Accountable To God ~ Kay Arthur

Jeremiah, Part 1 (Return To Me)
Program 29 – Accountable To God

I know it‟s not exactly right. I know it‟s a little shady. I know I shouldn‟t be looking at this or doing this, but you know everybody else does. Surely, surely God understands. O Beloved, He understands that you‟re in sin, and He understands that He‟s got to hold you accountable. Watch out!

Our theme all week, our introduction into Jeremiah 13, 14 and 15 is God‟s word to Jeremiah when he becomes weary. When he‟s running with the footmen and he becomes weary in a land of peace. He says, [“How are you going to contend? How are you going to compete with horses? In the thicket of the Jordan?”] (PARAPHRASE, Jeremiah 12:5) We‟ve looked at God telling them that they are to cling to Him. [And that if they will cling to Him, if Israel will cling to Him, if Jeremiah will cling to Him then He will make them a people for praise, and renown, and glory and if not, if they will not confess their sins then He is going to have to judge them.] (PARAPHRASE, Jeremiah 13:11, 17)

In our last program we saw in Jeremiah chapter 13 that [the king and the queen mother had to take a lowly seat. The crown fell from their head.] (PARAPHRASE, Jeremiah 13:18) We saw that this happened in 597 B.C. when Jehoiachin and his mother were taken captive by Nebuchadnezzar along with ten thousand others into Babylon. All the mighty warriors were gone, all the craftsmen, all the silversmiths they were gone only the poorest were left in the land. (See 2 Kings 24:15-16)

And so God continues to talk to them. And He says in Jeremiah 13, verse 20, ―‗Lift up your eyes and see those coming from the north…,‘‖ remember evil comes from the north, ―‗…where is the flock that was given you, your beautiful sheep? What will you say when He appoints over you—and you yourself have taught them— former companions to be head over you? Will not pangs take [a] hold of you like a woman in childbirth?‘‖ (Jeremiah 13:20-21) Is it not going to come suddenly? He says, ―‗If you say in your heart, ―Why have these things happened to me…?‖‘‖ The answer is, ―‗…Because of the magnitude of your iniquity….‘‖ You thought you could get away with this. ―‗…Your skirts have been removed…,‘‖ (Jeremiah 13:22) just pulled them off of you. Remember; He likens Judah to His wife. And He says, the skirt has been stripped off you. That‟s what they would do as a punishment for prostitutes, for harlots. ―‗…Your heels have been exposed. Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard his spots? Then [also you] can do good who are accustomed to doing evil.‘‖ (Jeremiah 13:22-23) He says, “Evil has become such a part of you that it‟s second nature. You can‟t change. You can‟t change.”

Beloved, don‟t ever compromise with sin. Don‟t ever say, as I said in the opening of the program, “I know I shouldn‟t, but….” He says, ―‗…I will scatter [you] like drifting straw to the desert wind. This is your lot, the portion measured to you from Me….‘‖ I‟m going to scatter you, ―‗…Because you have forgotten Me and trusted in falsehood. So I…have…stripped [the] skirts off [from] over your face, that your shame may be seen. As for your adulteries and your lustful neighings, the lewdness of your prostitution on the hills in the field, I have seen your abominations....‘‖ (Jeremiah 13:24-27) He says, “You‟re lusting. You just want taste a little bit of sin. You just want to experience it. It‟s not right, but you‟re just going to look. I mean, you have to know so that you can tell the guys they shouldn‟t do it.

O Precious One, listen to me, [extract the worthless from the precious.] (PARAPHRASE, Jeremiah 15:19) That‟s worthless it‟s going to destroy you. He says, ―‗…I have seen your abominations. Woe to you, O Jerusalem! How long will you remain unclean?‘‖ (Jeremiah 13:27) And then we come to chapter 14. And when we come to chapter 14 listen to what he says, ―That which came as the word of the LORD to Jeremiah [regarding] …the drought….‖ (Jeremiah 14:1) The drought has been mentioned in chapter 3 verse 3. (See Jeremiah 3:3) It‟s been mentioned in chapter 12 verse 4. (See Jeremiah 12:4) Now he mentions it again. ―‗Judah mourns…her gates languish; they sit on the ground in mourning, and the cry of Jerusalem has ascended. Their nobles have sent their servants for water; [and]…they have returned with…vessels empty; they have been put to shame and humiliated…they cover their heads. Because the ground is cracked, [and] there has been no rain on the land; the farmers [are]…put to shame, they have covered their heads…even the doe in the field has given birth only to abandon her young….‘‖ (Jeremiah 14:2-5) She drops her calf, and she walks away. There‟s no food. There‟s no nourishment. There‟s no water. ―‗The wild donkeys stand on the bare heights; they pant [the] air like jackals, their eyes fail…there is no vegetation.‘‖ (Jeremiah 14:6) They can‟t even see anymore it‟s just a blur. And they‟re stumbling around because of the drought. The drought means no growth, no crops.

