise and they will love you. 9 Instruct the wise and they will be wiser still; teach the righteous and they will add to their learning.” Proverbs 16:25 “There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death.” Proverbs 9:13 “Folly is an unruly woman; she is simple and knows nothing. 14 She sits at the door of her house, on a seat at the highest point of the city, 15 calling out to those who pass by, who go straight on their way, 16 “Let all who are simple come to my house!” To those who have no sense she says, 17 “Stolen water is sweet; food eaten in secret is delicious!” 18 But little do they know that the dead are there, that her guests are deep in the realm of the dead.” Proverbs 2:18 “Surely her house leads down to death and her paths to the spirits of the dead. 19 None who go to her return or attain the paths of life.”
Most people who ask this question do not really want the answer because the issue is not about God, but themselves. Most in the church are quite content with the belief that living a lukewarm life, going your own way, rejecting God’s word, is quite pleasing to God, therefore your place in heaven is secured, as long as you go to church and call yourself a Christian. Commitment and submission in today’s church is not necessarily to God but to the organization supposedly promoting God. They have been taught that God is loving, therefore hell really doesn’t exist and God, if hell does exist, would never allow you to spend eternity there. Yes, most will not come out and say that hell does not exist, as some do, but the reality is that most in the church do not think anyone who goes to church would end up there because God is a loving God. This is why reading scripture is so important. Scripture showed us time and time again what happened to God’s people and the temple when His people rebelled against Him. Habakkuk 1:5 “Look at the nations and watch— and be utterly amazed. For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe, even if you were told. 6 I am raising up the Babylonians.” 2 Chronicles 36:15 “The Lord, the God of their ancestors, sent word to them through his messengers again and again, because he had pity on his people and on his dwelling place. 16 But they mocked God’s messengers, despised his words and scoffed at his prophets until the wrath of the Lord was aroused against his people and there was no remedy. 17 He brought up against them the king of the Babylonians, who killed their young men with the sword in the sanctuary, and did not spare young men or young women, the elderly or the infirm. God gave them all into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar. 18 He carried to Babylon all the articles from the temple of God, both large and small, and the treasures of the Lord’s temple and the treasures of the king and his officials. 19 They set fire to God’s temple and broke down the wall of Jerusalem; they burned all the palaces and destroyed everything of value there.” Two temples were destroyed and there were only a few survivors. Today the third temple has also been torn down, but this temple is not a building. Acts 17:24 “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands.” Ephesians 2:19 “Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. 21 In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. 22 And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.” Babylon and the Assyrians destroyed Israel and Judah and the Romans destroyed the temple and many Jews, but today the abomination that causes desolation has destroyed the church and millions have died in deception and delusion. 2 Thessalonians 2:9 “The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with how satan works. He will use all sorts of displays of power through signs and wonders that serve the lie, 10 and all the ways that wickedness deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. 11 For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie 12 and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness.” Yes, God allows satan to bring destruction and as you just read God Himself will bring delusion to those who do not believe the truth. Isaiah said Isaiah 59:15 “Truth is nowhere to be found, and whoever shuns evil becomes a prey.” Daniel said Daniel 8:12 “Because of rebellion, the Lord’s people and the daily sacrifice were given over to it. It prospered in everything it did, and truth was thrown to the ground.”
