None but the Lonely Heart, Part 2

If anyone hit her in the right to say I told you so. It was the prophet Jeremiah. He had warned the Israelites that their sinful defiance would bear serious consequences, but his caution was ignored today on Insight for living.

Chuck Swindoll describes the ugly aftermath of Jerusalem's destruction and hostile takeover by the Babylonians. It's a pitiful scene of God's judgment on people who should've known better. This message delivered just a short while ago helps us imagine the troubling comparison between Israel sin and rebellion so prevalent in 2020.

Chuck begins with prayer. Bring before the Lord ever is heavy on your heart may be your friend in need may be someone you love very much going through very difficult time of testing may be one of your children now grown and gone.

Maybe something from your past, that's haunting you. You need to get past it is the Lord deals with in your life so that can once again be well in your soul. I need your many in our time is short. We realize our father that you have the words of eternal life. Turning to others is really a study in futility that you are troubled. They too were neckdeep in needs. So today we call upon you as Jeremiah often did, and we wait upon you. Our father to bring about peace in a time of chaos and hope in the midst of trials provide for us rest and a sense of anticipation that you are at work and we rest and that thought we long for it to be, well, deep within our soul Lord we long for that abiding presence of the Spirit of God to take over to quiet our hearts to give us a sense of relief. Some are very sick today we pray for their recovery. We pray for their patients as they endure.

There are many who care for the sick today we pray for their strength that they might be able to go on from day to day. We all our father turned to you in this time of need, and we wait upon you to provide what we cannot provide for ourselves meet the needs of our church. The need to reach out to those around us continue to give us a vision for those who are lost. Those who are hungry, those who were broken and confused. Those who need direction I prefer the father's in our congregation. I pray that you would give them a renewed sense of direction as they as fathers in the home provide stability and the reason for the children to trust keep them strong and pure. Give them a wholesome view of their family. We pray for mothers who minister to their children and ask you to give them strength as well show us how to do that. Lord and give us the vision to see beyond what's on the evening news.

Maybe realize that you speak to us in times like that, but there's more that you had to say and what we hear or see maybe take that message personally and may it lead us to decisions that must be made that will help not only our lives but the lives of those about us give our leaders direction give those in difficult places, encouragement.

Give all of us hope that it may be well with our souls as you meet our needs. Father, please provide for us financially as we trust you through the giving of your people to sustain this work and we trust you with these things. Our father in the name of Jesus person everyone said a man to search the Scriptures with Chuck Swindoll. Be sure to download his searching the Scriptures study by going to inside world.org/studies and other message title none but the lonely heart of another book that is like this one.

Among the 66 that framed the books of the Bible.

This is a record one chapter after another.

In this elegant acrostic piece of poetry that records the consequences of sin. This is as though the city who was speaking, you remember is testifying at her own funeral.

She stands to speak. She speaks through the parent of the prophet look at the three stark contrasts that pack verse one Jerusalem wants full of people is now deserted.

The once is back then the now is here. Now. So that's the contrast once busy once full of people now deserted. Look at the second month she was once great among the nations. What people look at the flag flying over Jerusalem, the Star of David, the envy of other nations and they saw hers great now sits alone like a widow. Once the queen of all the earth, but now asleep all of those people who left the city, left sleeves know the heartbreak that what makes Jeremiah cry, it need not have been if you'd only acknowledged the wrong of your way and repented and turned back to God.

She sobs through the night. Tears streamed down her cheeks about older lovers. There's no one left to comfort her.

All her friends betrayed her and become her enemies.

Judah has been led away into captivity oppressed with. He says it again cruel slavery has no place of rest you know this reminds me of let's take the individual who has broken the law and that this person finds himself or herself in the courtroom.

The jury has found that person guilty and the judge has sentenced the individual two years in prison. This is written to people who were free, who had known the blessing and the pleasure of God, but they close their ears to the prophets words and the consequences are just one page after another after another, you get tired of reading. I know you're tired of hearing it, we were just getting started. It's the lamentations of a broken hearted man who must've said to himself every night.

