Home-Born Slave

Jeremiah 2:14 (NKJV) (reading in October 2010)

14 “Is Israel a servant?
Is he a home-born slave?
Why is he plundered?

The Book of Jeremiah along with Lamentations are two of the most haunting Books in the Bible. As you read these books the Holy Spirit will allow you to enter into the pleadings of the Spirit of God to a people standing on the crumbling edge of doom! As such, the appeal is powerful, so powerful in fact, that it almost borders on frantic! To hear the cry and even feel the pulse of the Holy Spirit, Who, through His Prophet, pleads with Judah and Jerusalem to come to repentance, but, sadly, to no avail!

Just as the book of Jeremiah shows:

Jeremiah’s Message is not positive, even though mixed with positive offers of pardon upon sincere repentance. The “positive thinking” Preachers would little care for the “Weeping Prophet.”

The study of the Word of God is the single most fulfilling endeavor ever undertaken by any individual. Because the Bible is the only revealed Truth in the world – past, present and future. Every single Christian, irrespective of their status or position, whether newly saved or a veteran of years should make the Bible a life-long project. Nothing could be greater! Nothing could be more rewarding or fulfilling!


The verse we just read in Jeremiah leads me to ask the question, how different is our time now, compared to then.
We are asking three questions:

Are we servants?
Are we owned by some religious leader?
Why have we become so comfortable?

We come to Christ for a new life. Yet we become so confused by so many trying to help.

We seek answers from every sooth sayer we meet, and then go away wondering why we are as empty as when we started. Some slip into being a follower of man, not really questioning their motive or heart.

Yet we put our souls in their care. As the water becomes warmer, just as cooking fogs, we see little reason to question our fate.

Dr Martin Luther King Jr. said,

“If a man hasn’t discovered something that he will die for, he isn’t fit to live.”

We must ask ourselves, who do we serve? If Baal be god, then follow him and his teaching. But if Jesus is the Christ in your life make a choice to ask why?

Do we put our trust in works?
Do we put our trust in Psychologies?
Do we put our trust in the philosophy?

All of these paths lead to man becoming his own god.

Finding the champion within to overcome.

If we possess the power to become over comers, then Jesus died in vain. If the Law could have saved man, it would have already.

In Catholicism: A Scriptural way of the Cross:
Station One - Prayer:

We adore you, O’ Christ, we bless you, because of your Holy Cross, and you have redeemed the world.

I agree with this true prayer.

Now I ask, why we are working ourselves into a state of mind that says if we pray enough, take communion, sing, fast, feed the poor, we will be happy.

As necessary and good as all this is, it can’t save you. We just become servants.

Servants bound by our own selves. Owned by our works, comfortably dying.

All that we have read so far has been treated as not important by some:

Not good to read while we eat;
Not pleasant to read to our children
Not part of worship today.

However, what we have been reading is the very foundation of Christ. The very core of who He is. If we don’t get this, we can find ourselves following every rule, law, doctrine, “another Jesus” that Paul warned about, and live a hard life for nothing, falling short in the end.

As we have read about Israel and the condition of falling away from God’s will, we see the same thing happening in our lives today.

“A HOME-BORN SLAVE”

There is an answer to all this:

Jeremiah 4:1 (NKJV)
“If you will return, O Israel,” says the LORD, "Return to Me;
And if you will put away your abominations out of My sight,
Then you shall not be moved.

It’s time to return to 1 Corinthians 2:2 (NKJV)

2 For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.

Everything we are reading from Genesis to Numbers has drawn a picture of Christ.

Even the Jewish people today will say all this is the promise of the Messiah to come.

At some point you have to stop being a follower of people and start being a Berean,

Acts 17:11 (NKJV)
11 These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.

It’s time to stop hearing the scoffers who make jokes about how gross, how redundant, how silly these words are.

Sin is gross, redundant, silly, and deadly, just as not following basis hygiene could be deadly.

Now, what we are seeing in the book of Numbers is a training camp. They are being taught daily by God.

When we are in Christ, we step into this training camp.

Colossians 2:2-10 (NKJV)
2 that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, and
attaining to all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the
knowledge of the mystery of God, both of the Father and of Christ, 3 in whom
are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
4 Now this I say lest anyone should deceive you with persuasive words. 5 For though I am absent in the flesh, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to
see your good order and the steadfastness of your faith in Christ.
6 As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, 7
rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been
taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving.
8 Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit,
according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the
world, and not according to Christ. 9 For in Him dwells all the fullness of
the Godhead bodily; 10 and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all
principality and power.

We now have a Teacher. THE HOLY SPIRIT!

When you are in Christ it is time to REST.

And here is the problem, we accept Christ and enter into His REST – into His PEACE; then we foolishly look to man to change our lives and we become RESTLESS and we lose our PEACE.

Jesus said Matthew 11:30 (NKJV)
30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

So why are we trying to work so hard?


Refrain:
So I’ll cherish the old rugged cross,
Till my trophies at last I lay down;
I will cling to the old rugged cross,
And exchange it some day for a crown.