Pleading for God's Mercy Upon the World

Jeremiah 3 / Isaiah 64 / Daniel 9:1-23

What does it take to intercede for a desperate world; a desperate nation; a desperate soul? What must be the state of the heart and mind of a person to trigger the heart of God to do what only he can do to save? We see the disasters, the calamities, the judgements of God. We see Him pulling back his hand of protection because we spite his ways. We mock him to his face when we don't stop and listen and wait for him but go on sinning. Remaining in a state of rebellion toward God is the true disaster and calamity of a soul, nation and world. God is righteous. He can not do any wrong even in his judgements. Daniel, Jeremiah, and Isaiah were men who loved God with all their hearts, and yet they were still a part of a fallen people. They saw all the sin and their own, and they pleaded with God for His mercy so he would draw back his anger. How we don't realize the pending judgements about to fall upon us in this world!!! The blood of the innocent, the sanctity of purity, the honor and respect of high positions of service, and the righteousness of God all cry out for justice! Read these 3 chapters and pray with me to God, who has made a way for us to enter his chambers by the sacrifice of Jesus, for our country, other countries, and the world. Pray for Gods mercies to fall on us, cry out and acknowledge all the sin before him and plead with your whole heart that we would all turn away from the iniquity of our ways. Please read Jeremiah 3, Isaiah 64, and Daniel 9:1-23. Why wait? We can go into our private prayer time and plead in the same way these men did. We can pray for the whole world to stop going down the path away from the living God of Abraham,Isaac and Jacob. I fear a great calamity is reserved for those who continue in the way of sin and do not repent, who do not seek God for his mercies. What do we think ISIS is, and Abortion, Sexual Immorality, Lying, Cheating, Murdering, Stealing, Racism, Rebellion, Greed, Hate, Unforgiveness, Lust, Dishonoring, Apathy......are these sins not all the warning signs of pending judgement? What are all the weather disasters, earthquakes? It's not climate change! Are we so foolish to think that evil won't enter positions of leadership if God is kicked out of a country because of the majority of the people's sins? Are you an enemy of God? Is your heart burning with conviction when you see the blood of innocent civilians spill because of evil. These are all warning signs to us to stop and turn away from sin and toward Jesus Christ for forgiveness and healing of our hearts. All rebellion and sin must be forsaken inside of our hearts and nations and world. Why not? When God acts against it all and pours out his judgements will we not cry out then for help and to be saved? Let's not be the kind of people who wait until judgement falls, but let's plead for God to change our hearts and the hearts of the people now. 

