Saturday, February 22, 2014

Altitude Adjustment



God sent messengers to Israel to get them on the right path.  He sends them again and again and they refuse to listen to the voices of the prophets.  God speaks to them.  And God will speak to you.  Most of the time God won’t speak audibly and this is discouraging to people.  We want some voice like James Earl Jones or Morgan Freeman to boom down on us.  More often than not.....that doesn't happen.

We have 3 parts of the body – the physical, the soul, the spirit.  The deepest part is the spirit.  God wants to speak to the deepest part of you – the spirit.  We have been studying The Story.  It is a book compiled of the entire Bible but it takes the key moments, people and circumstances and condenses them into one book.  We have to realize and recognize that we fit into God's story.

2 Chronicles 36:11-16
Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years. He did evil in the eyes of the Lord his God and did not humble himself before Jeremiah the prophet, who spoke the word of the Lord.  He also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him take an oath in God’s name. He became stiff-necked and hardened his heart and would not turn to the Lord, the God of Israel.  Furthermore, all the leaders of the priests and the people became more and more unfaithful, following all the detestable practices of the nations and defiling the temple of the Lord, which he had consecrated in Jerusalem.  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.  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.

No remedy – what sad words.

How many remember precisely where you were on 9/11? Do you remember the chaos of the moment?  What about Katrina?  Remember the pictures, damages, horrible devastation? We remember those vividly.  We remember traumatic events.   Jeremiah was a prophet and he saw a day of judgment coming to Jerusalem.  Jeremiah was often referred to as the weeping prophet.  He cries and weeps (he also wrote the book of Lamentations and Jeremiah) for the destruction and what was about to fall on Jerusalem and Judah.  If only God's people had turned from their sins, God could have spared Jerusalem.  For them there was no remedy.

Look at v 12 – something about humility and pride.
He did evil in the eyes of the Lord his God and did not humble himself before Jeremiah the prophet, who spoke the word of the Lord

Pride tunes out the voice of God.  Pride says 'I don’t need to hear God'.  Humility turns towards the voice of God.  God is good.  God wants to bless his people. He desires it because He is a good God.  Humility tunes us into the voice of God so that we can experience God’s blessing.  He doesn’t bless us because we are special...He does it because He is good.  But if we are prideful, we can’t get into that place where we can receive God's favor.

Humility is the key to God’s guidance and favor in our lives.  So often we think we are pretty special and sometimes God has to come and pull us back down to earth.

Matt 23:12
For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.

You put yourself in a place where you can receive the blessing and promise of the Lord. 
The key to obtaining blessing and favor of God is humility!  Humble yourselves before God. As you look at the scripture….Israel has already fallen in the north and we are coming to the destruction of Judah in the south. 

Some background – Zedekiah is the last king of Judah.  The northern kingdom had fallen to the Syrians.  But the southern is still intact. During Judah’s reigns of 20 kings – 6 were good, 14 were bad.  The average reign of a bad king was 12 years.  When your reign ended in Judah, no one gave you a going away party.  When you were finished, you were dead.  That is how we know your reign ended – you were assassinated, killed.  The average reign of the good kings were 38 years – it pays to be good.

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.

God is gracious, God is good and He keeps reaching out again and again. God is patient and He sends prophet after prophet.  Jeremiah was sent specifically to warn Zedekiah.   When you read Jeremiah, one of his central imageries in his prophecies was water.  He talks about drinking pure water or that Judah is drinking from dirty water – symbolic of their idolatry.  This world’s water will never satisfy.

Jeremiah finally says disaster is coming because of your arrogance.  But Zedekiah won’t heed his warning.  Zedekiah is fearful of Jeremiah because of his anointing so he won’t kill Jeremiah.  So he puts him in prison.  Back then, some prisons were just a large cage in the middle of the palace.  The only trouble is, where the prison is located, Zedekiah can still hear Jeremiah calling out of destruction and judgment coming - humble and repent and Zedekiah did not want to hear it.  So he throws Jeremiah down in the dungeon so he can’t hear him.  But word keeps coming back to Zedekiah and he doesn't know what to do with Jeremiah.   You can run but the word of God will seek you out wherever you are at.

Zedekiah throws Jeremiah into a dry, empty well because he can’t take it anymore (remember Jeremiah's central imagaries for his prophecies? Water).  You may think your boss or teacher is tough.  But if you were a prophet in Judah or Israel, that is a deadly profession – you die.

v. 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.

Eventually the cup of God’s wrath is filled to the tipping point and comes to a point there is no remedy. God says this is enough.  That patient God who warned them again and again he finally says that is enough!

Nebuchadnezzar and the armies come and lay siege to Jerusalem for 2 years.  They starve them out.  Ezekiel, another prophet, prophesied saying fathers would eat their children and children would eat their fathers.   This is a terribly time to live in Judah – a time of pain and destruction. 