It says, ―‗Although our iniquities testify against us, O LORD, act for Your name‘s sake! Truly our apostasies have been many, we have sinned against You. O Hope of Israel, [our] Savior in times of distress, why…?‘‖ (Jeremiah 14:7-8) Where did You go? Where are You? ―‗…Why are You like a stranger in the land…like a traveler [that] has pitched his tent for the night?‘‖ (Jeremiah 14:8) And you‟re gone. ―‗Why are You like a man dismayed, like a mighty man who cannot save? Yet You are in our midst, O LORD, and we are called by Your name; do not forsake us!‘‖ (Jeremiah 14:9)

In the midst of the drought, in the midst of languishing, what do you need? Who do you need? The One that is in control of the rain, you need to cling to Him as the waistband clings to the waist of a man lest the crown fall from your head. ―Thus says the LORD to this people, ‗Even so…,‘‖ even though they‟ve been in all this, ―‗…they have loved to wander; they have not kept their feet in check. Therefore the LORD does not accept them; now He will remember their iniquity and call their sins to account.‘‖ (Jeremiah 14:10)

Drought, it‟s awful. In February of „09 this came out on CNN.com: “China Suffering [the] Worst Drought in 50 Years.” Another one from South Africa: “Drought-hit Farmers Need Miracle,” and this came out in „09. And it says, “Port Elizabeth—Farmers in the drought-stricken Eastern Cape— which is experiencing its worst drought in at least 50 years— say a miracle is necessary to bring much-needed rain to the region. That‟s why many will be watching to see whether Angus Buchan‟s faith that his prayer service Uitenhage, U-I-T-E-N-H-A-G-E, on Friday will bring a miracle—rain. The drought has been carrying on now for three years.” But listen to this, “Israel Faces its Worst Water Crisis.” This is an article that came out in a magazine called, “Dispatch from Jerusalem,” that‟s put out by Bridges For Peace. And it says this that, “Dr. Amos Porat, head of Climatology Department of the Israel Meteorological Service said that the „07, „08 (2007-2008) rainy season in the north of Israel was one of the five or six worst in the last 70 years, a timeline that extends a full decade [now] before the modern state of Israel was born. …Daniel Carmel, a tourist boat captain on the Galilee, had the Jbest advice in the midst of…crisis. „The water situation is [so] bad, so we need…prayer for rain. Pray for us. Pray for rain.‟” This came out in February of 2009. What is happening? And drought usually precedes famine unless it‟s a famine from a siege. It‟s judgment from God because God controls the rain. Watch what happens in chapter 15.

The Lord said to Jeremiah, ―…‗Do not pray for the welfare of this people. When they fast, I am not going to listen to their cry…when they offer burnt offering and grain offering, I am not going to accept them. Rather I am going to make an end of them by sword, famine and pestilence.‘‖ (Jeremiah 14:11-12)

I have another article here that‟s very, very interesting. It‟s an article that, in a sense, just makes you creepy. “Liberia Declares [a] State of Emergency as Caterpillar Plague Wrecks [the] Crops.” And this came out in January 28, 2009. Liberia has caterpillars all over. It is “A plague of caterpillars that has destroyed plants and crops and contaminated water supplies, threatening an already fragile food situation. Tens of millions of caterpillars have invaded at least 80 towns and villages in Central…northern Liberia, preventing some farmers from reaching their fields and causing [people]…to flee [from] their homes.”

Listen to what he says, ―But, ‗Ah Lord GOD…!‘‖ Jeremiah is speaking, he says, ―…I said, ‗Look, the prophets are telling them, ―You will not see sword nor will you have famine, but I will give lasting peace in this place.‖‘‖ (Jeremiah 14:13) Really? We‟ll talk about it in just a minute.

You can‟t sin against God and get away with it. The Bible says in Numbers, ―‗…be [ye] sure your sin[s] will find you out.‘‖ (Numbers 32:23) And so God is delivering a message to the people through Jeremiah the prophet. And as He delivers this message, He is saying, [and] famine and pestilence.‘‖ And then He says, ―…‗Look, the prophets are telling them, ―[You‟re]…not [going to have a] sword [you‟re not going to] have [a] famine…I [am going to] give…[ever] lasting peace in this place.‖‘‖ (Jeremiah 14:12-13)

Now just think about the dilemma of the people. Think about it. Here‟s one prophet saying, “Hey, sword, famine, pestilence.” Here‟s another prophet saying, “Oh no, that is not going to happen. You‟re going to have lasting peace.” Now which one do you want to listen to? You want to listen to the one that says everlasting peace.

You say, “But how do I know which one to listen to?” And this is absolutely key because the Bible says, [Hey, you know the truth from the false because if what the false prophecies doesn‟t come to pass you know it‟s false.] (PARAPHRASE, Deuteronomy 18:22)

But in this case they can‟t wait to see which one is right. They‟ve got to make a choice. How do you make a choice of who to listen to? This is absolutely key. That‟s what this program is about. This is why I want you to go online. This is why I want you to go to “preceptsforlife.com.” I want you to study with us. I want to take you deeper and deeper to help you discover truth for yourself, to disciple you, and then help you disciple others. And this is what I long to do. And this is what I want to equip you to do so that you can ―‗…extract the precious from the worthless….‘‖ (Jeremiah 15:19) So that [you won‟t faint or grow weary with the footmen, but you will be able to compete with the horses in the Jordan of the thicket, no matter what happens.] (PARAPHRASE, Jeremiah 12:5)

No matter if sword does come, or famine does come, or pestilence does come. I will tell you this, you ain‟t seen nothing yet in the United States of America if we continue to abort babies. We are filling the land with innocent blood just like Manasseh did and God will not tolerate it. (See 2 Kings 24:3-4) If we continue to be immoral, we are sinking down into a pit that we are digging with our own hands. We are self-destructing. America is nowhere mentioned in the end time prophecy which means we amount to nothing. The crown is going to fall from the head of America.