““If a man divorces a woman and she goes and marries someone else, he will not take her back again, for that would surely corrupt the land. But you have prostituted yourself with many lovers, so why are you trying to come back to me?” says the LORD. “Look at the shrines on every hilltop. Is there any place you have not been defiled by your adultery with other gods? You sit like a prostitute beside the road waiting for a customer. You sit alone like a nomad in the desert. You have polluted the land with your prostitution and your wickedness. That’s why even the spring rains have failed. For you are a brazen prostitute and completely shameless. Yet you say to me, ‘Father, you have been my guide since my youth. Surely you won’t be angry forever! Surely you can forget about it!’ So you talk, but you keep on doing all the evil you can.” During the reign of King Josiah, the LORD said to me, “Have you seen what fickle Israel has done? Like a wife who commits adultery, Israel has worshiped other gods on every hill and under every green tree. I thought, ‘After she has done all this, she will return to me.’ But she did not return, and her faithless sister Judah saw this. She saw that I divorced faithless Israel because of her adultery. But that treacherous sister Judah had no fear, and now she, too, has left me and given herself to prostitution. Israel treated it all so lightly—she thought nothing of committing adultery by worshiping idols made of wood and stone. So now the land has been polluted. But despite all this, her faithless sister Judah has never sincerely returned to me. She has only pretended to be sorry. I, the LORD, have spoken!” Then the LORD said to me, “Even faithless Israel is less guilty than treacherous Judah! Therefore, go and give this message to Israel. This is what the LORD says: “O Israel, my faithless people, come home to me again, for I am merciful. I will not be angry with you forever. Only acknowledge your guilt. Admit that you rebelled against the LORD your God and committed adultery against him by worshiping idols under every green tree. Confess that you refused to listen to my voice. I, the LORD, have spoken! “Return home, you wayward children,” says the LORD, “for I am your master. I will bring you back to the land of Israel — one from this town and two from that family— from wherever you are scattered. And I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will guide you with knowledge and understanding. “And when your land is once more filled with people,” says the LORD, “you will no longer wish for ‘the good old days’ when you possessed the Ark of the LORD’s Covenant. You will not miss those days or even remember them, and there will be no need to rebuild the Ark. In that day Jerusalem will be known as ‘The Throne of the LORD.’ All nations will come there to honor the LORD. They will no longer stubbornly follow their own evil desires. In those days the people of Judah and Israel will return together from exile in the north. They will return to the land I gave your ancestors as an inheritance forever. “I thought to myself, ‘I would love to treat you as my own children!’ I wanted nothing more than to give you this beautiful land— the finest possession in the world. I looked forward to your calling me ‘Father,’ and I wanted you never to turn from me. But you have been unfaithful to me, you people of Israel! You have been like a faithless wife who leaves her husband. I, the LORD, have spoken.” Voices are heard high on the windswept mountains, the weeping and pleading of Israel’s people. For they have chosen crooked paths and have forgotten the LORD their God. “My wayward children,” says the LORD, “come back to me, and I will heal your wayward hearts.” “Yes, we’re coming,” the people reply, “for you are the LORD our God. Our worship of idols on the hills and our religious orgies on the mountains are a delusion. Only in the LORD our God will Israel ever find salvation. From childhood we have watched as everything our ancestors worked for— their flocks and herds, their sons and daughters— was squandered on a delusion. Let us now lie down in shame and cover ourselves with dishonor, for we and our ancestors have sinned against the LORD our God. From our childhood to this day we have never obeyed him.””

Jeremiah 3:1-25 NLT

“Oh, that you would burst from the heavens and come down! How the mountains would quake in your presence! As fire causes wood to burn and water to boil, your coming would make the nations tremble. Then your enemies would learn the reason for your fame! When you came down long ago, you did awesome deeds beyond our highest expectations. And oh, how the mountains quaked! For since the world began, no ear has heard and no eye has seen a God like you, who works for those who wait for him! You welcome those who gladly do good, who follow godly ways. But you have been very angry with us, for we are not godly. We are constant sinners; how can people like us be saved? We are all infected and impure with sin. When we display our righteous deeds, they are nothing but filthy rags. Like autumn leaves, we wither and fall, and our sins sweep us away like the wind. Yet no one calls on your name or pleads with you for mercy. Therefore, you have turned away from us and turned us over to our sins. And yet, O LORD, you are our Father. We are the clay, and you are the potter. We all are formed by your hand. Don’t be so angry with us, LORD. Please don’t remember our sins forever. Look at us, we pray, and see that we are all your people. Your holy cities are destroyed. Zion is a wilderness; yes, Jerusalem is a desolate ruin. The holy and beautiful Temple where our ancestors praised you has been burned down, and all the things of beauty are destroyed. After all this, LORD, must you still refuse to help us? Will you continue to be silent and punish us?” Isaiah 64:1-12 NLT

