“All Positive” – FBC Morning Light (8/14/2024)

Well a good Wednesday morning to you. I hope you're doing well in the middle of.

This week. As I'm recording this, I always have to record these sessions in advance. I looked at the news this morning before doing today's recordings and saw that the president is hunkered down in the Situation Room with the vice president because of the threat of an all-out war in the Middle East with Iran and Israel and dragging in other other Middle Eastern countries for all we know at this point.

That was one headline. The other headline is the stock market is plunging and just all kinds of doom and gloom in today's news. Now you're gonna see this recording a week and a half later and I have no idea what's gonna happen between now and then.

I have some ideas, but I can't say and I can't prophesy whether there's going to be doom or not. Here's one thing I do know. I do know that the God of the Bible is a God on the one hand of love, and we know that because he sent his Son into the world that whoever might believe in him would not perish but have everlasting life, and that sending of his Son was a manifestation of his love.

The Love of God and Everlasting Life

On the other hand, I also know that the God who is a God of love, that sent his Son to save sinners, is a God of judgment. That's very clear. It's very clear, especially, you know, when we're reading these prophetic books in the Old Testament, and today our Bible reading is in Jeremiah 14 through 16.

And Jeremiah has, as the prophet to Israel and Judah, has been prophesying that judgment is coming, doom is coming. And I think we can say that it's very likely that judgment is going to fall on our own nation.

And I hate to say that, I hate to say it, but goodness sakes, when you see the kinds of things that on a policy level our nation is condoning and encouraging, and the kinds of things that our government is punishing, it's like everything is upside down.

They're calling good evil and evil good, and I think when a nation gets to that point, a nation especially, where as a national policy it used to be the other way around. The nation, you know, yeah, always has had bad actors.

This has never been a Christian nation in the sense that, you know, there's an established Christian religion and, you know, 98 of the people are Christians and all that. No. But in terms of policy, there was a general consideration of that which was good and calling it good, and that which was evil and calling it evil.

Well, those days are long gone, and because they are, I think it is perfectly reasonable to think that God would send his judgment upon this nation. Well, that's not a popular message. It's not a popular message today, and it wasn't a popular message 2 ,500 years ago when Jeremiah was, or 2 ,600 -2 ,700 years ago when Jeremiah was proclaiming a message of judgment.

False Prophets Who Promise Peace

And in those days when there has to be a proclamation of judgment, because it's certainly going to come, there will always be those who profess themselves to be prophets or ministers of God's Word, who will discount any potential threat of judgment.

And you see this in Jeremiah 14. I want to read a few verses beginning in verse 13. Jeremiah says, Lord God, behold the prophets, the other prophets, say to them, you shall not see the sword, nor shall you have famine, but I will give you assured peace in this place.

Prophets, supposedly speaking, for God. God wasn't going to send famine, he wasn't going to send the sword, instead he was going to send peace. But the Lord said to me, Jeremiah says, the prophets prophesy lies in my name.

I have not sent them, commanded them, nor spoken to them. They prophesy to you a false vision, divination, a worthless thing, and the deceit of their heart. Therefore, thus says the Lord, concerning the prophets who prophesy in my name, whom I did not send, and who say, sword and famine shall not be in this land.

By sword and famine, these prophets shall be consumed. And furthermore, verse 16 goes on to say, and the people who listen to those lies, they're going to be consumed as well. What's this have to do with us?

I think we have to be very, very careful to whom we listen, because there are too many self-professing preachers on the airwaves today, and television, and so forth, who are... everything is positive, I don't want to say anything negative, and everything's going to be good, and you're going to be good, and you just believe that it will be good, and it will be good, and good things will come your way.

Just think positive thoughts, and good things will come your way. And the notion to them, to those kinds of preachers, that God would send judgment upon a land, and even upon those who profess to be his people, is odious.

I can't stomach such a thought, far be it from them to proclaim it. I would suggest that all of these health and wealth, prosperity preachers, who are all about everything is positive, everything's going to be fine, God is a God of love, he wouldn't judge anyone, he won't... that those are false prophets.

Be careful, be careful whom you listen to, lest they lead you astray, and you buy into their error. I just encourage you to do that, be very careful today. So our Father and our God, I pray that in this day of so much confusion, and so much anxiety and uncertainty, that we would not allow ourselves to be lulled to feelings of peace and prosperity, when just the opposite might be coming our way.

Instead, O Lord, help us to bow the knee before you, and surrender to that which you have for us, and especially make sure that we're not living in such a way that is worthy of that chastening and judgment, we pray.

We ask this in Jesus' name, amen. All right, well listen, have a good rest of your Wednesday. I do hope it's a good day. God bless.