There is no fear of God and no fear that what you read about hell in Matthew 25 above is true. God is loving but that is not the problem; we are. God said, Proverbs 8:17 “I love those who love me, and those who seek me find me.” What most are seeking in today’s church is not God as our enemies have infiltrated the church and left the church desolate and most are content with desolation. Daniel 9:27 “And at the temple he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him.” 2 Thessalonians 2:4 “He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God.” As we read, people are now the temple not the buildings. Most are not seeking God wholeheartedly and sadly those who are seeking have been led astray by false teachers and prophets that are set up in the church. Obviously, they do not tell you they are false teachers as they portray themselves to be ministers of the gospel. They are satan’s minions who teach doctrines of demons, (1 Timothy 4:1 “The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. 2 Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron.”) yet they believe themselves to be prophets and teachers of truth. They always seem to have an audience because 2 Timothy 4:3 “the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 4 They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.” Isaiah 30:9 “For these are rebellious people, deceitful children, children unwilling to listen to the Lord’s instruction. 10 They say to the seers, “See no more visions!” and to the prophets, “Give us no more visions of what is right! Tell us pleasant things, prophesy illusions. 11 Leave this way, get off this path, and stop confronting us with the Holy One of Israel!” 2 Peter 2:1 “But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves. 2 Many will follow their depraved conduct and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. 17 These people are springs without water and mists driven by a storm. Blackest darkness is reserved for them. 18 For they mouth empty, boastful words and, by appealing to the lustful desires of the flesh, they entice people who are just escaping from those who live in error. 19 They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves of depravity—for “people are slaves to whatever has mastered them.” 20 If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and are overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning. 21 It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them.” Amos 8:11 “The days are coming,” declares the Sovereign Lord, “when I will send a famine through the land— not a famine of food or a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the words of the Lord. 12 People will stagger from sea to sea and wander from north to east, searching for the word of the Lord, but they will not find it.” Those days are already here.
Today there are only a few survivors left in the church, but it is not that we haven’t been warned. Also do not be deceived by groups in the church who call themselves the true remnant yet teach false gospel. Again, this is why testing the spirits is so important. 1 John 4:1 “Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.” You do not test the spirits with your own version of the truth. Today for example you have the non-charismatic speaking out against the charismatics and vice versa, yet both are wrong based on scripture and the powerless church not doing as Jesus did. The church must turn away from manmade and demonic gospels (rebellion equals powerlessness) and return to the truth of God’s word (power returns). There is so much confusion and false teaching because God has turned away and withdrawn His Spirit. The day is coming when the teachers will no longer be hidden. Isaiah 30:20 “Although the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, your teachers will be hidden no more; with your own eyes you will see them.” Jesus said John 16:12 “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. 13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. 14 He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. 15 All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.” John 14:12 Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. 13 And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.” The church started this way at Pentecost and that is how the church was supposed to continue, but instead the church almost immediately rebelled, even during the life of Paul. 2 Corinthians 11:4 “For if someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the Spirit you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily enough.” Galatians 1:12 “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. 13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. 14 He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. 15 All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.” This rebellion led to the powerlessness of the church so that the church has not been doing as Jesus did.
If we go back to the question, why would a loving God allow…?, the question should be why should God allow you to live? First of all, who is anyone to question the Almighty and Sovereign God, creator of the universe? King Nebuchadnezzar said, after he was humbled by God, Daniel 4:34 “I honored and glorified him who lives forever. His dominion is an eternal dominion; his kingdom endures from generation to generation. 35 All the peoples of the earth are regarded as nothing. He does as he pleases with the powers of heaven and the peoples of the earth. No one can hold back his hand or say to him: “What have you done?” Ecclesiastes 5:2 “Do not be quick with your mouth, do not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before God. God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few.” God said to Job, who did nothing wrong, yet still repented and humbled himself before God, Job 38:3 “Brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer me.” And then over and over God questioned Job. Basically, the very first question by God was enough. God said to Job, Job 38:4 “Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation? Tell me, if you understand.” Yet when devastation hits, man should realize that they do not have it all figured out, but they do not. Chapter after chapter God asks questions and Job’s response should be our response. Job 41:4 “I am unworthy—how can I reply to you? I put my hand over my mouth. 5 I spoke once, but I have no answer— twice, but I will say no more.” Then God continues and Job then again responds, Job 42:3 “Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know. 4 “You said, ‘Listen now, and I will speak; I will question you, and you shall answer me.’ 5 My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you. 6 Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes.” Ecclesiastes 12:13 “Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind. 14 For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.”
We should be much more fearful when questioning God, yet there is no fear of God even though, we should be afraid Matthew 10:28 “of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” Psalm 36:1 “I have a message from God in my heart concerning the sinfulness of the wicked: There is no fear of God before their eyes.” Paul said it this way Romans 3:10 “As it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one; 11 there is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God. 12 All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.” 13 “Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit.” “The poison of vipers is on their lips.” 14 “Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.” 15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood; 16 ruin and misery mark their ways, 17 and the way of peace they do not know.” 18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.” People are dying without a thought to where they will really be spending eternity.