“It was the first year of the reign of Darius the Mede, the son of Ahasuerus, who became king of the Babylonians. During the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, learned from reading the word of the LORD, as revealed to Jeremiah the prophet, that Jerusalem must lie desolate for seventy years. So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and fasting. I also wore rough burlap and sprinkled myself with ashes. I prayed to the LORD my God and confessed: “O Lord, you are a great and awesome God! You always fulfill your covenant and keep your promises of unfailing love to those who love you and obey your commands. But we have sinned and done wrong. We have rebelled against you and scorned your commands and regulations. We have refused to listen to your servants the prophets, who spoke on your authority to our kings and princes and ancestors and to all the people of the land. “Lord, you are in the right; but as you see, our faces are covered with shame. This is true of all of us, including the people of Judah and Jerusalem and all Israel, scattered near and far, wherever you have driven us because of our disloyalty to you. O LORD, we and our kings, princes, and ancestors are covered with shame because we have sinned against you. But the Lord our God is merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against him. We have not obeyed the LORD our God, for we have not followed the instructions he gave us through his servants the prophets. All Israel has disobeyed your instruction and turned away, refusing to listen to your voice. “So now the solemn curses and judgments written in the Law of Moses, the servant of God, have been poured down on us because of our sin. You have kept your word and done to us and our rulers exactly as you warned. Never has there been such a disaster as happened in Jerusalem. Every curse written against us in the Law of Moses has come true. Yet we have refused to seek mercy from the LORD our God by turning from our sins and recognizing his truth. Therefore, the LORD has brought upon us the disaster he prepared. The LORD our God was right to do all of these things, for we did not obey him. “O Lord our God, you brought lasting honor to your name by rescuing your people from Egypt in a great display of power. But we have sinned and are full of wickedness. In view of all your faithful mercies, Lord, please turn your furious anger away from your city Jerusalem, your holy mountain. All the neighboring nations mock Jerusalem and your people because of our sins and the sins of our ancestors. “O our God, hear your servant’s prayer! Listen as I plead. For your own sake, Lord, smile again on your desolate sanctuary. “O my God, lean down and listen to me. Open your eyes and see our despair. See how your city—the city that bears your name—lies in ruins. We make this plea, not because we deserve help, but because of your mercy. “O Lord, hear. O Lord, forgive. O Lord, listen and act! For your own sake, do not delay, O my God, for your people and your city bear your name.” I went on praying and confessing my sin and the sin of my people, pleading with the LORD my God for Jerusalem, his holy mountain. As I was praying, Gabriel, whom I had seen in the earlier vision, came swiftly to me at the time of the evening sacrifice. He explained to me, “Daniel, I have come here to give you insight and understanding. The moment you began praying, a command was given. And now I am here to tell you what it was, for you are very precious to God. Listen carefully so that you can understand the meaning of your vision.” Daniel 9:1-23 NLT

Finding Peace In The Life of Jesus Christ

The answer to dealing with unmet expectations and being dissatisfied is resting confidently in WAITING for God to work out his GOOD WILL in each circumstance.  Being at peace in the waiting! He promises that all who wait for him will be blessed, and will not be put to shame (Isaiah 49 verse 23). The blessing is that God works his GOOD WILL out inside of those who wait for him. Then those who are blessed by God's work can reach out and bless others with truly loving power. This loving power is not found in what God can bless us with materially, but rather knowing him, and resting in him now is the ultimate and final blessing. God himself is who truly satisfies our souls. No one else and nothing else can truly satisfy. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit are One God, and they are to be known and experienced in a loving eternal relationship. If only man and woman would commit their way to the Lord and trust in him, wait for him, he would act and reveal himself to them, because he is the living and true God. He would activate in their lives. In this waiting commitment full of expectation what will God do? God will point to his Son, Jesus Christ, as the person who he wants us to focus on. Through Jesus, God reveals himself as his ultimate GOOD WILL for people. God knows all humanity is broken by choosing their own way in sin, so He came to us as a man to pay for our sin's wage of death. He fixed the biggest problem of all that separates us from him on an eternal, moment by moment basis.  He died, was buried and rose from the grave. Through the loving power of Jesus, God makes himself available and known. God's GOOD WILL is that we focus on Jesus Christ so that we can put our faith in him for salvation and start experiencing a new, fully satisfying relationship with God the Father through spirit and truth. God wants to be known through his Son, and by putting your trust and hope in Jesus you will become fully satisfied and complete.  The Bible reveals who Jesus is.

