Our lives are made up of words. These words can be spoken, heard, written or read and even touched as with braille. Words can be used in powerful and passionate ways they can unemotional, meaningless and empty. They can be used to build up or tear down, cut or heal, incite or bring calm. They can express truth or deceitfulness, inform or misinform and they can deceive or enlighten. Words can be made up of a few letters such as big or tiny or with many such as brobdingnagian (tremendous size) or infinitesimal depending on the story you want tell or the virus you want to describe. There are many words that can be used to describe the same (synonym) or the opposite (antonym) such as a vast, enormous ocean or a small, little pond.
This week we saw the culmination of words used to incite and tear down; words of deception that were used to bring rebellion and destruction. For months now words have been passionately proclaimed, words that have been used in the propagation of disinformation. Since the election back on November 3rd, 2020, misinformation and disinformation has been widespread, mostly from President Trump but as you can clearly see he is not the only one doing this. Most do not believe that nothing would come from the rhetoric that has been taking place these past few months. A huge number of people, mostly republicans believe the election was rigged or stolen. As the weeks went by they have tried to overturn the election but to no avail, so there last opportunity was when congress would certify the electoral votes. Trump was willing to say anything to have this election overturned such as, “Big protest in D.C. on January 6th,” Mr. Trump tweeted on Dec. 19, just one of several of his tweets promoting the day. “Be there, will be wild!” Well it was wild that’s for sure. Vice-president Pence finally made it clear he would not go along with the charade of which he stated at the same time Trump was turning the protestors into a mob, One report said, “In fact, roughly 10 minutes before Pence and the other lawmakers at the Capitol were evacuated to a safe location as the mob started to attack, Trump posted the following message on Twitter: “Mike Pence didn’t have the courage to do what should have been done to protect our Country and our Constitution, giving States a chance to certify a corrected set of facts, not the fraudulent or inaccurate ones which they were asked to previously certify. USA demands the truth!” One video showed rioters after hearing that Pence would not support Trump’s coup, the rioters began to chant “Hang Mike Pence.”
The capital was under siege just as Trump and others had suggested with their words. “Rudy Giuliani, the president’s personal lawyer, earlier Wednesday suggested, “Let’s have trial by combat!” Another crazy lawyer Lin Wood wanted firing squads to be readied. “Wednesday morning (January 6, 2020), U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks spoke to a crowd of people at a Washington, D.C. rally for President Trump and told them “Today is the day American patriots start taking down names and kicking a**’.” Ted Cruz also told a crowd, “We won’t go quietly into the night, we will defend liberty.” “On Wednesday morning, Republican Texas Attorney General Paxton spoke at the pro-Trump rally in Washington, D.C. What we have in President Trump is a fighter. And I think that’s why we’re all here,” “We will not quit fighting. We’re Texans, we’re Americans, and the fight will go on.” The list could go on and on with careless and inciteful words. The New York Times said it well in their Opinion by The Editorial Board. Here is a portion of their opinion. “President Trump and his Republican enablers in Congress incited a violent attack Wednesday against the government they lead and the nation they profess to love. This cannot be allowed to stand. Mr. Trump’s seditious rhetoric prompted a mob of thousands of people to storm the U.S. Capitol building, some breaking onto the House and Senate floors, where the nation’s elected representatives had gathered to perform their constitutional duty of counting electoral votes and confirming the election of Joe Biden as president. Mr. Trump sparked these assaults. He has railed for months against the verdict rendered by voters in November. He summoned his supporters to gather in Washington on this day, and encouraged them to march on the Capitol. He told them that the election was being stolen. He told them to fight. He told them he might join them (some actually thought he was with them) and, even as they stormed the building, he declined for long hours to tell them to stop, to condemn their actions, to raise a finger in defense of the Constitution that he swore to preserve and protect.” When Trump did speak he just poured gas on the fire like he did with Pence. He said, "This was a fraudulent election, but we can't play into the hands of these people. We have to have peace. So go home,"
