======================================================================== THE PROPHET JEREMIAH SPEAKS TO AMERICA by Shane Idleman ======================================================================== Summary: Shane Idleman calls for America to return to God by addressing pride, spiritual blindness, and the need for repentance as exemplified by the prophet Jeremiah. Duration: 17:01 Topics: "Repentance And Revival", "Gods Judgment" Scripture References: Jeremiah 5:1-6 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ DESCRIPTION ------------------------------------------------------------------------ This sermon delves into the message delivered by Jeremiah on God's impending judgment on Israel and Judah due to their departure from Him into idolatry and sin. It draws parallels to the current state of society, emphasizing the need for repentance and seeking God's forgiveness. The sermon highlights the consequences of spiritual blindness, pride, and perversion, urging a return to God before calamity strikes. It stresses the power of God's word to convict and transform hearts, calling for a revival of brokenness and repentance in individuals and the church. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ CONTENT ------------------------------------------------------------------------ God says through the voice of Jeremiah, run to and fro throughout the streets of Jerusalem, see now and know and seek in her open places. If you can find a man, is there anyone who executes judgment, a man of integrity who seeks the truth? I will pardon her. So God is getting ready to judge Israel, Judah, mainly Jeremiah was a prophet to the southern kingdom of Judah. By this time, Israel, the northern kingdom and Judah had split up. They had succumbed to 50 years of financial prosperity and idolatry. And it resembles, quite frankly, what we're seeing today in America. They become so blessed of God that they're actually turning from him. How ironic is that? So God sends Jeremiah to deliver a difficult message. God says, just show me some people of truth, show me some people seeking me, some men, women of integrity, show me and I will pardon the nation. Now, that's one redeeming thing that I often think about for us and those who are concerned with the direction of our nation, is that there are many people praying and petitioning and fasting for our country. And like Nehemiah, why should I not be sad when the place of my father's tombs lies in waste? And that's happening today. So there are people contending even now for us. But then the people say, though they say, as the Lord lives, surely they swear falsely. In other words, the people are saying, sure, as the Lord lives, we can find people like that around here. Absolutely. And they're lying. There's no people like that left here. Oh, Lord, you are not are not your eyes on the truth. You have stricken them. He has stricken his own people, but they have not grieved. He has consumed them, but they have refused to receive correction. They have made their faces harder than rock. They have refused to return. So you're saying, wait a minute, God uses calamity to turn his people back. Yeah, sometimes. Do you want calamity to turn back or you want to spend eternity in hell? Sheol, Gehenna, outer darkness, weeping, gnashing of teeth for eternity. That does not sound very good. So God sometimes will use calamity. Now I'm talking about subjects people don't want to hear, but we need to hear it. God will use this. Think about that. Think about how it works. We're so fractured right now. I remember just seeing a video the other day of some terrorist organization. They're speaking Aramic and he's saying we can just get four pounds of maybe somebody saw the four pounds of anthrax through the borders. We could wipe out two hundred fifty thousand Americans. We don't even need planes anymore. And we're just sitting around, I don't care, look at this new movie coming out and we're just we're speechless. Christians are just they're just they're just I don't know what else to say. We've lost our zeal. The enemy is coming. He's here. Wake up. The only protection is God. God sent warnings to his people. Why can't we do it now? Do you know why we can't? It's not popular. It's not fun. It's not cozy. It's not a feel good message. Gene, I don't want to leave here feeling like this. Well, let's continue to read. They have refused to return to God. Therefore, I said, surely these are poor. See, they're poor in spirit, but not the right way because they don't acknowledge it. They are foolish, for they do not know the way of the Lord, the judgment of their God. I will go to the great men and speak to them, for they have known the way of the Lord, the judgment of their God. But even these have altogether broken the yoke and burst the bonds. Therefore, a lion from the forest shall slay them. A wolf of the deserts will destroy them. A leopard will watch over the cities. And God often used animals, beasts of the field to come and bring and just bring judgment to his people. Everyone who goes out from there shall be torn in pieces because their transgressions are many. See, the result of he's not just doing it to do it. The transgressions are many. They are giving their children almost to the God of Molech, burning their children on these hot flames of Molech, worshiping these other gods. God's saying, because you've transgressed from me, you leave me no other option. You leave me no other option but to bring calamity to you. Why? To turn you back to me. The wake up call. And what's he go on to say? Because their transgressions are many, their backslidings have increased, and that's a sure sign of pride. Regression is a sign of pride. Anytime somebody begins to regress from God, backslide, turn from God, pride is at