Trading God In For Junk.

The NLT says in Jeremiah 2:11  Has any nation ever traded its gods for new ones, even though they are not gods at all? Yet my people have exchanged their glorious God for worthless idols! 12 The heavens are shocked at such a thing and shrink back in horror and dismay,” says the LORD.

To begin with Brothers and sisters Christian Friends Well Wishers and Saints for God. This instance of the scripture deals with a point of entry that struck me Straight through the heart, because it called out my name religious position. Can I prove it? From the KJV Let’s read

Jeremiah 2:8 The priests said not, Where is the LORD? and they that handle the law knew me not: the pastors also transgressed against me, and the prophets prophesied by Baal, and walked after things that do not profit.

The priests aren’t any good, The Pastors aren’t any good, the teachers aren’t any good, and the prophets aren’t any good. But today my focus is on the pastors and the people.

Let’s deal The Pastor. The Pastor has to be better than what I saw in the text in Jeremiah 2:8. And I discovered why God made Jeremiah say in Jeremiah 3:15 and I will give you pastors according to my heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding.

The pastors failed or forgot or faltered and just plain old omitted to be righteous shepherds.

Here’s what I mean ( Y’all got a minute— Let me teach you something ). The Hebrew word for Pastor is the word Raw Aw Everybody say Raw- Aw and Raw Aw means several things .It means that your pastor:

1.He is a companion, he supposed to be right by your side, to help lead and guide you with the truth of the Word of God.

2. He is a Shepherd and he tends to the flock. and By that it primarily means that the pastor pastures the flock. That means he gives them sacred solid sound doctrine from the word of God that changes their lives. and the church said Amen That’s why David said In The 23rd Psalms says he makes me to lie down in green pastures. Because the Shepherd knows that after the green grass is gone a sheep will start eating dirt and getting worms get sick and die. so that means they have to have a fresh word from the Lord.

4. The pastor as a general rule associates with them as a friend.Not an enemy.Your pastor doesn’t benefit you if you see him as your enemy.

5. The Pastor corrects them with love and righteousness. Listen if your pastor can’t correct you then he can’t cover you. Somebody got to be able to tell you something sometimes.

6. The Pastor checks on the sheep and keeps them from wandering and wasting their lives away. Even if some don’t listen the Pastor speaks truth to power over their situation.

7. The Pastor sometimes bring them to the shearing house to cut away at the extra wool and weight that they have grown into.And that’s why God does not leave mankind to himself. Mankind will come up with all kinds of crazy stuff to engage in. And God sends the Preacher He sends a Jeremiah.

8. The Pastor is the herdsman and Jesus said My sheep will only hear the voice Because I’m the Great Shepherd of the Sheep. And that’s why it can’t be but one Pastor in a church at a time. It can’t be a church full of chiefs and no Indians. Somebody got to be in charge and somebody got to be able to follow orders. And the church said Amen.

And that’s the definition of the Pastor in the Jeremiah text from the strong’s Hebrew and Greek transliteration research book. I researched the material and the Holy Ghost gave me revelations that are applicable to this church!!! Not nobody else’s church. Tell your neighbor: This is for us.

And so this calling of Pastor is real and isn’t to be played with. And so Jeremiah in Chapter 1 is called to be a prophet to the nations. And Jeremiah is told by God at about 12 or 13 years old that he was going to deliver a hard message to the people of God.

Look at Jeremiah 1:4 Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 5 Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations. 6 Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child.

Jeremiah said Ah Lord I’m just a child. I can’t tell them people that they are wicked and that they are about to suffer 70 years for their disrespect and disobedience.

In Chapter one God said I ordained you for this Jeremiah. In fact I knew you Jeremiah before I formed thee in thy mother’s womb. Jeremiah 1:8 NIV Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the LORD. 9 Then the LORD reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, “Now, I have put my words in your mouth. 10 See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant.”

The Lord said Jeremiah, Son, You’re going to go and tell them and you ain’t going to be scared either. God said in essence get some backbone get some spine and look them in the eyes when you talk and talk like you know you know what you’re talking about. Because I sent you Jeremiah. In other words God said “Jeremiah! you have the Throne of God backing you up. So tell them what I said.

Jeremiah prophesied about the capture and seizure and destruction and desolation of Judah. The Assyrian and the Babylonians will enslave you Judah because Judah, you saw how I made Israel fall down 100 years ago and then Judah you have the nerve to be even worst than Israel was. Judah you made God shame to own you.

Jeremiah Chapter 2 tell us that God had an endearing conversation with the congregation. God said Jeremiah go tell them ‘I remember how faithful you were to me when you were a young nation.You loved me like a young bride. You followed me through the desert, a land that had never been planted. 3 The people of Israel were holy to the LORD, like the first fruits from his harvest. Those who tried to hurt Israel were judged guilty.Disasters struck them,’ ” says the LORD.

God said in essence I took good care of you but now you’ll have turned on Me, saith the LORD.

Yeah Y’all turn on Me 3x So Jeremiah tell them in verses 5,6&7 Thus saith the LORD, What iniquity have your fathers found in me, that they are gone far from me, and have walked after vanity, and are become vain? 6 Neither said they, Where is the LORD that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, that led us through the wilderness, through a land of deserts and of pits, through a land of drought, and of the shadow of death, through a land that no man passed through, and where no man dwelt?

Jeremiah tell them that I the Lord brought them from a mighty mighty long ways. In fact verse 7 says “And I brought you into a plentiful country, to eat the fruit thereof and the goodness thereof; but when ye entered, ye defiled my land, and made mine heritage an abomination.

In other words soon as you got to the Promised Land you started acting like a heathen fool. You started going after false idol gods and Started acting like you never had a real God on your side.

And when God delivers me from a low bottom hellish situation, I said “Lord if you save me I’ll serve you for the balance of my days”.