Fearing God is not a crippling fear but a fear that leads to knowledge and life. Proverbs 9:10 “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” Isaiah 33:5 “The Lord is exalted, for he dwells on high; he will fill Zion with his justice and righteousness. 6 He will be the sure foundation for your times, a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge; the fear of the Lord is the key to this treasure.” Deuteronomy 6:1 “These are the commands, decrees and laws the Lord your God directed me to teach you to observe in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess, 2 so that you, your children and their children after them may fear the Lord your God as long as you live by keeping all his decrees and commands that I give you, and so that you may enjoy long life. 3 Hear, Israel, and be careful to obey so that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, just as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, promised you.” A lack of fear leads to changing God’s word and ignoring it, even though we were warned Revelation 22:18 “I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this scroll: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to that person the plagues described in this scroll. 19 And if anyone takes words away from this scroll of prophecy, God will take away from that person any share in the tree of life and in the Holy City, which are described in this scroll.”
God gave David a promise that said there would always be a remnant and every time we see the sun and moon do as they are supposed to do, we know that there is hope, even for the remnant who is in captivity. Jeremiah 33:20 “This is what the Lord says: ‘If you can break my covenant with the day and my covenant with the night, so that day and night no longer come at their appointed time, 21 then my covenant with David my servant—and my covenant with the Levites who are priests ministering before me—can be broken and David will no longer have a descendant to reign on his throne. 22 I will make the descendants of David my servant and the Levites who minister before me as countless as the stars in the sky and as measureless as the sand on the seashore.’” Yes, even the remnant has gone into captivity. As we saw in Daniel and Esther, God took care of His people even though they were in captivity. 2 Kings 21:13 “I will wipe out Jerusalem as one wipes a dish, wiping it and turning it upside down. 14 I will forsake the remnant of my inheritance and give them into the hands of enemies. They will be looted and plundered by all their enemies; 15 they have done evil in my eyes and have aroused my anger from the day their ancestors came out of Egypt until this day.” 2 Chronicles 36:20 “He carried into exile to Babylon the remnant, who escaped from the sword, and they became servants to him and his successors until the kingdom of Persia came to power.” It is also important to note that the remnant must continue to obey. Those who rejected the word of the Lord as spoken by Jeremiah went down to Egypt and there were destroyed because they refused to listen. Jeremiah 44:11 “Therefore this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: I am determined to bring disaster on you and to destroy all Judah. 12 I will take away the remnant of Judah who were determined to go to Egypt to settle there. They will all perish in Egypt; they will fall by the sword or die from famine. From the least to the greatest, they will die by sword or famine. They will become a curse and an object of horror, a curse and an object of reproach. 13 I will punish those who live in Egypt with the sword, famine and plague, as I punished Jerusalem. 14 None of the remnant of Judah who have gone to live in Egypt will escape or survive to return to the land of Judah, to which they long to return and live; none will return except a few fugitives.”
Most Christian take eternity to lightly. They sing “Oh what a day that will be when he takes me by the hand and leads me through the Promised Land.” They do not take judgment day seriously and they fail to remember that most did not make it to the Promised Land because they disobeyed and then once they got there, all were vomited from the Promised land because they rebelled against God. You will not receive eternal life if you refuse to obey God’s words. The church is filled with people thinking they are safe and secure from all alarm because that is what the churches they go to have told them, yet they follow a different Jesus and other gospels and are completely powerless against their enemies. Most in the church have accepted the powerless church to be normal. Those who are seeking power, like most charismatics, can’t seem to tell the difference between the power of God and the deception of satan. People falsely think I go to church therefore I am a Christian. It is only true if the church looks like the church Jesus began and empowered to do as He did. Today the church looks nothing like Jesus and does not do as Jesus did. People are filled with hope, yet are content to be lukewarm. Jesus said He would spew the lukewarm from His mouth and Israel was told, Leviticus 20:22 “Keep all my decrees and laws and follow them, so that the land where I am bringing you to live may not vomit you out.” The false teachers and prophets will tell you there is nothing to fear because God would never do that. As Jeremiah said to King Zedekiah, Jeremiah 37:19 “Where are your prophets who prophesied to you, ‘The king of Babylon will not attack you or this land’?” They refused to listen to Jeremiah. Jeremiah 37:2 “Neither he nor his attendants nor the people of the land paid any attention to the words the Lord had spoken through Jeremiah the prophet.”
