JEREMIAH 372009 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: Jeremiah 37

You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2009. Well, this evening we're in Jeremiah chapter 37 as we continue through the book of Jeremiah.

And we're looking at this prophet Jeremiah who has been given this very difficult ministry of preaching a message to a nation that does not want to hear it, is going to be persecuting him and refusing to listen to all of the things that God has instructed Jeremiah to say. And so we can relate to him in the sense that we are called to be lights in the darkness and

And Jesus told us not to be surprised when the world does not receive us. That we should not be surprised when we don't fit in that well with the world because, well, the world does not understand spiritual things. And as we shine the light in the darkness, there's going to be a

There's going to be a reaction against that shining. And we have in that way a similar message and ministry to that of Jeremiah. Well, as we look at chapter 37 of Jeremiah, we pick it up under the reign of King Zedekiah, who was the last king of the nation of Judah before the nation was conquered by Babylon for the final time.

And so we pick it up in verse 1 of Jeremiah chapter 37, which says this, Now King Zedekiah, the son of Josiah, reigned instead of Keniah, the son of Jehoiakim, whom Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, made king in the land of Judah. Verse 2, But neither he nor his servants nor the people of the land gave heed to the words of the Lord which he spoke by the prophet Jeremiah.

And so right here in the beginning of the chapter, we find the context for what is about to take place. It's during the reign of King Zedekiah. Again, he was the last king of the nation of Judah before the nation was conquered for the third and final time by Babylon. Babylon was this new nation on the scene. It was a world superpower of the day and it was conquering all of the nations around it.

All that's left of Judah at this point is pretty much the city of Jerusalem. The other strongholds have been weakened. There's not much support. There's not much protection there. Pretty much the whole nation of Judah, all the survivors that were left at this point, were there in the city of Jerusalem. Babylon was laying siege to the city.

They were preparing for the long haul. Babylon was going to conquer them and most likely going to be successful for a couple of reasons. First of all, they'd already conquered Jerusalem twice.

They'd already took out some of the kings and some of the royalty, some of the royal line, and taken them captive. They came a second time and conquered and took even more, the skilled workers captive. And so all that's left in the land is just a few of the poor, the not so skilled, the not high and mighty in the society. There's not that many left any longer of the nation.

And it's this third time that Babylon is coming against the city of Jerusalem to conquer it. Not only that, but Jeremiah has been prophesying for his entire ministry that Babylon was going to conquer Jerusalem. And so it's pretty much a sure thing, but the people are refusing to hear it. Now, the reason why they're being attacked, the reason why God is allowing this to take place here,

in their nation and in their lives, is because of their rebellion against God. He's made it clear through the prophet Jeremiah and many other prophets along with him and before him,

That the people have been rebelling against God. They've turned their hearts from Him. Although they continue to go to the temple and continue to be very religious in the things that God instructed. They continue to offer sacrifices. They go to the temple and do the rituals and worship.

participate in the feasts that God has laid out in His Word, but those were the outward motions that they were going through without a real devotion to God. And they would leave from the temple and go their own way and worship other gods and fill themselves with everything that they wanted without regard for what God said and what God had instructed them.

And so because of their rebellion, they're experiencing this attack, they're experiencing this war that is taking place right around their city, and this certain doom is going to be coming upon them. And it tells us in that context, during Zedekiah's reign, that neither he, there in verse 2, so Zedekiah,

In that context, understanding Babylon is coming against them, the fulfillment of what Jeremiah has been saying is right in front of their eyes. And yet, even in that situation...

It tells us that the king, the king's servants, and the people of the land do not take heed to the words of the Lord.

What was the word of the Lord to Judah? What had God been saying to them? Very simply, God had been instructing them, repent, turn back to me. In fact, he's been saying, I will keep you in the land. I will prevent the destruction that is coming. I will preserve you and bless you. And there will be a multitude of you as a result of my blessing if you will just turn to me.

And commit yourselves to me. What God desired was his rightful place in their life, which was a wholehearted devotion.

But the people, as we've seen throughout Jeremiah, responded saying, that's too hard. We can't do that. We can't be committed to God in that way. We can't have a real serious commitment to God. We have to worship these other gods. We have to be involved in these sinful practices. It's just too hard to do it any other way. We want to live life our way, is what they said. And so they did not take heed.