Not only do you have politicians using their words to spread misinformation and disinformation, you have so called christians doing the same. CNN interviewed a pastor named Greg Locke who like John MacArthur stated there is no pandemic but like MacArthur look foolish in doing so. The interview on his part was pathetic. One article also said, “Pastor Greg Locke had said, “I do not believe for one second that Joe Biden is going to be the President. God is NOT finished with Donald Trump and I refuse to shatter people’s hopes in that regard. It is far from over and we are still very much in this fight.” Another article said, “Some evangelicals really do see Trump as an instrument of the Divine Plan. How could such a person possibly be defeated?” “It’s God’s will, they say. Christians can’t afford to lose a president who was anointed to carry out a heavenly plan.” These are very strange things to say. God anoints someone and then doesn’t have the power to carry it out? Daniel tells us in Daniel 2:20 “Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever; wisdom and power are his. 21 He changes times and seasons; he deposes kings and raises up others.” Could it be that the people refuse to see that God has removed Trump and raised up Biden. There are many so-called christians like Jenna Ellis, Rob McCoy, Charlie Kirk, Jack Hibbs, Kirk Cameron (Sadly these people are all connected to each other and none of them have any idea who God really is.) just to name a few, all promoting a stolen election and Trump the savior. Another writer talked about Eric Metaxas (another from the group above) who had appeared on Charlie Kirks show and said some horrible things. Sadly I actually listened to part of this nonsense from November 9, 2020. Metaxas started off showing you it would be all downhill from there. He said, “Those of us who believe in the God of the bible usually don’t live like we do. We don’t live as if Jesus is in the room. Then God wants to remind us he rules and God acts in history.” (My words - Don’t forget that the Babylonians were also an instrument of God’s plan. Trump was not being used like King Cyrus was.) He goes on to say; “Most mature Christians recognize that God has His hand on him (Trump).” This shows you they have no idea who God is and as you know by now Joe Biden is the President and everything Trump and others have said are lies. These two characters believe Trump won the election and there has been massive fraud. He goes on to say “So who cares what I can prove in the courts? (over 60 failed court attempts) This is right. This happened, and I am going to do anything I can to uncover this horror, this evil.” Nothing was ever been proven in the courts but then he said, “We need to fight to the death, to the last drop of blood, because it’s worth it.” It is fortunate there weren’t more weapons during the siege on Capital Hill and more killed or some of those politicians not taken hostage. Trump as you could see from his rhetoric was willing to put vice-president Pence and other leaders in harms way. On January 6, 2021 we saw people respond to the mob enticing rhetoric of these so-called Christians and politicians. I could spend lots of time on this but by now I am sure you can see the delusion of those who have wanted to stop the steal which was propagated by lies. Day after day, Sunday after Sunday they use their words to lie to their people about the election just as the politicians did. These people live in an alternative universe and they call themselves the church. If you listen closely the lies are coming from the ones who consistently propagate those lies.
Now the strange part is that these with their violence enticing speeches then denounce the violence even though their violent rhetoric called for mayhem. Their words incited violence and as everyone knows, there will be people follow the words that they hear. It only takes a few to bring about massive carnage and death as we have seen from history. Just take a look at what happened at the Oklahoma City Bombing. Many are listening to the words of these men and women who tell them the government has been overrun and we need to get it back. You saw this with Trump’s loss to Biden. There were over 70 million people vote to have Trump stay in office. The ones who heard the violent rhetoric showed up and attempted to stop the steal, to no avail with Biden formally becoming the 46th President of the United States. As you saw with Trump, Cruz, Hawley and many others, even after the siege they thought they could bolster their political careers and still promote the lie of the stolen election and massive fraud of which there is no proof. These people promoting their own agendas know exactly what they are doing but it backfired on them. They stir the pot with their words and will be content with whatever boils over. Trump is a master at this stirring of dissension. Again Trump is described in Proverbs 6:16 “There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to him: 17 haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, 18 a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, 19 a false witness who pours out lies and a person who stirs up conflict in the community.” He cannot open his mouth without lying. What you heard from Trump when he eventually made a feeble effort to tell people to go home was Trumps normal rhetoric. "This was a fraudulent election, but we can’t play into the hands of these people," he continued. "We have to have peace. So go home.” Then he issued words the following day, January 7th that were obviously not his own but words to prevent other words like resign, impeachment and twenty-fifth amendment. Mind you he was still able to still squeeze some lies in. One writer said, “Trump’s comments Thursday were a far cry from his statements Wednesday, when he said he “loved” the rioters and explained their behavior as “things and events that happen when a sacred landslide election victory is so unceremoniously & viciously stripped away.”