The hope of eternal life needs to be taken more seriously. Jesus said when asked, Luke 13:23 “Lord, are only a few people going to be saved?” 24 “Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to. 25 Once the owner of the house gets up and closes the door, you will stand outside knocking and pleading, ‘Sir, open the door for us.’ “But he will answer, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from.’ 26 “Then you will say, ‘We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.’ 27 “But he will reply, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from. Away from me, all you evildoers!’” Many people just take for granted that they have found the narrow door, but will find out when it is too late that they have been standing in the wrong line. They will find out they have been standing in the line for the wide gate. Matthew 7:13 “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” We all should be seeking God with everything we have. Proverbs 2:1 “My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, 2 turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding— 3 indeed, if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, 4 and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, 5 then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. 6 For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding. 7 He holds success in store for the upright, he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless, 8 for he guards the course of the just and protects the way of his faithful ones.” We should be testing the spirits and making sure we are on the right path. Don’t take for granted that you will spend eternity with Jesus. In this day, it is pretty certain that you are following other gospels, especially if your Christianity is wrapped up in the distinct doctrines of a particular group. It really is simple; there cannot be many ways. One group will state follow us, we are the way and another says follow us we are the way and so on and so on but that can’t be as there is only one way. The common answer to the multiple ways is that each group does not really believe the other groups are right. They love the slogan agree on the majors and disagree on the minors. That isn’t even true because they are radically different. The reality is for example the Catholics think the Protestants are wrong and the Protestants think the Catholics are wrong. Jesus said John 14:6 “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” There cannot be many ways. Aside from Catholicism, the Protestant Reformation has done even more damage to the church as it did not return to the true gospel but further away and that continues today. We read earlier from John 16:13 “But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.” For example, that means there cannot be all these radically different theories about the end times. If you listen to the church, the Holy Spirit is very confused about what is yet to come. Obviously the Holy Spirit is not confused.
When thinking about hope, it really is important to understand you and I do not deserve an ounce of grace. Do not take grace for granted. The question should be answered why should God allow you to live another day, not what kind of God allows so much pain and suffering and evil in this world. Job and Isaiah said it right. Job 42:5 “My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you. 6 Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes.” Isaiah 6:5 “Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.” When Daniel confessed, he said, Daniel 9:17 “Now, our God, hear the prayers and petitions of your servant. For your sake, Lord, look with favor on your desolate sanctuary. 18 Give ear, our God, and hear; open your eyes and see the desolation of the city that bears your Name. We do not make requests of you because we are righteous, but because of your great mercy. 19 Lord, listen! Lord, forgive! Lord, hear and act! For your sake, my God, do not delay, because your city and your people bear your Name.” Ezra 9:6 “I am too ashamed and disgraced, my God, to lift up my face to you, because our sins are higher than our heads and our guilt has reached to the heavens. 13 “What has happened to us is a result of our evil deeds and our great guilt, and yet, our God, you have punished us less than our sins deserved and have given us a remnant like this.” The centurion also understood. Matthew 8:8 “The centurion replied, “Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof.” Jesus also said “10 Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith.”
The hope we have is undeserved and none of us should be alive. Jesus said Matthew 24:15 “So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes desolation,’ spoken of through the prophet Daniel—let the reader understand— 16 then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 17 Let no one on the housetop go down to take anything out of the house. 18 Let no one in the field go back to get their cloak. 19 How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! 20 Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath. 21 For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again. 22 “If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened. 23 At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah!’ or, ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. 24 For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. 25 See, I have told you ahead of time.” Think about those words; if those days had not been cut short, no one would survive. The desolation is already upon us and if you are alive, there is hope still unless you do not turn from your wicked ways. Millions of Christians have died without ever knowing the truth, all the while thinking they were safe and secure and would spend eternity with God. Millions more are heading for the same demise.
