The Dangers of Straying
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Intro:
4 And the Lord has sent to you all His servants the prophets, rising early and sending them, but you have not listened nor inclined your ear to hear.
5 They said, ‘Repent now everyone of his evil way and his evil doings, and dwell in the land that the Lord has given to you and your fathers forever and ever.
6 Do not go after other gods to serve them and worship them, and do not provoke Me to anger with the works of your hands; and I will not harm you.’
7 Yet you have not listened to Me,” says the Lord, “that you might provoke Me to anger with the works of your hands to your own hurt.
As we continue to study prayer throughout Scripture, the title of my message is, [The Dangers of Straying].
In 2019, Bekah and I planned our vacation. We looked forward to resting and relaxing. When we went through the list of places to visit, NYC was at the top.
Nothing says relaxing like going to the city that NEVER sleeps! It was the most action packed and busy vacation yet. We walked a minimum of five miles and a day and on our final day we walked over twelve miles.
We travel good together. I take care of flights, hotels, and tickets, while Bekah schedules activities and meals. We both understand each other and feel comfortable together.
But for this trip, Bekah laid some ground rules. She cautioned, “Daniel, I know you like to talk to people, you make friends, and you have a small concept of fear.”
“But understand, we are going to New York. There is a reason they film crime scenes and unsolved murders there. Stay close and do not act like you are invincible.”
Thankfully I listened. Well almost listened. We went to Chinatown,. I got caught up in the moment and a lady asked if wanted a handbag.
I answered yes and followed her. She handed me off to a man who led us another way. We almost went down a narrow alley and Bekah intervened.
She reminded me to be careful. I answered, THIS IS ALL part of the experience. The closer we got to the alley, the more people watched like something bad was going to happen.
Finally, Bekah prevailed and when the man turned left, we continued straight. Then we had a “discussion” about making sure we are safe.
We all need someone in our lives who will keep us accountable and on course when we face temptation to tray.
I have bekah, but we read the words of the Prophet Jeremiah. He worked tirelessly to keep Judah from straying. In fact, staying close to God and not straying was a common theme of the Old Testament.
32 “Therefore you shall be careful to do as the Lord your God has commanded you; you shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left.
7 Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go.
27 Do not turn to the right or the left; Remove your foot from evil.
21 Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” Whenever you turn to the right hand Or whenever you turn to the left.
The message was simple— DO NOT STRAY, STAY CLOSE.
Why would God take so much time to emphasize staying close?
He knew the dangers that accompanying straying. By the time we arrive to the Prophet Jeremiah, God’s people have backslidden over and over.
Therefore, God determined to send them into captivity. The decision was not easy on God, but He gave Judah chance after change and they did not repent— they preferred to stray.
In fact, the more Jeremiah called them to repentance, the angrier they became.
Jeremiah 26:8
By coming against the prophet, threatening him with death, they rebelled against God and their judgment was forthcoming.
Sadly, Jeremiah had to watch the Babylonians come to Jerusalem lead the people into exile. They did so in phases:
They took the skilled workers and young people
They destroyed the Temple to show their gods were stronger than Judah’s God
They left the city in ruins
And all of this occured because Judah strayed from the truth.
Straying can happen to anyone— that is why we MUST stay closer to the Lord.
I want us to see the description of those who strayed from God so we can see the dangers of getting off track spiritually.
Let’s turn to Psalms 137, I have three points, [The Results of Straying], [The Ridicule of Straying], [The Remedy for Straying].
Let’s begin
1. The Results of Straying
1. The Results of Straying
1 By the rivers of Babylon, There we sat down, yea, we wept When we remembered Zion.
2 We hung our harps Upon the willows in the midst of it.
The people of Judah were proud people. They had a covenant with the Lord that dated back thousands of years to their forefather Abraham.
God promised to be with His descendants, to bless those who bless Him and curse those who curse Him. In their minds, they were good to go. Nothing could stop them.
Slowly they became arrogant. They openly and blatantly sinned, assuming they could do what they pleased and God would not care.
But He did.
In His great love, He exiled them to Babylon, a vicious and gruesome empire that had no moral standards. They had to endure the humiliation that accompanied captivity.
Many of the young men were stripped of their manhood, becoming eunuchs.
The poor and weak were left destitute and unable to provide for themselves in Jerusalem
With the memories of their experiences fresh in their minds, they sat by the banks of a Babylonian river and began to week.
In envision them looking at the wealth and splendor of Babylon and thinking about home. They could not hold back the tears. They began to weep.
The joy in their lives ceased to exist. They mourned over all they lost. They could not sing and even hung their harps on the trees.
Why they were so sad?
It was more than a loss of family, security, or home. Losing that must have been hard. Yet the sadness was not so much about WHAT they lost, but WHY it was all taken from them.
They were victims of their foolish decisions.
I imagine they thought— If only we had not strayed to the left or the right. What if we had obeyed the words of the prophets.
Straying from truth will ALWAYS result in negativity. The people of Judah assumed they were untouchable, nothing could stop them.
How wrong they were. The results of straying from God are ALWAYS disastrous.
2. The Ridicule of Straying
2. The Ridicule of Straying
3 For there those who carried us away captive asked of us a song, And those who plundered us requested mirth, Saying, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”
4 How shall we sing the Lord’s song In a foreign land?
Not only were they tormented by the folly of their poor decision, they were mocked by their captors. The Babylonians ridiculed the Jewish people.
They asked them to sing one of their songs. Go ahead, make music and be merry, they taunted.
Music was an important part of Jewish culture. They would sing when they were happy or enjoyed a great victory.
Moses’s sister Miriam led Israel in singing after they crossed the Red Sea:
21 And Miriam answered them: “Sing to the Lord, For He has triumphed gloriously! The horse and its rider He has thrown into the sea!”