When you stop and think about it for just a moment, it really is quite amazing how many people in the United States and Canada too that have bought into the lies and conspiracy theories not just with the election but with the pandemic that continues to rage. I want to point out how deluded these people actually are. There is no evidence that the election was stolen and tons of evidence the pandemic is real, yet they believe the lies with all their heart. You may ask how is that this is possible. The answer is simple. 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.” If you can’t see it in the church or don’t want to see it, you can see the same delusion that has happened with the election and the pandemic. Misinformation / disinformation is rampant about both as more and more people spread the lies and more and more people believe them. These people spreading this false information are not just the uneducated. You have a president, lawyers, doctors, politicians, ministers, teachers and people from all walks of life that will look you in the eye and say I believe the election was stolen and rigged and the pandemic is not real or no more than just the flu. These people have been deluded into believing lies. You can see how this verse applies because those in the church who are supposed to be men and women of truth are spreading lies.
So I share this to point out that our words carry a lot of weight especially if you have a prominent position. This event though terrible could have been a whole lot worse but careless / intentional words led to this and if this type of rhetoric doesn’t stop in the future there will be more chaos. The good news is that there are words coming from people like Biden and others who have a calming affect. This new government is going to have to work strenuously to repair the damage to a nation caused by Trump, yet there will be people who will never believe they have been deceived by a man they trusted to be their savior. They believed that what he said was truth. Sadly there are many in the church who follow shepherds who are leading them astray just like Trump. People around them crave the words of men and not word of life. Their words all though they sound scriptural are not and will not lead them to eternal life but instead they will hear words that no one should want to hear. Matthew 25:41 “Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.” There will be a day of reckoning when people realize they have been deceived by satan. I share all this about the election and failed coup attempt to help paint a better picture of the desolation, deception and delusion that the church finds itself in because the words of the church are not the word of the Lord and millions of church goers have been deceived and deluded. Because of the churches disobedience, God has brought delusion upon the church instead of clothing us with power. God has also allowed the abomination that causes desolation because of our rebellion. Most will question how so many people could be this delusional in the church yet just look at how many in the United States are delusional just with this election. Take a peek at the news and you will see delusion in the world but you should not be seeing it in the church but unfortunately this delusion is everywhere, church included. I should clarify that many news sources should be held accountable also for their share in the lies.
When the words of the church are the same as the world there is a serious problem. As you have seen since the siege on the Capital, many still believe the same and refuse to change. The church is doing the same. Jesus said repent so the kingdom would come near yet most fail to repent. Our repentance leads to a kingdom going out in the power of the Holy Spirit and authority given to us by Jesus Christ to make disciples and free them Acts 26:18 “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.” This is what the kingdom looks like but we must follow the true words of life in order to have the same. Matthew 4:23 “Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people.” We were supposed to continue to do the same but our words became meaningless and powerless because the church set aside the word of God. Paul tells us in Romans 10:8 “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the message concerning faith that we proclaim: 9 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. 11 As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.” 12 For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, 13 for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” In order to be saved, we must believe in the true Jesus, which means we must believe in His words not man’s words about Him. Man spends most of their time focusing on their own words and not on the words that bring life. We cannot continue to live in rebellion and expect God to move among us in power. The only power that is moving presently is the deception of satan and the delusion brought on by God. The church has been decimated and lies powerless until God in His grace turns His face back to shine on us. We are told in Jeremiah we would seek and find. If you don’t think you are captive you will not seek to be freed. We need to pray as Daniel prayed 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.” 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.”
If we continue to listen to empty words, the church will not see the Kingdom of God come near us. Peter warned us about these false teachers in 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. 3 In their greed these teachers will exploit you with fabricated stories. 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.” As you can see from Trump, many can be easily enticed by empty words. Paul warned us Ephesians 5:6 “Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God’s wrath comes on those who are disobedient.” False teachers and prophets and the spirit of antichrist are everywhere in the church. Men and women proclaiming their own words as truth but are under severe delusion. Jeremiah 23:36 “But you must not mention ‘a message from the Lord’ again, because each one’s word becomes their own message. So you distort the words of the living God, the Lord Almighty, our God.” Lamentations 2:14 “The visions of your prophets were false and worthless; they did not expose your sin to ward off your captivity. The prophecies they gave you were false and misleading.”
