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Newington Three Angels Church

Eric Walsh

The Shaking

Tonight we gather on election night here in the States.

And it is interesting because we've had warnings that there might be civil disobedience and even looting tonight.

So we are praying for the country that there would be either a peaceful transition or peaceful remaining.

But we are we understand that the emotions in the country are very high.

So by the time this is up and being heard probably we'll know who won but know that at the end of the day, God is in control.

We're going to go to the book of Jeremiah, chapter 12, starting at verse 5.

Jeremiah, chapter 12, starting at verse 5, says, if thou hast run with the footmen, and they have wearied thee, then how canst thou contend with horses?

And if in the land of peace wherein thou trustedst, they wearied thee, then how wilt thou do in the swelling of Jordan?

A message is entitled, The Shaking, Staying Anchored.

Let us pray, Father God, we thank you for this opportunity to study your word.

Once again, Lord, I ask that you make me just a nail upon the wall, a rusty, sorry nail, Lord.

But upon that nail, Lord, I ask that you hang a portrait of Jesus Christ.

Let Eric Walsh not be seen or heard instead, Father.

Let us hear a word from the throne room of grace.

All right, we're gonna go to the book of Jeremiah, the 12th chapter.

We'll deal with the first 2 verses and we'll kind of hit a few high points in this chapter as we deal with tonight's subject.

Sorry, Jeremiah 12 and verse 1 says, Righteous art thou, O Lord, when I plead with thee.

Yet let me talk with thee of thy judgments.

Wherefore doth the way of the wicked prosper?

Wherefore are all they happy that deal very treacherously?

Thou hast planted them, yea, they have taken root, they grow, yea, they bring forth fruit.

Thou art near in their mouth and far from their reins.

Jeremiah, as we've discussed in previous talks, is a prophet in a most difficult time.

He is at the knife edge of prophecy when it comes to Babylon's conquering of Judah.

Jeremiah is trying to warn the nation that allegiances and alliances with Egypt and other nations is gonna do them no good.

That in fact, they need to just kind of submit, pay the tribute and allow Babylon to be Babylon.

False prophets rise up and even other priests, as Jeremiah's from the house of the priests, 1 of the priestly towns, they rise up against him.

Jeremiah has people from every side attacking him.

Jeremiah chapter 1, God, when he calls him, says, listen, before I knew you in your mother's room, you were called in your mother's room, he says.

And he says that when you stand in the face of the folk that would go against you, he says, do not be afraid of their faces.

So Jeremiah is called not only to preach, not only is he given a purpose, but Jeremiah is called to do so in a time of great challenge and difficulty.

And I have to say that like some of us, being pushed back against as you try and help others and preach the gospel can become very very discouraging.

Jeremiah is discouraged in in in chapter 12 and verse 1.

He's tired of seeing the wicked doing so well.

He's looking around Judah and Jerusalem, and he knows what God is saying is about to come.

Yet, the people most responsible for what is going to come seem to be doing the best.

He can't stand as he looks around as they go to their events and their parties and they dress in their fine clothes and ride the nicest chariots.

He can't stand as he looks around and their fields are prospering and they're doing all sorts of wickedness even with the plenty that they have.

Jeremiah finally says, listen, God, I've had enough in Jeremiah 12 in verse 1, he says, righteous art thou, O Lord, when I plead with thee.

When I talk to you, Lord, you're righteous, he says, but I've got to talk with you of your judgments it seems as if your judgments are off how is it he says that the way of the wicked prospers I don't get it Lord you're telling me that Judah's going to be wiped out because of wickedness yet it seems as if the way of the wicked prosper.

He says, wherefore are they happy that deal very treacherously.

Jeremiah says, it doesn't make sense, Lord.

The very people who are bringing condemnation and rebuke upon the land, they're happy.

They speak of you as if they know you, but you're far from their range.

In other words, they speak as if they know you, but when it comes to self-control or obedience, they're so far away from you, Lord.

Paul says in 2 Timothy chapter 3, he describes this as having a form of godliness but denying the power thereof.

The first question we're going to answer tonight, we start talking about the subject of the shaking.

1 of the things that is probably most responsive for people being shaken out of the church is, they ask a tough question.

There are many answers to this, I'm sure.

And this is a really like a side note to the message tonight.

But I think it's worthwhile for some, this is a reason they cannot remain Christian.

They cannot understand why God would allow them to suffer.

In fact, as we're gonna talk about in a second, they believe that if I'm a Christian, prosperity should be my lot.

Well, reason number 1 of the 2 that I'll give tonight, and again, there are others, Number 1 is God is not refining them.

The wicked prosper because they are not being passed through the fire of trials in order to come out pure gold in character.

Testimonies for the Church, volume 7, page 214.

Ellen White says, the fact that we are called upon to endure trial proves that the Lord Jesus sees in us something very precious, which he desires to develop.

If he saw in us nothing whereby he might glorify his name, he would not spend time in refining us.

Could it be that some of the problems you have, some of the challenges you're facing.

Could it be that this is literally God doing surgery on you?

That the scalpel of trial is there in order to remove the malignancy of pride or of doubt or of arrogance.

So the wicked, 1 of the reasons the wicked seem to do better than us is because they are not being refined.

And as long as they're in Satan's camp, he'll leave them alone.

Number 2, is to display God's justice and mercy.

Great Controversy page 48 says, God allows, and let me tell you something, when you look at even Jeremiah's day and Judah and Jerusalem, they lived that debaucherous life.

They even gave their children to 1 of the gods where the children were killed and sacrificed to this god.

They worshiped, bailed, they did all of these different things.

And if you were an innocent bystander in the universe just watching what happened, when their destruction came, you'd almost have to say, well, they asked God to remove his protection from them by rejecting God.

So the wicked prosper, I believe, 1, because God's not refining them.

And some of us, let me just be honest, if we got everything we asked for, we would run from God.

But the wicked also are allowed to have what they have, so that when the day of judgment and retribution comes, they will be without an excuse.

So what has happened in America is that the devil has flipped this upside down.

Instead of teaching that in fact, all who will live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution, what they preach from pulpits in America is all who call on the name of Jesus should have whatever they want.

There's a prosperity gospel and I am shocked that the prosperity gospel is even inside the Adventist Church preached from Adventist pulpits.

They said the prosperity gospel explained why Joel Osteen believes that prayer can make you rich.

And I'm not trying to pick on Joel Osteen.

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