It need not been, it need not admit this is not written to prisoners is written to a city, a body of people, and the result was not fate wasn't just running with the wrong crowd. You know the result I wanted to say it like it was it was the judgment of God.

He says it verse five.

Her oppressors and become her Masters. Her enemies prosper for the Lord. There is Yahweh personal name for the living God for the Lord has punished Jerusalem. Make no mistake, is the judgment of God.

Verse 12 does it mean nothing to you all, you pass by, look around and see if there is any suffering like mine says the city, which the Lord brought on me when he erupted in fierce anger. Verse 14 he will my sins into ropes to hitch me to a yoke of captivity eloquent way to put it. The Lord set my strength and turned me over to my enemies. 15 the Lord has treated my mighty man with contempt, the Lord, the Lord, the Lord, the Lord all the way through May I remind all of us, our God is a jealous God is a holy God. He doesn't share his glory with any other. He's not one among many gods. He is the one and only God.

This is not one among many references to his mind and his word. This is the reference.

This is the document.

This is the direction to follow printed in our language so that we can read it regularly but here in all the way through.

He tells us the truth. He alone is the Lord we have Jeremiah to thank for the analogy, he's the Potter were the clay he's the master were the servant. He's the one who gives the vision were the one who follows that vision doesn't work the other way around. He isn't the clay adapting to us as the Potter know that's backwards. We don't call the shots in life. He does and why don't mean this literally, since he's not playing around. He plays for keeps me serious and when you mess around with what he is told you to do. If I may. When I mess around with what he is told me to do the simple fact is, there is hell to pay is a hellacious consequence. This book is full of is my task as a faithful minister of the gospel to speak, not to prisoners but to speak to people who were free. Thank the Lord, who have a choice who have choices to make every day every day between right and wrong between thinking correctly or incorrectly between reacting or overreacting and responding to him between forgiving and holding grudges between being kind and considerate, or being prejudiced and hateful choices every day, tell me how your folks were no tell me how bad your background is none of that provides excuses you answer for you will not give an account for your parents, nor will I as good or as questionable as they may have been you give account for your life replacer for just a moment and go back and looking Jeremiah chapter 2 Jeremiah 2 now you will be done we going back 40 years about roughly 40 years from where we were in lamentation.

We go back to when he was a younger man back.

It was just getting started in this worker preaching and prophesying, so he's not gotten the message from the Lord. Verse one. The Lord gave me another message so it's the Lord's message limit cut to the chase verse 12, the heavens are shocked at such a thing and shrink back in horror, and dismay, he's telling the people, says the Lord.

He's giving the Lord's message for my people have done to evil thing is pretty clear any child can counter to and understand this one.

One. They have abandoned me, the fountain of living water, and to they have dug for themselves cracked cisterns that can hold the water at all. All of this in picturesque language as poets right in and prophets prophesy, they have passed up the water of life that I free to give valid and in infinite and in mercy and filled with grace and love and mercy ready to for you to relish in the living water, and you turned your back on and you chose to dig your own cisterns and their product. They'll even hold water. We perhaps get that saying from that that doesn't hold water. When you follow thinking that doesn't hold water. It's wrong thinking when it comes from the Lord. It's it's sealed it secure. It's full of hope, truth, reward satisfaction, fulfillment, piece, and 100 other things we could name. But my people have chosen another path to follow if I were to take my time to go further. He would talk about the city has died, the city has died. That doesn't mean everyone in it is a corpse. It means they are deathlike in their existence is lost its dynamic, its purpose is calling erosion has taken hold and it's drifted from its purpose when it was a great city under David when his boundaries were expanding and the people listened to the one who led them into the truth of God. They followed no longer not now. Jeremiah sees the loneliest day in the Jewish calendar fast approaching July 5 86 is when they would fall the seizure would reach its climax and they would no longer be what they were.

