Sermon Central
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Habitation Of Shepherds
Contributed by James Dina on Feb 10, 2022 (message contributor)
Summary: Our churches will no longer be a haven for beggars, but rather a haven for shepherds who have resolved to make disciples of all nations. Our land will no longer be called "desolate," but rather "Beulah," because the Lord delights in us, and our land will be married.
HABITATION OF SHEPHERDS
"Thus says the Lord of hosts; again in this place, which is desolate without man and without beast, and in all the cities thereof, shall be an habitation of shepherds, causing their flocks to lie down" (Jeremiah 33:12) KJV.
Many people and nations face a lot of troubles: war, terrorism, poverty, pestilence, and diseases, which in turn affect the church. The people are full of sorrows, and some of them are exceedingly bitter. Wars have devastated countries; plagues have thinned our populations; all kinds of evil have swept athwart the most potent territories, and many of them have been compelled, at last, to yield to the destroying angel, and they slumber with the mighty dead. Many Christians asked, "Why is this evil happening to our land?" How can we serve God faithfully in this land? Why was I created in this part of the world?
"Call unto me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things which you do not know. ’ (Jeremiah 33:3).
When God created the heavens and the earth (Genesis 1:1), he saw that it was good. He made man in his own image to have dominion over everything that he created on earth. Despite Adam and Eve’s disobedience, God still love mankind. He promised to bless them with all kinds of blessings. "Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the Lord your God will set you high above all nations of the earth." And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the Lord your God (Deuteronomy 28:1-2); ‘And after all this, if you do not obey Me, but walk contrary to Me, I will lay your cities waste and bring your sanctuaries to desolation, and I will not smell the fragrance of your sweet aromas(Leviticus 26:27), " I will bring the land to desolation, and your enemies who dwell in it shall be astonished at it" (Leviticus 26:32).
Man’s disobedience to the God's commandments causes desolation, war, and pestilence in our lands. God is the author of the darkness as well as of the light, he creates the providential evil as well as the good, "I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the Lord do all these things" (Isaiah 45:7), while He sends the shower from on high, he also is the father of the devastating storm.
But if you refuse to hear these words, I swear by myself, "says the Lord," that this house will be desolate (Jeremiah 22:5).
IDOLATRY BRINGS DESOLATION
False worship can bring desolation to our land. Shepherds won’t be able to take care of the flocks, but rather they will be lost in the ills that has come upon the land. The shepherds will lead the people away from the truth, turning them to worshipping other gods. "My people have been lost sheep, their shepherds have misled them; they have turned them away in the mountains. They've climbed from mountain to mountain. They have forgotten their resting place "(Jeremiah 50:6).
God warns that, "you shall have no other gods before me" (Exodus 20:3); "for the Lord your God is a jealous God among you, lest the anger of the Lord your God be aroused against you and destroy you from the face of the earth" (Deuteronomy 6:15).
"Behold, I, even I, will bring a sword upon you, and I will destroy your high places (Ezekiel 6:3); In all your dwelling places the cities shall be laid waste, and the high places shall be desolate; that your altars may be laid waste and made desolate, and your idols may be broken and cease, and your images may be cut down, and your works may be abolished"(Ezekiel 6:6).
Where are the gods mentioned in the Bible, such as the Egyptian god (Exodus 12:12), Dagon (1 Samuel 5:2), and Baal (1 Kings 18:20-40)? Where are they? We hear their names; they are only records of the past. Nobody pays homage to them, nor bow in the grove of Ashtaroth. Who worships the hosts of heaven and the chariots of the sun? They have gone! Jehovah still stands, "the same yesterday, today, and for ever. (Hebrews 13:8)". One generation of idols has passed away, and another comes, and the desolations stand—memorials of the might of God.
WAR AND TERRORISM
Our iniquity and that of our fathers have taken peace from our land and brought war, terrorism, and the like. War can be devastating but its noise and tumult shall produce good; the blood of our brothers and sisters shall be avenged, not by the sword, but by the gospel. " And they cried out with a loud voice, saying, "How long, O Lord, holy and true, until you judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?" (Revelation 6:10).