You say how do I know that? The way they knew. You know the Word of God, and then you take the Word of God, and you bring society up against the Word of God because God doesn‟t just expect Israel to obey Him, God expects us to obey Him. God expects us to keep His commandments. God has given America great light, and we have shunned the light. You know that the times have changed. You know that what was once illegal morally is now legal. You know that we are a generation of adulterers, of fornicators, of homosexuals, of pedophiles, of people caught up in pornography. It‟s a major money-making industry. We are a land full of drugs. We are a land full of rebellion. No other civilized nation on the face of this earth or a nation of our status has as many people incarcerated in prison as the United States of America has. We are in trouble.

And these false prophets are saying, ―‗…― [You will not] have famine…I will give you [ever] lasting peace….‖‘[And] the LORD said to me, ‗The prophets are prophesying falsehood in My name. I have neither sent them nor commanded them nor spoken to them; they are prophesying to you a false vision, divination, futility and the deception of their own minds.‘‖ (Jeremiah 14:13-14)

I have listened to many of them on Christian television and it is a deception of their own minds. And because the people out there don‟t know the Word of God, because they haven‟t discovered it for themselves, and the only thing that they get is by listening to these people, they are deceived. ―‗Therefore thus says the LORD concerning the prophets who are prophesying in My name, although it was not I who sent them…they keep saying, ―There will be no sword or famine in [the] land…,‖‘‖ and he says, ―‗…by sword and famine those prophets [will] meet their end! The people also to whom [you‟re] prophesying will be thrown out into the streets of Jerusalem because of the famine and the sword; and there will be no one to bury them….‘‖ (Jeremiah 14:15-16)

You saw this in the day of the great plague in Europe where they just put bodies on carts. They were just piling them up on top of one another. It was the bubonic plague, there was no one to bury them. They just died in their misery. And he says, “These people are going to be thrown out into the streets. And as they‟re thrown out into the streets there is no one to bury them.” ―‗…Neither [they], nor their wives, nor their sons, nor their daughters—for I will pour out their…wickedness on them.‘‖ (Jeremiah 14:16) That‟s why, Beloved, you don‟t want to step over the line the least little bit. He says, ―‗You will say…to them…,‘‖ you, Jeremiah, will say to them, ―‗…―Let my eyes flow down with tears night and day…let them not cease; for the virgin daughter of my people has been crushed with a mighty blow, with a sorely infected wound.‖‘‖ (Jeremiah 14:17) It‟s like STDs; just yuck. ―‗―If I go out to the country, behold, [the] slain with the sword…if I enter [into] the city, behold, [the] diseases of famine…!‖‘‖ (Jeremiah 14:18)

Have you seen people that have been in famine? Have you seen what it does to their teeth? Have you seen what it does to their bones? Have you seen what it does to their belly? He says, ―‗―…For both prophet and priest have gone roving about in [a] land that they do not know.‖‘‖ (Jeremiah 14:18) And then he asks God, ―Have You completely rejected Judah...have You loathed Zion? Why have You stricken us so that we are beyond healing? We waited for peace, but [no] good came…for a time of healing, but behold, [there is] terror! We know our wickedness, O LORD, the iniquity of our fathers…we have sinned against You. Do not despise us, for Your own name‘s sake; do not disgrace the throne of Your glory….‖ (Jeremiah 14:19-21)

The throne of His glory is God‟s covenant with these people. He says, ―…Remember and do not annul Your covenant with us. Are there any among the idols of the nations who give rain…?‖ (Jeremiah 14:21-22) Is there any idol that can give rain? No, [they have eyes, but they can‟t see. Ears, but they can‟t hear. Hands, but they can‟t work.] (PARAPHRASE, Psalms 115:5-6) ―…Or can the heavens grant showers…? (Jeremiah 14:22) Can the heavens all of a sudden say, “Hey, clouds today let‟s fill with rain and bring showers”? Oh, no. He says, ―…Is it not You, O LORD our God…?‖ (Jeremiah 14:22) You are the only one that gives rain.

Africa is in an awful drought. China is in an awful drought. Israel is in an awful drought. Who‟s behind it all? Who alone can bring rain?

It‟s not a matter of climate. It‟s not a matter of Mother Nature. It is simply Father God. ―…Therefore we hope in You…,‖ now listen to this carefully, ―…for You are the one [that has] done all these things.‖ (Jeremiah 14:22) The caterpillars, the drought, the pestilence, You‟ve done it. You alone can cure it. And you and I are the ones that need to repent, and return and pray.