the forefront. It's sure not humility. It's sure not humility in needing God. It's pride. It's pride driving us away from God. And that's what happens. The pride of your heart has deceived you. He says that often to his people, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Joel, Amos, Obadiah. All these guys are saying the pride of your heart has deceived you. Wake up. The pride of your heart has deceived you. You see how deceptive this area is? How shall I pardon you for this? Your children have forsaken me and sworn by those that are not even gods. When I had fed them to the full and they committed adultery and assembled themselves by troops in the harlot's houses. What he's saying, there's so much promiscuity, sexual promiscuity. They're just lined up at the door. The porn industry, number one billion industry, tops all sports combined. All this lust and this perversion. Everybody wants to put a porn star sticker on their truck. I want to say, wake up. That's perversion. You're not cool. You're going against God. Think about it. We've got our young girls now think it's cool to have porn star things on their purses, stickers on their cars as if God is going to just wink and say, oh, no big deal. He says, you lust after these evil perversions. Turn back to me, people. They're like well-fed, lusty stallions. Everyone nays at his neighbor's wife. Wow. You know what that means to see me afterwards? Shall I not punish them for these things, says the Lord? Think about this. We say, well, how could it? Now, a lot of people are watching these things, all these shows, wife swapping, desperate wives, the Kardashians or Kardashians or whatever. All this stuff, all this stuff. We laugh, but we watch it and we wonder why, what's going on? We're lusting after all these perversions. The lust of your heart has deceived you. It's drawn you away from God. You tell me what you watch. I'll tell you what you worship. That's just the truth, myself included. What you allow into the mind gate to influence you is what you ultimately worship. There's no way around that. Be not conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. I told you I'm a little bit angry today. I'm on the warpath. The enemy is coming after too many families, coming after too many marriages. I see too many young adults ruining their lives when they know better. This lust and this perversion everywhere. You got porn on Facebook. You got soft porn on Carl's Jr. commercials. For the love of God, it's a hamburger place. You don't need somebody negligee dripping salad dressing. What? Man, my wife's going to lecture me after this sermon. That's all right. I mean, well, think about it. On one hand, we laugh. We say it's so terrible. But on the other hand, we view it. We enjoy it. What's the disconnect here, folks? If we had time, we'd go back to Romans one. He lays it all out. And then at the end it says, and woe be to you who approve of such things. Not only are you rebuking those who commit them, woe be to you who approve of such things. Shall I not punish them for these things, says the Lord. And I don't read that as a I mean, you get angry. God fires flying out of his eye. I think it's a loving father calling his children back. Listen, I don't want to do these things. God never says he wants to do these things. See, don't confuse want to with have to. He doesn't want to, but because he set all absolute truths in motion, those absolute truths have to have repercussions. And what happens is we confuse God's patience with his approval. Oh, God's not doing anything like I've been getting away with it. Oh, don't never confuse his patience with his approval. I know a lot of people fall right back into drinking again and keep getting away with it for a while. Oh, look it, look it, look it. And then, bam. Right back into that trap again. So you have to be very careful. Go up on her walls and destroy, but do not make a complete and take away her branches, for they are not the Lord's for the for the house of Israel and the house of Judah have dealt very treacherously with me, says the Lord is the you have to picture this. God is saying, my children who I raised, I pulled you out of Egypt. You are mine. I called you a holy nation. I provided for you. I killed Pharaoh. I killed armies. I removed all these different lands. I brought you into land flowing with milk and honey. I raised you the apple of my eye. Now, Israel, the northern kingdom, Judah, the southern kingdom have departed from God and they've come to idolatry and they're following all these things that do not honor God. And here's every time I read these things, here is what really stands out to me. They think that they are right with God. They think that they are right with him. We are God's chosen people. We are spiritual blindness. It happens all the time. Spiritual blindness has taken over them and they've dealt very treacherously with the Lord, for they have lied about the Lord and said it is not he. Neither will evil come upon us, nor shall we see sword or famine. And the prophets become wind for the word is not in them. Thus shall it be done to them. False spokesman for God. And here's the part I love. It should be a light verse for Westside Christian Fellowship. Therefore, thus saith the Lord God of hosts to Jeremiah, because you speak this word, Jeremiah, behold, I will make my words in your mouth fire and I will make this people wood and it shall devour them. When the word of God goes forth and the power of the spirit, it knocks down anybody. A thousand yards away, halfway across the world. They hear the word of God and they fall. And I said before, it's more precise than a sniper's rifle. It'll take a man at a thousand thousand yards and it'll take a man out in Kansas City. It'll take a man out in