If you are sleeping with any human being other than the person that you are married to, then you are playing the harlot. And I can tell you that you do not really believe God is God. We‟ll talk about it today.
If you listened to yesterday‟s program, then you know why I started off the way I started off. Because what God is telling us, in His search for truth, for faithfulness, He‟s saying, “That‟s what I‟m looking for, but I‟m not finding it.
And I‟m not finding it because [here you are worshipping other gods, and then trooping to the house of the harlot and committing adultery there.”] (PARAPHRASE, Jeremiah 5:7) I‟m telling you, it sounds just like the majority of the people in the United States of America.
We are an immoral, or should I say amoral, nation. It‟s estimated that roughly 30 to 60 percent of all married individuals in the United States will engage in infidelity at some point during their marriage. And this is married, I mean this is not having a partner, living with the partner which is adultery, which is immorality, which invites the judgment of God. Jeremiah chapter 5 is where we left off, in verse 7.
“„Why should I pardon you…?‟” God says, “„…Your sons have forsaken Me and sworn by those who are not gods....‟” She‟d been in idolatry. “„…When I had fed them to the full, [when I gave them everything they needed] they committed adultery… [they] trooped to the harlot‟s house. They were well-fed lusty horses, each one neighing after his neighbor‟s wife.‟” And then He has a question. “„Shall I not punish…people [like this],‟ declares the LORD…on a nation such as this [on any nation that‟s like] this shall I not avenge Myself?‟” (Jeremiah 5:7-9)
You see God made us in His image. (See Genesis 1:26)
We have distorted that image. Remember I left you in Romans chapter 1? And that‟s where we want to go is Romans chapter 1, because it so relates to what we are saying. And it gives us great insight into what happens when we are not faithful to the knowledge of truth. He says in Romans chapter 1, “…I am not ashamed of the gospel [of God, because] it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and…to the Greek. For in it [in the Gospel] the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, „…THE [just] …SHALL LIVE BY FAITH.‟” (Romans 1:16-17)
It‟s received by faith. It is maintained and sustained by faith. So as we saw the word “E-m-u-n-a” translates into Habakkuk chapter 2, verse 4 which is what he‟s quoting here, “„…the righteous [one shall] live by…faith.‟” (Habakkuk 2:4)
They shall be faithful.
They shall be true to what God says, true to the Word of God. And then we saw how, “…the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against [all unrighteousness] all ungodliness…of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness.” (Romans 1:18) In other words, they may say one thing, but the way that they live contradicts it. And so then he goes on to tell what happens when men do not believe in God as God is revealed in the Word of God. And he says, this is what they do, in verse 21, “…even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God….” (Romans 1:21)
You say you know God. You say you believe in God. If you believe in God, then honor Him for who He is. Take God at His Word. This is the one Book in all the world that claims to be the Word of God and has the backup for it, because it shows you from beginning to end, it gives you truth. It gives you prophecies, 333 prophecies that were fulfilled in the first coming of Jesus Christ. So it says, “…even though they [know] God, they did not honor Him as God [they did not]…give thanks, but they became futile [vain, empty] in their speculations…their foolish heart was darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, [they changed] the glory of [an] incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man…of birds [of] …four-footed [creatures] animals and crawling creatures.” (Romans 1:21-23)
So they go into idolatry; they don‟t believe God is God. But they‟re going to have a god of some sort, a god that they have made up, a god that they have conceived in their mind, a god that has been born out of their stories, out of their mythology. And so what does God do? “…God [gives] them over in the lust of their hearts to impurity...they exchanged…truth…for a lie, [they] worshiped and served the creature [other human beings more] than the Creator….” (Romans 1:24-25)
And He is the Creator. He is the one that made us. He‟s the one that made the world. You say, “I don‟t believe that. Science says something different.” Science does not say anything different.
Theories say different. Evolution is a theory. It‟s never been proved. It can‟t stand the test of science.
