God's Word Stands

Jeremiah 36:23 "And it came to pass, that when Jehudi had read three or four leaves, he cut it with a penknife, and cast it into the fire that was on the hearth, until all the roll was consumed in the fire that was on the hearth." Jeremiah 36 gives us an interesting "assembly line." God told Jeremiah to write down the words that He had spoken (verse 2); Jeremiah then commissioned Baruch to be his penman (verse 4). The Bible says that "Baruch wrote from the mouth of Jeremiah all the words of the LORD, which he had spoken unto him, upon a roll of a book." Later, Baruch stood before the king's princes and told them, "He [Jeremiah] pronounced all these words unto me with his mouth, and I wrote them with ink in the book." (verse 18) We see that God was the Author, Jeremiah was the writer, and Baruch was the penman--God's words in Jeremiah's mouth, written by Baruch's pen, and read by any eyes that would see. What happened next is astounding! King Jehoiakim, after hearing "three or four leaves," took the Word of God, cut it up, and threw it into the burning fire! God says that His Word is "like a fire" (Jeremiah 23:39) and is a sword (Ephesians 6:17; Hebrews 4:12), yet this king tried to cut a sword and burn a fire! God's Word is a weapon that lays us open for what we actually are. How foolish for this king to hurt himself by trying to cut a sword and burn a fire! The bottom line is, when you try to cut God's Word out of your life, you are the one who suffers! It's not likely you are going to literally cut God's Word with a knife or burn it with fire, but that does not matter. The worst kind of cutting out is the one that is done knowingly and dismissively. If you and I are not careful, we can minimize the thing we need the most--God's Word. There is always a response to God's Word; the question is, what will you do with it? John R. Rice used to say that if you do not obey what God has said in certain passages of Scripture, why not cut that portion out like the infidels do? God's Word still stands, whether or not we acknowledge it. God's Word is not going anywhere, but it should go somewhere in our lives! Do you know what happened at the end of the chapter? God told Jeremiah to write "all the former words" (verse 28), so Jeremiah took "another roll, and gave it to Baruch the scribe . . . who wrote therein from the mouth of Jeremiah all the words of the book which Jehoiakim king of Judah had burned in the fire: and there were added besides unto them many like words." (verse 32) How ironic that we are reading about this king in the very passage he tried to destroy! If you destroyed every Bible on the face of the earth, it is still "backed up" in a place that is not exactly accessible to human hands! God has the master copy, and you will not be able to destroy Him. You can take comfort and confidence in the fact that God's Word stands. You probably have a copy of God's Word today; why not take time to find what it says and do it? Remember this morning that when you cut the Word of God out of your life, you are the one that suffers. Prayer Requests: 1. Protection and provision for staff 2. Salvation of Teen, Junior, and Deaf campers this week Camp Quote: "Your power is determined by your dependence." -Pastor Cranston Knowles Visit our website for more information about our summer camp weeks!

Bill Rice Ranch 627 Bill Rice Ranch Road Murfreesboro TN 37128