Florida. It'll take a man out in Europe. When they hear the word of God, they're pierced by it and there devours them. It's fire. That's what it is. Is not my word like a fire that devours like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces? Well, how is it that it's out of that because of the vessel that God uses? That's why boldness is important in the anointing. The Holy Spirit is important because I know I'm just up here. Oh, God, if you don't get me through this, I'm not going to make it an hour. I'm not going to make it 10 minutes. So, Lord, do what you want to do. Use this broken vessel. I'm a prideful man working on humility by the grace of God. Lord, just pour out of me what you want and tell the people. We get emails all the time from people being hit by the word of God. They either love it and they're turning back to God or they think I'm a narrow-minded, arrogant, bigoted, right-winged fundamentalist. Those are my two options. I don't have a middle ground. Why is that? Because the word of God is fire and they are like the chaff. And God says, you preach my word, Jeremiah. He says, I'm just a youth. He says, you're not a youth. Spiritually, physically, you are. But you go to who I send you and you speak what I tell you to speak. You will be used to root out and to pull down and to build up and to destroy. Jeremiah, I'm going to give you my words to say to my people. How does God communicate? He's not going to hit our nation with a big bolt of lightning. He's going to hit our nation with the word of God. That's why I wish if I had any other prayer answered, I'd say, Lord, put this message on TBN for the next week. Have Joel Osteen cut out and have this message come on. You would see this nation break and repent. I truly believe that because everything, everything. And I don't say it arrogantly, I don't say it meanly, I say we need it. It's enough time of the feel good, best life now, enjoy everything. At some point, the hammer of God needs to fall and say, thus sayeth the Lord, church, you need to return to me, return you backsliding church so that relationship can be bridged again. And. I would have great hope for revival if we could get messages like this out, the pulpits of America would come back and start being beacons of light, pointing people to the truth and convicting them instead of social clubs that we see no lives being changed. And that's what Jeremiah is saying here, I will make the words in your mouth fire and this people will be wood and it shall devour them. Behold, I will bring a nation against you from afar. Oh, house of Israel, says the Lord. You guys ever hear of terrorism? Well, here it is here back in. It is a mighty nation, an ancient nation, nation whose language you do not know. Why is God bringing them to judge his people? Nor can you understand what they say. Their quiver is like an open tomb and they shall eat up your harvest and take your bread with your sons and your daughters should eat. They shall eat your flocks and your herds. They shall eat your vines and your fig trees. They shall destroy your fortified cities in which you trust with the sword. Why? Because the arrogance of your heart has deceived you. So we must pray, God, ignite a fire in the heart of believers, ignite this passion back to you, back to returning to you would be to God that every senator would be convicted and fall on his face before almighty God and repent for the condition of our people. The church needs it as well. It's a wake up call for the church. God's talking to his people, not the world. We we sometimes forget that, nevertheless, in those days, says the Lord, I will not make a complete end of you just just as you have forsaken me and serve foreign gods in your land. So show you serve aliens in the land of yours. And it just goes on and on, on who has placed the sand at the bound of the sea, who made a perpetual degree that the ocean can say here and no further. And though it's waves tossed to and fro, yet they cannot prevail. But this people has a defiant and rebellious heart. They have revolted and departed. They do not say in their heart, let us now fear our God who gives rain. But your iniquities have turned these things away and your sins have withheld good from you. It's OK to say that God says it. An astonishing and a horrible thing has been committed in the land. The prophets prophesy falsely and the priests rule by their own power and my people love to have it so. But what will you do in the end? That's the deception of pride. That's what price pride causes. So what is the only hope? The blessing of brokenness. That's the only hope. Whether you're feeling convicted, whether you're feeling condemned, whether you're feeling excited because somebody's finally saying what you feel in your heart, no matter what it is, the blessing of brokenness turning to God. That's that's when people ask, what's the hope for a nation? What's good? What's that? Until the nation breaks and repents and turns back to God, some people say, well, it isn't this isn't written to to America, it's more Israel. And well, regardless, the principle still applies. Paul called people to repentance. Jesus said, go and preach repentance. Hold on. Jesus even rebuked entire cities for not repenting. Bethesda, Corazin, if the good works that were done in you were done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago with sackcloth and ashes. But I can't do many good works here because you hardness of your heart, your arrogant heart. ======================================================================== Video: https://sermonindex2.b-cdn.net/nwbh-0rw4lI.mp4 Source: https://sermonindex.net/speakers/shane-idleman/the-prophet-jeremiah-speaks-to-america/ ========================================================================