This is why we must humble ourselves before God. As Isaiah said, woe to me I am ruined. Jeremiah said Lamentations 5:5 “Joy is gone from our hearts; our dancing has turned to mourning. 16 The crown has fallen from our head. Woe to us, for we have sinned! 17 Because of this our hearts are faint, because of these things our eyes grow dim 18 for Mount Zion, which lies desolate, with jackals prowling over it.” We must be filled with remorse and repent but the church refuses and continues down the wrong path. Jeremiah 5:3 “Lord, do not your eyes look for truth? You struck them, but they felt no pain; you crushed them, but they refused correction. They made their faces harder than stone and refused to repent. 30 “A horrible and shocking thing has happened in the land: 31 The prophets prophesy lies, the priests rule by their own authority, and my people love it this way. But what will you do in the end?” None of us deserve God’s forgiveness but He gives us opportunity to humble ourselves and seek him. Daniel told king Sennacherib the meaning of his dream. He said Daniel 4:25 “Seven times will pass by for you until you acknowledge that the Most High is sovereign over all kingdoms on earth and gives them to anyone he wishes. 27 Therefore, Your Majesty, be pleased to accept my advice: Renounce your sins by doing what is right, and your wickedness by being kind to the oppressed. It may be that then your prosperity will continue.” The king did not listen at first and was humbled but Daniel 4:34 “At the end of that time, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven, and my sanity was restored. Then I praised the Most High; I honored and glorified him who lives forever. His dominion is an eternal dominion; his kingdom endures from generation to generation. 36 At the same time that my sanity was restored, my honor and splendor were returned to me for the glory of my kingdom. My advisers and nobles sought me out, and I was restored to my throne and became even greater than before. 37 Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, because everything he does is right and all his ways are just. And those who walk in pride he is able to humble.” 1 Peter 5:5 “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.” 6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.”
Paul stood and watched Stephen being stoned to death. Acts 7:59 “While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” 60 Then he fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them. When he had said this, he fell asleep.” Acts 8:1 “And Saul approved of their killing him.” Paul said 1 Corinthians 15:9 “For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.” Acts 26:9 “I too was convinced that I ought to do all that was possible to oppose the name of Jesus of Nazareth. 10 And that is just what I did in Jerusalem.” Then mighty and zealous Saul was humbled before Jesus and his eyes were opened. 13 “About noon, King Agrippa, as I was on the road, I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, blazing around me and my companions. 14 We all fell to the ground, and I heard a voice saying to me in Aramaic, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’15 “Then I asked, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,’ the Lord replied. 16 ‘Now get up and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen and will see of me. 17 I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them 18 to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’” The church was to continue being sent but instead rebelled against the word of God.
The good news is that there is still hope. Ephesians 3:12 “In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.” Jesus said that His kingdom would come near if we would repent. Lamentations 5:1 “Remember, Lord, what has happened to us; look, and see our disgrace.” Mark 1:15 “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!” This should still be happening. Mark 6:12 “They went out and preached that people should repent. 13 They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them.” Isaiah 59:20 “The Redeemer will come to Zion, to those in Jacob who repent of their sins,” declares the Lord.” Jeremiah 3:12 “Go, proclaim this message toward the north: “‘Return, faithless Israel,’ declares the Lord, ‘I will frown on you no longer, for I am faithful,’ declares the Lord, ‘I will not be angry forever. 13 Only acknowledge your guilt— you have rebelled against the Lord your God, you have scattered your favors to foreign gods under every spreading tree, and have not obeyed me,’” declares the Lord. 14 “Return, faithless people,” declares the Lord, “for I am your husband. I will choose you—one from a town and two from a clan—and bring you to Zion. 15 Then I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will lead you with knowledge and understanding.” Ezekiel 18:30 “Therefore, you Israelites, I will judge each of you according to your own ways, declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent! Turn away from all your offenses; then sin will not be your downfall. 31 Rid yourselves of all the offenses you have committed, and get a new heart and a new spirit. Why will you die, people of Israel? 32 For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent and live!”