God warns us – again and again.  Eventually there will come a time you will reap what you sow.  If in your pride you don’t listen to the voice of God and if you shut him out, there will come a time God will say there is no remedy.  If you go to work, come in late don’t do your job, eventually the boss will say you are fired.   If you use illegal drugs – you get hooked and addicted and the habit comes in and takes control and God warns you again and again…..and you become addicted and there is no remedy – reap what you sow.

God is warning us again and again and if our pride and arrogance say we don’t need you, we will suffer the consequences.  God gives us laws and the book, not for His benefit – but for ours.  Everything you will ever need is in the Bible – marriage, finances, raising kids.

We can humble ourselves and heed God’s warnings, or in our pride we can ignore them and go over the cliff.  Our nation has thumbed its nose at God – and we wonder why our families are falling apart, our schools are in trouble, our nation is debt and we have a major drug problem.  If we, in our pride, say to God we don’t need you anymore we will suffer the consequences.

Before it is too late, God has given us a remedy – for our nation, our lives, and our families.  

2 Chronicles 7:14
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.

There is a remedy today.  Nebuchadnezzar comes in and destroys Jerusalem.  He takes the best and brightest to Babylon.  It is possible to live holy lives into an unholy world – look at Daniel.  Nebuchadnezzar leaves Jerusalem and leaves Zedekiah in charge.  To show how stupid Zedekiah is, he not only rebels against God but he decides to rebel against the king.  So Nebuchadnezzar comes back and he is angry. He takes Zedekiah's sons and drags them out and kills them.  Then he takes hot pokers and burns out Zedekiah's eyes.  Then he throws him in prison to live with his regrets.

Sometimes we say God where are you in all this?  Why am I going through this?  My world is falling apart.  But more often these are messes we brought on ourselves. However, God reaches out again and again and He speaks to us but our pride won’t allow us to listen.  Then God says – have it your way.  Israel and Judah are so scattered, they don’t become a nation again until 1948.  Pride says do your own thing, you are in charge.  But we end up being controlled by something else.  Something will rule over you (addiction).  So when you say you will be in charge of yourself, in reality you will be under slavery of the enemy.  Pride is something we all deal with.  How do we handle it?  

Three things--
      1. Repent of pride
How do we see pride in the world in relation to hearing the voice of god?
     A. There are those who don’t believe in God – atheists.  There are very few true atheists in the world. Most are agnostic - meaning there may or may not be a God, I don’t care.  Not gonna listen to any warnings, I am my own man. God is a crutch that I don’t need.  I am hoping you aren’t in that category.  Some of us are functional atheists – that means we believe in God, we know there is a God but we live apart from god doing our own thing.  
That’s pride – dangerous.

     B. 911 Jesus – I will call him in my time of need.  I do what I want, I am good, God I got it covered, I am in control, life is good – but as soon as a tragedy hits we get serious and pray.

     C. Those who believe in God and know what His word says but don’t obey it – we wanna still do our junk.  We know what the word says but we chose not to obey.  A dangerous place to be – prophets called it "sinning with the high hand".  
 
     D. Most fall into this – I believe in God and I love God but I am just too busy.  I got so much going on.  I am sorry I can’t pray, read the word, tune in, go to church….I am too busy.  That is pride of self-importance.  It is the ‘world needs me’ syndrome. 

How do we deal with this?  Repent and humble ourselves – saying I am wrong and God is right.

     2. Listen and Surrender
Put God’s ways ahead of yours.  Jeremiah knew that captivity was coming and even knew how long – 70 yrs. 

Jeremiah 29:10-14
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. 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.  Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.  You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.  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.”

Jeremiah writes this when the people were at the very lowest and even in the midst of that, God says 'I still have plans'.  Even though Israel is scattered forever, Judah rebuilds 70 yrs. later.  Why?  Because Judah is the tribe the messiah comes from and God is going to keep his tribe intact.  And so God says 'I have plans for you'.  

If the walls of your life seem to be crumbling – God says I got some good plans for you.  Don’t give up, just stop and listen – turn to me.  I got something good for you.

James 4:6-7
But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.” Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

Sometimes we blame the devil but most messes are created by our own doing.  Humility simply says – you are God and I am not.

     3. Give God the credit

Humility gives God all the credit.  It isn’t about us, it is about God and His glory.  For very blessing and success goes to God. 

Jeremiah 9:23-24
This is what the Lord says: “Let not the wise boast of their wisdom or the strong boast of their strength or the rich boast of their riches, but let the one who boasts boast about this: that they have the understanding to know me, that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness,  justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,” declares the Lord.

Don’t be arrogant with God’s blessings.  Give Him the credit.  He is so good.  There are so many times that if we don’t humble ourselves, He will do it for us.  As soon as we start thinking we are all that – bam – we will fail just to put us in check.
Often times, my failure is my fault because of my own pride – failure to trust God.  But ALL success is God’s goodness.  

God has a plan for your life.

Psalm 20:7-8
Some trust in chariots and some in horses,

    but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.

 They are brought to their knees and fall,

    but we rise up and stand firm.

Incredible.  Put your trust in God – praise is about boasting in the Lord.  Humility is the key to the favor of God.  Let God readjust your altitude so you aren’t so high in your own pride.


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