Revelation Themes and Eschatological Applications

America's Curse - Part 2

Transcript: AI Transcript

Professor: John Weaver

Subject: New Testament Studies

Genre: Sermon

Dictation Name:

Date: 2006-05-07

Synopsis: In this sermon, John Weaver presents America's hope as rooted solely in God and His Word, contrasting it with the curse of false and foolish preachers. He argues that true hope lies in the superiority of God's Word over falsehood and the supremacy of God's power to accomplish His purpose, using the imagery of wheat versus chaff, fire, and a hammer. The sermon emphasizes the necessity of persevering in preaching the whole counsel of God and trusting in God's sovereign ability to break hard hearts and bring national repentance.

[John Weaver] The message you are about to hear was produced by Dominion Ministry. If you would like to support this ministry by becoming a sermon partner or obtain additional high-resolution CDs, DVDs, or MP3s featuring the teaching of Pastor John Weber, please visit the Dominion Ministry website at www.dominion.org. www.dominionministry.com. This ministry is completely supported by donations and it is through those donations that we are able to provide sermons for sermonaudio.com. Please visit our website at www.dominionministry.com to subscribe or make your donation today. Thank you. Jeremiah chapter 23. And we're going to begin reading in verse 25, Jeremiah 23, verse 25.

[John Weaver] I've heard what the prophets said that prophesy lies in my names, saying in my name, saying, I have dreamed I have dreamed. How long shall this be in the heart of the prophets that prophesy lies? Yea, there are prophets of the deceit of their own heart. which think to cause my people to forget my name by their dreams, which they tell every man to his neighbor, as their fathers have forgotten my name for Baal. The prophet that hath a dream let him tell a dream, and he that hath my word let him speak my word faithfully.

[John Weaver] What is the chaff to the wheat, saith the Lord? Is not my word like as a fire, saith the Lord, and like a hammer that breaketh a rock in pieces? Therefore, behold, I am against the prophets, saith the Lord, that steal my words every one from his neighbor. Behold, I am against the prophets, saith the Lord, that use their tongues, and say he saith. Behold, I am against them that prophesy false dreams, saith the Lord, and do tell them, and cause my people to err by their lies and by their likeness.

[John Weaver] Yet I sent them not, nor commanded them. Therefore, they shall not profit, this people at all, saith the Lord."

[John Weaver] Now you remember last week before last I brought a message entitled America's curse. The message today is the second part and it is entitled America's Hope. When I dealt with America's curse, I pointed out the fact that America's curse basically, based upon Jeremiah 23, was false and foolish preachers. And we looked at four points under this. Very quickly, we looked at number one, their desecration, how they desecrated the name of the Lord, the office and the calling of a preacher as well.

[John Weaver] And then we look secondly at their denunciation, how God denounced them over and over in this passage. And then thirdly, we look at their devastation. That is how they destroyed the people of God by making them to believe lies and leading them astray and leading them away from the one true and the living God. And then fourthly, we look at their destruction where God said that he would indeed destroy these prophets. Now, Remember, I told you that God does indeed impose sanctions. There are negative sanctions, which are curses, and there are positive sanctions, which are blessings.

[John Weaver] And the truth of the matter is this. There is no neutrality. You're either under God's positive sanction, His blessings, or you're under God's negative sanctions, His curses. You remember our Lord said it like this in Matthew chapter 12 and verse 30. He that is not with me is what? Against me. And he that gathereth not scattered abroad. So in reality, there's no king's ex. There's no neutrality. There's no middle ground. There's no time outs. You're either under God's blessing or you're either under God's purses. Now, this truth applies personally. Familiarly. ecclesiastically, nationally. And it even applies magisterially or ministerially.

[John Weaver] Now, you know, this thought hit me the other day and I thought, wow, what an awesome thing to think about that even preachers. Are either for Christ or against Christ. Isn't that amazing? Not just nations being for and against Christ, not just churches, not just families, and not just individuals, but even preachers are either for Christ or against Christ.

[John Weaver] Now, America's hope is going to be, of course, the positive side of sanctions. It is indeed a hope that is given to us in the Word of God. One of our problems in America is this, that many Americans and many people have placed their hopes in men, in people, in documents, in parties, in political systems. They place their hope in anything and everything but the one true and living God and His Word.

[John Weaver] Now, I would consider myself a strict constitutionalist. That is, I believe the Constitution should be interpreted very strictly, very narrowly. But I've got a confession to make. If you interpret the Constitution as strictly as it should be interpreted, even then the Constitution will not save us. There is no political party that is going to save us. Neither the Republicans, nor the Democrats, nor a third party. Man cannot save and will not save. For a very simple reason.

[John Weaver] The Bible teaches salvation is of the Lord. And I don't care if you're talking about spiritual salvation, economic salvation, governmental salvation, military salvation, or personal salvation. Salvation is not in man. Jonah 2 verse 9 says salvation is of the Lord. That means salvation of any kind, any shape, any form, must be from God and God alone. So all salvation is from God, so man cannot save us.

[John Weaver] It was the noted Frenchman, Alexis de Tocqueville, who was attributed to saying this. Now, de Tocqueville visited America in the 1830s, and he wrote a book entitled Democracy in America. And let me just read to you the observations of de Tocqueville. Listen to what he says. Upon my arrival in the United States, The religious aspect of the country was the first thing that struck my attention. And the longer I stayed there, the more I perceived the great political consequences resulting from this new state of things. In the United States, the sovereign authority is religious. There is no country in the world where the Christian religion retains a greater influence over the souls of men than in America. Not until I went into the churches of America and heard her pulpits aflame with righteousness did I understand the secret of her genius and power." Isn't that amazing? He said there's no other country in the world where Christianity retains such an influence. And when he went into the churches, listen now, and heard their pulpits aflame with righteousness."

[John Weaver] He said, that's when I perceived the genius and the greatness of America. He went on to say this at a later time. He said, the Americans combine notions of Christianity and of liberty so intimately in their minds that it is impossible to conceive the one without the other. Isn't that amazing? He said the Americans take Christianity and liberty and tie them together so completely. that it is absolutely impossible to have one without the other.

[John Weaver] Certainly, that truth should not need any explanation. You remember it was Jesus Christ who said in John 6 and verse 37, If the Son therefore sets you free, then you shall be free indeed. In other words, real liberty and real freedom comes from Christ and His Word. Listen carefully. Once we begin to deny Christ, once we begin to deny His Word, then we place upon ourselves the shackles of sin, slavery, and imprisonment.

[John Weaver] And that is not just true personally. That is also true nationally. The more we turn from God's Word, the more we become the recipients of God's negative sanctions, His curses. Now, before I show you in Scripture today America's hope, I want to show you a little further about how false and foolish preachers become the objects of God's negative sanctions, His curses. Now, as you look in Jeremiah 23, and we covered some of this last week, but I want you to note that God indicts these false and foolish preachers.

[John Weaver] He charges them in verse 11 with preaching profanity, the same charge He gives against them in verse 15. Then in verse 13, he charges them with causing his people to err. In verse 16, he charges them with preaching a vision based upon their own hearts. Verse 17, he charges them with conjuring up things from their own vain imagination. And then in verses 25 and 26, He charges them with speaking lies and deceits, which basically lead his people astray, and lead them, he said in verse 27, to follow Baal.

[John Weaver] Now, let me ask you a very important question. If false and foolish preachers are doing all of these things, and they're leading God's people astray, away from Him and getting them into Baalism, which would be any false god, but actually, in reality, Baalism is statism and tyranny once you begin to study it out. You've got to ask yourself this question. How do they do that? How in the world do they lead the people astray?

[John Weaver] You would surely think that somehow, some way, we would be wise enough to detect their wiles. who would be smart enough to see their subtleties. Well, I want you to see how God denounces them. Look in verse 30, just the first part, Therefore, behold, I am against the prophets. Verse 31, Behold, I am against the prophets, saith the Lord. Verse 32, Behold, I am against them. Note if you would, three times now, God has said, I am against these false and foolish prophets.

[John Weaver] Now, in these three verses where God pronounces the fact that He is against them, He shows us how, with their lies, with their deceits, with their vain imaginations, that they lead the people astray. Watch very carefully. In verse 30, Therefore, behold, I am against the prophet, saith the Lord, that steal my words every one from his neighbor. Now, the first way the false prophets lead the people away, or by stealing God's words. You say, how in the world do they steal God's words? Well, you may steal God's words in any number of ways. First of all, you can steal the word of God by denying certain books of the Bible. or by denying certain passages in the Bible. And there are plenty of preachers today that do not believe in the inspiration and infallibility of the Word of God. Or they'll say, well, that's not really the Word of God.

[John Weaver] In other words, they bring everything to the standard of their own thinking and their own rationalism. So that's one way you can steal God's Word, is just simply by denying it and saying, that is not the Scripture. There's another way that you can steal God's Word, and that is by misinterpreting and misapplying the Scripture. But the easiest way is the way most do it. They just don't preach it. They just don't teach it. They totally ignore it.

[John Weaver] Let me ask you a question. When the Apostle Paul wrote 2 Timothy 3 and verse 16. When he said all scripture is given by inspiration of God, how much did he mean? All of it. Well, if all scripture is God breathed, then he goes on to say that all scripture is profitable for doctrine, for correction, for reproof, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto every good work.

[John Weaver] So, in other words, all you've got to do to steal God's word is just don't preach it. Just don't teach it. Just don't explain it. And you'll be guilty of stealing God's words from his people. And you look around today at the multitude of preachers that preach that never ever explain or expound the word of God. They're stealing the words of God. Now, let me tell you, Deuteronomy four and verse two, if you want to look there, look what God says. Deuteronomy four and verse two.

[John Weaver] Make sure you hold Jeremiah 23. But look what God says in Deuteronomy four and verse two. He says it very plainly. You shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall you diminish aught from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you." Now, what did God say? You shall not add to the word of God, but there's another side to it. You shall not diminish aught from it. And if you're not preaching it and teaching it, you're diminishing aught from it. If you look in your Bibles to the book of Revelation 22 and verse 19, you'll see the same thing now repeated basically in the New Testament. Look in Revelation chapter 22 and verse 19 and hear the word of God says this, And if any man shall take away from the words of this book of the prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life and out of the holy city from the things which are written in this book.

[John Weaver] So once again, God condemns those who steal his word. I want to give you two quotes on this. I want to show you, to be honest, I like to read these old commentators because they are so pointed. And their attitude was this. If the shoe fits, wear it. I mean, if you don't like it, that's just your hard luck. I mean, you know. But I want you to listen to what John Calvin said on verse 30 here on stealing God's word. Here's what he says.

[John Weaver] Jeremiah calls this act stealing because the false prophets secretly consulted and then declared to the people what they agreed upon among themselves. And they did this as though everyone had derived his oracle from heaven. Instead of presenting the truth, they were guilty of stealing the truth because they hid and would not declare the truth. Isn't that amazing? But listen to this. Old John Trapp, boy, he hits it on the head. John Trapp said that the false prophets filch it. That's a good word, isn't it? They filch it.

[John Weaver] That is, they steal it. They filch it either by hiding it from others, as the popish doctors do from the common people, or by resting it to the defense of their false doctrines, as Marcion the heretic, whom therefore Tertullian fitly called Murrum Pontucum, that is, the Rat of Pontus, for his gnawing and tawing of the Scriptures to bring them to his purpose, or by a fraudulent imitating of God's true prophets, taking up their parables and making use of their expressions such as, Thus saith the Lord, Grace be to you and peace, etc.

[John Weaver] also have their combs as well as bees, and apes will be doing as they see me and do." Isn't that amazing? He called the heretic the Ratapontus because he gnawed and tawed the scripture. And he says the false prophets are nothing more than apes, aping the true, using some biblical words that the true prophets use. But instead of them being bees and making honey, they're nothing more than wasps. The first way they do this is by stealing God's words. Look in verse 31. You'll see the second way they do it. He says, Behold, I'm against the prophets of the Lord that use their tongues and say he saith. So now they're not taking away from the word of God. Now they're adding to the word of God.

[John Weaver] Go back to Deuteronomy four. You don't have to turn there. But remember, what did God say? You shall not add to nor diminish from. You look across the country today at all the so-called inspired books that are teaching contrary to the Word of God, and yet they're claiming inequality with the Scripture. All you got to do is watch TV, watch a Mormon commercial. Yes, you know the Bible, but have you heard of the Other Testament, the Book of Mormon? and they're taking the Book of Mormon and putting it in a par with or equal to or above the Word of God. Look at Judge Rutherford's writings that they claim to be above the Word of God. Look at all the modern versions of the so-called Bible that either take from or add to or at least confuse and confound so thoroughly that no one can understand them. So God condemns them from stealing his words and from adding to his words. And then if you look in verse 13, here's the third way.

[John Weaver] Behold, I'm against them that prophesy false dreams, saith the Lord, and do tell them and cause my people to err by their lies and by their likeness. Yet I sent them not, nor commanded them. Therefore they shall not profit, this people at all, saith the Lord."

[John Weaver] Now what are they doing in verse 32? They're not necessarily taking from or adding to. In verse 32, they are substituting for. So instead of really preaching and teaching the Word of God, they're preaching and teaching a lie. Instead of giving forth the Word of God, they're giving forth their own ideas, their own opinions, their own errors, their own vain thoughts. They are pretending Like they are giving you the real Word of God, when in reality they are giving you nothing.