Zedekiah the king, he didn't take heed. Now, he listened, and we'll see that in this chapter. He heard the words. Jeremiah spoke to him. He even goes to Jeremiah to find out, hey, what's God saying? But he doesn't take heed. He doesn't take those words and then apply them to his life and put them into practice and allow them to transform him.

Not only does that not happen for Zedekiah, but Zedekiah's servants, verse 2 says, don't take heed. So the king's officials, the princes, the rulers, those who have authority there in Jerusalem, they don't pay attention. God is speaking through Jeremiah the prophet, but they are not listening. But you know, it's not just the leaders. It's also the people. It tells us that the people of the land did not give heed to the words of the Lord.

And so this is the reason for the judgment that is coming upon them. Because they, as a nation, from the king to the common person, refuse to give heed to the words of the Lord. As we've been going through Jeremiah, we point out from time to time and reflect upon the state of the nation of Judah and the current condition of our nation. How

They started out good and we started out good and how things have declined both in the nation of Judah to this point and in our nation to the present. There's been a massive turning away from the things of God, from the Word of God. As a whole, the king, his servants, and the people of the land do not take heed to the words of the Lord. We are in a very similar condition today.

to the nation of Judah. And that's something to consider as we've been given the ministry like Jeremiah to preach the gospel, to spread the good news, to pronounce God's offer of redemption and forgiveness to the world around us. Even if we determine ahead of time, well, they're not going to take heed. They're not going to pay attention to what I have to say.

It does not remove us from the responsibility of sharing what God has said. And we see that example in Jeremiah, who God told him from the very beginning, this is going to be tough, Jeremiah, and they're not going to pay attention to you, but you need to go forth and speak my word in the same way. You and I, we need to be faithful. First of all, we need to take heed to the word of the Lord. We need to hear what God is saying, not just reading it,

and deceiving ourselves, but be doers of the word. Put it into practice and live it out. And in doing so, we will be, by obedience, sharing the good news to the world around us. Whether they take heed to it or not, that's not our responsibility. But it is our responsibility to share the word, just as Jeremiah did. And so Jeremiah has been sharing the words that God has been giving to him. He's been proclaiming the message, but the people have not taken heed to

Let's go on to verse 3 and 4. He says,

They had not yet put him in prison. That's going to come very soon. He's going to experience imprisonment as a result of the message that he's been sharing that God has given to him. But I find it very interesting here because in verse 3, Zedekiah sends messengers to Jeremiah. Babylon is camped against Jerusalem. They're in the land. Zedekiah now is realizing, uh-oh.

Here they come again. Now what? And so he sends messengers to Jeremiah. Jeremiah, pray to God for us. Look, Babylon is here. They're coming to conquer us. They're coming to wipe us out. Will you pray for us, Jeremiah? But consider that just one verse prior, it says that the king and the servants and the people of the land did not take heed to the words of the Lord.

But here Zedekiah is asking for prayer. Do you see anything wrong with this picture? Is there anything wrong with what's happening here? Zedekiah, receiving a message from God, says, Nope, nope, I don't want to listen. I don't want to listen. I don't want to pay attention. La, la, la, la, la, la. Refusing.

to hear what God has said, refusing to take heed and to put into practice what God has said. But here comes trouble, and he goes, Oh, Jeremiah, please pray for us. Pray to the Lord for us. There's so many times in our own lives that we want God's blessing without our obedience. Have you ever found yourself in Zedekiah's shoes?

You know, praying? Oh man, tough situation, difficult thing ahead of you. Oh God, please help us. Please deliver us. Please do this work. Oh man, this is serious. I need to call for the elders. I need to have someone pray with me. Oh Lord, please take care of the situation. But many times in those situations in our very own lives, if you just look at the verse prior in our lives, we find, oh yeah, we haven't been taking heed.

We haven't been obedient. And so here's Zedekiah praying or asking Jeremiah to pray to the God that he has rebelled against and refused to listen to. Verse 5. Verse 6.

Then the word of the Lord came to the prophet Jeremiah, saying, Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, Thus you shall say to the king of Judah, who sent you to me to inquire of me, Behold, Pharaoh's army, which has come up to help you, will return to Egypt, to their own land. And the Chaldeans shall come back and fight against this city, and take it and burn it with fire.

So next thing that happens in this account, as Babylon is laying siege, as Zedekiah sends the messengers, Jeremiah, please pray to God for us. Well, now Egypt enters the picture.