Today men and women are leading astray those who think they are attending church and many will never know till it is too late. Like so many who have believed the words of Trump, many in the church have believed the false teachers and prophets who distort the true words of the living God. We have talked a lot about John MacArthur but he is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to changing the words of life into their own. They have actually as Jeremiah said created their own words and made up their own stories. “Each one’s word becomes their own message.” Instead of the words of life the church has settled with idle words. Deuteronomy 32:45 “When Moses finished reciting all these words to all Israel, 46 he said to them, “Take to heart all the words I have solemnly declared to you this day, so that you may command your children to obey carefully all the words of this law. 47 They are not just idle words for you—they are your life. By them you will live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to possess.” Yes take time to read the song of Moses in Deuteronomy 32 as the church is described there. We are seeing this unfold. Deuteronomy 32:19 “The Lord saw this and rejected them because he was angered by his sons and daughters. 20 “I will hide my face from them,” he said, and see what their end will be; for they are a perverse generation, children who are unfaithful. 21 They made me jealous by what is no god and angered me with their worthless idols.” God hiding His face is what happens when we do not listen to His words. Deuteronomy 31:18 “And I will certainly hide my face in that day because of all their wickedness in turning to other gods.” Ezekiel 7:22 “I will turn my face away from the people, and robbers will desecrate the place I treasure. They will enter it and will defile it.”
The church must return to the word of life. John 6:63 “The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you—they are full of the Spirit and life.” To be full of life and Spirit we must go back to the beginning of life, yes right back to Genesis. Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. 3 And God said,…” So God spoke and the world was created. If you don’t believe this and make this your foundation of faith, you will not accept the rest of the bible as truth. There is no greater power. Revelation 4:8 “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty,’ who was, and is, and is to come. 11 “You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.” I think too many Christians spend way too much time trying to convince themselves that in the beginning God created. They should instead work on their faith by listening to the word that brings life not death. Hebrews 11:1 “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. 2 This is what the ancients were commended for. 3 By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.” God spoke words and the universe was created. You must believe in the beginning God! If not you won’t see in John 1:1 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.” If have don’t believe Genesis 1 you won’t believe John 1. God gave us the Garden of Eden but man decided to listen to the wrong words just as they are doing today. Most are listening to satan and they don’t even know it. What Jesus offered us is way better than the garden. That word that spoke existence into being came and dwelt among us. John 1:14 “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.” Jesus told us John 14:23 “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.” Revelation 21:3 “And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.” The word that created became flesh and wants to make His home in you an I. 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.”
The same powerful words that created can also be our words when we are clothed with power from on High. How amazing is that? Except most want to continue with their own words or words that they have heard that have been distorted. Like we are seeing in the world today many are enticed by the lies and deceptions but fail to listen to the word that became flesh. Look at the power that comes with these words. Luke 4:36 “All the people were amazed and said to each other, “What words these are! With authority and power he gives orders to impure spirits and they come out!” Matthew 8:8 “The centurion replied, “Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed.” Matthew 8:16 “When evening came, many who were demon-possessed were brought to him, and he drove out the spirits with a word and healed all the sick.” Psalm 107:20 “He sent out his word and healed them; he rescued them from the grave.” Paul went out in power. 1 Corinthians 2:4 “My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power.” 1 Thessalonians 1:5 “our gospel came to you not simply with words but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and deep conviction. “What words these are” are words we don’t hear in the church let alone seeing spirits being driven out and the sick healed with a word. You should not be impressed with great speakers who are powerless. These powerful words have been replaced by man’s words and are completely useless. Oh yes many are powerful speakers and have mighty organizations yet are not clothed with the power from on High. So what exactly are they doing other than leading the masses astray just like Trump and MacArthur. Words like cessationism have replaced the available power from on High. As your read through the gospels you do not get the picture this available power to all who believe was supposed to stop. When you look at the church today you definitely see the results of the teaching of man’s words and doctrines of demons and God turning His face from us. There is no power but that is not how it is supposed to be.