People lined the streets when David defeated Goliath:
7 So the women sang as they danced, and said: “Saul has slain his thousands, And David his ten thousands.”
Isaiah prophesied of a day when people would sing a new song:
11 So the ransomed of the Lord shall return, And come to Zion with singing, With everlasting joy on their heads. They shall obtain joy and gladness; Sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
Now, Zion was thousands of miles away. And to add insult to injury, they mocked the Jewish people, teasing them about their once joyous singing.
I guarantee that they enemy did not let God’s people know what would happen to them as they continued to backslide. Not once did he warn them:
serving these false gods will cause heartache
the pagan music and celebrations you enjoy will lead to suffering
you better be careful how far you get from God
No, he did not do that. Instead, the same enemy that TEMPTED them now TAUNTED them for their willful disobedience.
This is one of the dangers of straying. Turning to sin might bring temporary pleasure, happiness, or fulfillment. But it is ALWAYS short-lived.
Eventually, the same enemy who tempts us to stray will ridicule us should we fall:
Can you believe how far you’ve come?
Can you imagine what people think of you?
You must be so ashamed of yourself...
Straying from God is dangerous. There are ALWAYS negative results, then the enemy will habitually taunt us for our decisions. But there is...
3. The Remedy for Straying
3. The Remedy for Straying
5 If I forget you, O Jerusalem, Let my right hand forget its skill!
6 If I do not remember you, Let my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth— If I do not exalt Jerusalem Above my chief joy.
As the captives sat by the Babylonian river, enduring the results of their straying while their captors ridiculed them, they remembered everything they lost.
Memory is an important part of life. Sure, they remembered what they lost. But they also had other memories. They had to have remembered the prophecies about Jerusalem.
Perhaps they asked, was God so weak that disobedience of flawed people could derail His divine plans?
They looked on at the arrogant Babylonians. Maybe the words of the Psalmist came to their minds:
7 Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; But we will remember the name of the Lord our God.
It started to come back. They began to realize how they could return from their reckless straying. The remedy was to remember. They began to reminisce about God’s goodness, then they began to pray.
7 Remember, O Lord, against the sons of Edom The day of Jerusalem, Who said, “Raze it, raze it, To its very foundation!”
8 O daughter of Babylon, who are to be destroyed, Happy the one who repays you as you have served us!
9 Happy the one who takes and dashes Your little ones against the rock!
They looked at their captors and began to pray for them. I’d say they prayed in a language the Babylonians could not understand, for they asked God to:
Punish the Babylonians for destroying their homeland
Ruin Edom who encouraged the Babylonians harm Judah
What a change, this group of disheartened people understood the remedy for their straying. For years they looked to and acted like the pagan nations.
Now they refocused their hope in the Lord. They remembered how:
The assurance of the covenant to Abraham
The exodus from Egypt
The miracles of Moses
The conquest of Canaan
The pure delight of the Promised Land
The songs of the singer, King David
The words of the wise King Solomon
The faithfulness of their Father in heaven
The promises of the prophets
As they remembered all God did for them in the PAST, their sadness and mourning turned to joy and confidence in God.
Too often we are quick to forget ALL the times God has helped! Sometimes people stray from God and endure the consequences, but the remedy is simple— REMEMBER.
Jesus admonished the church at Ephesus who had strayed from their first love:
5 Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent.
Close:
Straying from God is a dangerous conquest. However, I feel as though the Lord directed me to the words of the Prophet Jeremiah:
The enemy will tempt us to stray, but God provides a way to keep us close to Him.
We do not HAVE to stray, it is a choice. When does this choice begin?
Should our actions begin to show we feel that we are exempt from following God’s Word, we’re in danger of straying.
Should we place our wants above God’s instructions, we are in danger of straying.
Should we begin to give into temptation and stop asking God to help, we are in danger of straying.
Should we get so busy God goes to the back burner, the end of our schedule, and the bottom of our list of priorities, we are in danger of straying.
Should we begin to make decision and not seek God’s will or wisdom, we are in danger of straying.
And straying ALWAYS has negative results. The enemy who tempts us to stray will ridicule us should we finally give in to his lies.
But there is a remedy. Remember:
7 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
9 Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom.
10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.
If the enemy wants us to stray, God wants us to pull us closer to Him.
How do we accomplish this?
We submit to God. We acknowledge His ways are higher than our ways. We agree to follow God’s plans and determine to yield to His purpose for our lives.
We resist the devil. The moment we get serious about God, the enemy will creep in unaware, sneaky and sly he will lie to us, tempting us to stray. But we have to resist him.
We stand on the Word of God. We plea the blood of the Lamb. We declare the name of Jesus. We walk in the power of the Holy Spirit.
We draw near to God. If sin pulls us from God, seeking the Lord draws us closer to Him. We pray, fast, study the word, COME TO CHURCH, praise and worship.
We humble ourselves. We realize God knows more than we do. We comprehend that pride comes before the fall, so we daily tell God how much we need Him and live in a way that SHOWS how much we need Him.
If straying has negative results, then drawing near to God has positive results.
If straying brings ridicule, then drawing near to God enables us to ridicule the enemy who just thought he could get us to stray.
If straying has a remedy, then drawing near has a remedy— REMEMBER!
We should constantly remember and TELL The story of when God:
Saved us
baptized us in the Holy Spirit
Healed us when we were sick
Answered our prayers
Encouraged our spirits
We must stay alert and awake. For we live in a day when straying is common. People are willingly turning from God, using every excuse to do what they want.
We CANNOT give into the dangers of straying from God.
Instead we have to DRAW near to Him.
Let’s do that now. Let’s start to remember all God has done for us!