And Egypt comes in to fight against Babylon. And for many years, the nation of Judah at this point has been hoping that Egypt would be their salvation. In fact, they've been trusting more in Egypt than they have been trusting in God. And rather than putting their faith in God and turning back to Him, they've been negotiating with Egypt, trying to make arrangements for them to come and fight along with them against Babylon to protect them from that threat.

And so Egypt enters the picture to come now and fight against Babylon. Now where you see it says the Chaldeans, that's another word for the nation of Babylon or the Babylonians because they're in that area, the same area. And so Babylon and the Chaldeans are the same. And so the Chaldeans or the Babylonians are besieging Jerusalem and

Egypt comes now against them and when Babylon hears about that they go and they kind of take their attention off of Judah for the moment and they put their full attention on the nation of Egypt to counteract this attack that is going on that is taking place.

And so, you can imagine the people of the city as Babylon withdraws and now goes to deal with the nation of Egypt. You can imagine what would be happening within the city. They would be thinking, Oh, God's heard our prayer. Look it, we're saved. Oh, this is so wonderful. Man, we've been delivered. God has answered our prayer.

But God wanted to make sure that they understood that that was not actually what is taking place. And so God gives Jeremiah a message. And he says, listen, Jeremiah, go to the king, go to Zedekiah, and let him know this is not your deliverance. Let him know you are not delivered. Even though Babylon has withdrawn for the moment, they are going to come back.

Egypt is not successful in defeating Babylon, we know from history. Their attack is defeated. Babylon wins the victory. Egypt goes home defeated. And so Babylon then comes back to lay siege to the nation of Judah once again, to the city of Jerusalem. Egypt was a big obstacle for Babylon, but not so big that God's word would not be fulfilled.

Instead, Babylon does come back. And so God tells them, they're coming back. This isn't deliverance. This isn't my acceptance of your lifestyle. This isn't, you know, that I'm okay with how you are and we're just going to kind of continue with you being in rebellion against me. God wants to make sure that the people know they are not delivered, that judgment still is coming, that Babylon is going to come back.

really it's another opportunity for repentance for them. As the judgment is delayed a little bit, it's an opportunity for them to get right with God, to hear the message of Jeremiah and take heed to the words that God has been speaking to him, that they would have an opportunity to turn and to repent. Verse 9, God continues on saying, Thus says the Lord, do not deceive yourselves, saying that Chaldeans will surely depart from us.

Here God says, look, this is how serious I am about my commitment to bring judgment upon you. He says, look, even if Egypt is successful,

And even if you come out and you join with Egypt and you fight against Babylon and you beat them really good and they're all beat up and wounded and there's only a few of them left, even if there was just a tiny bit of them left, God says, I would give them the strength that they would rise up and that they would still conquer this city and completely destroy it. Babylon will conquer Jerusalem.

Here God is explaining how serious He is about this promised destruction while they're rejoicing. Look, it worked. You know, they have this mentality that they outsmarted God. They got away with it. They've been rebelling against Him. They've been not paying attention to Him. But look, it worked. They went and prayed at the last minute and now they've been delivered. They felt like,

Yeah, we got it figured out. We got the system down. We can still live our lives the way that we want to live them. And then we can just pray when we get in trouble. And then God will deliver us. Sometimes we have that same attitude towards the Lord and His Word, don't we? We say, look God, it worked. I can participate in this and I can go and be involved in that. And I still read my Bible and I still pray.

See, God, it's not so bad what I'm doing, the way that I'm living. It's not that terrible, the things that I'm involved in. I still go to church. We see an area where it seems like there's been some deliverance and we say, yeah, see, it's working. I can live this double life. I can get away with these kinds of things.

We tell ourselves, hey, look, it worked. I still got the promotion that I wanted. You see, God's still blessing me even though I'm involved in these things and over here in that situation and doing this and doing that. I still am being successful. It's still working out well for me. We say, look, it worked. I was delivered. I was in this tough situation and man, it looked like nothing was going to happen. And then last minute, God just provided me

See, I can continue to live this way. That was the mentality of them and it's something that we wrestle with and deal with as well. But God says, look, it may appear that you've been rescued, but do not be deceived. He says, don't be deceived. They're going to come back. Don't start thinking that you've escaped the judgment that you deserve by rebelling against Me. No, understand that God cannot be mocked.