We must go back to hungering and thirsting after the word of God instead of hungering after other words. John 5:24 “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life.” John 6:63 “The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you—they are full of the Spirit and life.” 1 John 1:1 “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. 2 The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. 3 We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. 4 We write this to make our joy complete.”
We must go back to hungering and thirsting after the word of God instead of hungering after other words. John 5:24 “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life.” John 6:63 “The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you—they are full of the Spirit and life.” 1 John 1:1 “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. 2 The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. 3 We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. 4 We write this to make our joy complete.”
Proverbs gives a very clear picture that there are forces vying for your attention. 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. 12 Wisdom will save you from the ways of wicked men, from men whose words are perverse, 13 who have left the straight paths to walk in dark ways. 16 Wisdom will save you also from the adulterous woman, from the wayward woman with her seductive words, 17 who has left the partner of her youth and ignored the covenant she made before God. 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.” Proverbs 5:1 “My son, pay attention to my wisdom, turn your ear to my words of insight, 2 that you may maintain discretion and your lips may preserve knowledge. 3 For the lips of the adulterous woman drip honey, and her speech is smoother than oil; 4 but in the end she is bitter as gall, sharp as a double-edged sword. 5 Her feet go down to death; her steps lead straight to the grave. 6 She gives no thought to the way of life; her paths wander aimlessly, but she does not know it. 7 Now then, my sons, listen to me; do not turn aside from what I say. 8 Keep to a path far from her, do not go near the door of her house, 9 lest you lose your honor to others and your dignity to one who is cruel.” You can listen to the words of wisdom. Proverbs 9:1 “Wisdom has built her house; she has set up its seven pillars. 2 She has prepared her meat and mixed her wine; she has also set her table. 3 She has sent out her servants, and she calls from the highest point of the city, 4 “Let all who are simple come to my house!” To those who have no sense she says, 5 “Come, eat my food and drink the wine I have mixed. 6 Leave your simple ways and you will live; walk in the way of insight.” Or you can listen to the words of folly. 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.”
You must pay very close attention to the words you listen to. As you can see in Proverbs 9, they are both calling out to you. I like honey but as you saw not all honey is good. Proverbs 5:3 “For the lips of the adulterous woman drip honey, and her speech is smoother than oil; 4 but in the end she is bitter as gall, sharp as a double-edged sword. 5 Her feet go down to death; her steps lead straight to the grave.” Then we see the opposite. Psalm 119:103 “How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!”
God said to Ezekiel 3:3 “Son of man, eat this scroll I am giving you and fill your stomach with it.” So I ate it, and it tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth. 4 He then said to me: “Son of man, go now to the people of Israel and speak my words to them. 5 You are not being sent to a people of obscure speech and strange language, but to the people of Israel— 6 not to many peoples of obscure speech and strange language, whose words you cannot understand. Surely if I had sent you to them, they would have listened to you. 7 But the people of Israel are not willing to listen to you because they are not willing to listen to me, for all the Israelites are hardened and obstinate. 8 But I will make you as unyielding and hardened as they are. 9 I will make your forehead like the hardest stone, harder than flint. Do not be afraid of them or terrified by them, though they are a rebellious people.” Jeremiah was told Jeremiah 1:9 “Then the Lord reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, “I have put my words in your mouth.” Jeremiah 5:14 “Therefore this is what the Lord God Almighty says: “Because the people have spoken these words, I will make my words in your mouth a fire and these people the wood it consumes. Jeremiah 23:29 “Is not my word like fire,” declares the Lord, “and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?” He was given the words of life. But even so Israel did not listen to their words. The words that most are listening to are bringing death not life.
