Jon Cash was the on-air meteorologist for WAVY-TV 10 in Norfolk, Va. for 21 years before being led by the Spirit of God to go full-time into international evangelism. He is the author of three books, The Age of the Antichrist, an end-times thriller, Thunder in Paradise, the sequel to his first, and Lost in Church, a book calling the church in America to true revival and saving faith in Jesus. Learn more about this author at his website: joncashministries.com.
Even though Jeremiah was making excuses why he couldn’t serve the Lord, God didn’t give up on Him. He encouraged him by saying, “I am with you and will rescue you.”
It’s natural for the Christian today to do the same thing. We come up with clever excuses why we shouldn’t follow the mission the Lord has given us “to go unto the ends of the earth and spread the gospel.” We say to ourselves and God, “I don’t know enough about the Bible. What will they think of me? I don’t want them talking behind my back. I might lose my job! Let somebody else do it."
Fear is a great motivator and a greater inhibitor. God immediately saw the fear in Jeremiah’s heart and said, “Do not be afraid of them.” The Bible teaches that “the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom and the fear of man is a stumbling block.” (See Proverbs 9:10
Fear of the LORD is the foundation of wisdom. Knowledge of the Holy One results in good judgment.
OPEN VERSE IN BIBLE (nlt)
and Proverbs 29:25.) Allow faith to overcome your fears and be obedient to God. He will not let you down if you are obedient to His calling. He has your back!
Has the “Lord reached out His hand and touched your mouth?” Has he “put His words in your mouth?” Without Him doing this, you are powerless to accomplish the mission set before you. It would be like a general assigning a private in the Army on a special ops mission for the elite Navy Seals. How can we realistically have Him put His words in our mouth? Read your Bible! Study your Bible! Hide His Word in your heart! Take time to have Him talk to you through Bible study and prayer. As His Spirit richly indwells your heart, His Words will reach your mouth and fear will fade.
God never calls us to do something for Him that He doesn’t empower us to do if we are willing to do the work and time. Please, take the time to get to know God in an intimate way. As your relationship with Him grows, you move up in rank and are assigned harder missions. Your purpose on earth is to shine God’s love to a lost, dying world. Your mission, if you should choose to accept it, is waiting for you! Open your ears and your heart to the Lord and be excited about your new future serving Him in truth and spirit.
The story begins with the disciples of Jesus giving people a hard time for bringing little children to Jesus. Though they had spent much time with the Lord, they still didn't understand Him that well. Jesus was concerned about everybody and not just the religious crowd or those who could understand deeper theology.
“The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”
The same thing happens today. Though many spend much time in church and other religious activities, they still don't know Jesus in a deep, intimate, meaningful way. Without this kind of faith, they will not go to heaven. There is a great deal of “head faith” in the world today. This is knowing about Jesus without trusting Him with your life.
“Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!”
Those words will be spoken by Jesus Christ to people who knew about God in their minds and intellects, but did not have a relationship with Him in their hearts. The term ‘knew’ is the same term used in Genesis when “Adam ‘knew’ his wife Eve, and gave birth to a son.” It’s a term of intimacy, love, and devotion; and the best way to describe saving faith through the shed blood of Jesus Christ.
Jesus reacted by being indignant. He was upset and somewhat impatient that his own disciples were such slow learners. Are you a slow or faster learner in regards to spiritual matters? Are you growing in your faith or living a stagnant life with no victory? He wants you to grow and you can do that most effectively by studying the Bible daily. God told his disciples to not hinder the children from coming to Him. Believe it or not, many church folks hinder the work of God with their beliefs and attitudes that don't line up with God and scripture. We all need to walk “in the Spirit” instead of “in the flesh”.
The last part of this is critical to understand. It's a matter of life and death, and heaven and hell. Unless we approach God with the humility of attitude as a little child, we can’t be saved, our sins can’t be forgiven, and we will not be granted entrance into heaven.
For those who were blessed with loving parents, do you remember when you would run to your daddy (or mother) when you were scared, lonely, or just needed a hug or some attention? When a thunderstorm roared, you jumped in their lap or hid with them in the closet. When you cut yourself, you ran to your parents to “kiss my boo-boo”. When somebody hurt your feelings in school or the playground, you looked forward to going home where you'd hear how loved you really were.
This attitude is necessary to be saved from your sins. This is a beautiful description of faith; the kind of faith that saves us from an eternity without God. Jesus is real. He is the best "Daddy" ever. If you didn't experience those loving parents, know that God loves you unconditionally. He wants your love more than you can possibly imagine. Feel the love of God today from the depths of your heart. It's the best thing that will ever happen to you! Promise!
God has not promised us an easy life. Far from it! He has promised His children that he will be with us through those trials. Jesus meets us in the middle of the storm to build our faith and to teach us to worship Him in truth and spirit.
Suffering produces a reliance on God in the heart of the faithful. Suffering pushes others further from the Lord when their souls are unfaithful and bitter. In essence, tough times separate the wheat from the chaff. As we grow spiritually, God begins to show us His power and comfort as we go through the curve balls in life.
The comfort we receive from Him can be used to bring people into the Kingdom of God. When non-believers experience trouble, it's the perfect opportunity for the believer to comfort them, love them, and understand them. When we show others God's love through our lives, they will be prodded to consider Jesus as their own Lord and Savior.
We live on a fallen planet where sin and suffering is the natural order of things. Suffering will continue until sin disappears; and that will not happen until the Second Coming of our Lord.
Notice some key words in the verse 5: abundantly and abounds. The word abounds comes from the Latin word abundāre, meaning to overflow. Imagine a river after a rainstorm. The water overflows its banks because it cannot be contained. There’s too much water! In the same way, God provides a mechanism through the power of the Holy Spirit to bring an overflowing amount of comfort when times turn difficult.
That comfort is available in very large quantities when we humble ourselves before the Lord. This builds our faith and helps us shine a brighter light into a darkened world. One of the greatest evangelism tools we have is our testimony. Every powerful testimony contains copious examples of God’s grace and comfort when the wind threatens to tear us down. Seek God’s comfort today. You will not only be helping yourself, but you will also be providing a wonderful weapon for your Lord to use to see others come into His glorious kingdom.
