JESUS IS COMING BACK
Jeremiah 23:1-8
GOD CHASTISES THOSE HE LOVES
V:1. \”Woe to the shepherds who are destroying and scattering the sheep of my pasture!\” declares the Lord . 2 Therefore this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says to the shepherds who tend my people: \”Because you have scattered my flock and driven them away and have not bestowed care on them, I will bestow punishment on you for the evil you have done,\” declares the Lord.
A. The word “woe” is an expression of God’s dissatisfaction with the
Kings of Israel.
1. After the death of King Solomon, the nation of Israel became
divided.
2. A series of kings came into power who led God’s people astray.
3. They worshipped idol gods which angered the true living God.
B. The kings led the people away from God, with their evil practices.
1. God sent the king of Babylon to destroy Jerusalem and the temple.
2. The people of Israel were taken captive into Babylon for 70 years.
3. The kings died in captivity
C. This is a lesson to each of us who teach the Word of God to others.
1. We must be careful to teach the truth.
2. We cannot ignore the true meaning of the Word to present our
own ideas.
3. If we misuse the responsibility God has given us, we will answer
to Him.
Mark 9:42
\”And if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin,
it would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a large
millstone tied around his neck.”
4. Those who teach the Word must spend time studying the Word.
2 Tim 2:15
Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth
not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
JESUS WILL RESCUE US
V:3. \”I myself will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the countries where I have driven them and will bring them back to their pasture, where they will be fruitful and increase in number. 4 I will place shepherds over them who will tend them, and they will no longer be afraid or terrified, nor will any be missing,\” declares the Lord.
A. God’s plan of redemption was designed for Jesus to be borne in the
the flesh through the nation of Israel to be our redeemer.
1. The attitude we have and the sins we commit does not change God’s
divine plan.
2. Notice, God plan for you includes the good time and the bad time
3. Your sins may cause you to stray away from God, but His
plan for you remains the same.
B. God chastises those that He loves. Jeremiah 25:9
1. The nation of Israel was taken into captivity for 70 years
because of their failure to obey God’s commands.
2. For 490 years the nation of Israel failed to allow the land to rest
during the Sabbath years.
3. The 70 year captivity was a punishment to Israel and to allow
the promise land to rest its Sabbath years. 2 Chronicles 36:21.
C. Once the punishment was completed, the Lord Himself brought
Israel out of captivity.
2 Chron 36:22-23
22 In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word
of the Lord spoken by Jeremiah, the Lord moved the heart of Cyrus
king of Persia to make a proclamation throughout his realm and to put
it in writing:
23 \”This is what Cyrus king of Persia says:
\”\’The Lord , the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the
earth and he has appointed me to build a temple for him at Jerusalem in
Judah. Anyone of his people among you — may the Lord his Go
with him, and let him go up.\’\”
1. It was the Lord who took Israel into captivity, and it was the Lord who
brought them out of captivity.
2. The Lord knows what you need, how long you need it, and when to
take you to the next step of your spiritual growth.
3. Your enemy is designed by God to strengthen you and bring
you closer to Him.
THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST
V:5. \”The days are coming,\” declares the Lord,
\”when I will raise up to David a righteous Branch,
a King who will reign wisely
and do what is just and right in the land.
6 In his days Judah will be saved
and Israel will live in safety.
This is the name by which he will be called:
The Lord Our Righteousness.
7 \”So then, the days are coming,\” declares the Lord, \”when people will no longer say, \’As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the Israelites up out of Egypt,\’ 8 but they will say, \’As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the descendants of Israel up out of the land of the north and out of all the countries where he had banished them.\’ Then they will live in their own land.\”
A. This prophecy will not be fulfilled until the second coming of Christ.
1. The righteous, shepherd Jesus Christ, was placed in charge
of Israel after His death on the cross.
2. Matt 28:18
And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given
unto me in heaven and in earth.
3. However, the nation of Israel rejected Jesus as their Savior.
Rom 1:28
And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God
gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not
convenient;
4. Even though Israel rejected Jesus by sending Him to cross,
God’s plan of redemption did not change.
Rom 11:26-27
And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written:
\”The deliverer will come from Zion; he will turn godlessness away from
Jacob. 27 And this is my covenant with them when I take away their
sins.\”
5. This prophecy will be completely fulfilled at the second coming of
Christ during His 1000 year reign on earth.
Rev 20:6
Blessed and holy are those who have part in the first resurrection.
The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests
of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years.
This 1000 year reign of Christ is not for the Church.
The 1000 year reign was designed by God to raise up a new Israel to fulfill His prophecy that all Israel will be saved. Romans 11:26
Christ will rapture the Church at His second coming.
1 Thess 4:16-17
16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
When Christ comes back for His Church, only none believers will be
left to go through the 7-year tribulation prior to His 1000 year
reign on earth.
The reason we can have joy during this pandemic is through the knowledge
that God planned this out before the foundation of the earth. Ephesians 1:4
GOD IS IN CONTROL OF OUR PRESENT SITUATION
Amen
Rev. M. Mitchell
Asst Pastor Of Greater Macedonia Baptist Church
5510 West Sam Houston Parkway North
Houston, Texas 77041
For more lessons follow me on facebook and visit my blogs;
revmmitchell.com and goodnewsrevmitc.blogspot.com