[John Weaver] There is no faithful exposition of Scripture. They are only presenting a false gospel, a fallacious presentation of some new theory or some method of entertainment. That's all. So how do these false and foolish prophets do it? Well, they either add to, take from, or substitute for. One of those three ways. God certainly admonishes these false and foolish preachers who wish to substitute their dreams for His truth. Look in verse 25.

[John Weaver] I have heard what the prophet said, that prophesy lies in my name, saying, I have dreamed, I have dreamed. By the way, let me just stop right there. I have heard all my life of preachers who preach based upon a dream that they had or some so-called vision that they have had. You know, it is absolutely ridiculous as well as blasphemous to equate your dreams or your visions with the Word of God. Do you realize anyone can have a dream? The Bible says in Ecclesiastes chapter five and verse three, that a dream coming through the multitude of business. All you got to do is stay busy about something and keep something on your mind and you're going to have a dream.

[John Weaver] I can assure you, you can have a dream based upon your own worry, based upon your own concern, or you can also have a dream by eating a barbecue, mayonnaise, peanut butter, pickle and jelly sandwich. Right before you go to bed, you will have dreams. But your dreams are not inspired. And your dreams are not on a par with the Word of God.

[John Weaver] Now, the truth of the matter is this, folks. It's absolutely foolish and ridiculous to put your faith and your stock in dreams and in visions. And yet there are people that do it. Stop and think about this. Whenever anyone places any faith or hope in a vision or in a dream, he is placing his faith and hope in that which is above or beyond the Word of God. In other words, it's not in the Word of God. He's gone beyond the Word of God and says, I don't need the Word of God. And when you begin to preach and put your hope and faith and dreams, you're saying that I'm denying the sufficiency and the completeness of Holy Scripture. I need something more. I need a vision. I need a dream. Yet there are multitudes of preachers and multitude of people who do that. Now, I've demonstrated the fact that America's curse is indeed false and foolish preachers. And I've continued that point up until now. But the message today is basically on America's hope.

[John Weaver] A legitimate question should be asked at this point. Think about this. in light of the multitude of false and foolish preachers. And if you're honest, you must admit they're everywhere. But in light of the multitude of false and foolish preachers, what hope do we have? You stop and think about this for every true preacher of God, it seems as if there's a hundred or a thousand false preachers. For everyone who will preach the truth, there are a multitude who will not preach the truth. Now, what in the world is our hope?

[John Weaver] If you and I only looked at circumstances, we'd certainly tend to be discouraged. But there are two things that we must forever keep in our minds. And here are the two points I want to give you today. The first thing we must keep in our mind is the superiority of God's Word over falsehood. I'll deal with that in just a moment. And secondly, the supremacy of God's power to accomplish His purpose.

[John Weaver] Now let me show you what God says. Let's take this first point, the superiority of God's Word over falsehood. Look in verse 28. Look what God says. I like this. This is so pointed. God says the prophet that hath a dream, let him tell a dream. And he that hath my word, let him speak my word faithfully. What is a chapter of a wheat, saith the Lord? Now, look what God says. If a prophet has a dream, let him tell it. Now, he shouldn't claim it was from God, because it's not from God. He shouldn't claim divine inspiration. But God said if he wants to tell a lie, let him tell a lie. Let him tell his dream. It doesn't matter. Just don't pretend like his dream is from me. Because it's not. Now, I want you to look what he says. On the one hand here, on verse 28, you have a false prophet telling a dream. On the other hand, you have the true preacher who is preaching the word of God faithfully.

[John Weaver] Here's the contrast. Look what God says. He says, let the prophet that hath a dream tell a dream. Fine. But on the other hand, let my true preacher be faithful in preaching and teaching my word. And then he asked, what is the chapter of the wheat? What is the chapter of the wheat? So you've got one man preaching a lie and you've got one man preaching the truth.

[John Weaver] Now, before I go any further, let me say one thing that I want you to remember. The one thing that must be done by every true preacher. No matter the circumstances, no matter the situation, no matter the persecution, no matter the prosecution, the one thing that must be done by every true preacher is he must persevere in preaching the word of God. Let me say that again. The one thing that must be done by every true preacher is he must persevere in preaching the word of God. Why? Because God asked this question.

[John Weaver] What is the chaff to the wheat? What is the chaff to the wheat? What is false doctrine as compared to the truth? Now, when you ask, what is the chaff to the wheat, you need to ask yourself, what is chaff? I'm sure that most of you know. but chaff is the husk or the dry covering that's over the grain. The chaff denotes that which is refuse, trash, and worthless matter. In the Bible, the word chaff is used to represent false doctrine, hypocrites, and ungodly men.

[John Weaver] But in this instance, here's what God is saying. What comparison is there between my word and the chaff. What comparison is there between wheat and that which is absolutely empty, worthless, and lifeless? The wheat gives life. The chaff is incapable of giving life. The wheat not only gives, but sustains life. Listen to what our Lord said. In John 6 and verse 63, here's what our Lord said.

[John Weaver] It is the spirit that quickeneth. The flesh profiteth nothing. The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life. That's wheat. That's not chaff. The Apostle Paul wrote in Romans 10 and verse 17, So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. It doesn't come by chaff. It comes by the word of God. Peter wrote in 1 Peter 1 and verse 23, being born again, not a corruptible seed, but of incorruptible by the Word of God, which liveth and abideth forever. David wrote in Psalm 19 and verse 7, the law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul, making wise the simple. The chaff can't do that. Only God's Word can do that. What can chaff do? Absolutely nothing. Now listen to me. You may eat a good bowl of chaff. And you may have the sensation of being full. But you will die of malnutrition if that's all you eat. You know, I find it interesting that in the book of Jude and in the book of Peter, both of those Talk about the false prophets using great, swelling words.

[John Weaver] You know what chaff does? It makes you bloated. It gives you the appearance of being full. When in reality, you're not. It's like I used to tell people when I wanted to tease them, I said, well, when I was a boy, we were so poor. We ate dried peas for breakfast, drank water for dinner and swelled up for supper. But that's what chaff will do. It'll swell you up.

[John Weaver] But you cannot be sustained by it because it is absolutely lifeless. Now, listen to me. Have you not run into people who've said, well, bless God, I tried Christianity and it just doesn't work. You've heard people say that? I have. You know what they tried? They tried a bowl of chaff is what they tried. They never got the wheat. All they got was chaff. There's a big difference between the chaff and wheat.

[John Weaver] Do you realize that truth, like food, is addictive? Time Henry got here this morning, first thing he did after hugging my neck, he said, boy, I'm hungry. Well, I'm sure he ate yesterday. You see what I'm saying? But he's addicted to food. Why? Because he needs it to sustain his life. And you know, truth is exactly the same way. Once you get truth, you become addicted to it and you cannot live without truth. And God is saying in this verse that the superiority of His Word over vanity and error is the fact that His Word, by the power of the Holy Spirit, is life itself. You cannot have life apart from God the Holy Spirit and from God's Word. His Word gives life.

[John Weaver] You remember how Rachel cried to Jacob, Give me children or I die. Once you've been converted by the grace of God, that's what you say. Give me truth or I die. You don't want the champ anymore. You want truth. That's why some of you drive two and three hours one way. So you can have truth. Truth is addictive. And that's what God has said. What comparison is there between chaff and the wheat? None whatsoever. And once you get started on the wheat, you never, ever want the husk and the chaff of this world again. So, first of all, you see the superiority of God's word over falsehood and error, that's why We, as true preachers and as real Christians, must persevere in teaching and preaching the whole Word of God. Secondly, today, I want you to see the supremacy of God's power to accomplish His purpose. Look in verse 29. I've often quoted this verse. God asked, Is not my word like a fire, saith the Lord, and like a hammer that breaketh rock in pieces?

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to note, that verse follows his question, what is the chapter of the wheat saith the Lord? Now, let me ask that you turn to two passages. Hold Jeremiah, but go in your Bibles to Isaiah 55 and then Isaiah 46. OK, turn back to Isaiah 55. And look, if you would please, at verses 8 through 11. In fact, I'm going to be dealing with two of these verses next week, Lord willing. Isaiah 55 verse 8, God says this, watch carefully, Isaiah 55 verse 8, For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

[John Weaver] For as the rain cometh down in the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it to bring forth in bud, that it may give seed to the sword, and bread to the eater, watch now, so shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth, It shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereinto I send it." Now, what does God say about His Word? He is going to make it prosper in that mission to which He sends it. It will always accomplish His will.

[John Weaver] Now, skip back to Isaiah 46 and verse 10. Here's another powerful verse. Look what God says. Isaiah 46 and verse 10. God says, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times of things that are not yet done, saying, here's what God says, my counsel shall stand. And I will do all my pleasure. Did you hear that? How much of God's counsel is going to stand? All of it, how much of his pleasure is he going to do all of it?

[John Weaver] See, you've got to understand, not just the superiority of His word over falsehood, you must understand the supremacy of His power to accomplish His purpose. Think back in Jeremiah's time and how hard-headed and how hard-hearted the people were, just like they are today. Hard-headed, hard-hearted. In Jeremiah's time they were stubborn and rebellious and did not want to bow to God's Word. But you know what God says? My word is more powerful than the lies of the false prophet and my power is greater than theirs. When he asks what is the chapter of the wheat, then he says, is not my word like a fire, saith the Lord, and like a hammer that will break the rock in pieces? What is God saying? God is saying I'm going to have my people And I'm going to have my will and those who will not be responsive to the food aspect of the word of God. Will be responsive to the fire and the hammer aspect of the word of God is not my word like a fire, said the Lord.

[John Weaver] Do you realize that fire is one of the most active elements and it's called an active element because it purges, it purifies, it's powerful. Fire enlivens, it enlightens, it warms, it purges, it consumes, and when God sends His Word as a fire, it melts the heart, it purges the conscience, it consumes all hesitation and chat, it burns away all objections, so that people understand that they've been set on fire by God Himself. Do you remember those two on the Emmaus Road in Luke 24 when Christ joined Himself to them and taught them?

[John Weaver] And then after He left, they said this, did not our hearts, what? Burn within us as He taught us by the way. Did not our hearts burn within us? Listen, if you would, to what Calvin says on this verse. Is not my word like as a fire saith the Lord?

[John Weaver] Now he's going to distinguish. Listen carefully. The legal part of it is a fire. It is called a fiery law in Deuteronomy 33 in verse 2. Like fire, it is quick and piercing and penetrating into the hearts and consciences of men and works wrath there and raises a fearful expectation of fiery indignation. It threatens with everlasting fire, it sentences men to the fires of hell, and the righteous judge in the execution of it will be a consuming fire to wicked men. The gospel part of the word is like fire, on account of the light the entrance of it gives to sinners, by which they see their own impurity, impotence, and the insufficiency of their own righteousness, and the way of life and salvation by Christ, And by the light of this fire, saints are directed

[John Weaver] in their walk and conversation, and by it, immoralities, errors, and superstitions are detected. Also, on account of the heat of it, it is a means of vital heat to sinners, the Savior of life to them. It is warming and comforting to saints, and causes their hearts to burn within them. It inflames them with love to God, Christ, and one another, and with zeal for truth, and the interest of a Redeemer, though it has a scorching and tormenting heat to wicked men and fills them with burning malice and envy."

[John Weaver] Revelation 5, 11, 5 and 10. Moreover, it may be compared to fire for its purifying, separating and trying nature. As fire purifies gold and silver and separates the dross and tries the metal and shows what it is, so the gospel tries men's principles and discovers what they are and separates one from another For also it is a consuming nature, it opposes, weakens, and burns up the worst in man, his lusts and corruptions, which it teaches him to deny, and the best in man, all his holiness and righteousness he depends upon, and it burns up the chaff of false doctrine and human inventions before mention."

[John Weaver] Now let me just summarize what Calvin said. Calvin basically said this, when God says, my word is like a fire, What he's saying is this, that fire is going to convert you or consume you. One of the two. It will either break you and purify you. Or it will condemn and consume you. There is none who can resist the fire of God. None who can resist it successfully. God says, what is the chapter? Is not my word like as a fire? Old John Trapp says it very plainly again. He says, when he speaks of the hammer, he said, it's not my word like as a fire, said the Lord, and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces. Trapp says this, the rockiest hearts and the sturdiest stomachs are tamed and terrified by the Word when God once takes them to do. It, the Word, is as His plow to break up their fallow ground, Jeremiah 4 verse 3, and His sword to run them through, Hebrews 4 verse 12, and to lay them for dead, Romans 7 verse 9.

[John Weaver] As like the hardest ice is broken with hot waters, so also with hammers is the hardest heart with the gospel as well as the law broken. So what does he say? The hammer can break the heart. The fire can melt the heart. Did you know that in the Bible that man's heart is oftentimes compared to a rock or stone because of its hardness, its insensibility, and its resistance to make impressions upon it.

[John Weaver] In fact, in the book of Zechariah, chapter 7 and verse 12, listen to what God says. God says, Yea, they made their hearts as an adamant stone, lest they should hear the law, and the words which the Lord of hosts had sent in his spirit by the former prophets, therefore came great wrath from the Lord of the hosts.