Standing before Jesus in humility is where we start. No, we do not deserve anything but death, but God is a compassionate and forgiving God. Nehemiah 9:16 “But they, our ancestors, became arrogant and stiff-necked, and they did not obey your commands. 17 They refused to listen and failed to remember the miracles you performed among them. They became stiff-necked and in their rebellion appointed a leader in order to return to their slavery. But you are a forgiving God, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love. Therefore you did not desert them, 18 even when they cast for themselves an image of a calf and said, ‘This is your god, who brought you up out of Egypt,’ or when they committed awful blasphemies.” If we humbly stand before God, there is still hope. Ezra 9:8 “But now, for a brief moment, the Lord our God has been gracious in leaving us a remnant and giving us a firm place in his sanctuary, and so our God gives light to our eyes and a little relief in our bondage. 9 Though we are slaves, our God has not forsaken us in our bondage. He has shown us kindness in the sight of the kings of Persia: He has granted us new life to rebuild the house of our God and repair its ruins, and he has given us a wall of protection in Judah and Jerusalem.” Isaiah 54:4 “Do not be afraid; you will not be put to shame. Do not fear disgrace; you will not be humiliated. You will forget the shame of your youth and remember no more the reproach of your widowhood. 5 For your Maker is your husband— the Lord Almighty is his name— the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer; he is called the God of all the earth. 6 The Lord will call you back as if you were a wife deserted and distressed in spirit— a wife who married young, only to be rejected,” says your God. 7 “For a brief moment I abandoned you, but with deep compassion I will bring you back. 8 In a surge of anger I hid my face from you for a moment, but with everlasting kindness I will have compassion on you,” says the Lord your Redeemer. 14 In righteousness you will be established: Tyranny will be far from you; you will have nothing to fear. Terror will be far removed; it will not come near you. 15 If anyone does attack you, it will not be my doing; whoever attacks you will surrender to you.” Yes, God did turn away from the church, but He will turn His face back to us again. Matthew 24:14 “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.”
The good news in the midst of this desolation is Jeremiah 50:20 “In those days, at that time,” declares the Lord, “search will be made for Israel’s guilt, but there will be none, and for the sins of Judah, but none will be found, I will forgive the remnant I spare.” Be humble and don’t think of yourself too highly. Romans 12:3 “For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you.” This time of desolation and destruction will come to an end. Lamentations 4:22 “Your punishment will end, Daughter Zion; he will not prolong your exile.” Isaiah 40:1 “Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. 2 Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for, that she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins. 10 See, the Sovereign Lord comes with power, and he rules with a mighty arm. See, his reward is with him, and his recompense accompanies him. 11 He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young.” Isaiah 1:18 “Come now, let us settle the matter,” says the Lord. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool. 19 If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the good things of the land; 20 but if you resist and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword.” For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
God will then destroy our enemies. Isaiah 10:12 “When the Lord has finished all his work against Mount Zion and Jerusalem, he will say, “I will punish the king of Assyria for the willful pride of his heart and the haughty look in his eyes. 13 For he says: “‘By the strength of my hand I have done this, and by my wisdom, because I have understanding.” Jeremiah 50:18 “I will punish the king of Babylon and his land as I punished the king of Assyria. 31 “See, I am against you, you arrogant one,” declares the Lord, the Lord Almighty, “for your day has come, the time for you to be punished. 32 The arrogant one will stumble and fall and no one will help her up.” Jeremiah told the people Jeremiah 29:10 “This is what the Lord says: “When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place. 11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12 Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.” Amos 9:11 “In that day “I will restore David’s fallen shelter— I will repair its broken walls and restore its ruins— and will rebuild it as it used to be.”