Paul says that as well in Galatians 6, 7, 8. Don't be deceived. God cannot be mocked. Whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. If you sow to the flesh, you reap destruction or corruption. But if you sow to the Spirit, you reap everlasting life. And we try really hard to prove God wrong. We try really hard to deceive ourselves in that area.

to sow to the flesh, and then we try to reap life, blessing. Instead of sowing to the Spirit and reaping blessing, we try to sow to the flesh and say, oh yeah, we can get away with it. Look, it's working. We can still do what we want to do and remain in the sinful condition. We can live how we want to live. That's how the people were, and many times that's how we are.

But we need to take heed to the words of the Lord. Because just as they were not delivered, even though they thought they were, we cannot escape this law that God has set. You reap what you sow. Going on into verse 11, it says, And it happened when the army of the Chaldeans left the siege of Jerusalem for fear of Pharaoh's army.

Jeremiah went out of Jerusalem to go into the land of Benjamin to claim his property there among the people. And when he was in the gates of Benjamin, a captain of the guard was there whose name was Erijah, the son of Shalamiah, the son of Hananiah. And he sees Jeremiah the prophet saying, You are defecting to the Chaldeans.

So now in this situation, Babylon has removed themselves from the city. They're going to deal with Egypt. And so all of the people that had come back to Jerusalem for the protection against the Babylonian army, now they're...

They're going back to their homes. They're going back. Okay, you can imagine, you know. It's like when there's evacuations for a fire around here. And then as soon as the people are allowed back, they go back to check out their homes and see, you know, how did they survive and is there smoke damage and was there vandalism and that type of thing. In the same way, Babylon kind of moves along. And so now the people...

Jeremiah chapter 1, verse 1.

And one of the guards sees him and says, hey, this guy is defecting. He's going out to join forces with the nation of Babylon. They falsely accuse Jeremiah and arrest him here in this situation. Going on in verse 15, he says, Therefore the princes were angry with Jeremiah, and they struck him and put him in prison in the house of Jonathan the scribe, for they had made that the prison.

Here we find Jeremiah. He's arrested unjustly. It's

Because of his message and his ministry that he's put in prison, he's falsely accused. He's there for many days. And then here comes Zedekiah on the scene again. And what does Zedekiah do? Zedekiah says, Hey, Jeremiah, is there any word from the Lord? Now, let's take a step back. Keep in mind, this is the same Zedekiah, back to verse 2, that did not take heed to the words of the Lord.

Same Zedekiah, although he didn't take heed to the words of the Lord, sent messengers to Jeremiah, pray to the Lord for us. This is the same Zedekiah that God sent Jeremiah back with this message, don't be deceived and think that Babylon leaving is your salvation, no, they're going to come back and this city is going to be conquered. This same Zedekiah, now after Jeremiah has been in prison for many days,

This same Zedekiah who imprisoned now the prophet who is bringing forth the words of God to him. This same Zedekiah comes to Jeremiah and says, Hey, is there any word from the Lord? If I was Jeremiah, I would probably say to the king, What do you think, something has changed? Look at where I'm at. You're still not taking heed. You're still not paying attention. The message hasn't changed.

Jeremiah is not as sarcastic as I am. And so he says, yes, there is a word from the Lord. You're going to be conquered by Babylon. The same message Jeremiah has been giving from the very beginning. The message has not changed. But here's Zedekiah hoping. He's hoping the message has changed. Oh, it's been many days and Jeremiah is there in prison. Let's go find out. Maybe there's a change.

Maybe something is different. What's the Lord saying? Let's go find out. Zedekiah, you haven't changed. And that's what God's been calling you to do. So why do you think that God would be changing? But he's hoping the word from the Lord will be different. He's going hoping that the message will be something new, that there will be a blessing instead of the judgment that is promised. After many days...

He comes to Jeremiah and says, is there any word from the Lord? Albert Einstein once gave his own definition of the word insanity. He says insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. That's what Zedekiah was doing. In Albert Einstein's estimation, Zedekiah is insane. He's doing the same thing over and over. He's not taking heed to the words of the Lord.

And hoping that there will be a difference. Hoping that there will be a change. He's expecting there to be different results. Without repentance. Now there is the opportunity for there to be different results. But there must be the repentance first. Just like when the prophet Jonah went to the city of Nineveh. What was the word of the Lord? In 40 days, judgment is going to be poured out upon this city. But there was a change. There was repentance. Repentance.