"For God, who said, "let light shine out of darkness," has shown in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." 2 Corinthians 4:6

"Then you will know that I am the Lord; those who wait for me shall not be put to shame." Isaiah 49:23

Below is Isaiah 50:4-11  and the Lord Jesus is speaking openly and about his work on the cross for all of his creation. He testifies to his anointing, his obedience in surrender and humility, his power and great love and care for the lost by giving his body as a sacrifice. He testifies to how he confidently waits for and trusts his Father through the process of making all things right. We hear Jesus' heart calling out to those who are still in their darkness and who have no hope to turn to him...to trust in God for salvation! And finally Jesus warns those who will not turn away from their sin, and who choose to remain in a spirit of rebellion. This passage is an all consuming eternal perspective straight from the heart of Jesus Christ. 

“The Sovereign LORD has given me his words of wisdom, so that I know how to comfort the weary. Morning by morning he wakens me and opens my understanding to his will. The Sovereign LORD has spoken to me, and I have listened. I have not rebelled or turned away. I offered my back to those who beat me and my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard. I did not hide my face from mockery and spitting. Because the Sovereign LORD helps me, I will not be disgraced. Therefore, I have set my face like a stone, determined to do his will. And I know that I will not be put to shame. He who gives me justice is near. Who will dare to bring charges against me now? Where are my accusers? Let them appear! See, the Sovereign LORD is on my side! Who will declare me guilty? All my enemies will be destroyed like old clothes that have been eaten by moths! Who among you fears the LORD and obeys his servant? If you are walking in darkness, without a ray of light, trust in the LORD and rely on your God. But watch out, you who live in your own light and warm yourselves by your own fires. This is the reward you will receive from me: You will soon fall down in great torment.”

Isaiah 50:4-11

Terrorism in Religion Vs. The Way of Christ

People say terrorism has no religion. It definitely does. In the name of many kinds of man-made "religion" there have been horrible acts of terrorism and persecution throughout the ages against people. Today people are still facing the devastation in soul and body due to man driven religion. Sadly, the world will continue on this course trying to solve the problem through "unity" in religion. They will do this by creating a "One World Religion of Unity," but this will only serve to hold people in the chains of their sin which will ultimately force them to worship the Father of Lies. It will be the greatest form of deceptive terrorism that has ever occurred on this earth. We are not far from this as revealed in Revelation 13. Faithfully, God is warning people about it ahead of time so they can see the difference between religion and Christianity. In contrast, true Christianity is not a religion because it's not man-made. It actually is a WAY that was coined "Christian" due to the name of Jesus Christ who exemplified how to receive Salvation or Eternal Life. Today this WAY of Jesus is both followed and persecuted today (Acts 9:2; 16:1; 18:6,9,25; 19:9,23; 22:4; 24:14,22; 2 Peter 2:2) Yes, Christ is a man, but He is more then a man. He is God in a man's body! That distinction makes all the difference, and if God says something it makes sense to exclude every other voice and take what he says seriously? Unfortunately, over the ages true Christianity or the Way has been fragmented by man, and has become in many ways 'man driven." As a result, people are disconnected from Jesus, and people have become bored with,  unfulfilled by and misinformed about Jesus, and what he intends for people. But this should not cause people to rule out that there still is the true Way of Christ today which is alive and powerful! We do not enter into this true way of faith and experience the power of it because we have a problem. Our problem is that we are looking at man (ourselves) for answers, and not God through Jesus. In John 14:9 Jesus said, " If you have seen me you have seen God." When we look at man we allow the world to define good things as evil, and evil things as good. And if we are not diligent we can start believing those lies and deceptions. With alarm, we live in this day, and sadly it is deceiving people causing much confusion!!! The Way of Jesus is far above human strength and reason.  It's not confusing. The Way of God actually destroys chaos and brings peace! Honestly, if you were to die tonight are you at peace with God according to his terms? It's a True Relationship with Christ through the Holy Spirit and based in God's love that makes a person a follower of His Way. We know people by what they do, not just by what they say. If you say you are a Christian, and do not repent of your sin, diligently turn away from sin throughout your life or if you continue in sin you are not a Follower of the Way. Doing things that are not of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit is sin. Murdering, Lying, stealing, coveting, sex outside of a marriage between a man and woman, worshipping anything else but God, dis honoring your parents, not resting in God are examples of sin.  Words are important, but actions are what reveal the truth. True Christianity, therefore, ought to be seen as distinct from all religions, because it's the only Way of living that depends on the work of God (Jesus Christ) for salvation rather then the works of man. The works of man and words of man don't get us any where. On the contrary, the works of Jesus Christ that occurred during his life are described with inspired words in the Bible, and God's Word and actions are enough to believe in and emulate. God will judge us according to our works or if we placed our faith in Christ's works, and only the way Jesus lived will be approved by God. 

