“How long shall the land mourn, and the herbs of every field wither, for the wickedness of them that dwell therein? the beasts are consumed, and the birds; because they said, He shall not see our last end” (Jeremiah 12:4).
TEXT — Jeremiah 12:1-6
Message
Some preachers are disturbed when, in the evangelism field, they face opposition from the elite of the society. They are driven to question the justice system of God. They challenge the wisdom and the notion of the impartiality of the Creator as they conclude that the ‘prospering’ unbelievers are enjoying a reign of impunity and they fear these sinners would be left unpunished by the God of all creation.
Prophet Jeremiah was similarly agitated. He approached the Lord with posers as to why the way of the evil was thriving, regardless of the fact that they dealt “treacherously”. He even charged God with being responsible for the situation. “Thou hast planted them, yea, they have taken root: they grow, yea, they bring forth fruit”. According to Jeremiah, among these wicked people were his relatives and neighbours, who polluted and depleted the environment with their avaricious lifestyle. They boasted “(God) shall not see our last end”. The prophet then prayed the Lord to “pull them out like sheep for the slaughter”.
Jeremiah was a young prophet at the time. He did not perceive the greater work that lay ahead in his ministry. God compared what he was complaining of at that stage to battling footmen. What would he do if he confronted chariots? What would he do in the midst of raging storms like the swelling of River Jordan? These were the bigger tasks waiting for Jeremiah. God was preparing His servant to scale these mountains, not to complain or flee from them.
Having received the mandate to go into the spiritual warfront to win souls for the Lord, we must not permit distractions to discourage us. We must confidently trust the Lord to save sinners through our preaching and deliver them from the wrath to come.
Listed among “500 most powerful people on the planet” by the Foreign Policy magazine in 2013, Pastor (Dr.) William F. Kumuyi is the founder and General Superintendent of the Deeper Christian Life Ministry (DCLM) headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria. DCLM started in 1973 as a 15-member Bible study group right in Kumuyi’s apartment at University of Lagos where he was a lecturer. His revolutionary Bible teaching on personal holiness and commitment to evangelism soon gained so much traction and resulted in a widespread revival.
Revival of the end time saints
I love this. God bless you