I Did It My Way!
by Dr. Ken Matto
(Jer 44:16-17 KJV) As for the word that thou hast spoken
unto us in the name of the LORD, we will not hearken unto thee. {17} But we will
certainly do whatsoever thing goeth forth out of our own mouth, to burn incense
unto the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her, as we have
done, we, and our fathers, our kings, and our princes, in the cities of Judah,
and in the streets of Jerusalem: for then had we plenty of victuals, and were
well, and saw no evil.
Jeremiah continued to bring the word of the Lord to the nation of Judah and they
had refused to listen to him. In the above verses they plainly told Jeremiah
that they refuse to obey the words that he brought them. In fact, they were so
bold as to tell him that they were going to do whatever they pleased to do.
Their rationale for not wanting to obey the Lord was based on worldly
assessment. They claimed that while they were engaged in the worship of the
false goddess, they had plenty of supplies, all things were going well and they
had seen no evil. This is because they were so blinded by their idolatry that
they could not see what evil situation they were really in.
(Jer 3:6-7 KJV) The LORD said also unto me
in the days of Josiah the king, Hast thou seen that which backsliding Israel
hath done? she is gone up upon every high mountain and under every green tree,
and there hath played the harlot. {7} And I said after she had done all these
things, Turn thou unto me. But she returned not. And her treacherous sister
Judah saw it.
Judah was fast following in the footsteps of the northern kingdom which had gone
into captivity with Assyria. Judah did not learn the lesson of obedience and was
soon to suffer the same fate. God had warned Israel that they should turn back
to Him but they were in such rebellion that they refused to do so which resulted
in their captivity never to be heard from again as they were assimilated into
the kingdom of Assyria and then into the world. The ten northern tribes were
never to surface again. The only reason that God brought Judah back to the land
was because it was through the tribe of Judah that the Lord Jesus Christ was to
come. If this was not the case, then Judah would have disappeared also.
The principle which is shown in our theme verse is that these people thought
they were doing well while they were being rebellious against God. Whenever
people walk with the world, they will rarely face any opposition. If a person
commits adultery what does the world say? Nothing they call it an affair! In
fact, television glorifies every sin that is prevalent in our present society.
(In fact, the fall line up for this year is going to see an increase in programs
about the supernatural.) Many people take their cues from television. So the
sins that people do in their lives are confirmed as part of the way of life by
TV shows.
(Psa 73:3-5 KJV) For I was envious at the
foolish, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. {4} For there are no bands in
their death: but their strength is firm. {5} They are not in trouble as other
men; neither are they plagued like other men.
In verse 4 the word “bands” means “pangs, pains, or even torment.” The
unbeliever seems to die with all the confidence possible while many believers do
not want to die because we feel that there is much more to do. The unbeliever in
the world has a comfortable position. Their problems begin after they die as
they await the judgment. Just because they may die a peaceful or uneventful
death does not give indication that all is well. As long as Hollywood is going
to portray death as just an entrance to the other side where all our friends
are, people will fear death less and less because there will be no consequences
tied to it for being unsaved.
This is why the people in Jeremiah’s time were happy while they were worshipping
their idols because they were doing the same thing as the surrounding nations.
They were falling into the trap of prosperity by going the way of the world. The
Lord Jesus was tempted by Satan who told Him that if he worships him, he will
give Him all the kingdoms of the world. We see the same principle at work in
Christianity today. What do I mean by that?
Ministries who offer health and wealth are not associating themselves with
salvation but rather are associating themselves with the things of the world. So
this is why we can see popular health and wealth preachers filling stadiums with
100,000 or more people. They are not there to get closer to the Lord, they are
there to get something for nothing. When was the last time you saw thousands of
people flocking to hear a preacher speak about their prayer life or how to live
a holy life? If these phony ministers on TV would reshape their messages and
speak only of spiritual blessings instead of material blessings, they would be
standing there all alone.
How many in churches have adopted programs like the Purpose Driven Church and
have seen a dramatic increase in population? Mega churches are springing up all
over the world but not because they are havens of truth, they are havens of
deception. They are sharing the same principles that led Judah into captivity.
They are not following the true teachings of Scripture, instead they are
developing their own programs and using them in the church. They claim that it
is helping build their church. Judah also stated that they would do whatever
comes out of their own mouth. These churches have removed the King James Bible
and brought in translations that make a sinner feel at ease. These translations
make a person feel comfortable. After all, if you can get rid of “Thus Saith The
Lord” then you will have a happy and comfortable congregation.
Judah also said that they had everything they needed when they were worshipping
the false idols. It is a frightening parallel when you read the following verse:
(Rev 3:17 KJV) Because thou sayest, I am
rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that
thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:
The church at Laodicea believed that since they had all the material wealth they
needed that they were in right relationship with God. However, God tells them
that they are wretched, miserable, blind, and naked. If we were to look at the
mega-church movement of today from God’s perspective instead of the world’s, we
would see how these large churches are also wretched, miserable, poor, and
naked. Then when you look at the faithful churches out there, you could count
the number of congregants on your feet and hands.
We could look at the churches and easily see what problems many of them have but
what about our own personal lives? Have we tried to widen the narrow way just
enough to stay within the borders of truth so we don’t feel the chastising zing
of God? Have we twisted a business deal just enough to stay under the law? Did
our co-workers convince us to go out after work to a bar and all you had was
white wine while being in a den of worldliness? After all, we say, didn’t Jesus
drink wine? Have we taken the teachings of the Bible and skewed them toward
whatever we wanted them to say? Concerning an action of yours, did you have to
use the phrase, “technically speaking” to justify what you did?
Sometimes we all wish we had just a little bit more but that can put us in a
dangerous position. Remember the church at Laodicea was “increased with goods”
and that caused them to misunderstand their position. Sometimes if we have
wealth, it may cause us to believe that we are in concert with the Lord’s
teachings. Whether we have much or little, we always need to keep checking
ourselves to make sure that we are on the straight and narrow. A good way to
check your spiritual progress is to find to what the world is saying about you.
If your worldly friends see you as just one of them, you are in trouble. If they
see you as a religious nut or fanatic, then you are probably doing something
right. Remember right with the world is wrong with God.
(1 John 2:15 KJV) Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world.
If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
If we are walking with the Lord, we may never have an abundance of things but we
will never lack what we do need. The lesson that we see above from Jeremiah is a
warning to all Christians that we must obey what comes out of the mouth of God
and not what comes out of our mouth. Our flesh and mind are at enmity with God
and many times what we plan or say is not in keeping with the Scriptures and
that is when we get into trouble. If Judah would have seen and understood what
happened to the northern kingdom, they would have avoided captivity and remained
faithful to the Lord. If we would see the trouble that many get in by disobeying
the Lord, then we should learn from their mistakes.
However, we know that this will not happen. Unfortunately, our pride stands up
and says, “that will not happen to me.” The next thing you know is we are
standing there saying, “how did this happen?” It happens when we adopt the ways
of the world believing that these are the ways of God. Judah would rather have
kept worshipping the queen of heaven to maintain their higher level of worldly
living. Let us learn from them and realize that we are just sojourners here and
our real home is Heaven. We can never place our faith in the things of the world
for they will let us down. This world is Satan’s kingdom and is filled with
darkness so let us follow the advice of the following verse:
(Isa 2:5 KJV) O house of Jacob, come ye, and let us
walk in the light of the LORD.
(5/27/05)