A serious word for pastors...

October 22, 2021

​Again and again the LORD has sent you His servants, the prophets, but you have not listened or even paid attention. Each time the message was this: "Turn from the evil road you are traveling and from the evil things you are doing. Only then will I let you live in this land that the LORD gave to you and your ancestors forever. Do not provoke My anger by worshiping idols you made with your own hands. Then I will not harm you." (Jeremiah 25:4-6)

Friends of mine, the message is always the same. Repent. Stop doing what you are doing. Turn so that God can relent from the harm that He is about to do. Do not provoke His anger. We are in crazy times right now. People everywhere are traveling down evil roads and doing evil things. We can see it, and we can hear it; we can feel it; and yet, there are people who are saying that all is well. There are prophets who are prophesying peace and safety. Many people believe and are prophesying that Donald Trump will come back into office and all will be well. It will not be well. Even if this were to happen, it would not change a thing. The only thing that will save us is if we humble ourselves and pray and accept our guilt, confess our sins, and turn from the evil things we are doing. Only then will the LORD relent from the harm that He is about to send on this land.

So I have to tell you what God is about to do. I think He has already started doing this, but it is going to get much worse. This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, said to me: "Take from My hand this cup filled to the brim with My anger, and make all the nations to whom I send you drink from it. When they drink from it, they will stagger, crazed by the warfare I will send against them." (Jeremiah 25:15-16) This is spiritual warfare - an attack upon the heart: anxieties, fears, insecurities, anger, rage, frustration, terror - and the list goes on. This comes from God, and He is making the whole world drink from this cup of His fury, but it starts with His people.

"Now prophesy all these things, and say to them,
"'The LORD will roar against His own land
from His holy dwelling in heaven.
He will shout like those who tread grapes;
He will shout against everyone on earth.
His cry of judgment will reach the ends of the earth,
For the LORD will bring His case against all the nations.
He will judge all the people of the earth,
slaughtering the wicked with the sword.
I, the LORD, have spoken!"

In that day those the LORD has slaughtered will fill the earth from one end to the other. No one will mourn for them or gather up their bodies to bury them. They will be scattered on the ground like manure.

Weep and moan, you evil shepherds!
Roll in the dust, you leaders of the flock!
The time of your slaughter has arrived;
you will fall and shatter like a fragile vase.
You will find no place to hide;
there will be no way to escape.

Listen to the frantic cries of the shepherds.
The leaders of the flock are wailing in despair,
for the LORD is ruining their pastures.
Peaceful meadows will be turned into a wasteland
by the LORD's fierce anger.

He has left His den like a strong lion seeking its prey,
and their land will be made desolate
by the sword of the enemy
and the LORD's fierce anger. (Jeremiah 25:30-38)

Can I say that this is such a BIG warning to pastors?!? I am trembling. We have to be on our face right now, humbling ourselves before our God. He is not pleased. The time of slaughter has arrived. "Stand in silence in the presence of the Sovereign LORD, for the awesome day of the LORD's judgment is near. The LORD has prepared His people for a great slaughter and has chosen their executioners." (Zephaniah 1:7)

This morning God is telling me, "Give them My entire message; include every word. Perhaps they will listen and turn from their evil ways. Then I will change My mind about the disaster I am ready to pour out on them because of their sins." (Jeremiah 26:3). There is still time to repent. It will be hard, but it is possible.

"O Israel," says the LORD,
"if you wanted to return to Me, you could.
You could throw away your detestable idols
and stray away no more.
Then when you swear by My name, saying,
'As surely as the LORD lives,'
you could do so
with truth, justice, and righteousness.
Then you would be a blessing to the nations of the world,
and all people would come and praise My name."

This is what the LORD says to the people of Judah and Jerusalem:
"Plow up the hard ground of your hearts!
Do not waste your good seed among thorns (the world).
O people of Judah and Jerusalem,
surrender your pride and power.
Change your hearts before the LORD,
or My anger will burn like an unquenchable fire
because of all your sins." (Jeremiah 4:1-4)

This is a message to leaders and pastors. It is a serious message. God is asking us to lay down our pride and our power. Stop planting our good seed in the world - plant it in the Kingdom. If we wanted to, we could return to God, but to do that we have to throw away our detestable idols (the work of our own hands). God is saying to us all, "Change your hearts before Me, or My anger will burn like an unquenchable fire because of all of our sins." Sweet Jesus! Help us all.
​
Terri