The PAIN We Need
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thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning the vessels that are left in the house of the Lord, in the house of the king of Judah, and in Jerusalem: They shall be carried to Babylon and remain there until the day when I visit them, declares the Lord. Then I will bring them back and restore them to this place.”
“For thus says the Lord: When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place. For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear 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 I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, declares the Lord, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.
Remember the word that you commanded your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the peoples, but if you return to me and keep my commandments and do them, though your outcasts are in the uttermost parts of heaven, from there I will gather them and bring them to the place that I have chosen, to make my name dwell there.’
Jeremiah is known as the weeping prophet because of the lamenting nature of both his life and his ministry. Jeremiah's life was one of misery. His prophecies were rejected by the people, so much so that his own family turned against him and plotted to kill him (Jeremiah 1:8, 11:21-23, 12:6). He was whipped, put in stocks (Jer. 20:1-3), attacked by a mob (Jeremiah 26:1-9), threatened with death by the king (36:26), and ridiculed by the people (Jer. 28). Some of the princes arrested, beat, and accused him of treason before throwing him in the bottom of a deep empty well to die alone. He lived through the seige of Jerusalem, and some of the people kidnapped him and took him to Egypt.
He was alone. He was not allowed to marry, his family abandoned him, and his people rejected him, with him alone knowing the horrors coming for Judah.
In his pain, Jeremiah painted a picture of an important principle of revival:
Pain is God's necessary tool to bring us to desperation so that Revival can Occur.
Pain is God's necessary tool to bring us to desperation so that Revival can Occur.
Pain Brings DESPERATION (v. 27:21-22a)
Pain Brings DESPERATION (v. 27:21-22a)
Remember the word that you commanded your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the peoples,
God made a promise through Moses to Israel in Deuteronomy:
“If you are not careful to do all the words of this law that are written in this book, that you may fear this glorious and awesome name, the Lord your God,
“And the Lord will scatter you among all peoples, from one end of the earth to the other, and there you shall serve other gods of wood and stone, which neither you nor your fathers have known.
Jeremiah prophesied that this was exactly what was about to happen in Israel:
thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning the vessels that are left in the house of the Lord, in the house of the king of Judah, and in Jerusalem:
They shall be carried to Babylon and remain there until the day when I visit them, declares the Lord. Then I will bring them back and restore them to this place.”
Israel had forgotten God, and had forgotten both his promises and his warnings.
We live in a day where the church often makes light of the warnings of God.
In Revelation 2, God gives a series of warnings and promises to the churches found in Asia Minor (modern day Turkey).
He warned Ephesus of their losing their first love.
He warned not to fear when faced with great evil.
He warned Pergamum for allowing theological heresy to flourish.
He warned Thyatira for sexual immorality among the faithful.
He warned Sardis for their spiritual apathy.
He warned Philadelphia for their lack of power to hold fast.
He warned Laodicea for their lukewarmness.
Like these churches, we tend to make too little of God’s awesome wrath. But Jeremiah and Nehemiah were living the consequences of God’s wrath.
Blessed is the man whom you discipline, O Lord, and whom you teach out of your law,
“Behold, blessed is the one whom God reproves; therefore despise not the discipline of the Almighty.
God brings about pain for our benefit.
Have you experience God’s Spiritual Pain/Pressure?
Desperation Brings REPENTANCE (v. 29:10-13)
Desperation Brings REPENTANCE (v. 29:10-13)
Second, the desperate pain of the loss of their home brought about repentance for Israel. In the same way, God uses our desperation to bring about repentance.
“For thus says the Lord: When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place.
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.
Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you.
You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.
What would happen if God removed his hand of protection from us? In short, all hell would break loose.
In the summer and fall of 1857, America’s banking industry collapsed, and countless numbers of investors lost their financial assets overnight. Dr. James W. Alexander, Pastor of the Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church, recounted those days.
“Besides the great number who were utterly ruined, there were ten times as many whose earthly destinies seemed to be in libration. If we were to look no further than to the wear and tear of mind and brain, caused by (fear) and troubles in business, such as drove some to despair and madness, the evil could not be reckoned at the rate of millions of gold and silver.”
In God’s providence, what often hardens men to spiritual realities was used at this time to make them hunger after that which remains and abides. It pleased God, in His marvelous loving-kindness, by the ploughshare of His judgments to furrow the ground for precious seed of salvation, and to make distresses touching worldly estate to awaken desire for durable riches and righteousness. Out of the eater came forth meat and out of the strong came forth sweetness.
The 1857-1858 prayer revival led to thousands coming to Christ. Thousands, aware of their desperate need, and seeing the hopelessness of the world around them, turned to the author of peace, and came to Christ.
Professor Bruce Waltke describe a Christian's response to pain this way: We once rescued a wren from the claws of our cat. Thought its wing was broken, the frightened bird struggled to escape my loving hands. Contrast this with my daughter's recent trip to the doctor. Her strep throat meant a shot was necessary. Frightened, she cried, "No, Daddy. No, Daddy, No, Daddy." But all the while she gripped me tightly around the neck. Pain ought to make us more like a sick child than a hurt bird.
What will it take for you and me to come to such a point of desperation?
God uses desperation to bring us to our knees!
That’s the response that leads to revival.
When was the last time you were brought to your knees?
Repentance Brings REVIVAL (v. 29:11,14)
Repentance Brings REVIVAL (v. 29:11,14)
Finally, we see that repentance brings forth revival.
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.
I will be found by you, declares the Lord, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, declares the Lord, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.
God promised his people that if they would repent, he would restore. Though not a direct promise, the priniciple is the same.
If you and I repent, God will restore his hand of blessing to us.
Look at Jesus’ promise to the churches:
To the church at Ephesus:
Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.
He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.’
To the church at Smyrna:
Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.
To the church at Thyatira:
The one who conquers and who keeps my works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations,
To the church at Sardis:
The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels.
And on and on: When we repent, that leads to restoration and true revival.
In 1904, a young Evan Roberts went to his hime church with a simple four point message. He challenged them that do to confess all known sin, abandon any doubtful habits, obey the Holy Spirit promptly, and confess Christ publicly. This became the theme of the Welsh Revival.
What is God calling you to lay down, to let go? We may be waiting on God to send revival. He may be waiting on you and me to repent and turn. Are you willing to:
Confess all known sin?
Put away every doubtful habit?
Obey the Spirit promptly?
Confess Christ openly and consistently?
In 2011 at a Revival Formum at the Moody Pastor’s conference, a visiting pastor from Uganda asked if he could share a comment and then ask a question. He told of the godly people of Uganda who prayed for revival. God sent it in dramatic fashion, but it required devastation first. Their nation suffered a civil war and horrible atrocities.
After describing the amazing results of revival, he said they have now turned their prayers toward America. They are asking God to sen an outpouring of His spirit upon this nation, knowing that it would impact the world. He said their leaders know that God will send revival…and that it will either come through desperation or devastation.
Then came the question: “What are you going to do to foster a sense of desperation so it does not require devastation?”
God is speaking. Are we listening?
Perhaps right now God has brought you to desperation. Perhaps right now is the time for you to take the steps of repentance that will lead to revival in your life.
If not now, what more will it take from God?