These are consequences that come as a result of doing what is wrong sometime back I read Francis Schaeffer's work death in the city. Listen to this profit.

We live in a post-Christian world.

How should we look at this post-Christian world and function as Christians in it. The church in our generation needs reformation revival and constructive revolution from what perspective should we be looking at our post-Christian world, certainly every Christian should have two reactions to reactions to our generation. The first one will surprise you. Unfortunately, two reactions to our generation. The first is that we should cry CR why we should cry or break our hearts should strike us deep within our emotions before it ever reaches our will.

It it should return drop us to our knees when we realize suffering is coming from wrongdoing and the history of wrongdoing. The first is that we should cry because we watch our culture being destroyed. Not only that individual men and women are lost, but that the whole culture is being destroyed as well. He continues the second reaction is that we should be aware, we should be aware that insofar as the culture was built on biblical Reformation thought that the generations receiving us have turned from that truth, there must be death in the city unless there is a turning to that truth.

We must know it will be all right now. Many women where we are at the crossroads, perhaps for some of this generation. First time realizing what's happening.

Not everything is happening is good and right and defendable, but it's happening. If nothing else it's grabbed our attention is kept us awake late into the night. Maybe during the night. If I may.

Schaeffer continues when Jeremiah says there is death in the city. The specific city spoken of is Jerusalem, but the word city may be extended further. It can be related to the Greek word Paulist PO LIS. The sociological group or culture. Thus, because God is dealing with a culture that has turned away. Jeremiah is only one thing to say is death in the city that was true. Jeremiah's day and it is true in our day and then Francis Schaeffer presses hard with his pen as he concludes the chapter with these words.

Talk about relevant. I am amazed that the evangelical leaders who have been taken by surprise at the changes that have come in our culture, we should have predicted, we should have predicted them. There's bound to be death in the city wants people to run away from the base upon which the culture was built generation needs to be told we cannot disregard God but a culture like ours that is deliberately turned away stands under God's judgment. God is a God of grace, but the other side of that coin is judgment the Indians. There's only one kind of preaching that will do in a generation, like ours preaching that includes the judgment of God which are hearing today. This is a promise from Insight for living ministry and our Bible teacher, Chuck Swindoll on this program will be fed the whole counsel of God, even the parts that are difficult to digest.

I can warn you that the Bible teaching featured this week on Insight for living deals with God's wrath and anger as we continue our study in Lamentations. It's a book Chuck is coined Jeremiah's Journal of woes is a good time to remind you that in addition to the program. Chuck is provided helpful study notes for every message you here on Insight for living and you're invited to take advantage of this online resource can even print out the PDF and share the notes with your friends searching the Scriptures. Studies reside online at insight world.or/studies seems all we hear these days is bad news but I can assure you there's a lot of good news arriving at insight for living. One friend recently left a message that said dear Pastor Swindoll I live in Cuba and THANK you for being an instrument of our Lord. Another said, I found the love of Christ and the hope found only in through your message over the airwaves.

It literally changed the course of my life and the lives of my children. With these two comments represent a sliver of the global audience. Studying God's word with this every single day and to those who give.

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We are looking to add more monthly companions to the team become a monthly companions today by calling us glistening in the United States. Call 1-800-772-8888 or go to insight.org/monthly companions my friend more than ever insight for living ministries is determined to serve as a lavish garden for people all around the world long to smell the aroma of God's matchless grace, a safe place where imperfect, sinful people forget what the true and redeem to become a monthly companions, glistening in the United States. Call 1-800-772-8888 or go to insight.org/monthly. Join us again tomorrow. Chuck Swindoll continues to describe Jeremiah's Journal of woes right here on Insight for living. The preceding message.

None but the lonely heart and the sound recording were copyrighted in 2020 by Charles R.

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