That pronouncement of judgment was an opportunity to turn and to get right with God. And the people did. And so, well, there was a change. And the people did reap what they had sown because now they've turned back to God and experienced His grace and mercy. They've sowed to the Spirit. But here in Zedekiah's situation, nothing's changed. He hasn't changed. God hasn't changed. But he's expecting different results. Again, he's hoping...

That without having to listen to what God said and apply it to his life, that he could still experience the blessing and the fullness of what God wanted to do for the nation of Israel. Interesting. And we'll come back to this thought in a few minutes. But let's finish up the chapter in verse 18.

He says, Moreover, Jeremiah said to King Zedekiah, What offense have I committed against you, against your servants, or against this people, that you have put me in prison? Where now are your prophets who prophesied to you, saying, The king of Babylon will not come against you or against this land? Now, this takes us back quite a few chapters. We dealt with Jeremiah and the conflict that existed between him and a bunch of other prophets that were there in Jerusalem.

And the bunch of other prophets all agreed. They had this message, oh, you're God's people. You're going to be blessed. Babylon's not going to come here. They're not going to shoot an arrow. They're not going to be successful. They're not going to come against you. You're going to be victorious. They had this wonderful message, all these prophets. And here's this one guy, Jeremiah, who says, Babylon is going to come and conquer you because you've been rebelling against God.

And so now Zedekiah comes to Jeremiah and asking, hey, what's the word of the Lord? And Jeremiah says, now, what have I done against you? What have I done against the people? How have I harmed you or hurt you? I've only shared with you the truth. Where's now all those false prophets who told you so boldly that Babylon's not going to come against you?

Where are they at? Where's their punishment? How are they being dealt with? I'm the one who told you the truth. What I said has come to pass. It's taking place before your eyes. Why am I in prison? He's pointing out the injustice that is taking place because he is the one who's spoken the truth to them. Verse 20.

Verse 1.

So Jeremiah now says, look, I've dealt honestly and fairly with you. I've delivered to you the message of the Lord. I wasn't like those false prophets. What I said came to pass. Please don't send me back into that prison. Don't send me back into that situation lest I die there.

And so King Zedekiah gives him a little bit of kindness. It's not mercy because mercy is withholding judgment that is deserved. Jeremiah was there...

without justice. It was unjust that he was there, or unjust that he was there. But Zedekiah shows him a little kindness in that he moves him out to the court and says, make sure he gets bread as long as there is bread. Now, what would happen in those days when a nation would lay siege to a city, they would surround it and just wait for them to run out of supplies. And so they would starve him out, basically. And so as long as there was bread, then make sure that Jeremiah gets some bread.

And make sure that he is provided for. And so Zedekiah shows Jeremiah a little bit of kindness here at the end. But as we consider and look at chapter 37, I was reflecting on this man Zedekiah and the things that I've already been sharing throughout our time together. How he did not take heed to the words of the Lord, but here he is in the crisis crying out to God,

Hearing God's word but not responding to it. But later on hoping, oh, maybe something has changed. Maybe we've gotten away with it. Maybe God's going to bless us now. Maybe God wants to say something different. All the while he is not willing to pay attention to God and respond to what God has been saying to him. As we come to the end of 2009, I think it's appropriate for us to consider this character Zedekiah.

I call him a character not because he's fictional, but because he's a character. What are you expecting for 2010? Are you expecting different results this next year than you've experienced in 2009? I would ask you then, and I think you should consider, what's going to be different on your part? Instead of just continuing on in insanity, doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results, do you want to be in the same place

that you are right now by the end of next year, one year from now? Do you want something different? Do you want to be in a different situation with your family? Do you want to be in a different position financially? Do you want to be in a better relationship with God, having grown in a walk with Him? Do you expect different results next year? Then I would ask you, what are you going to change?

Or are you just going to do the same things you've already been doing and expect something different to be the result at the end of next year? As we head into this new year, it's an opportunity to remember our own nature as seen in the person of Zedekiah, who did not take heed to the words of the Lord, didn't pay attention, didn't change, didn't respond, but still wanted the results to be different than what God had said.