[John Weaver] Now, what did they do? They made their hearts as an adamant stone, like a hard rock. Why? So they could not and would not hear his words. But God says, now, wait a minute. My word is not just food. It's not just like fire. It's like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces.

[John Weaver] Now, let me ask you a question. I have two 10 pound sledgehammers in my barn. How many rocks are those 10 pound sledgehammers going to break today by themselves? None. In other words, if a hammer is used to break a rock, that means there must be a hand that picks up that hammer. When God said, is not my word like a fire set the Lord and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces? Guess what? It's God who picks up the hammer. It's God who uses his word, a hammer is nothing more than an instrument. The word of God is an instrument, is an instrument in the hands of God, the Holy Spirit. And when he picks it up and when he wills it. He will either send food to the soul Fire to the heart or use the hammer to break it and crush it to pieces. That's why I said none can flee him successfully. Oh, you may resist for a while and you may flee for a while.

[John Weaver] There was a poem written years ago by, I believe, Francis Thompson. I used to know the poem. It's about 10 minutes long. It's called the Hound of Heaven. It went something like this. I fled him down the days, I fled him down the years. I fled him down the Labyrinthian ways of mine, and in the midst of tears I hid from him, and under running laughter I hid. And then it goes like this, but his feet came on and on and on. And the whole poem is about the Holy Spirit tracking down a sinner and staying on him until he's converted by the grace of God. So God, then, is the one who wields the hammer.

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to listen to this. In Ezekiel 36 and verse 26, God says, A new heart will I give you. And a new spirit will I put within you, and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh." Now, what does God mean when he says, I'm going to take away the stony heart out of you, and I'm going to give you a heart of flesh? Well, Hebrews 8 and verse 10 explains it. He says, For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord. I will put my laws into their mind and write them in their hearts, and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people. What does God do when He takes that hammer and breaks that hard, stony heart? He gives a heart of flesh and He writes His word and His law on that heart. Let me tell you something, people.

[John Weaver] Listen carefully. America's hope lies only in God and His word. America's hope must have as his foundation God and his word. It is that word that God uses in conversion, in repentance, in reconciliation, in restoration and reconstruction. We cannot be changed individually apart from the word of God. We cannot be converted apart from the Word of God. We cannot know right from wrong apart from the Word of God. We cannot know what righteousness is apart from the Word of God. That is true individually, familially, ecclesiastically, but it's also true nationally. How do we know what's right and wrong? God tells us. And our only hope is that God's true preachers will keep preaching that word.

[John Weaver] And that God would be pleased to take up that hammer and break the hard hearts of the people in this country. Now, let me make some applications. That teaches us this, first of all, we must seek God. To pick up the hammer, to place his hand on that hammer over and over in Scripture, You'll find David praying, Arise, O Lord. And we need to ask God to arise and take up that hammer. We must seek Him to set our nation on fire with righteousness and holiness and godliness and submission.

[John Weaver] We've got to remember that He is the potter and we're the clay. It is God who must overthrow the wickedness and the tyranny in this country. Yes, he may use us and yes, we may be instruments, but still it is God's power that must overthrow it. You know, a scripture that came to my mind. When God said, it's not my word like a fire, said the Lord, and like a hammer that breaketh rock in pieces, my mind went back to the book of Judges chapter five. You remember, there was a woman by the name of Jael. You remember that? There's a tyrant by the name of Sisera. You remember that? And Gideon was chasing him and he went to the tent of Jael and she gave him milk, rocked him to sleep in her lap. And then with a hammer and a spike through his temple, she killed him and then removed his head.

[John Weaver] What is that telling me? That's telling me that tyranny cannot be overcome by the hammer of God's Word and the truth and the power of His Spirit. If we want true liberty and freedom in this country, it's going to have to come from Jesus Christ. Where the Spirit of the Lord is, Scripture says, there is liberty. If the Son shall make you free, then you shall be free indeed.

[John Weaver] The second application is this. We must understand the importance of the preaching of the Word of God. We must persevere in preaching and teaching the Word of God. Let me tell you something. I get criticism. I got criticism this week. You know what I say? When someone doesn't like one of the messages I preach, Lord, you take care of that. I don't have time to mess with those people. You know what David said? David said, my defense is of the Lord. If I spent my time trying to defend myself and what I teach, guess how much I would have left to study and preach the truth? Very little time. David said, my defense is of the Lord. I'm not going to waste my time defending myself. I'll certainly defend the Word of God, but I'm going to tell you, my time is going to be spent teaching and preaching the Word of God.

[John Weaver] That's where our hope lies. We've got to remember, the Apostle Paul said that we must be instant, in season and out of season. You know what God says? He'll honor His Word. Them that honor Me will honor, saith the Lord. And I can tell you this, and this is the truth. Some of my greatest enemies in times past. Have become my closest and best friends when God saved them. God is my witness, this is the truth, I have gone in a number of houses in the front door. While the men are exiting the back door. I've had men cross the street to keep from speaking to me. But when God saved him, it'd be midnight and I'd say, look, I'm so tired.

[John Weaver] Would you please get up and go home? I'll teach you tomorrow. I mean, they can't get enough of it after God saves them. You see, the importance is you have to persevere in season and out of season. You know, there'll be a time that folks will curse you and hate you and they don't like. That's out of season. But keep going. Because pretty soon it's going to come in season. And as the word of God says, we shall reap. Help me out. If we what? Faint not. So if we want to reap, we've got to keep going.

[John Weaver] And I hope you understand this last application, there is a vast difference. Between the preaching and teaching of true preachers and that of false and foolish preaching. And the true preachers, you will always find exposition and explanation of the Word of God and its food for the soul. The false and foolish preachers will always give you the husk. They'll always give you assurance of salvation while you're in your sin. While true preachers will demand repentance from sin. The foolish preacher will always take the attitude, I'm okay, you're okay, just come on in. The true preacher will say, God demands that you live a holy, godly and righteous life. Be holy, saith the Lord, as I am holy. That means this, folks, we must pray for and we must support And we must encourage every true preacher of the gospel to keep on keeping on, because we know America's hope is only in Christ and His Word. Let's pray. Father, we're so thankful today for Jesus Christ. We're thankful for the Word of God. We're thankful for the answers in the Word of God.

[John Weaver] We pray, Lord, that You would indeed give us food for our souls and send the fire of Your Word and the hammer of Your Word in our nation. We pray that Thou by Thy sovereign and supernatural power will lay Thine hand upon the hammer and break our hard, cold hearts and bring us back to the Lord Jesus Christ. Help us, Lord, to bow to Thee, to worship Thee, In the name of Jesus Christ we ask and pray, Amen.

America's Curse - Part 2

John Weaver | SermonAudio

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	SermonAudio
Media ID	73006173428
Subject	New Testament Studies
Course	Revelation Themes and Eschatological Applications
Genre	Sermon
Date	2006-05-07
Dictation Name
Book	Book 187: America's Curse — Chapter 2
Source Timed Segments	71

Formatted Transcript

Opening

The message you are about to hear was produced by Dominion Ministry. If you would like to support this ministry by becoming a sermon partner or obtain additional high-resolution CDs, DVDs, or MP3s featuring the teaching of Pastor John Weaver, please visit the Dominion Ministry website at www.dominion.org. www.dominionministry.com. This ministry is completely supported by donations and it is through those donations that we are able to provide sermons for sermonaudio.com. Please visit our website at www.dominionministry.com to subscribe or make your donation today. Thank you. Jeremiah chapter 23. And we're going to begin reading in verse 25, Jeremiah 23, verse 25.

I've heard what the prophets said that prophesy lies in my name, saying, I have dreamed, I have dreamed. How long shall this be in the heart of the prophets that prophesy lies? Yea, there are prophets of the deceit of their own heart, which think to cause my people to forget my name by their dreams, which they tell every man to his neighbor, as their fathers have forgotten my name for Baal. The prophet that hath a dream let him tell a dream, and he that hath my word let him speak my word faithfully. What is the chaff to the wheat, saith the Lord? Is not my word like as a fire, saith the Lord, and like a hammer that breaketh a rock in pieces? Therefore, behold, I am against the prophets, saith the Lord, that steal my words every one from his neighbor. Behold, I am against the prophets, saith the Lord, that use their tongues, and say he saith. Behold, I am against them that prophesy false dreams, saith the Lord, and do tell them, and cause my people to err by their lies and by their likeness.

Yet I sent them not, nor commanded them. Therefore, they shall not profit this people at all, saith the Lord.

Introduction and Review of America's Curse

Weaver reviews the previous sermon on America's curse, which he identified as false and foolish preachers based on Jeremiah 23, covering their desecration, denunciation, devastation, and destruction.

Now you remember last week before last I brought a message entitled America's Curse. The message today is the second part and it is entitled America's Hope. When I dealt with America's Curse, I pointed out the fact that America's curse basically, based upon Jeremiah 23, was false and foolish preachers. And we looked at four points under this. Very quickly, we looked at number one, their desecration, how they desecrated the name of the Lord, the office and the calling of a preacher as well. And then we look secondly at their denunciation, how God denounced them over and over in this passage. And then thirdly, we look at their devastation. That is how they destroyed the people of God by making them to believe lies and leading them astray and leading them away from the one true and the living God. And then fourthly, we look at their destruction where God said that He would indeed destroy these prophets. Now, remember, I told you that God does indeed impose sanctions. There are negative sanctions, which are curses, and there are positive sanctions, which are blessings.

The Nature of God's Sanctions

God imposes positive sanctions (blessings) and negative sanctions (curses) with no neutrality; individuals, families, churches, and nations are either for or against Christ.

And the truth of the matter is this. There is no neutrality. You're either under God's positive sanction, His blessings, or you're under God's negative sanctions, His curses. You remember our Lord said it like this in Matthew chapter 12 and verse 30. He that is not with me is what? Against me. And he that gathereth not scattered abroad. So in reality, there's no king's ex. There's no neutrality. There's no middle ground. There's no time outs. You're either under God's blessing or you're either under God's curses. Now, this truth applies personally, familially, ecclesiastically, nationally. And it even applies magisterially or ministerially.

Now, you know, this thought hit me the other day and I thought, wow, what an awesome thing to think about that even preachers are either for Christ or against Christ. Isn't that amazing? Not just nations being for and against Christ, not just churches, not just families, and not just individuals, but even preachers are either for Christ or against Christ.

False Hopes in America

Many Americans place their hope in men, political parties, or the Constitution, but salvation of any kind comes only from the Lord.

Now, America's hope is going to be, of course, the positive side of sanctions. It is indeed a hope that is given to us in the Word of God. One of our problems in America is this, that many Americans and many people have placed their hopes in men, in people, in documents, in parties, in political systems. They place their hope in anything and everything but the one true and living God and His Word.

Now, I would consider myself a strict constitutionalist. That is, I believe the Constitution should be interpreted very strictly, very narrowly. But I've got a confession to make. If you interpret the Constitution as strictly as it should be interpreted, even then the Constitution will not save us. There is no political party that is going to save us. Neither the Republicans, nor the Democrats, nor a third party. Man cannot save and will not save. For a very simple reason.

The Bible teaches salvation is of the Lord. And I don't care if you're talking about spiritual salvation, economic salvation, governmental salvation, military salvation, or personal salvation. Salvation is not in man. Jonah 2 verse 9 says salvation is of the Lord. That means salvation of any kind, any shape, any form, must be from God and God alone. So all salvation is from God, so man cannot save us.

How False Preachers Lead People Astray

False preachers steal God's words by denying, misinterpreting, or ignoring Scripture; they add to God's words; and they substitute their own dreams and lies for God's truth.

You would surely think that somehow, some way, we would be wise enough to detect their wiles, who would be smart enough to see their subtleties. Well, I want you to see how God denounces them. Look in verse 30, just the first part, "Therefore, behold, I am against the prophets." Verse 31, "Behold, I am against the prophets, saith the Lord." Verse 32, "Behold, I am against them." Note if you would, three times now, God has said, I am against these false and foolish prophets. Now, in these three verses where God pronounces the fact that He is against them, He shows us how, with their lies, with their deceits, with their vain imaginations, that they lead the people astray. Watch very carefully. In verse 30, "Therefore, behold, I am against the prophets, saith the Lord, that steal my words every one from his neighbor." Now, the first way the false prophets lead the people away is by stealing God's words. You say, how in the world do they steal God's words? Well, you may steal God's words in any number of ways. First of all, you can steal the word of God by denying certain books of the Bible, or by denying certain passages in the Bible. And there are plenty of preachers today that do not believe in the inspiration and infallibility of the Word of God. Or they'll say, well, that's not really the Word of God.

In other words, they bring everything to the standard of their own thinking and their own rationalism. So that's one way you can steal God's Word, is just simply by denying it and saying, that is not the Scripture. There's another way that you can steal God's Word, and that is by misinterpreting and misapplying the Scripture. But the easiest way is the way most do it. They just don't preach it. They just don't teach it. They totally ignore it.

Let me ask you a question. When the Apostle Paul wrote 2 Timothy 3 and verse 16, when he said all scripture is given by inspiration of God, how much did he mean? All of it. Well, if all scripture is God breathed, then he goes on to say that all scripture is profitable for doctrine, for correction, for reproof, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto every good work.