If we humble ourselves before God, there is hope because our God reigns. Lamentations 5:19 “You, Lord, reign forever; your throne endures from generation to generation. 20 Why do you always forget us? Why do you forsake us so long? 21 Restore us to yourself, Lord, that we may return; renew our days as of old.” Psalm 9:7 “The Lord reigns forever; he has established his throne for judgment. 8 He rules the world in righteousness and judges the peoples with equity. 9 The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. 10 Those who know your name trust in you, for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you.” God said to Solomon, 2 Chronicles 7:12 “I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for myself as a temple for sacrifices. 13 “When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people, 14 if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land. 15 Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place. 16 I have chosen and consecrated this temple so that my Name may be there forever. My eyes and my heart will always be there. 17 “As for you, if you walk before me faithfully as David your father did, and do all I command, and observe my decrees and laws, 18 I will establish your royal throne, as I covenanted with David your father when I said, ‘You shall never fail to have a successor to rule over Israel.’ 19 “But if you turn away and forsake the decrees and commands I have given you and go off to serve other gods and worship them, 20 then I will uproot Israel from my land, which I have given them, and will reject this temple I have consecrated for my Name. I will make it a byword and an object of ridicule among all peoples. 21 This temple will become a heap of rubble. All who pass by will be appalled and say, ‘Why has the Lord done such a thing to this land and to this temple?’ 22 People will answer, ‘Because they have forsaken the Lord, the God of their ancestors, who brought them out of Egypt, and have embraced other gods, worshiping and serving them—that is why he brought all this disaster on them.’” God gives us a choice to listen or not. Ezekiel was told Ezekiel 2:4 “The people to whom I am sending you are obstinate and stubborn. Say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says.’ 5 And whether they listen or fail to listen—for they are a rebellious people—they will know that a prophet has been among them.”
We were told in Daniel that this time of desolation would come to an end. Daniel 7:21 “As I watched, this horn was waging war against the holy people and defeating them, 22 until the Ancient of Days came and pronounced judgment in favor of the holy people of the Most High, and the time came when they possessed the kingdom. 26 “‘But the court will sit, and his power will be taken away and completely destroyed forever. 27 Then the sovereignty, power and greatness of all the kingdoms under heaven will be handed over to the holy people of the Most High. His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all rulers will worship and obey him.” So we join with Daniel and pray this prayer asking for the church to be released and once again do as Jesus did. Daniel 9:4 “I prayed to the Lord my God and confessed: “Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and keep his commandments, 5 we have sinned and done wrong. We have been wicked and have rebelled; we have turned away from your commands and laws. 6 We have not listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes and our ancestors, and to all the people of the land. 7 “Lord, you are righteous, but this day we are covered with shame—the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and all Israel, both near and far, in all the countries where you have scattered us because of our unfaithfulness to you. 8 We and our kings, our princes and our ancestors are covered with shame, Lord, because we have sinned against you. 9 The Lord our God is merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against him; 10 we have not obeyed the Lord our God or kept the laws he gave us through his servants the prophets. 11 All Israel has transgressed your law and turned away, refusing to obey you. “Therefore the curses and sworn judgments written in the Law of Moses, the servant of God, have been poured out on us, because we have sinned against you. 12 You have fulfilled the words spoken against us and against our rulers by bringing on us great disaster. Under the whole heaven nothing has ever been done like what has been done to Jerusalem. 13 Just as it is written in the Law of Moses, all this disaster has come on us, yet we have not sought the favor of the Lord our God by turning from our sins and giving attention to your truth. 14 The Lord did not hesitate to bring the disaster on us, for the Lord our God is righteous in everything he does; yet we have not obeyed him. 15 “Now, Lord our God, who brought your people out of Egypt with a mighty hand and who made for yourself a name that endures to this day, we have sinned, we have done wrong. 16 Lord, in keeping with all your righteous acts, turn away your anger and your wrath from Jerusalem, your city, your holy hill. Our sins and the iniquities of our ancestors have made Jerusalem and your people an object of scorn to all those around us. 17 “Now, our God, hear the prayers and petitions of your servant. For your sake, Lord, look with favor on your desolate sanctuary. 18 Give ear, our God, and hear; open your eyes and see the desolation of the city that bears your Name. We do not make requests of you because we are righteous, but because of your great mercy. 19 Lord, listen! Lord, forgive! Lord, hear and act! For your sake, my God, do not delay, because your city and your people bear your Name.”
