(Clip) A Horrible Thing Has Been Done In The Land

This parallels America, I don't know if you realize that, but Jeremiah, Isaiah, their writing to the southern and northern kingdoms, that they were split and they gave themselves over to financial prosperity and the blessings of God. Sound familiar? And as a result of that, they begin to drift from God and they begin to just begin to sin in their homes and in their camps, in their homes. And Jeremiah came on the scene and he said, your sins, your sins have withheld good from you. God told the people, listen, the rain is not falling, the harvest is not coming in, because your sins, your iniquities have separated you from God. And then he goes on to say, by the words of Jeremiah preaching a very important message, God says an astonishing and horrible thing has happened. What do you think it is? Just think about it for a minute. He says an astonishing thing, something that should never happen. People are astounded, how is this happening? And it's horrible, it's happening in the land. What is it? It's probably not what you think. But he says the prophets prophesy falsely and the priests rule by their own power and my people love to have it. So this horrible thing, this thing that is unacceptable to God, he says the prophets are prophesying falsely. They're telling it's as if I had all of Hollywood right here and I was saying, God just loves us guys, let's just keep going out and murdering children. Let's keep out and let's keep that pedophile ring going. Let's keep out and endorsing laws that are perversion and a stench in the nostrils of a righteous God and God still loves us. He's a doting grandfather, he's a cosmic ball of love and let's go team, God is on our side. God said, that's a stench, that is a blasphemous statement. You should be telling the people, repent and find your faces on the altar and come before Almighty God and cry out that the judgment might be withheld. That's a false prophet offering false peace. Basically, they say peace, peace when God says no, it's not peace and later in Jeremiah 23, he says, I have not even sent these prophets yet they ran. I did not speak to them but they spoke to the people but had these prophets, had these prophets truly stood, I wish I had the Bible, I got it here but not here. Had these people truly stood in my word, had these prophets truly stood in the whole council of God's word, he would have turned the entire nation back to me, that's where that famous verse comes in, is not my word like a fire, like a hammer that devours, it breaks the heart, his heart's in stone, it convicts and it draws back. These false prophets are giving a false message of hope. And I'm all for a message of hope but like Spurgeon said, you feed the saint but you warn the sinner. You've got to serve all of God's meal, the steak and potatoes but also the broccoli. Isn't it funny, that's where the health comes from, did you know that? That's why your mom, they knew what they were saying, eat your broccoli, eat your vegetables, why? Because of the nutrition, the phytochemicals and the enzymes and now I'm going another rabbit trail. But it's important, it's the healthy things are the things we often don't like. I have no problem hitting Panda Express on the way home. I said that for Simeon, I know he likes Panda Express but I like it too. Or chocolate bar, anybody want some chocolate just dipped in peanut butter? I mean, but see, but there's the things, the natural things that the flesh pulls us away in spiritual matters too. Tell us what we want to hear. Why do you think the most popular preachers on TV right now are all about firing up and not about getting down on your face? They're all about encouragement but never discouraging sin because tell us what we want to hear. Man, and when I was in construction, I'd run into people all the time, they were cussing, they were looking at porn, they were getting drunk and they would say, but I like this one guy on TV. Yeah, I bet you do. So do I. Because it's all just no matter what I do. But we need encouragement, please don't misunderstand. But I believe that true encouragement comes from a right relationship with God. Encouraging people to get that right relationship. Then they have that joy unspeakable. They have that peace that surpasses all understanding because now they are right with their creator.