So, in other words, all you've got to do to steal God's word is just don't preach it. Just don't teach it. Just don't explain it. And you'll be guilty of stealing God's words from his people. And you look around today at the multitude of preachers that preach that never ever explain or expound the word of God. They're stealing the words of God. Now, let me tell you, Deuteronomy 4 and verse 2, if you want to look there, look what God says. Deuteronomy 4 and verse 2.

Make sure you hold Jeremiah 23. But look what God says in Deuteronomy 4 and verse 2. He says it very plainly.

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 4:2

"You shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall you diminish aught from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you."

Now, what did God say? You shall not add to the word of God, but there's another side to it. You shall not diminish aught from it. And if you're not preaching it and teaching it, you're diminishing aught from it. If you look in your Bibles to the book of Revelation 22 and verse 19, you'll see the same thing now repeated basically in the New Testament. Look in Revelation chapter 22 and verse 19 and hear the word of God says this, "And if any man shall take away from the words of this book of the prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life and out of the holy city from the things which are written in this book."

So once again, God condemns those who steal his word. I want to give you two quotes on this. I want to show you, to be honest, I like to read these old commentators because they are so pointed. And their attitude was this. If the shoe fits, wear it. I mean, if you don't like it, that's just your hard luck. I mean, you know. But I want you to listen to what John Calvin said on verse 30 here on stealing God's word. Here's what he says.

Jeremiah calls this act stealing because the false prophets secretly consulted and then declared to the people what they agreed upon among themselves. And they did this as though everyone had derived his oracle from heaven. Instead of presenting the truth, they were guilty of stealing the truth because they hid and would not declare the truth. Isn't that amazing? But listen to this. Old John Trapp, boy, he hits it on the head. John Trapp said that the false prophets filch it. That's a good word, isn't it? They filch it.

That is, they steal it. They filch it either by hiding it from others, as the popish doctors do from the common people, or by wresting it to the defense of their false doctrines, as Marcion the heretic, whom therefore Tertullian fitly called Murrum Pontucum, that is, the Rat of Pontus, for his gnawing and tawing of the Scriptures to bring them to his purpose, or by a fraudulent imitating of God's true prophets, taking up their parables and making use of their expressions such as, Thus saith the Lord, Grace be to you and peace, etc. Also have their combs as well as bees, and apes will be doing as they see men do." Isn't that amazing? He called the heretic the Rat of Pontus because he gnawed and tawed the scripture. And he says the false prophets are nothing more than apes, aping the true, using some biblical words that the true prophets use. But instead of them being bees and making honey, they're nothing more than wasps. The first way they do this is by stealing God's words. Look in verse 31. You'll see the second way they do it. He says, "Behold, I'm against the prophets of the Lord that use their tongues and say he saith." So now they're not taking away from the word of God. Now they're adding to the word of God.

Go back to Deuteronomy 4. You don't have to turn there. But remember, what did God say? You shall not add to nor diminish from. You look across the country today at all the so-called inspired books that are teaching contrary to the Word of God, and yet they're claiming inequality with the Scripture. All you got to do is watch TV, watch a Mormon commercial. Yes, you know the Bible, but have you heard of the Other Testament, the Book of Mormon? And they're taking the Book of Mormon and putting it on a par with or equal to or above the Word of God. Look at Judge Rutherford's writings that they claim to be above the Word of God. Look at all the modern versions of the so-called Bible that either take from or add to or at least confuse and confound so thoroughly that no one can understand them. So God condemns them from stealing his words and from adding to his words. And then if you look in verse 32, here's the third way.

Behold, I'm against them that prophesy false dreams, saith the Lord, and do tell them and cause my people to err by their lies and by their likeness. Yet I sent them not, nor commanded them. Therefore they shall not profit this people at all, saith the Lord. Now what are they doing in verse 32? They're not necessarily taking from or adding to. In verse 32, they are substituting for. So instead of really preaching and teaching the Word of God, they're preaching and teaching a lie. Instead of giving forth the Word of God, they're giving forth their own ideas, their own opinions, their own errors, their own vain thoughts. They are pretending like they are giving you the real Word of God, when in reality they are giving you nothing.

There is no faithful exposition of Scripture. They are only presenting a false gospel, a fallacious presentation of some new theory or some method of entertainment. That's all. So how do these false and foolish prophets do it? Well, they either add to, take from, or substitute for. One of those three ways. God certainly admonishes these false and foolish preachers who wish to substitute their dreams for His truth. Look in verse 25.

I have heard what the prophet said, that prophesy lies in my name, saying, I have dreamed, I have dreamed. By the way, let me just stop right there. I have heard all my life of preachers who preach based upon a dream that they had or some so-called vision that they have had. You know, it is absolutely ridiculous as well as blasphemous to equate your dreams or your visions with the Word of God. Do you realize anyone can have a dream? The Bible says in Ecclesiastes chapter 5 and verse 3, that a dream cometh through the multitude of business. All you got to do is stay busy about something and keep something on your mind and you're going to have a dream.

The Superiority of God's Word Over Falsehood

God's Word is like wheat that gives life, while false doctrine is like chaff that is worthless and lifeless; true preachers must persevere in preaching the Word faithfully.

Now let me show you what God says. Let's take this first point, the superiority of God's Word over falsehood. Look in verse 28. Look what God says. I like this. This is so pointed. God says, "The prophet that hath a dream, let him tell a dream. And he that hath my word, let him speak my word faithfully. What is the chaff to the wheat, saith the Lord?" Now, look what God says. If a prophet has a dream, let him tell it. Now, he shouldn't claim it was from God, because it's not from God. He shouldn't claim divine inspiration. But God said if he wants to tell a lie, let him tell a lie. Let him tell his dream. It doesn't matter. Just don't pretend like his dream is from me. Because it's not. Now, I want you to look what he says. On the one hand here, on verse 28, you have a false prophet telling a dream. On the other hand, you have the true preacher who is preaching the word of God faithfully.

Here's the contrast. Look what God says. He says, let the prophet that hath a dream tell a dream. Fine. But on the other hand, let my true preacher be faithful in preaching and teaching my word. And then he asked, "What is the chaff to the wheat?" What is the chaff to the wheat? So you've got one man preaching a lie and you've got one man preaching the truth.

Now, before I go any further, let me say one thing that I want you to remember. The one thing that must be done by every true preacher. No matter the circumstances, no matter the situation, no matter the persecution, no matter the prosecution, the one thing that must be done by every true preacher is he must persevere in preaching the word of God. Let me say that again. The one thing that must be done by every true preacher is he must persevere in preaching the word of God. Why? Because God asked this question.

What is the chaff to the wheat? What is the chaff to the wheat? What is false doctrine as compared to the truth? Now, when you ask, what is the chaff to the wheat, you need to ask yourself, what is chaff? I'm sure that most of you know, but chaff is the husk or the dry covering that's over the grain. The chaff denotes that which is refuse, trash, and worthless matter. In the Bible, the word chaff is used to represent false doctrine, hypocrites, and ungodly men.

But in this instance, here's what God is saying. What comparison is there between my word and the chaff? What comparison is there between wheat and that which is absolutely empty, worthless, and lifeless? The wheat gives life. The chaff is incapable of giving life. The wheat not only gives, but sustains life. Listen to what our Lord said. In John 6 and verse 63, here's what our Lord said.

"It is the spirit that quickeneth. The flesh profiteth nothing. The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life." That's wheat. That's not chaff. The Apostle Paul wrote in Romans 10 and verse 17, "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." It doesn't come by chaff. It comes by the word of God. Peter wrote in 1 Peter 1 and verse 23, "Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the Word of God, which liveth and abideth forever." David wrote in Psalm 19 and verse 7, "The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul, making wise the simple." The chaff can't do that. Only God's Word can do that. What can chaff do? Absolutely nothing. Now listen to me. You may eat a good bowl of chaff. And you may have the sensation of being full. But you will die of malnutrition if that's all you eat. You know, I find it interesting that in the book of Jude and in the book of Peter, both of those talk about the false prophets using great, swelling words.

You know what chaff does? It makes you bloated. It gives you the appearance of being full. When in reality, you're not. It's like I used to tell people when I wanted to tease them, I said, well, when I was a boy, we were so poor. We ate dried peas for breakfast, drank water for dinner and swelled up for supper. But that's what chaff will do. It'll swell you up.

But you cannot be sustained by it because it is absolutely lifeless. Now, listen to me. Have you not run into people who've said, well, bless God, I tried Christianity and it just doesn't work. You've heard people say that? I have. You know what they tried? They tried a bowl of chaff is what they tried. They never got the wheat. All they got was chaff. There's a big difference between the chaff and wheat.

Do you realize that truth, like food, is addictive? Time Henry got here this morning, first thing he did after hugging my neck, he said, boy, I'm hungry. Well, I'm sure he ate yesterday. You see what I'm saying? But he's addicted to food. Why? Because he needs it to sustain his life. And you know, truth is exactly the same way. Once you get truth, you become addicted to it and you cannot live without truth. And God is saying in this verse that the superiority of His Word over vanity and error is the fact that His Word, by the power of the Holy Spirit, is life itself. You cannot have life apart from God the Holy Spirit and from God's Word. His Word gives life.

The Supremacy of God's Power to Accomplish His Purpose

God's Word is like a fire that purifies or consumes and a hammer that breaks hard hearts; God Himself wields the hammer to convert sinners and accomplish His will.

Now, I want you to note, that verse follows his question, "What is the chaff to the wheat, saith the Lord?" Now, let me ask that you turn to two passages. Hold Jeremiah, but go in your Bibles to Isaiah 55 and then Isaiah 46. OK, turn back to Isaiah 55. And look, if you would please, at verses 8 through 11. In fact, I'm going to be dealing with two of these verses next week, Lord willing. Isaiah 55 verse 8, God says this, watch carefully, Isaiah 55 verse 8, "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts."

"For as the rain cometh down and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it to bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater, watch now, so shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth. It shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I send it." Now, what does God say about His Word? He is going to make it prosper in that mission to which He sends it. It will always accomplish His will.

Now, skip back to Isaiah 46 and verse 10. Here's another powerful verse. Look what God says. Isaiah 46 and verse 10. God says,

Scripture Reading — Isaiah 46:10

"Declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, here's what God says, my counsel shall stand. And I will do all my pleasure."

Did you hear that? How much of God's counsel is going to stand? All of it, how much of his pleasure is he going to do? All of it.

See, you've got to understand, not just the superiority of His word over falsehood, you must understand the supremacy of His power to accomplish His purpose. Think back in Jeremiah's time and how hard-headed and how hard-hearted the people were, just like they are today. Hard-headed, hard-hearted. In Jeremiah's time they were stubborn and rebellious and did not want to bow to God's Word. But you know what God says? My word is more powerful than the lies of the false prophet and my power is greater than theirs. When he asks what is the chaff to the wheat, then he says, is not my word like a fire, saith the Lord, and like a hammer that will break the rock in pieces? What is God saying? God is saying I'm going to have my people and I'm going to have my will and those who will not be responsive to the food aspect of the word of God will be responsive to the fire and the hammer aspect of the word of God. Is not my word like a fire, saith the Lord?

Do you realize that fire is one of the most active elements and it's called an active element because it purges, it purifies, it's powerful. Fire enlivens, it enlightens, it warms, it purges, it consumes, and when God sends His Word as a fire, it melts the heart, it purges the conscience, it consumes all hesitation and chaff, it burns away all objections, so that people understand that they've been set on fire by God Himself. Do you remember those two on the Emmaus Road in Luke 24 when Christ joined Himself to them and taught them? And then after He left, they said this, "Did not our hearts, what? Burn within us as He taught us by the way." Did not our hearts burn within us? Listen, if you would, to what Calvin says on this verse. "Is not my word like as a fire saith the Lord?"

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 33:2

Now he's going to distinguish. Listen carefully. "The legal part of it is a fire. It is called a fiery law in Deuteronomy 33 in verse 2. Like fire, it is quick and piercing and penetrating into the hearts and consciences of men and works wrath there and raises a fearful expectation of fiery indignation. It threatens with everlasting fire, it sentences men to the fires of hell, and the righteous judge in the execution of it will be a consuming fire to wicked men. The gospel part of the word is like fire, on account of the light the entrance of it gives to sinners, by which they see their own impurity, impotence, and the insufficiency of their own righteousness, and the way of life and salvation by Christ, and by the light of this fire, saints are directed

in their walk and conversation, and by it, immoralities, errors, and superstitions are detected. Also, on account of the heat of it, it is a means of vital heat to sinners, the Savior of life to them. It is warming and comforting to saints, and causes their hearts to burn within them. It inflames them with love to God, Christ, and one another, and with zeal for truth, and the interest of a Redeemer, though it has a scorching and tormenting heat to wicked men and fills them with burning malice and envy." "Moreover, it may be compared to fire for its purifying, separating and trying nature. As fire purifies gold and silver and separates the dross and tries the metal and shows what it is, so the gospel tries men's principles and discovers what they are and separates one from another. For also it is of a consuming nature, it opposes, weakens, and burns up the worst in man, his lusts and corruptions, which it teaches him to deny, and the best in man, all his holiness and righteousness he depends upon, and it burns up the chaff of false doctrine and human inventions before mentioned."