We must not be deceived in this. Don't be confused about this. Whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. So what's going to change? What's going to be different for you? In order to experience different results, in order to experience the growth that you want to experience, in order to receive those things that you desire to receive from God,

In order to be in that different place that you desire to be, what's going to be different? What are you going to change? I suggest to you that first we go back to verse 2 and take heed to the words of the Lord. We need to take heed to the words of the Lord. This is why I encourage you every year, go through the Bible in a year with us.

Because God wants to speak to you and He wants to reveal Himself to you. Now, yes, you can do other plans. You can spend time with God in many other ways. But if you don't spend time with God in any other way, why don't you join with us? Take heed to the words of the Lord. Spend time with God in His Word and respond to it. If you want to see a change in your life,

I often share that the power of God to change a life is found in the daily reading of His Word. You really want to see God's power at work in your life? Spend time with Him in His Word every day. He'll transform you. The Word of God is living and powerful. You know, so many times we want God's blessing without obedience.

And so maybe this evening, not only is it about the importance of spending time with God, but maybe there's an issue of obedience in your life. And you're expecting different results next year, but let's go back to this issue of obedience. And what are you going to do about that issue that God has been speaking to you about? And that you know needs to be dealt with. Don't think that you can just continue to disregard that and now expect something different at the end of the year.

Or at the end of five years or at the end of your life. We're just talking about years because we're at the end of this year. But don't expect different results thinking, well, I can just continue on and I don't really need to deal with this issue. It's not that big of a deal. And look, things are still going pretty good in my life. And so really, it's not something I need to address. Now listen, if you really want God to work and God's been speaking to you about an issue, an area in your life,

Let's deal with that obedience so that you don't expect different results because you're insane and you keep doing the same thing and wanting something else to happen. It doesn't work that way. Don't be deceived. God cannot be mocked. Whatever you sow, that's what you're going to reap. There needs to be a change if you want different results. We can be like Zedekiah, refusing to hear but praying and hoping that something different is going to happen.

Praying and hoping there's going to be a new word from the Lord when we have not responded to what He has already revealed. So maybe it's an issue of spending time with Him and His word. Maybe it's an issue of obedience. Or maybe there's something else that God wants to do. And I wanted to give you an opportunity this evening to perhaps experience an outpouring of God upon your life. As we wrap this up and get ready to spend some time in worship together,

I wonder if maybe some of you have not really been walking in the Spirit. You know, I don't know about you, but I want to see growth this next year. I want to see God work in my life. But you know, it doesn't happen by my strength or my determination. It's not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord. We need to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Have you been walking in the Spirit?

Are you filled with the Spirit? You say, well, how do I know if I'm walking in the Spirit and being filled with the Spirit? Let me share with you. It's not something that happens by accident. Being filled with the Spirit is an issue of obedience. God told us in Ephesians 5, verse 18, don't be drunk with wine.

but be filled with the Spirit. It's a command for us to continually be filled. The idea of being filled, it's also, well, it's such that it's not something that we do, but it's something that we receive. Being filled with the Spirit is not about doing something, but it's about receiving what God has for you. And I want to encourage you to be filled with the Spirit, to receive something,

what God has for you and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Let's end this year well and begin the next one extremely well by taking heed to the Word of the Lord and being filled with the Holy Spirit. It's not an issue of us being worthy because it's by God's grace. Jesus paid the price on the cross. It's not an issue of how good we've been. It's not an issue of earning or deserving God's work in our life.

Listen, God wants to fill you to overflowing. Remember what Jesus said in John 7? Hey, if you're thirsty, come to Him and drink. And from your life will flow torrents of living water. And then it goes on to explain Jesus was speaking about the Holy Spirit. God wants to do a tremendous work in you by the power of the Holy Spirit. Not a little trickling, not even a steady flow, but a torrent. To break the hinges off the door with just the rushing, the power, the explosion, the

that God can do, that God desires to do, to abundantly meet our needs, to fill us. And maybe, if we're expecting different results for this coming year, what really needs to happen is for us to take seriously this command to be filled with the Spirit and to walk each day relying upon God to fill us with His Holy Spirit, relying upon the power of the Holy Spirit, the leading of the Holy Spirit to enable us, to equip us

to direct us. Do not be deceived. God cannot be mocked. Whatever you sow, that's what you're going to reap. And as we end this year and head into the new one, let's take some time to consider what is God speaking to us? We pray you have been blessed by this Bible teaching. The power of God to change a life is found in the daily reading of His Word. Visit ferventword.com to find more teachings and Bible study resources.