If we were to listen to the word of life and not the empty words that appeal to the lustful desires of the flesh as Peter said, we would be restored. Look at the power these words have. Ezekiel 37:4 “Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! 5 This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. 6 I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’” 7 So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. 8 I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them. 9 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Come, breath, from the four winds and breathe into these slain, that they may live.’” 10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet—a vast army. 11 Then he said to me: “Son of man, these bones are the people of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.’ 12 Therefore prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: My people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel. 13 Then you, my people, will know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. 14 I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the Lord have spoken, and I have done it, declares the Lord.’” Zechariah shows us the power available to us. Zechariah 12:8 On that day the Lord will shield those who live in Jerusalem, so that the feeblest among them will be like David, and the house of David will be like God, like the angel of the Lord going before them. 9 On that day I will set out to destroy all the nations that attack Jerusalem.” When Hezekiah and Jerusalem were saved, Isaiah 37:36 “Then the angel of the Lord went out and put to death a hundred and eighty-five thousand in the Assyrian camp. When the people got up the next morning—there were all the dead bodies!” 1 Chronicles 12:22 “Day after day men came to help David, until he had a great army, like the army of God. If we would listen to the words that bring life, once again we would have a vast army to defeat the word of satan. Once again we could then respond by saying Matthew 11:5 “The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor. 6 Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me.”
We are told Isaiah 55:10 “As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, 11 so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” This is where we have to be very careful. Even though men and woman may be preaching an empty way, the word of the Lord is going out and you will be held to account. John 3:6 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.” So if you hear and don’t believe you stand condemned. The false teacher will be blamed but so will you for not seeking the truth. All of us no matter Christian or non are accountable. Romans 1:18 “The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, 19 since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20 For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.” Yes everyone wants there to be an excuse but there isn’t one. For example if your leader or pastor is standing there telling you something not in the bible, do something. Leave or question but don’t sit there and accept it as truth. A couple of weeks ago someone shared disinformation and it was easy to check. Yes sometimes it is harder but for most cases it is easy. Stolen election- no proof at all. There are contradictions everywhere. Most are conspiracy theories unravel in a hurry as they lack evidence. For these events to unfold there would have to be a concerted effort by thousands of doctors, nurses politicians, business owners but there isn’t. The election this year during a pandemic had the most voters turn out and was said to be most secure in history. With numbers of covid cases raging people still refuse to adhere to the guidelines. Yet even without proof a huge number do not want to believe there is a pandemic or the election was not stolen.
We also have this problem in the church. Most do not want to check and see if what they read or hear is true. Most want to continue in the path they feel most comfortable on. They all have bibles but then ignore what it says. They say tells us things to make us feel good about ourselves. Isaiah 30:10 “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 Timothy 4:3 “For 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.” It will get so bad as Jesus warned us John 16:1 “All this I have told you so that you will not fall away. 2 They will put you out of the synagogue; in fact, the time is coming when anyone who kills you will think they are offering a service to God. 3 They will do such things because they have not known the Father or me. 4 I have told you this, so that when their time comes you will remember that I warned you about them.” This is why Jesus and the prophets were killed. How dare you tell us something God has said? Most do not test the spirits because they wrongly think the person at the front has already done that for them. 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.” If they are from God the words will be his, not a distortion of them. People are willing die for falsehoods but not the truth. Leaders continue to deceive the masses and the masses continue to listen. In our modern area everyone is now the media and events are broadcast live around the world. We desperately need discernment again to discern the truth.
Today I trust you have seen there are words that bring life and words that bring death. You have a choice to listen to the words of life or not. Jesus words are like no other. We are commanded to obey them. We are told to put nothing and no one before Him. Luke 14:25 “Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: 26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple. 27 And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.” Mark 10:28 “Then Peter spoke up, “We have left everything to follow you!” 29 “Truly I tell you,” Jesus replied, “no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel 30 will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age: homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields—along with persecutions—and in the age to come eternal life. 31 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.” Many disciples turned away and said John 6:60 “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?” John 6:68 “Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. 69 We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God.”
Today if you do not believe the words you read in the bible are the way, the truth and the life, then repent and live. If you do believe, then hold on until God does what He said He would do. Moses said Deuteronomy 30:11 “Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach. 12 It is not up in heaven, so that you have to ask, “Who will ascend into heaven to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?” 13 Nor is it beyond the sea, so that you have to ask, “Who will cross the sea to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?” 14 No, the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it. 15 See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction. 16 For I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess. 17 But if your heart turns away and you are not obedient, and if you are drawn away to bow down to other gods and worship them, 18 I declare to you this day that you will certainly be destroyed. You will not live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess. 19 This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live 20 and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the Lord is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.”