Now let me just summarize what Calvin said. Calvin basically said this, when God says, my word is like a fire, what he's saying is this, that fire is going to convert you or consume you. One of the two. It will either break you and purify you. Or it will condemn and consume you. There is none who can resist the fire of God. None who can resist it successfully. God says, what is the chaff? Is not my word like as a fire? Old John Trapp says it very plainly again. He says, when he speaks of the hammer, he said, "Is not my word like as a fire, saith the Lord, and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces?" Trapp says this, "The rockiest hearts and the sturdiest stomachs are tamed and terrified by the Word when God once takes them to do. It, the Word, is as His plow to break up their fallow ground, Jeremiah 4 verse 3, and His sword to run them through, Hebrews 4 verse 12, and to lay them for dead, Romans 7 verse 9.

As like the hardest ice is broken with hot waters, so also with hammers is the hardest heart with the gospel as well as the law broken." So what does he say? The hammer can break the heart. The fire can melt the heart. Did you know that in the Bible that man's heart is oftentimes compared to a rock or stone because of its hardness, its insensibility, and its resistance to make impressions upon it. In fact, in the book of Zechariah, chapter 7 and verse 12, listen to what God says. God says, "Yea, they made their hearts as an adamant stone, lest they should hear the law, and the words which the Lord of hosts had sent in his spirit by the former prophets, therefore came great wrath from the Lord of the hosts."

Now, what did they do? They made their hearts as an adamant stone, like a hard rock. Why? So they could not and would not hear his words. But God says, now, wait a minute. My word is not just food. It's not just like fire. It's like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces.

Now, let me ask you a question. I have two 10 pound sledgehammers in my barn. How many rocks are those 10 pound sledgehammers going to break today by themselves? None. In other words, if a hammer is used to break a rock, that means there must be a hand that picks up that hammer. When God said, "Is not my word like a fire, saith the Lord, and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?" Guess what? It's God who picks up the hammer. It's God who uses his word, a hammer is nothing more than an instrument. The word of God is an instrument, is an instrument in the hands of God, the Holy Spirit. And when he picks it up and when he wills it, He will either send food to the soul, fire to the heart, or use the hammer to break it and crush it to pieces. That's why I said none can flee him successfully. Oh, you may resist for a while and you may flee for a while.

Applications for America's Hope

Believers must seek God to use His Word as a hammer and fire to bring national repentance, persevere in preaching the Word despite opposition, and support true preachers who demand holiness.

And that God would be pleased to take up that hammer and break the hard hearts of the people in this country. Now, let me make some applications. That teaches us this, first of all, we must seek God. To pick up the hammer, to place his hand on that hammer over and over in Scripture, you'll find David praying, "Arise, O Lord." And we need to ask God to arise and take up that hammer. We must seek Him to set our nation on fire with righteousness and holiness and godliness and submission. We've got to remember that He is the potter and we're the clay. It is God who must overthrow the wickedness and the tyranny in this country. Yes, he may use us and yes, we may be instruments, but still it is God's power that must overthrow it. You know, a scripture that came to my mind. When God said, "Is not my word like a fire, saith the Lord, and like a hammer that breaketh rock in pieces," my mind went back to the book of Judges chapter 5. You remember, there was a woman by the name of Jael. You remember that? There's a tyrant by the name of Sisera. You remember that? And Barak was chasing him and he went to the tent of Jael and she gave him milk, rocked him to sleep in her lap. And then with a hammer and a spike through his temple, she killed him and then removed his head.

What is that telling me? That's telling me that tyranny cannot be overcome but by the hammer of God's Word and the truth and the power of His Spirit. If we want true liberty and freedom in this country, it's going to have to come from Jesus Christ. Where the Spirit of the Lord is, Scripture says, there is liberty. If the Son shall make you free, then you shall be free indeed. The second application is this. We must understand the importance of the preaching of the Word of God. We must persevere in preaching and teaching the Word of God. Let me tell you something. I get criticism. I got criticism this week. You know what I say? When someone doesn't like one of the messages I preach, Lord, you take care of that. I don't have time to mess with those people. You know what David said? David said, my defense is of the Lord. If I spent my time trying to defend myself and what I teach, guess how much I would have left to study and preach the truth? Very little time. David said, my defense is of the Lord. I'm not going to waste my time defending myself. I'll certainly defend the Word of God, but I'm going to tell you, my time is going to be spent teaching and preaching the Word of God.

That's where our hope lies. We've got to remember, the Apostle Paul said that we must be instant, in season and out of season. You know what God says? He'll honor His Word. Them that honor Me will honor, saith the Lord. And I can tell you this, and this is the truth. Some of my greatest enemies in times past have become my closest and best friends when God saved them. God is my witness, this is the truth, I have gone in a number of houses in the front door. While the men are exiting the back door. I've had men cross the street to keep from speaking to me. But when God saved him, it'd be midnight and I'd say, look, I'm so tired.

Would you please get up and go home? I'll teach you tomorrow. I mean, they can't get enough of it after God saves them. You see, the importance is you have to persevere in season and out of season. You know, there'll be a time that folks will curse you and hate you and they don't like. That's out of season. But keep going. Because pretty soon it's going to come in season. And as the word of God says, we shall reap. Help me out. If we what? Faint not. So if we want to reap, we've got to keep going.

And I hope you understand this last application, there is a vast difference between the preaching and teaching of true preachers and that of false and foolish preaching. And the true preachers, you will always find exposition and explanation of the Word of God and its food for the soul. The false and foolish preachers will always give you the husk. They'll always give you assurance of salvation while you're in your sin. While true preachers will demand repentance from sin. The foolish preacher will always take the attitude, I'm okay, you're okay, just come on in. The true preacher will say, God demands that you live a holy, godly and righteous life. Be holy, saith the Lord, as I am holy. That means this, folks, we must pray for and we must support and we must encourage every true preacher of the gospel to keep on keeping on, because we know America's hope is only in Christ and His Word. Let's pray. Father, we're so thankful today for Jesus Christ. We're thankful for the Word of God. We're thankful for the answers in the Word of God.

Study Guide

Major Themes

The Curse of False Preachers

Summary: False and foolish preachers are America's curse, leading people astray by stealing, adding to, or substituting for God's Word.

Evidence: Weaver states, 'America's curse basically, based upon Jeremiah 23, was false and foolish preachers.' He then details how they steal God's words (v. 30), add to them (v. 31), and substitute dreams (v. 32).

The Superiority of God's Word

Summary: God's Word is like life-giving wheat, while false doctrine is worthless chaff; true hope is found only in the faithful preaching of Scripture.

Evidence: Weaver expounds Jeremiah 23:28, 'What is the chaff to the wheat? saith the Lord,' and contrasts the life-giving power of God's Word with the emptiness of false teaching.

The Power of God's Word as Fire and Hammer

Summary: God's Word acts as a fire to purify or consume and as a hammer to break hard hearts, demonstrating God's sovereign power to accomplish His purposes.

Evidence: Weaver explains Jeremiah 23:29, 'Is not my word like as a fire? saith the Lord; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces?' and emphasizes that God wields the hammer to convert or judge.

The Necessity of Persevering Preaching

Summary: True preachers must persevere in preaching the whole Word of God in season and out of season, trusting God to honor His Word and bring fruit.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'The one thing that must be done by every true preacher is he must persevere in preaching the word of God,' and cites Galatians 6:9 about reaping if we faint not.

America's Hope in God Alone

Summary: America's only hope is in God and His Word, not in political systems or human efforts; salvation of any kind is of the Lord.

Evidence: Weaver declares, 'America's hope lies only in God and His word,' and earlier states, 'Salvation is of the Lord' (Jonah 2:9), applying it to all areas of life.

Key Arguments

False preachers lead people astray by mishandling God's Word

Summary: False prophets steal God's words by not preaching them, add to them by claiming extra-biblical revelation, or substitute their own dreams for divine truth.

Evidence: Weaver explains Jeremiah 23:30-32, showing three ways false prophets operate: stealing words (v. 30), using their tongues to add (v. 31), and prophesying false dreams (v. 32).

God's Word is inherently superior to all falsehood

Summary: Just as wheat sustains life and chaff is worthless, God's Word gives spiritual life while false doctrine cannot; believers become addicted to truth.

Evidence: Weaver contrasts chaff and wheat from Jeremiah 23:28, citing John 6:63, Romans 10:17, and 1 Peter 1:23 to show the life-giving nature of Scripture.

God's Word is a powerful instrument in His hands

Summary: God uses His Word as a fire to purify or consume and as a hammer to break hard hearts; He sovereignly wields it to accomplish His will.

Evidence: Weaver expounds Jeremiah 23:29, referencing Isaiah 55:11 and Isaiah 46:10 to show God's Word accomplishes His purpose, and uses the imagery of a hammer needing a hand.

True preachers must persevere despite opposition

Summary: Preachers must continue preaching the Word faithfully in all seasons, trusting God to defend them and bring fruit in due time.

Evidence: Weaver shares personal experience of criticism and quotes David, 'My defense is of the Lord,' and Paul's charge to be instant in season and out of season.

National hope requires God's intervention through His Word

Summary: America cannot be saved by political means; only God's Word, applied by the Holy Spirit, can break hard hearts and bring repentance and reconstruction.

Evidence: Weaver states, 'America's hope lies only in God and His word,' and prays for God to 'lay Thine hand upon the hammer and break our hard, cold hearts.'

Scripture References

Jeremiah 23:25-32

Context: The primary text of the sermon, read at the beginning, condemning false prophets who speak lies and dreams.

Matthew 12:30

Context: Used to illustrate that there is no neutrality; one is either with Christ or against Him.

Jonah 2:9

Context: Cited to support that salvation of any kind is of the Lord, not man.

John 8:36

Context: Quoted to show that true liberty comes from Christ.

2 Timothy 3:16

Context: Referenced to argue that all Scripture is inspired and profitable, so not preaching it is stealing God's words.

Deuteronomy 4:2

Context: Quoted to show God's command not to add to or diminish from His Word.

Revelation 22:19

Context: Cited as a New Testament parallel warning against taking away from God's words.

Ecclesiastes 5:3

Context: Mentioned to argue that dreams come from natural causes, not divine inspiration.

John 6:63

Context: Quoted to show that Christ's words are spirit and life, contrasting with chaff.

Romans 10:17

Context: Cited to prove that faith comes by hearing the Word of God, not chaff.

1 Peter 1:23

Context: Referenced to show believers are born again by the incorruptible Word of God.

Psalm 19:7

Context: Quoted to demonstrate the converting power of God's law.

Isaiah 55:8-11

Context: Read to show that God's Word will accomplish His purpose and not return void.

Isaiah 46:10

Context: Quoted to affirm that God's counsel shall stand and He will do all His pleasure.

Deuteronomy 33:2

Context: Referenced by Calvin in a quote about the law being a fiery law.

Jeremiah 4:3

Context: Mentioned by Trapp in a quote about the Word as a plow to break fallow ground.

Hebrews 4:12

Context: Referenced by Trapp as the Word being a sword to pierce.

Romans 7:9

Context: Mentioned by Trapp in connection with the Word laying sinners dead.

Zechariah 7:12

Context: Quoted to illustrate hearts made hard as adamant stone to resist God's words.

Ezekiel 36:26

Context: Cited to show God's promise to remove the stony heart and give a heart of flesh.

Historical References

Alexis de Tocqueville

Context: Frenchman who visited America in the 1830s and wrote 'Democracy in America,' quoted to show the historical influence of Christianity on American liberty.

John Calvin

Context: Reformer whose commentary on Jeremiah 23:30 and 23:29 is quoted to explain stealing God's words and the fire of God's Word.

John Trapp

Context: Puritan commentator quoted on false prophets 'filching' God's words and on the hammer of God's Word breaking hard hearts.

Marcion the heretic

Context: Early heretic mentioned by Trapp as one who 'gnawed and tawed' the Scriptures, called 'the Rat of Pontus' by Tertullian.

Tertullian

Context: Early church father who called Marcion 'the Rat of Pontus' for his handling of Scripture.

Francis Thompson

Context: Poet who wrote 'The Hound of Heaven,' referenced to illustrate the Holy Spirit's pursuit of sinners.

Jael and Sisera (Judges 5)

Context: Biblical story used as an illustration that tyranny is overcome by the hammer of God's Word, as Jael used a hammer to kill Sisera.

Important Quotes

What is the chaff to the wheat, saith the Lord?

Significance: Central verse contrasting the worthlessness of false doctrine with the life-giving truth of God's Word.

Is not my word like as a fire, saith the Lord, and like a hammer that breaketh a rock in pieces?

Significance: Key verse demonstrating the power of God's Word to purify, consume, or break hard hearts.

Upon my arrival in the United States, the religious aspect of the country was the first thing that struck my attention. And the longer I stayed there, the more I perceived the great political consequences resulting from this new state of things. In the United States, the sovereign authority is religious. There is no country in the world where the Christian religion retains a greater influence over the souls of men than in America. Not until I went into the churches of America and heard her pulpits aflame with righteousness did I understand the secret of her genius and power.

Significance: De Tocqueville's observation highlighting the historical link between Christianity and American liberty, used to argue for the necessity of true preaching.

The Americans combine notions of Christianity and of liberty so intimately in their minds that it is impossible to conceive the one without the other.