  “So Pilate entered his headquarters again and called Jesus and said to him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” Jesus answered, “Do you say this of your own accord, or did others say it to you about me?” Pilate answered, “Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered you over to me. What have you done?” Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.” Then Pilate said to him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world— to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.” Pilate said to him, “What is truth?” After he had said this, he went back outside to the Jews and told them, “I find no guilt in him.” John 18:33-38 ESV

“By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.””

John 13:35 ESV

“Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me. If you had really known me, you would know who my Father is. From now on, you do know him and have seen him!””

John 14:6-7 NLT

“Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near. Dear friends, if we deliberately continue sinning after we have received knowledge of the truth, there is no longer any sacrifice that will cover these sins. There is only the terrible expectation of God’s judgment and the raging fire that will consume his enemies.”

Hebrews 10:24-27 NLT. 

“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will recognize them by their fruits. “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’”"Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’” Matthew 7:15-23 ESV

“Then I saw a beast rising up out of the sea. It had seven heads and ten horns, with ten crowns on its horns. And written on each head were names that blasphemed God. This beast looked like a leopard, but it had the feet of a bear and the mouth of a lion! And the dragon gave the beast his own power and throne and great authority. I saw that one of the heads of the beast seemed wounded beyond recovery—but the fatal wound was healed! The whole world marveled at this miracle and gave allegiance to the beast. They worshiped the dragon for giving the beast such power, and they also worshiped the beast. “Who is as great as the beast?” they exclaimed. “Who is able to fight against him?” Then the beast was allowed to speak great blasphemies against God. And he was given authority to do whatever he wanted for forty-two months. And he spoke terrible words of blasphemy against God, slandering his name and his dwelling—that is, those who dwell in heaven. And the beast was allowed to wage war against God’s holy people and to conquer them. And he was given authority to rule over every tribe and people and language and nation. And all the people who belong to this world worshiped the beast. They are the ones whose names were not written in the Book of Life that belongs to the Lamb who was slaughtered before the world was made. Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand. Anyone who is destined for prison will be taken to prison. Anyone destined to die by the sword will die by the sword. This means that God’s holy people must endure persecution patiently and remain faithful. Then I saw another beast come up out of the earth. He had two horns like those of a lamb, but he spoke with the voice of a dragon. He exercised all the authority of the first beast. And he required all the earth and its people to worship the first beast, whose fatal wound had been healed. He did astounding miracles, even making fire flash down to earth from the sky while everyone was watching. And with all the miracles he was allowed to perform on behalf of the first beast, he deceived all the people who belong to this world. He ordered the people to make a great statue of the first beast, who was fatally wounded and then came back to life. He was then permitted to give life to this statue so that it could speak. Then the statue of the beast commanded that anyone refusing to worship it must die. He required everyone—small and great, rich and poor, free and slave—to be given a mark on the right hand or on the forehead. And no one could buy or sell anything without that mark, which was either the name of the beast or the number representing his name. Wisdom is needed here. Let the one with understanding solve the meaning of the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man. His number is 666.”

Revelation 13:1-18 NLT