It says, “For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions….” So they go from immorality, impurity, to degrading passions. “…[the] women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural…the men abandoned the natural function of the woman [for men, they] burned in their [hearts with] desire [for other] men.” And it says, “…Just as [God] did not see fit to acknowledge [them] any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind [a depraved mind] ….” (Romans 1:26-28)
This is what you see in Jeremiah. It is a depraved mind. They are turning from one to the other, to the other, and so you and I have to see this. All right, now one other thing, let me describe what this depraved mind looks like. It says, “[They are filled with unrighteousness]….” They do the things which are not proper. “[They are] filled with…unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, [and they are] disobedient to [their] parents, [they are] without understanding, [they are] untrustworthy, [they are] unloving, [they are] unmerciful; and although they know the ordinance of God…[they] who practice such things [and know that they] are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but…[they] give hearty approval to those who [agree with] them.” (Romans 1: 29-32)
You will never be a man of faithfulness, you will never be a person whose God‟s eyes are seeking, unless you agree with God. And what God is saying is that what is going on is wrong. And He says, [in this shall I not punish these people?] (PARAPHRASE, Jeremiah 5:9)
Now listen, it starts there and then it moves more, and more, and more and it has a broader implication.
Do you realize that each year an estimated 600,000 to 800,000 men, women and children are trafficked across international borders? 70 percent of them are female, 50 percent of them are children. Every year it‟s estimated that 14,500 to 17,500 foreign nationals are trafficked into the United States of America. “Christianity Today” in January of 2007 had this also “Red-light Rescue: The „Business‟ of Saving Girls From a Life of Prostitution.” These are young, young girls! Why is all this happening? Well, it‟s because we have violated the commandments of God. Jesus said, [“A man should not look at a woman to commit adultery with her in his heart if he does he is guilty.”] (PARAPHRASE, Matthew 5:28)
Ted Bundy was one of the most notorious serial killers in American history. He was interviewed by James Dobson. On January the 23rd, 1989, James Dobson, at Ted Bundy‟s request, interviewed him. Why did James Dobson get an interview when all the mainstream media were seeking to interview Bundy on the eve of his death, or even before his death because they knew his execution was coming up?
He would not talk to the mainstream media, and this is why: because he felt that they wouldn‟t report the story as it really was. And he knew that Jim would, and Jim is a faithful man of integrity. And so what happened was Bundy said this, it wasn‟t actual pornography that caused him to be a serial killer. But it was pornography that led him to that point in his life where it became such an obsession.
This is now a quote from Ted Bundy, “„Pornography can reach out and snatch a kid out of any house today. It snatched me [in] my home 20 [to] 30 years ago…I‟ll tell you, there are lots of other kids playing in streets around the country who are going to be dead tomorrow and the next day and the next day and the next day and [the] next month because other young people are reading the kinds of things and seeing the kinds of things that are available in the media today.'” And Dobson pointed out that, “Pornography has been found in the possession of almost every killer where sex was the motivation, including two of the most notorious serial killers over the last decades.”
One of the most infamous sex criminals of all time, Ted Bundy, believed that his descent into the horrible pit of sexual assault and murder was fueled by an addiction to violent obscenity. I‟ll talk to you about it more in just a minute because pornography is an issue in this country, a destructive issue.
Welcome back, Beloved. This is a very important program because as we look at Jeremiah chapter 5, we see a principle, we see a precept and you need to understand it. And that is basically that idolatry leads to immorality. Immorality, as we saw in Romans chapter 1, [then leads to perversion, men with men, women with women, which leads to a depraved mind.] (PARAPHRASE, Romans 1:26-28)
So Bundy called Dobson and wanted to make sure that this message got out. And this is what, during this interview these are several points that he made. Number one, “[he] was not born a monster. [His life] began…as a normal person. „There was no physical abuse or fighting in my home…I led a normal life….‟”
Point number two, “obscenity is progressively addictive.” He says, “…You reach that jumping off point where you begin to wonder if maybe actually doing it will give you that which is beyond just reading it or looking at it….”
The third point that he made was this, that “there is a cause-and-effect relationship between using obscenity and criminal sexual behavior.” Bundy said quote, “…I‟ve met a lot of men who were motivated to commit violence just like me. And without exception, every one of them was deeply involved in pornography.”
Point number four, “Bundy was eventually driven by an evil supernatural force. …he never [called] demon possession,” but listen to what he said, “…having been possessed by something so awful and so alien…then the next morning to wake up from it, [and to] remember what happened….”
And this fifth point was this: that “despite the influences of obscenity and demonic forces, Bundy recognized his need to be accountable to society and God for his behavior. „I deserve, certainly the most extreme punishment society has and society deserves to be protected from me and from others like me, that‟s for sure.‟” Now that is a man that calls sin, sin. And yet, look at what we see here, they are not calling sin, sin. Listen to what God is saying, [“Shall I not avenge myself on a nation like this?”] (PARAPHRASE, Jeremiah 5:9)
Is God not going to avenge us in America?
