He is Listening
He is Listening
By Dennis Huebshman
Jeremiah 7:16 – “Then the Lord said, as for you Jeremiah, Do Not Pray for these people! Do not cry out to Me or petition Me on their behalf! Do not plead with Me to save them because I Will Not Listen to you.” (all emphasis throughout is mine)
Jeremiah 11:11 – “So I, the Lord, say this, I will soon bring disaster on them which they will not be able to escape. When they cry out to Me for help, I Will Not Listen.”
Jeremiah 11:14 – “So Jeremiah, Do Not Pray for these people. Do not cry out to Me on their behalf. Do not plead with Me to save them. For I Will Not Listen to them when they call out to Me for help when disaster strikes them.”
Jeremiah 14:11-12 – “Then the Lord said to me, Do Not Pray for good to come to these people! (12) Even if they fast, I will not hear their cries for help. Even if they offer burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them. Instead, I will kill them through wars, famines and plagues.”
Right now, you’re probably thinking why is this message called “He is Listening” when I start out giving 4 verses that say He isn’t. God was telling the prophet Jeremiah, He had run out of patience with Israel and Judah. They were His chosen, yet they grew further and further away through such things as idol worship – worshiping things of the creation rather than the Creator – and in some cases even practiced child sacrifice. The days of Joshua had long passed, and man’s tendency to worship “things” he could see and touch took over from having faith and trust in the Lord God Jehovah. For Him to respond, all they had to do was destroy all the false idols and return to the basic commandments without man’s additions to them. They were now at the point that God was going to use other nations to bring severe discipline to the children of Israel and Judah, and made it clear He would not listen to their cries for help. He had given them ample time to repent, but they refused. This does not mean He would not actually hear them, but that they had gone too far, and He would turn them over to much-deserved punishment, and their pleas for help would go unanswered.
After the designated period of captivity and enslavement (this time by Babylon for a 70-year period), He would again forgive them if they would humble themselves, pray, seek to please Him and turn away from their sinful practices, and then He would heal their land. (2 Chronicles 7:14) This is God’s conditional covenant with us all, and still stands today. He will honor those who honor Him as Abraham did, but will punish those who do not. It would be wonderful to see a massive revival in America, however the Lord said at the end times there would be a turning away as we are witnessing.
So, let’s bring this a bit more current. Is there any turning away from the Lord in this world today? Is there idol worship of any kind? Before anyone says “no” to either of these questions, take a step back and take a REAL and HONEST look at the nations and what’s in the daily news. How about members of congress turning away from the principles this country was founded upon. God is not just some old outdated person that is going to just sit back and allow His creation to continue to disrespect Him. He is the same as He has always been, yet He has been extremely patient considering all the evil that is taking place today. He does not want anyone to be lost (2 Peter 3:9), but He won’t wait much longer for people to return to Him and accept His Son, Jesus as their Savior. His time schedule will prevail.
He’s not sitting on His throne in Heaven and saying to the Angels, “Hey, Look! Never thought we’d ever see that!” God is not surprised by anything that is happening today, however, I believe He does feel disappointment. Just as Jesus said in Matthew 7:13-14, there would be “few” to enter eternal life, but “many” to eternal destruction. (Paraphrased) God does not want us to fail, but He won’t force anything on us either. That would not be real and pure love.
He gives us everything we need to help us get to know the Savior better, and to give us encouragement to form a personal relationship with Him. He gave us His very special Love Letter which He provided through about 40 Holy Spirit inspired people. He makes it very plain in the Bible what it takes to be given a place in Heaven with Him, His Son, all the saints that have gone on before, and the entire Heavenly Host. John 14:6 is a key verse which many in this world chooses to overlook. It cannot be made clearer that Jesus is the absolute Way, Truth and Life, and a direct path to the Father. No Other Road leads there no matter what man tries to claim.
All who have called out to be saved through the shed blood of God’s Son will be saved. (Acts 2:21; Romans 10:13) All who confess that Jesus is Lord, and God raised Him from the dead, will be saved. (Romans 10:9) Acts 4:12 sums this up with, “And there is NO OTHER NAME under heaven given among people by which we must be saved.” This leaves out allah, buddha and all the other man-made gods. Jesus is the ONLY way and per Philippians 2:9-11, “As a result God exalted Him and gave Him the name that Is Above Every Name, (10) so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow – in heaven and on earth and under the earth (11) and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of the Father.”
Anyone can deny Him all they want, but their outcome will all be the same; eternal separation and punishment in the Lake of Fire after the Great White Throne Judgment. (Revelation 20:11-15)
This is not a fairy tale but is very real. For any so-called preacher to say there’s no hell is proof that person is a false prophet and an instrument of satan. For anyone to preach “around” the Word of God is setting themselves and their followers up for destruction.
There’s more and more “religions” that are giving in and accepting “compromise”. Jesus didn’t compromise on the cross – He gave His all for us. He expects the same in return. Also, He had the most trouble with the organized religion of His day.
Accept His sacrifice – free gift – as a pardon for our sins. Ask Him to forgive you, and He will do so. Just Mean It! Then get into His word daily and talk to Him regularly through prayer. You will still make mistakes and sin as long as you are on this earth, but when asked, He will forgive you. (1 John 1:8-10) Your eternal destiny rides on this acceptance. Your parents, siblings, spouse, friends and even religious people cannot save you. Only the true Son Of God that paid your ransom with His blood on the cross can do so. Call on Him today – nothing fancy; just be sincere. He already Loves you and “He Is Listening”.
Maranatha!