Significance: Further de Tocqueville quote emphasizing the inseparability of Christianity and freedom in the American founding.

The prophet that hath a dream, let him tell a dream; and he that hath my word, let him speak my word faithfully.

Significance: God's command distinguishing between false dreams and true proclamation of His Word.

So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I send it.

Significance: Isaiah 55:11 quoted to affirm the efficacy of God's Word in achieving His purposes.

My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure.

Significance: Isaiah 46:10 quoted to emphasize God's sovereign power to accomplish His will.

A new heart will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you, and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh.

Significance: Ezekiel 36:26 quoted to show God's promise of heart transformation, the ultimate goal of the hammer of His Word.

Discussion Questions

In what ways do modern preachers 'steal' God's words by not preaching the whole counsel of Scripture?

Context: Weaver explains that false prophets steal God's words by ignoring or not teaching parts of the Bible.

How can we discern between the 'wheat' of true biblical teaching and the 'chaff' of false doctrine in today's churches?

Context: The sermon contrasts the life-giving nature of God's Word with the emptiness of false teaching.

What does it mean for God's Word to be like a fire and a hammer, and how have you experienced this in your own life?

Context: Weaver expounds Jeremiah 23:29, describing the Word's power to purify, consume, or break.

Why is perseverance in preaching and teaching the Word essential, even when facing criticism or opposition?

Context: Weaver shares personal experiences of criticism and emphasizes the need to keep preaching in season and out of season.

How does the sermon challenge the common tendency to place hope in political solutions rather than in God and His Word?

Context: Weaver argues that America's hope is only in God, not in the Constitution or political parties.

In what ways can we support and encourage true preachers who faithfully proclaim God's Word?

Context: The application calls for prayer, support, and encouragement of true preachers.

Applications

Seek God to use His Word as a hammer and fire in our nation

Summary: Believers must pray for God to take up the hammer of His Word to break hard hearts and bring national repentance and righteousness.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'We must seek God to pick up the hammer... We must seek Him to set our nation on fire with righteousness and holiness.'

Persevere in preaching and teaching the whole Word of God

Summary: True preachers must continue to faithfully expound Scripture regardless of criticism, trusting God to defend them and bring fruit.

Evidence: Weaver states, 'We must persevere in preaching and teaching the Word of God... I'm not going to waste my time defending myself. I'll certainly defend the Word of God.'

Support and encourage true preachers

Summary: Congregations should pray for, support, and encourage faithful preachers who demand repentance and holiness rather than offering false assurance.

Evidence: Weaver concludes, 'We must pray for and we must support and we must encourage every true preacher of the gospel to keep on keeping on.'

Distinguish between true and false preaching

Summary: Believers must recognize that true preaching provides exposition of Scripture and calls for holiness, while false preaching offers empty husks and easy assurance.

Evidence: Weaver contrasts true preachers who 'demand repentance from sin' with false preachers who say 'I'm okay, you're okay.'

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T15:21:26Z

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-06T04:38:29Z

Clean Transcript

America's Curse - Part 2

Clean readable transcript. This view follows the Commentary.net cleaned segment text while preserving timestamps for audio follow-along.

