Jul. 2, 2020

Jeremiah 17:9...The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked:who can know it.

Last month, The Holy Spirit dropped the word Righteous in my Spirit. I asked Him what is it you want me say about “Righteous”? He told me to look at what is going on in my peoples heart, it is disturbing because too many are falling away from my moral right. Choosing to instead to follow the crowd. I asked Him about the message for this month, He led me to the 17th chapter of Jeremiah which deals with two kinds of people...the wicked and the righteous.  

Jeremiah was warning the people about their sin even though they had the Law, prophets of God and history filled with God’s miracles. Just like us today. He said in verse 9...the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. When the Bible speaks of the heart, it is not talking about the one that pumps blood through our body...It is our mind. 

It is amazing how we allow our minds to consider everything contrary to God’s Word. Sin is what the Bible calls it and that is exactly what it is. The comparison between the wicked and righteous begins in verse 5...Thus saith the Lord; Cursed be the man that trusts in man and not Me.

We know the evil in man goes back to Genesis and by the time we get to Genesis Chapter 6 verse 5 we find out what God's penalty will be...And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 6...And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. 7...And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repent me that I have made them.

The stain of man’s evil was so devastating to God that everything paid for it. The animals, birds and beasts ...everything God said was good when He created it, paid the price of death and they had nothing to do with man’s evil. There was however redemption and it is in verse 8....But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. He was not perfect  but verse 9 say’s...he was a just man and he walked with God.

Biblically, the contrast between the Righteous and wickedness can be found primarily in Proverbs. The Righteous are hopeful., the wicked are fearful Proverbs 10:24...The Righteous are concerned about the welfare of God’s creation, the wicked’s kindness is cruel, Proverbs 12:10. The righteous are showered with blessings, the wicked are covered in violence Proverbs 10:8. The Righteous understand justice, the wicked do not, Proverbs 28:5.

The Righteous seek out the honest, the wicked hate the honest...Proverbs 29:10...The Righteous care for the poor, the wicked are unconcerned about the poor...Proverbs 29:7...The Righteous are bold as lions, the wicked fear constantly...Proverbs 28:1...The Righteous are protected by God, the wicked are destroyed by God...Proverbs 10:29...The Righteous have a refuge when they die, the wicked are crushed by their sins...Proverbs 14:32…

Man will trust in other men, military, business and other entities he created, for their success as they see it but the Righteous have faith in God. They are called the underdogs, the ones struggling to get by, the ones who are crazy with this faith in God thing but in reality they have the peace that surpasses all understanding which is only found in God.  

God has stopped the world with Covid 19 yet many want to diminish it’s severity in peoples lives. The evidence of God’s hand in this is the fact the atmosphere has been cleansed, the land has been restored, the waters are cleaner, families have spent more time together and those who recognize God’s work have given Him their Praise and Worship.

Gas was under $1.00 per gallon and we had nowhere to go. Then He sent a dust cloud formed in the African desert, across the oceans taking the same path hurricanes do that has hit the United States creating a breathing issue. Most recently flooding in the south and many still refuse to recognize Him sending His message to us.

It is amazing to me that due to the death of George Floyd, not only have the Righteous in America taken a stand against evil but people from all over the world are standing with those marching and not one person has contracted or been affected by the virus. We have seen the huge throng of people but they have had Divine Protection.

There will be a price to pay, we will reap what we sow...Galations 6:7-9... Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. 8...For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. 9...And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. 10... As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.  

In the final analysis the questions will be...Whose side will you be on? Mark 2:17 - When Jesus heard it, he saith unto them, They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. Paul wrote in in his letter to the Philippians Chapter 1:9...And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment; 10...That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ; 11...Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God.

The Apostle John, The Beloved Disciple whom Jesus loved wrote in 1st John 2:1 & 2...My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: 2...And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.

My brothers and sisters, I will be praying for your strength and determination to follow God's call to righteousness...though it may be difficult, walk away from the crowd who chooses not believe. 

Thank You Lord for Your Word.