Because honestly, pornography is gripping the hearts and the minds and the souls of so many people; why do you think we see so many atrocities committed against children and adults? Why are so many people missing? And where do they go? And what‟s being done to them? It would break your heart. I saw a special on TV about this doctor, he didn‟t know he was being filmed. But he was going to Cambodia. He was having sex with little children. It was so sad to see the faces of those little children. God says, “„Go up through [a] vine rows and destroy, but [don‟t] execute a complete destruction; strip away her branches, for they are not the LORD‟S.‟” (Jeremiah 5:10)
Listen, anyone that gets into that kind of behavior and never recognizes it as sin, never confesses it as sin, never says that, “This was sin. And I should not have done it,” not “I couldn‟t help it.” [Is not of the Lord.] (PARAPHRASE, Jeremiah 5:10) They are not speaking truth. He says, “„…They are not the LORD‟S. For the house of Israel and the house of Judah have dealt very treacherously with Me‟ [says] the LORD.” (Jeremiah 5:10-11)
And this is what they say. Now listen, this is key, “They have lied about the LORD and [they have] said, „Not He; misfortune will not come on us, and we will not see [the] sword or famine.‟” (Jeremiah 5:12) He‟s saying, “Listen, God‟s not going to judge us. It‟s all right.” They are lying about God. They are denying that God is a God of justice. God is holy, Precious One. And he says in Hebrews chapter 12, “[Pursue godliness, pursue] holiness without which no man [will] see the Lord.” (Hebrews 12:14, KJV)
He‟s a holy, holy God. And so they think that judgment will not come from God. They say, “„…misfortune will not come on us…we will not see sword or famine….‟” (Jeremiah 5:12)
But these were the false prophets. And he says in verse 31. And I‟m jumping to it “The prophets prophecy falsely…the priests rule on their own authority; and My people love it so! But what will you do [in] the end of it?” (Jeremiah 5:31)
These are people, Precious One, that are not upholding the Word of God. And they think that their authority is higher than God‟s. This is why what we are doing is so important, and I commend you. Back to verse 13, “„The prophets are as wind, and the word is not in them. Thus it will be done to them!‟ Therefore, thus says the LORD…God of hosts, „Because you have spoken this word….‟” Because you have said, “No, it‟s not the Lord. God won‟t do that. Misfortune won‟t happen.” He says, “„…Behold, I am making My words in your mouth…,‟” in Jeremiah‟s mouth, “„…and this people wood, and it will consume them.‟” (Jeremiah 5:14)
In other words, your words Jeremiah that are coming out of your mouth are fire, and these ungodly people are wood. And it will consume them. Listen, you‟re either going to be consumed by sin, or you‟re going to be consumed by the Word of God.
The choice is yours.
You need to be very, very, very careful about what‟s coming into your life. You need to really be careful what your eyes are seeing, what your mind is thinking, what your heart is following. It brings to mind to me what Jesus said in Matthew, and I want us to look at it. In Matthew chapter 15 this is what He‟s saying, He‟s saying, “„Do you not understand…,‟” in verse 17, “„that everything that goes into the mouth passes into the stomach, and is eliminated?‟” (Matthew 15:17)
In other words, they were all hung up on what people were eating, whether it was clean or unclean. And He‟s saying, “Look, it goes into the mouth. It goes into the stomach. It‟s passed.” You got the point don‟t you? But then He made an interesting observation, He said this, “„But [those] things that proceed [from] the mouth come from the heart, and [these] defile the man.‟” (Matthew 15:18)
Don‟t be so concerned about what they are taking in—listen carefully to what‟s coming out of their mouth. We need to listen to people, and see: what is the character of what they‟re saying, what are they talking about? What do they joke about? What are their innuendos? Do they want to talk about the Lord? Do they want to talk about good things, and holy things, or righteous things, or mean and ugly things? He says this, “„For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders. These are the things which defile the man; but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile the man.‟” (Matthew 15:19-20)
They were concerned: You didn‟t wash your hands. And God‟s concern: You didn‟t wash your heart. Now the way that you wash your heart is you [guard your heart because out of the heart, out of the mind, come the issues of life.] (PARAPHRASE, Proverbs 4:23)
So as the song says, “Be careful little eyes what you see. Be careful little eyes what you see.” Why? Because what you take in, it goes to your heart; it‟s what‟s going to come out. And that‟s what we saw in today‟s lesson: Guard your heart, your mind, your eyes. Guard it!