The message you are about to hear was produced by Dominion Ministry. If you would like to support this ministry by becoming a sermon partner or obtain additional high-resolution CDs, DVDs, or MP3s featuring the teaching of Pastor John Weaver, please visit the Dominion Ministry website at www.dominion.org. www.dominionministry.com. This ministry is completely supported by donations and it is through those donations that we are able to provide sermons for sermonaudio.com. Please visit our website at www.dominionministry.com to subscribe or make your donation today. Thank you. Jeremiah chapter 23. And we're going to begin reading in verse 25, Jeremiah 23, verse 25.
#1 | 0:04 to 1:10 | cleaned
I've heard what the prophets said that prophesy lies in my name, saying, I have dreamed, I have dreamed. How long shall this be in the heart of the prophets that prophesy lies? Yea, there are prophets of the deceit of their own heart, which think to cause my people to forget my name by their dreams, which they tell every man to his neighbor, as their fathers have forgotten my name for Baal. The prophet that hath a dream let him tell a dream, and he that hath my word let him speak my word faithfully.
#2 | 1:10 to 1:40 | cleaned
What is the chaff to the wheat, saith the Lord? Is not my word like as a fire, saith the Lord, and like a hammer that breaketh a rock in pieces? Therefore, behold, I am against the prophets, saith the Lord, that steal my words every one from his neighbor. Behold, I am against the prophets, saith the Lord, that use their tongues, and say he saith. Behold, I am against them that prophesy false dreams, saith the Lord, and do tell them, and cause my people to err by their lies and by their likeness.
#3 | 1:40 to 2:07 | cleaned
Yet I sent them not, nor commanded them. Therefore, they shall not profit this people at all, saith the Lord.
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Now you remember last week before last I brought a message entitled America's Curse. The message today is the second part and it is entitled America's Hope. When I dealt with America's Curse, I pointed out the fact that America's curse basically, based upon Jeremiah 23, was false and foolish preachers. And we looked at four points under this. Very quickly, we looked at number one, their desecration, how they desecrated the name of the Lord, the office and the calling of a preacher as well.
#5 | 2:15 to 2:50 | cleaned
And then we look secondly at their denunciation, how God denounced them over and over in this passage. And then thirdly, we look at their devastation. That is how they destroyed the people of God by making them to believe lies and leading them astray and leading them away from the one true and the living God. And then fourthly, we look at their destruction where God said that He would indeed destroy these prophets. Now, remember, I told you that God does indeed impose sanctions. There are negative sanctions, which are curses, and there are positive sanctions, which are blessings.
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And the truth of the matter is this. There is no neutrality. You're either under God's positive sanction, His blessings, or you're under God's negative sanctions, His curses. You remember our Lord said it like this in Matthew chapter 12 and verse 30. He that is not with me is what? Against me. And he that gathereth not scattered abroad. So in reality, there's no king's ex. There's no neutrality. There's no middle ground. There's no time outs. You're either under God's blessing or you're either under God's curses. Now, this truth applies personally, familially, ecclesiastically, nationally. And it even applies magisterially or ministerially.
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Now, you know, this thought hit me the other day and I thought, wow, what an awesome thing to think about that even preachers are either for Christ or against Christ. Isn't that amazing? Not just nations being for and against Christ, not just churches, not just families, and not just individuals, but even preachers are either for Christ or against Christ.
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Now, America's hope is going to be, of course, the positive side of sanctions. It is indeed a hope that is given to us in the Word of God. One of our problems in America is this, that many Americans and many people have placed their hopes in men, in people, in documents, in parties, in political systems. They place their hope in anything and everything but the one true and living God and His Word.
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Now, I would consider myself a strict constitutionalist. That is, I believe the Constitution should be interpreted very strictly, very narrowly. But I've got a confession to make. If you interpret the Constitution as strictly as it should be interpreted, even then the Constitution will not save us. There is no political party that is going to save us. Neither the Republicans, nor the Democrats, nor a third party. Man cannot save and will not save. For a very simple reason.
#10 | 5:23 to 6:03 | cleaned
The Bible teaches salvation is of the Lord. And I don't care if you're talking about spiritual salvation, economic salvation, governmental salvation, military salvation, or personal salvation. Salvation is not in man. Jonah 2 verse 9 says salvation is of the Lord. That means salvation of any kind, any shape, any form, must be from God and God alone. So all salvation is from God, so man cannot save us.
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It was the noted Frenchman, Alexis de Tocqueville, who was attributed to saying this. Now, de Tocqueville visited America in the 1830s, and he wrote a book entitled Democracy in America. And let me just read to you the observations of de Tocqueville. Listen to what he says. "Upon my arrival in the United States, the religious aspect of the country was the first thing that struck my attention. And the longer I stayed there, the more I perceived the great political consequences resulting from this new state of things. In the United States, the sovereign authority is religious. There is no country in the world where the Christian religion retains a greater influence over the souls of men than in America. Not until I went into the churches of America and heard her pulpits aflame with righteousness did I understand the secret of her genius and power." Isn't that amazing? He said there's no other country in the world where Christianity retains such an influence. And when he went into the churches, listen now, and heard their pulpits aflame with righteousness.
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He went on to say this at a later time. He said, "The Americans combine notions of Christianity and of liberty so intimately in their minds that it is impossible to conceive the one without the other." Isn't that amazing? He said the Americans take Christianity and liberty and tie them together so completely that it is absolutely impossible to have one without the other.
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Certainly, that truth should not need any explanation. You remember it was Jesus Christ who said in John 8 and verse 36, "If the Son therefore sets you free, then you shall be free indeed." In other words, real liberty and real freedom comes from Christ and His Word. Listen carefully. Once we begin to deny Christ, once we begin to deny His Word, then we place upon ourselves the shackles of sin, slavery, and imprisonment.
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And that is not just true personally. That is also true nationally. The more we turn from God's Word, the more we become the recipients of God's negative sanctions, His curses. Now, before I show you in Scripture today America's hope, I want to show you a little further about how false and foolish preachers become the objects of God's negative sanctions, His curses. Now, as you look in Jeremiah 23, and we covered some of this last week, but I want you to note that God indicts these false and foolish preachers.
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He charges them in verse 11 with preaching profanity, the same charge He gives against them in verse 15. Then in verse 13, he charges them with causing his people to err. In verse 16, he charges them with preaching a vision based upon their own hearts. Verse 17, he charges them with conjuring up things from their own vain imagination. And then in verses 25 and 26, He charges them with speaking lies and deceits, which basically lead his people astray, and lead them, he said in verse 27, to follow Baal.
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Now, let me ask you a very important question. If false and foolish preachers are doing all of these things, and they're leading God's people astray, away from Him and getting them into Baalism, which would be any false god, but actually, in reality, Baalism is statism and tyranny once you begin to study it out. You've got to ask yourself this question. How do they do that? How in the world do they lead the people astray?
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You would surely think that somehow, some way, we would be wise enough to detect their wiles, who would be smart enough to see their subtleties. Well, I want you to see how God denounces them. Look in verse 30, just the first part, "Therefore, behold, I am against the prophets." Verse 31, "Behold, I am against the prophets, saith the Lord." Verse 32, "Behold, I am against them." Note if you would, three times now, God has said, I am against these false and foolish prophets.
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Now, in these three verses where God pronounces the fact that He is against them, He shows us how, with their lies, with their deceits, with their vain imaginations, that they lead the people astray. Watch very carefully. In verse 30, "Therefore, behold, I am against the prophets, saith the Lord, that steal my words every one from his neighbor." Now, the first way the false prophets lead the people away is by stealing God's words. You say, how in the world do they steal God's words? Well, you may steal God's words in any number of ways. First of all, you can steal the word of God by denying certain books of the Bible, or by denying certain passages in the Bible. And there are plenty of preachers today that do not believe in the inspiration and infallibility of the Word of God. Or they'll say, well, that's not really the Word of God.
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In other words, they bring everything to the standard of their own thinking and their own rationalism. So that's one way you can steal God's Word, is just simply by denying it and saying, that is not the Scripture. There's another way that you can steal God's Word, and that is by misinterpreting and misapplying the Scripture. But the easiest way is the way most do it. They just don't preach it. They just don't teach it. They totally ignore it.
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Let me ask you a question. When the Apostle Paul wrote 2 Timothy 3 and verse 16, when he said all scripture is given by inspiration of God, how much did he mean? All of it. Well, if all scripture is God breathed, then he goes on to say that all scripture is profitable for doctrine, for correction, for reproof, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto every good work.
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So, in other words, all you've got to do to steal God's word is just don't preach it. Just don't teach it. Just don't explain it. And you'll be guilty of stealing God's words from his people. And you look around today at the multitude of preachers that preach that never ever explain or expound the word of God. They're stealing the words of God. Now, let me tell you, Deuteronomy 4 and verse 2, if you want to look there, look what God says. Deuteronomy 4 and verse 2.
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Make sure you hold Jeremiah 23. But look what God says in Deuteronomy 4 and verse 2. He says it very plainly. "You shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall you diminish aught from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you." Now, what did God say? You shall not add to the word of God, but there's another side to it. You shall not diminish aught from it. And if you're not preaching it and teaching it, you're diminishing aught from it. If you look in your Bibles to the book of Revelation 22 and verse 19, you'll see the same thing now repeated basically in the New Testament. Look in Revelation chapter 22 and verse 19 and hear the word of God says this, "And if any man shall take away from the words of this book of the prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life and out of the holy city from the things which are written in this book."
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So once again, God condemns those who steal his word. I want to give you two quotes on this. I want to show you, to be honest, I like to read these old commentators because they are so pointed. And their attitude was this. If the shoe fits, wear it. I mean, if you don't like it, that's just your hard luck. I mean, you know. But I want you to listen to what John Calvin said on verse 30 here on stealing God's word. Here's what he says.
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Jeremiah calls this act stealing because the false prophets secretly consulted and then declared to the people what they agreed upon among themselves. And they did this as though everyone had derived his oracle from heaven. Instead of presenting the truth, they were guilty of stealing the truth because they hid and would not declare the truth. Isn't that amazing? But listen to this. Old John Trapp, boy, he hits it on the head. John Trapp said that the false prophets filch it. That's a good word, isn't it? They filch it.
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That is, they steal it. They filch it either by hiding it from others, as the popish doctors do from the common people, or by wresting it to the defense of their false doctrines, as Marcion the heretic, whom therefore Tertullian fitly called Murrum Pontucum, that is, the Rat of Pontus, for his gnawing and tawing of the Scriptures to bring them to his purpose, or by a fraudulent imitating of God's true prophets, taking up their parables and making use of their expressions such as, Thus saith the Lord, Grace be to you and peace, etc.
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Also have their combs as well as bees, and apes will be doing as they see men do." Isn't that amazing? He called the heretic the Rat of Pontus because he gnawed and tawed the scripture. And he says the false prophets are nothing more than apes, aping the true, using some biblical words that the true prophets use. But instead of them being bees and making honey, they're nothing more than wasps. The first way they do this is by stealing God's words. Look in verse 31. You'll see the second way they do it. He says, "Behold, I'm against the prophets of the Lord that use their tongues and say he saith." So now they're not taking away from the word of God. Now they're adding to the word of God.
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Go back to Deuteronomy 4. You don't have to turn there. But remember, what did God say? You shall not add to nor diminish from. You look across the country today at all the so-called inspired books that are teaching contrary to the Word of God, and yet they're claiming inequality with the Scripture. All you got to do is watch TV, watch a Mormon commercial. Yes, you know the Bible, but have you heard of the Other Testament, the Book of Mormon? And they're taking the Book of Mormon and putting it on a par with or equal to or above the Word of God. Look at Judge Rutherford's writings that they claim to be above the Word of God. Look at all the modern versions of the so-called Bible that either take from or add to or at least confuse and confound so thoroughly that no one can understand them. So God condemns them from stealing his words and from adding to his words. And then if you look in verse 32, here's the third way.
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Behold, I'm against them that prophesy false dreams, saith the Lord, and do tell them and cause my people to err by their lies and by their likeness. Yet I sent them not, nor commanded them. Therefore they shall not profit this people at all, saith the Lord.
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Now what are they doing in verse 32? They're not necessarily taking from or adding to. In verse 32, they are substituting for. So instead of really preaching and teaching the Word of God, they're preaching and teaching a lie. Instead of giving forth the Word of God, they're giving forth their own ideas, their own opinions, their own errors, their own vain thoughts. They are pretending like they are giving you the real Word of God, when in reality they are giving you nothing.
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There is no faithful exposition of Scripture. They are only presenting a false gospel, a fallacious presentation of some new theory or some method of entertainment. That's all. So how do these false and foolish prophets do it? Well, they either add to, take from, or substitute for. One of those three ways. God certainly admonishes these false and foolish preachers who wish to substitute their dreams for His truth. Look in verse 25.
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I have heard what the prophet said, that prophesy lies in my name, saying, I have dreamed, I have dreamed. By the way, let me just stop right there. I have heard all my life of preachers who preach based upon a dream that they had or some so-called vision that they have had. You know, it is absolutely ridiculous as well as blasphemous to equate your dreams or your visions with the Word of God. Do you realize anyone can have a dream? The Bible says in Ecclesiastes chapter 5 and verse 3, that a dream cometh through the multitude of business. All you got to do is stay busy about something and keep something on your mind and you're going to have a dream.
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I can assure you, you can have a dream based upon your own worry, based upon your own concern, or you can also have a dream by eating a barbecue, mayonnaise, peanut butter, pickle and jelly sandwich. Right before you go to bed, you will have dreams. But your dreams are not inspired. And your dreams are not on a par with the Word of God.
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Now, the truth of the matter is this, folks. It's absolutely foolish and ridiculous to put your faith and your stock in dreams and in visions. And yet there are people that do it. Stop and think about this. Whenever anyone places any faith or hope in a vision or in a dream, he is placing his faith and hope in that which is above or beyond the Word of God. In other words, it's not in the Word of God. He's gone beyond the Word of God and says, I don't need the Word of God. And when you begin to preach and put your hope and faith in dreams, you're saying that I'm denying the sufficiency and the completeness of Holy Scripture. I need something more. I need a vision. I need a dream. Yet there are multitudes of preachers and multitude of people who do that. Now, I've demonstrated the fact that America's curse is indeed false and foolish preachers. And I've continued that point up until now. But the message today is basically on America's hope.
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A legitimate question should be asked at this point. Think about this. In light of the multitude of false and foolish preachers. And if you're honest, you must admit they're everywhere. But in light of the multitude of false and foolish preachers, what hope do we have? You stop and think about this for every true preacher of God, it seems as if there's a hundred or a thousand false preachers. For everyone who will preach the truth, there are a multitude who will not preach the truth. Now, what in the world is our hope?
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If you and I only looked at circumstances, we'd certainly tend to be discouraged. But there are two things that we must forever keep in our minds. And here are the two points I want to give you today. The first thing we must keep in our mind is the superiority of God's Word over falsehood. I'll deal with that in just a moment. And secondly, the supremacy of God's power to accomplish His purpose.
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Now let me show you what God says. Let's take this first point, the superiority of God's Word over falsehood. Look in verse 28. Look what God says. I like this. This is so pointed. God says, "The prophet that hath a dream, let him tell a dream. And he that hath my word, let him speak my word faithfully. What is the chaff to the wheat, saith the Lord?" Now, look what God says. If a prophet has a dream, let him tell it. Now, he shouldn't claim it was from God, because it's not from God. He shouldn't claim divine inspiration. But God said if he wants to tell a lie, let him tell a lie. Let him tell his dream. It doesn't matter. Just don't pretend like his dream is from me. Because it's not. Now, I want you to look what he says. On the one hand here, on verse 28, you have a false prophet telling a dream. On the other hand, you have the true preacher who is preaching the word of God faithfully.
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Here's the contrast. Look what God says. He says, let the prophet that hath a dream tell a dream. Fine. But on the other hand, let my true preacher be faithful in preaching and teaching my word. And then he asked, "What is the chaff to the wheat?" What is the chaff to the wheat? So you've got one man preaching a lie and you've got one man preaching the truth.
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Now, before I go any further, let me say one thing that I want you to remember. The one thing that must be done by every true preacher. No matter the circumstances, no matter the situation, no matter the persecution, no matter the prosecution, the one thing that must be done by every true preacher is he must persevere in preaching the word of God. Let me say that again. The one thing that must be done by every true preacher is he must persevere in preaching the word of God. Why? Because God asked this question.
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What is the chaff to the wheat? What is the chaff to the wheat? What is false doctrine as compared to the truth? Now, when you ask, what is the chaff to the wheat, you need to ask yourself, what is chaff? I'm sure that most of you know, but chaff is the husk or the dry covering that's over the grain. The chaff denotes that which is refuse, trash, and worthless matter. In the Bible, the word chaff is used to represent false doctrine, hypocrites, and ungodly men.
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But in this instance, here's what God is saying. What comparison is there between my word and the chaff? What comparison is there between wheat and that which is absolutely empty, worthless, and lifeless? The wheat gives life. The chaff is incapable of giving life. The wheat not only gives, but sustains life. Listen to what our Lord said. In John 6 and verse 63, here's what our Lord said.
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"It is the spirit that quickeneth. The flesh profiteth nothing. The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life." That's wheat. That's not chaff. The Apostle Paul wrote in Romans 10 and verse 17, "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." It doesn't come by chaff. It comes by the word of God. Peter wrote in 1 Peter 1 and verse 23, "Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the Word of God, which liveth and abideth forever." David wrote in Psalm 19 and verse 7, "The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul, making wise the simple." The chaff can't do that. Only God's Word can do that. What can chaff do? Absolutely nothing. Now listen to me. You may eat a good bowl of chaff. And you may have the sensation of being full. But you will die of malnutrition if that's all you eat. You know, I find it interesting that in the book of Jude and in the book of Peter, both of those talk about the false prophets using great, swelling words.
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You know what chaff does? It makes you bloated. It gives you the appearance of being full. When in reality, you're not. It's like I used to tell people when I wanted to tease them, I said, well, when I was a boy, we were so poor. We ate dried peas for breakfast, drank water for dinner and swelled up for supper. But that's what chaff will do. It'll swell you up.
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But you cannot be sustained by it because it is absolutely lifeless. Now, listen to me. Have you not run into people who've said, well, bless God, I tried Christianity and it just doesn't work. You've heard people say that? I have. You know what they tried? They tried a bowl of chaff is what they tried. They never got the wheat. All they got was chaff. There's a big difference between the chaff and wheat.
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Do you realize that truth, like food, is addictive? Time Henry got here this morning, first thing he did after hugging my neck, he said, boy, I'm hungry. Well, I'm sure he ate yesterday. You see what I'm saying? But he's addicted to food. Why? Because he needs it to sustain his life. And you know, truth is exactly the same way. Once you get truth, you become addicted to it and you cannot live without truth. And God is saying in this verse that the superiority of His Word over vanity and error is the fact that His Word, by the power of the Holy Spirit, is life itself. You cannot have life apart from God the Holy Spirit and from God's Word. His Word gives life.
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You remember how Rachel cried to Jacob, "Give me children or I die." Once you've been converted by the grace of God, that's what you say. Give me truth or I die. You don't want the chaff anymore. You want truth. That's why some of you drive two and three hours one way. So you can have truth. Truth is addictive. And that's what God has said. What comparison is there between chaff and the wheat? None whatsoever. And once you get started on the wheat, you never, ever want the husk and the chaff of this world again. So, first of all, you see the superiority of God's word over falsehood and error, that's why we, as true preachers and as real Christians, must persevere in teaching and preaching the whole Word of God. Secondly, today, I want you to see the supremacy of God's power to accomplish His purpose. Look in verse 29. I've often quoted this verse. God asked, "Is not my word like a fire, saith the Lord, and like a hammer that breaketh rock in pieces?"
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Now, I want you to note, that verse follows his question, "What is the chaff to the wheat, saith the Lord?" Now, let me ask that you turn to two passages. Hold Jeremiah, but go in your Bibles to Isaiah 55 and then Isaiah 46. OK, turn back to Isaiah 55. And look, if you would please, at verses 8 through 11. In fact, I'm going to be dealing with two of these verses next week, Lord willing. Isaiah 55 verse 8, God says this, watch carefully, Isaiah 55 verse 8, "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts."
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"For as the rain cometh down and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it to bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater, watch now, so shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth. It shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I send it." Now, what does God say about His Word? He is going to make it prosper in that mission to which He sends it. It will always accomplish His will.
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Now, skip back to Isaiah 46 and verse 10. Here's another powerful verse. Look what God says. Isaiah 46 and verse 10. God says, "Declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, here's what God says, my counsel shall stand. And I will do all my pleasure." Did you hear that? How much of God's counsel is going to stand? All of it, how much of his pleasure is he going to do? All of it.
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See, you've got to understand, not just the superiority of His word over falsehood, you must understand the supremacy of His power to accomplish His purpose. Think back in Jeremiah's time and how hard-headed and how hard-hearted the people were, just like they are today. Hard-headed, hard-hearted. In Jeremiah's time they were stubborn and rebellious and did not want to bow to God's Word. But you know what God says? My word is more powerful than the lies of the false prophet and my power is greater than theirs. When he asks what is the chaff to the wheat, then he says, is not my word like a fire, saith the Lord, and like a hammer that will break the rock in pieces? What is God saying? God is saying I'm going to have my people and I'm going to have my will and those who will not be responsive to the food aspect of the word of God will be responsive to the fire and the hammer aspect of the word of God. Is not my word like a fire, saith the Lord?
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Do you realize that fire is one of the most active elements and it's called an active element because it purges, it purifies, it's powerful. Fire enlivens, it enlightens, it warms, it purges, it consumes, and when God sends His Word as a fire, it melts the heart, it purges the conscience, it consumes all hesitation and chaff, it burns away all objections, so that people understand that they've been set on fire by God Himself. Do you remember those two on the Emmaus Road in Luke 24 when Christ joined Himself to them and taught them?
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And then after He left, they said this, "Did not our hearts, what? Burn within us as He taught us by the way." Did not our hearts burn within us? Listen, if you would, to what Calvin says on this verse. "Is not my word like as a fire saith the Lord?"
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Now he's going to distinguish. Listen carefully. "The legal part of it is a fire. It is called a fiery law in Deuteronomy 33 in verse 2. Like fire, it is quick and piercing and penetrating into the hearts and consciences of men and works wrath there and raises a fearful expectation of fiery indignation. It threatens with everlasting fire, it sentences men to the fires of hell, and the righteous judge in the execution of it will be a consuming fire to wicked men. The gospel part of the word is like fire, on account of the light the entrance of it gives to sinners, by which they see their own impurity, impotence, and the insufficiency of their own righteousness, and the way of life and salvation by Christ, and by the light of this fire, saints are directed
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in their walk and conversation, and by it, immoralities, errors, and superstitions are detected. Also, on account of the heat of it, it is a means of vital heat to sinners, the Savior of life to them. It is warming and comforting to saints, and causes their hearts to burn within them. It inflames them with love to God, Christ, and one another, and with zeal for truth, and the interest of a Redeemer, though it has a scorching and tormenting heat to wicked men and fills them with burning malice and envy."
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"Moreover, it may be compared to fire for its purifying, separating and trying nature. As fire purifies gold and silver and separates the dross and tries the metal and shows what it is, so the gospel tries men's principles and discovers what they are and separates one from another. For also it is of a consuming nature, it opposes, weakens, and burns up the worst in man, his lusts and corruptions, which it teaches him to deny, and the best in man, all his holiness and righteousness he depends upon, and it burns up the chaff of false doctrine and human inventions before mentioned."
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Now let me just summarize what Calvin said. Calvin basically said this, when God says, my word is like a fire, what he's saying is this, that fire is going to convert you or consume you. One of the two. It will either break you and purify you. Or it will condemn and consume you. There is none who can resist the fire of God. None who can resist it successfully. God says, what is the chaff? Is not my word like as a fire? Old John Trapp says it very plainly again. He says, when he speaks of the hammer, he said, "Is not my word like as a fire, saith the Lord, and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces?" Trapp says this, "The rockiest hearts and the sturdiest stomachs are tamed and terrified by the Word when God once takes them to do. It, the Word, is as His plow to break up their fallow ground, Jeremiah 4 verse 3, and His sword to run them through, Hebrews 4 verse 12, and to lay them for dead, Romans 7 verse 9.
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As like the hardest ice is broken with hot waters, so also with hammers is the hardest heart with the gospel as well as the law broken." So what does he say? The hammer can break the heart. The fire can melt the heart. Did you know that in the Bible that man's heart is oftentimes compared to a rock or stone because of its hardness, its insensibility, and its resistance to make impressions upon it.
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In fact, in the book of Zechariah, chapter 7 and verse 12, listen to what God says. God says, "Yea, they made their hearts as an adamant stone, lest they should hear the law, and the words which the Lord of hosts had sent in his spirit by the former prophets, therefore came great wrath from the Lord of the hosts."
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Now, what did they do? They made their hearts as an adamant stone, like a hard rock. Why? So they could not and would not hear his words. But God says, now, wait a minute. My word is not just food. It's not just like fire. It's like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces.
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Now, let me ask you a question. I have two 10 pound sledgehammers in my barn. How many rocks are those 10 pound sledgehammers going to break today by themselves? None. In other words, if a hammer is used to break a rock, that means there must be a hand that picks up that hammer. When God said, "Is not my word like a fire, saith the Lord, and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?" Guess what? It's God who picks up the hammer. It's God who uses his word, a hammer is nothing more than an instrument. The word of God is an instrument, is an instrument in the hands of God, the Holy Spirit. And when he picks it up and when he wills it, He will either send food to the soul, fire to the heart, or use the hammer to break it and crush it to pieces. That's why I said none can flee him successfully. Oh, you may resist for a while and you may flee for a while.
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There was a poem written years ago by, I believe, Francis Thompson. I used to know the poem. It's about 10 minutes long. It's called the Hound of Heaven. It went something like this. "I fled him down the days, I fled him down the years. I fled him down the labyrinthine ways of mine, and in the midst of tears I hid from him, and under running laughter I hid." And then it goes like this, "but his feet came on and on and on." And the whole poem is about the Holy Spirit tracking down a sinner and staying on him until he's converted by the grace of God. So God, then, is the one who wields the hammer.
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Now, I want you to listen to this. In Ezekiel 36 and verse 26, God says, "A new heart will I give you. And a new spirit will I put within you, and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh." Now, what does God mean when he says, I'm going to take away the stony heart out of you, and I'm going to give you a heart of flesh? Well, Hebrews 8 and verse 10 explains it. He says, "For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord. I will put my laws into their mind and write them in their hearts, and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people." What does God do when He takes that hammer and breaks that hard, stony heart? He gives a heart of flesh and He writes His word and His law on that heart. Let me tell you something, people.
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Listen carefully. America's hope lies only in God and His word. America's hope must have as his foundation God and his word. It is that word that God uses in conversion, in repentance, in reconciliation, in restoration and reconstruction. We cannot be changed individually apart from the word of God. We cannot be converted apart from the Word of God. We cannot know right from wrong apart from the Word of God. We cannot know what righteousness is apart from the Word of God. That is true individually, familially, ecclesiastically, but it's also true nationally. How do we know what's right and wrong? God tells us. And our only hope is that God's true preachers will keep preaching that word.
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And that God would be pleased to take up that hammer and break the hard hearts of the people in this country. Now, let me make some applications. That teaches us this, first of all, we must seek God. To pick up the hammer, to place his hand on that hammer over and over in Scripture, you'll find David praying, "Arise, O Lord." And we need to ask God to arise and take up that hammer. We must seek Him to set our nation on fire with righteousness and holiness and godliness and submission.
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We've got to remember that He is the potter and we're the clay. It is God who must overthrow the wickedness and the tyranny in this country. Yes, he may use us and yes, we may be instruments, but still it is God's power that must overthrow it. You know, a scripture that came to my mind. When God said, "Is not my word like a fire, saith the Lord, and like a hammer that breaketh rock in pieces," my mind went back to the book of Judges chapter 5. You remember, there was a woman by the name of Jael. You remember that? There's a tyrant by the name of Sisera. You remember that? And Barak was chasing him and he went to the tent of Jael and she gave him milk, rocked him to sleep in her lap. And then with a hammer and a spike through his temple, she killed him and then removed his head.
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What is that telling me? That's telling me that tyranny cannot be overcome but by the hammer of God's Word and the truth and the power of His Spirit. If we want true liberty and freedom in this country, it's going to have to come from Jesus Christ. Where the Spirit of the Lord is, Scripture says, there is liberty. If the Son shall make you free, then you shall be free indeed.
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The second application is this. We must understand the importance of the preaching of the Word of God. We must persevere in preaching and teaching the Word of God. Let me tell you something. I get criticism. I got criticism this week. You know what I say? When someone doesn't like one of the messages I preach, Lord, you take care of that. I don't have time to mess with those people. You know what David said? David said, my defense is of the Lord. If I spent my time trying to defend myself and what I teach, guess how much I would have left to study and preach the truth? Very little time. David said, my defense is of the Lord. I'm not going to waste my time defending myself. I'll certainly defend the Word of God, but I'm going to tell you, my time is going to be spent teaching and preaching the Word of God.
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That's where our hope lies. We've got to remember, the Apostle Paul said that we must be instant, in season and out of season. You know what God says? He'll honor His Word. Them that honor Me will honor, saith the Lord. And I can tell you this, and this is the truth. Some of my greatest enemies in times past have become my closest and best friends when God saved them. God is my witness, this is the truth, I have gone in a number of houses in the front door. While the men are exiting the back door. I've had men cross the street to keep from speaking to me. But when God saved him, it'd be midnight and I'd say, look, I'm so tired.
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Would you please get up and go home? I'll teach you tomorrow. I mean, they can't get enough of it after God saves them. You see, the importance is you have to persevere in season and out of season. You know, there'll be a time that folks will curse you and hate you and they don't like. That's out of season. But keep going. Because pretty soon it's going to come in season. And as the word of God says, we shall reap. Help me out. If we what? Faint not. So if we want to reap, we've got to keep going.
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And I hope you understand this last application, there is a vast difference between the preaching and teaching of true preachers and that of false and foolish preaching. And the true preachers, you will always find exposition and explanation of the Word of God and its food for the soul. The false and foolish preachers will always give you the husk. They'll always give you assurance of salvation while you're in your sin. While true preachers will demand repentance from sin. The foolish preacher will always take the attitude, I'm okay, you're okay, just come on in. The true preacher will say, God demands that you live a holy, godly and righteous life. Be holy, saith the Lord, as I am holy. That means this, folks, we must pray for and we must support and we must encourage every true preacher of the gospel to keep on keeping on, because we know America's hope is only in Christ and His Word. Let's pray. Father, we're so thankful today for Jesus Christ. We're thankful for the Word of God. We're thankful for the answers in the Word of God.
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We pray, Lord, that You would indeed give us food for our souls and send the fire of Your Word and the hammer of Your Word in our nation. We pray that Thou by Thy sovereign and supernatural power will lay Thine hand upon the hammer and break our hard, cold hearts and bring us back to the Lord Jesus Christ. Help us, Lord, to bow to Thee, to worship Thee, In the name of Jesus Christ we ask and pray, Amen.
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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T15:21:26Z