And church verse 8 struck me straight through the heart “The priests said not, Where is the LORD? and they that handle the law knew me not: the pastors also transgressed against me, and the prophets prophesied by Baal, and walked after things that do not profit.

It was like the Gomer Pile Show Surprised 3x.

The word of God says that The Good Lord saith what surprised Him the most was how blatantly disobedient and blatantly disrespectful the Priests, teachers, pastors, and prophets were.

The Lord saith Nobody. I mean nobody wanted to know what thus saith the Lord. Nobody? Well if the pastor preacher leader teacher minister and prophets ain’t thinking about me for sure congregations aren’t. People have a tendency to do as they see their leaders do. Children,Siblings, Family members and Friends have a tendency to do as they see their folks do.

Birds of a feather flock together.

The Lord said Judah, I really have something against you and your godless behavior. Judah, You chose idols gods over Me. Judah, You chose wickedness over righteousness.

And the Lord said Jeremiah you go and tell them to go and check in on the island of Cyprus and other places and see if anybody any other people any other nation has ever changed their gods like Judah is doing.

The Lord saith the heathens have fake fony faulty gods that are really not gods but even the heathens stick with their gods!!!! and the Lord said and yet you’ll want to follow them???

And that says to me that sometimes we think that the grass is greener on the other side, but it’s not... And so even if the grass is greener on the other side it still has to be cut.

God said Israel was out of line a 100 years ago and now Judah is way out of line right now. And what the word of God is saying through Jeremiah is “I ain’t never seen no mess up stuff like this. Because even heathen nations accept their idol gods. And here you are Israel and Judah not accepting the True and Living God that delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians and every other enemy nation that you encountered.

In 2024 all I’m saying is That this Jeremiah text is the example o f what happens when you are on the wrong side of history.

Israel is so far off kilter until the word of God says Everybody in heaven is scratching their heads over their dumb decisions. The NLT in b clause in verse 11 says “My people have exchanged their glorious God for worthless idols! 12 The heavens are shocked at such a thing and shrink back in horror and dismay,” says the LORD.

Brothers and sisters Heaven is shocked at such a thing. Listen to the title of this sermon “They have Traded God in for Junk”. These are some ungrateful people. Wait let me see if I can get you to understand how God is feeling. “God deliver you from Egyptian Slavery. God Part the Red Sea for you. You marched through on dry land. Pharoah thought he could do it too but drown Pharaoh’s army in the Red Sea. God fed you manna in the wilderness and it taste like home made sweet flour bead. God brings you to a land that’s flowing with milk and honey. Israel God is on your side and Nobody else’s god can stand up to Jehovah Adonai the Self Existing God, El Shaddai the Supreme God the One and only ALMIGHTY GOD!!!! Then century after century Israel plays the harlot like the heathens and goes after other gods in this text baal. What an ungrateful nation.

In 2024 we have to be cognizant not to take God for granted. Just because Israel was the chosen people of God and the apple of God’s eye doesn’t mean that they were given permission to be worst than the heathen people God delivered them from.

And when you take these things into account Now you can see why God said I will give you Pastors according to my own heart which will feed you with knowledge and understanding.

Jeremiah say these are some ungrateful people. And the Lord is sending in the Babylonian invaders from the north and they are going to exile and enslave and seize and occupy Israel and Judah for 70 years. and most of God’s people would be exiled.

“They Traded God in for Junk”. If they would have repented and exhibited godly sorrow maybe God would have changed His mind, but God told Jeremiah it’s too late because Jeremiah 3 explicitly tell us about how God’s people had a backsliding heart. And how Israel played the harlot and when Judah saw that they were even worst than Israel. The Lord said Jeremiah It’s too late for them. In Jeremiah 4:19 Jeremiah’s heart is pounding inside but God says they deserve what they are getting.

In Jeremiah 5:7 God says “How shall I pardon thee for this? thy children have forsaken me, and sworn by them that are no gods: when I had fed them to the full, they then committed adultery, and assembled themselves by troops in the harlots' houses. Jeremiah 5:8 They were as fed horses in the morning: every one neighed after his neighbour's wife. 9 Shall I not visit for these things? saith the LORD: and shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?

God said in Jeremiah 7:16 stop praying for these people because I’m not listening no more, because they won’t even admit that they have been wrong. They have a backsliding heart without repentance.

Brothers and sisters there are people in 2024 that have backsliding hearts. Let me drop this in your lap before I close God has delivered them from some bad bad stuff but they’ve gone back to it and a backsliding spirit is a dangerous spirit to have because it can come in various shapes forms and facets. Tell your neighbor: Don’t go back to your old ways.

And Jeremiah said Lord they hate the message I preach. And because I’m not Rev Do Wrong Pashur the priest has thrown me in prison. Jeremiah says they whip him and beat me, then thrown me in a dungeon and Jeremiah says in Jeremiah 20:7 O LORD, thou hast deceived me, and I was deceived: thou art stronger than I, and hast prevailed: I am in derision daily, every one mocketh me. 8 For since I spake, I cried out, I cried violence and spoil; because the word of the LORD was made a reproach unto me, and a derision, daily. 9 Then I said, I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name. But his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay.

And Jeremiah the Prophet stood for righteousness in the midst of a backsliding generation. And I’ve got to close here but that’s the same way Jesus did. Jesus told them Repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand and as a result they took my Lord and your God and led Him on Up to Calvary’s Hill. They stretched Him wide and hung Him up high pierced Him in His side and Oh He died. But, three days later Jesus got up with all power in His hands. Oh Yes He did.

And in Jeremiah 9:1 Jeremiah weeps and weeps and weeps so much so until he’s named the Weeping prophet. And when the exile happens the Babylonians take Jeremiah but don’t kill him