Peter warned the people and said, Acts 2:38 “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call. 40 With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” Make sure you are actually hearing the word of the Lord and not the words of man or doctrines of demons. Be very careful as you life depends on it.
This is how it is suppose to be Ezekiel 37:24 “‘My servant David will be king over them, and they will all have one shepherd. They will follow my laws and be careful to keep my decrees. 25 They will live in the land I gave to my servant Jacob, the land where your ancestors lived. They and their children and their children’s children will live there forever, and David my servant will be their prince forever. 26 I will make a covenant of peace with them; it will be an everlasting covenant. I will establish them and increase their numbers, and I will put my sanctuary among them forever. 27 My dwelling place will be with them; I will be their God, and they will be my people. 28 Then the nations will know that I the Lord make Israel holy, when my sanctuary is among them forever.’” The church cannot be a holy people without God dwelling among us but we have hope. Ezekiel 39:21 “I will display my glory among the nations, and all the nations will see the punishment I inflict and the hand I lay on them. 22 From that day forward the people of Israel will know that I am the Lord their God. 23 And the nations will know that the people of Israel went into exile for their sin, because they were unfaithful to me. So I hid my face from them and handed them over to their enemies, and they all fell by the sword. 24 I dealt with them according to their uncleanness and their offenses, and I hid my face from them. 25 “Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will now restore the fortunes of Jacob and will have compassion on all the people of Israel, and I will be zealous for my holy name. 26 They will forget their shame and all the unfaithfulness they showed toward me when they lived in safety in their land with no one to make them afraid. 27 When I have brought them back from the nations and have gathered them from the countries of their enemies, I will be proved holy through them in the sight of many nations. 28 Then they will know that I am the Lord their God, for though I sent them into exile among the nations, I will gather them to their own land, not leaving any behind. 29 I will no longer hide my face from them, for I will pour out my Spirit on the people of Israel, declares the Sovereign Lord.” Isaiah 51:1 “Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness and who seek the Lord: Look to the rock from which you were cut and to the quarry from which you were hewn; 3 The Lord will surely comfort Zion and will look with compassion on all her ruins; he will make her deserts like Eden, her wastelands like the garden of the Lord. Joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and the sound of singing. 11 Those the Lord has rescued will return. They will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away. 14 The cowering prisoners will soon be set free; they will not die in their dungeon, nor will they lack bread. 15 For I am the Lord your God, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar— the Lord Almighty is his name. 16 I have put my words in your mouth and covered you with the shadow of my hand— I who set the heavens in place, who laid the foundations of the earth, and who say to Zion, ‘You are my people.’”
We were promised the Holy Spirit but the church rebelled and has paid the price and we sit in desolation. This rebellion was described in Daniel yet the church turned away from the words of life to go their own way. That is not how it was supposed to be so as we return we wait in hope. Isaiah 12:1 “In that day you will say: “I will praise you, Lord. Although you were angry with me, your anger has turned away and you have comforted me. 2 Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The Lord, the Lord himself, is my strength and my defense; he has become my salvation.” 3 With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.” 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.” Isaiah 59:21 “As for me, this is my covenant with them,” says the Lord. “My Spirit, who is on you, will not depart from you, and my words that I have put in your mouth will always be on your lips, on the lips of your children and on the lips of their descendants—from this time on and forever,” says the Lord.” Joshua 1:2 “Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them—to the Israelites. 3 I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses. 4 Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the great river, the Euphrates—all the Hittite country—to the Mediterranean Sea in the west. 5 No one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you. 6 Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors to give them. 7 “Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. 8 Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”
Today the Promised Land is the world not just a small part of it. Revelation 11:15 “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah, and he will reign for ever and ever.” If we are to defeat our enemies we must adhere to the word of the Lord and not turn from it as those who have gone before us did. 2 Kings 22:13 “Great is the Lord’s anger that burns against us because those who have gone before us have not obeyed the words of this book; they have not acted in accordance with all that is written there concerning us.” Our only hope is to repent and live. Ezekiel 18:31 “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!”
