Spiritual Maturity #15

A. Please listen closely to the words of David in Ps. 51:1-4, 8-13. God confronted David with his sin of adultery and murder. These words are David’s confession and prayer of forgiveness. When you choose to walk away from God and decide to live in sin, Get ready for chastisement.
(2) Christians are God’s Children. He Loves you more than all else. He will not let you go without a fight. If your children get out in the street, you discipline them. You will not let your children play in the street where they can get hurt or killed. And God will not let His children play in the street of sin with out being disciplined.
a. He loves you to much to let you go astray. When you do, He comes Looking for He hurts, Longs, as did the Prodigal son’s father. He watched the road every day. When one of God’s children becomes a missing child. Does everything possible to bring him or her back.
(1) The entire Old Testament is a testimony to that fact. It is the Introductory chapter to the divine story of how God is seeking the lost. Lk. 19:10, says, “The Son of Man came to seek and to save that which was lost." But the story does not begin in the New Testament. It begins in Gen. 3:9, After man willfully, and viciously turned against God. Then tries to justify his sin and hid his sin from God. And yet God still loved man and came with His broken heart crying, “Adam, My Adam where are you?” That’s where the story begins.
2 Kgs. 21, Tells the story of a boy named Josiah who became King of Israel at age 8. At age 16 Josiah began to seek the God and gave his heart to God. Made a total commitment. By the time he was 20 he had driven out all idolatry in Israel.
(a) The land and the people were spiritually clean. Great spiritual awakening occurred and the people turned back to God. Josiah’s name was a household word in Israel for centuries. Even today, In 2002, Jews speak his name with reverence.
After Josiah’s death the people drifted back into idolatry and forsook God once again. But God did not forsake Israel. He raised up a prophet named Jeremiah. Jeremiah was called the prophet of Doom. He had one message: repent or perish.
The very thought of a child playing in the street is horrifying. When you put a stop to It you save a life. When God sees His children playing in the streets of carnality, idolatry and sin it affects Him the same way. He does something about it.
For 40 years God spoke through Jeremiah. Warning His children about the dangers of idolatry, materialism and spiritual Adultery. For 40 years they ignored those warnings. Jeremiah lived to see the day when Judah went into Babylonian captivity. He lived long enough to be able to say, “I Told you So.”
God left us a written record of those days. It’s a red flag, a warning to God’s children today. Turn with me to Jer. Chapter 2, Read with me God’s Words to a backsliding people. The message is as timely and as relevant as this morning’s news paper. God speaks to Jeremiah and says, in Jer. 2;2-3, "Go and cry in the hearing of Jerusalem, saying, 'Thus says the LORD: "I remember you, the kindness of your youth, the love of your betrothal, when you went after Me in the wilderness, in a land not sown. Israel was holiness to the LORD, the firstfruits of His increase.”
What’s God saying? “Remember those days, How good it was? Remember when we walked together. I blessed you beyond belief. I cared for you, My provision was perfect. I supplied your every need? Don’t you remember?”

But then the scene and the words begin to change from light to darkness. The words are more somber, tearful and filled with heartache. That’s the way it always is with sin. Sin never brings happiness, joy. It always brings dread, darkness and damnation.
(3) Now read with me Vs. 3-8. Does that sound familiar?
(1) Can you imagine such selfish ingratitude, intellectual stupidity, spiritual insensitivity. The priests, prophets, politians, educators have all forsaken God and like blind puppets the people have, without protest, quietly followed them into oblivion.
(1) Except for Jeremiah, not one voice of descent was raised by the people. Not one protested against those who taught falsely and who led them into apostasy.
(2) Listen carefully to God’s description of these people who are called backsliders. Vs. 18-19. God says, “I led you on the road of righteousness, I gave you Living water from the fountains of heaven. Why have you forsaken me?” Why have you taken the wrong road. Why do you seek to drink the waters of Egypt and Assyrian.” Both places are associated with bondage, and slavery.
(2) Can you believe what you’re hearing. Can you imagine anyone choosing to eat poisoned mushrooms instead of “T- Bone steak?” It reeks of Insanity! It is no less insane to choose to die spiritually when God offers perfect salvation and eternal life.
(1) Yet, it is happens every day. We’ll talk more about it next week.
(2) Today God offers you salvation. Invites you to walk on the road that leads to salvation and He invites you to drink from the river of life. Which will you choose? There is only one choice I can recommend to you. The same one Paul recommends to the Ephesian elders in Acts 20:32.

Spur - 12/29/02 am