America's Curse - Part 2

John Weaver | Freedom Ministries

In this sermon, John Weaver presents America's hope as rooted solely in God and His Word, contrasting it with the curse of false and foolish preachers. He argues that true hope lies in the superiority of God's Word over falsehood and the supremacy of God's power to accomplish His purpose, using the imagery of wheat versus chaff, fire, and a hammer. The sermon emphasizes the necessity of persevering in preaching the whole counsel of God and trusting in God's sovereign ability to break hard hearts and bring national repentance.

Opening

Yet I sent them not, nor commanded them. Therefore, they shall not profit this people at all, saith the Lord.

Introduction and Review of America's Curse

Weaver reviews the previous sermon on America's curse, which he identified as false and foolish preachers based on Jeremiah 23, covering their desecration, denunciation, devastation, and destruction.

The Nature of God's Sanctions

God imposes positive sanctions (blessings) and negative sanctions (curses) with no neutrality; individuals, families, churches, and nations are either for or against Christ.

False Hopes in America

Many Americans place their hope in men, political parties, or the Constitution, but salvation of any kind comes only from the Lord.

How False Preachers Lead People Astray

False preachers steal God's words by denying, misinterpreting, or ignoring Scripture; they add to God's words; and they substitute their own dreams and lies for God's truth.

Make sure you hold Jeremiah 23. But look what God says in Deuteronomy 4 and verse 2. He says it very plainly.

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 4:2

"You shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall you diminish aught from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you."

The Superiority of God's Word Over Falsehood

God's Word is like wheat that gives life, while false doctrine is like chaff that is worthless and lifeless; true preachers must persevere in preaching the Word faithfully.

The Supremacy of God's Power to Accomplish His Purpose

God's Word is like a fire that purifies or consumes and a hammer that breaks hard hearts; God Himself wields the hammer to convert sinners and accomplish His will.

Now, skip back to Isaiah 46 and verse 10. Here's another powerful verse. Look what God says. Isaiah 46 and verse 10. God says,

Scripture Reading — Isaiah 46:10

"Declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, here's what God says, my counsel shall stand. And I will do all my pleasure."

Did you hear that? How much of God's counsel is going to stand? All of it, how much of his pleasure is he going to do? All of it.

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 33:2

Now he's going to distinguish. Listen carefully. "The legal part of it is a fire. It is called a fiery law in Deuteronomy 33 in verse 2. Like fire, it is quick and piercing and penetrating into the hearts and consciences of men and works wrath there and raises a fearful expectation of fiery indignation. It threatens with everlasting fire, it sentences men to the fires of hell, and the righteous judge in the execution of it will be a consuming fire to wicked men. The gospel part of the word is like fire, on account of the light the entrance of it gives to sinners, by which they see their own impurity, impotence, and the insufficiency of their own righteousness, and the way of life and salvation by Christ, and by the light of this fire, saints are directed

Applications for America's Hope

Believers must seek God to use His Word as a hammer and fire to bring national repentance, persevere in preaching the Word despite opposition, and support true preachers who demand holiness.

America's Curse - Part 2

John Weaver | SermonAudio

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	SermonAudio
Media ID	73006173428
Subject	New Testament Studies
Course	Revelation Themes and Eschatological Applications
Genre	Sermon
Date	2006-05-07
Dictation Name
Book	Book 187: America's Curse — Chapter 2
Source Timed Segments	71

Lecture Guide

Outline

Introduction and Review of America's Curse: Weaver reviews the previous sermon on America's curse, which he identified as false and foolish preachers based on Jeremiah 23, covering their desecration, denunciation, devastation, and destruction.
The Nature of God's Sanctions: God imposes positive sanctions (blessings) and negative sanctions (curses) with no neutrality; individuals, families, churches, and nations are either for or against Christ.
False Hopes in America: Many Americans place their hope in men, political parties, or the Constitution, but salvation of any kind comes only from the Lord.
How False Preachers Lead People Astray: False preachers steal God's words by denying, misinterpreting, or ignoring Scripture; they add to God's words; and they substitute their own dreams and lies for God's truth.
The Superiority of God's Word Over Falsehood: God's Word is like wheat that gives life, while false doctrine is like chaff that is worthless and lifeless; true preachers must persevere in preaching the Word faithfully.
The Supremacy of God's Power to Accomplish His Purpose: God's Word is like a fire that purifies or consumes and a hammer that breaks hard hearts; God Himself wields the hammer to convert sinners and accomplish His will.
Applications for America's Hope: Believers must seek God to use His Word as a hammer and fire to bring national repentance, persevere in preaching the Word despite opposition, and support true preachers who demand holiness.

Major Themes

Key Arguments

False preachers lead people astray by mishandling God's Word

False prophets steal God's words by not preaching them, add to them by claiming extra-biblical revelation, or substitute their own dreams for divine truth.

Weaver explains Jeremiah 23:30-32, showing three ways false prophets operate: stealing words (v. 30), using their tongues to add (v. 31), and prophesying false dreams (v. 32).

God's Word is inherently superior to all falsehood

Just as wheat sustains life and chaff is worthless, God's Word gives spiritual life while false doctrine cannot; believers become addicted to truth.

Weaver contrasts chaff and wheat from Jeremiah 23:28, citing John 6:63, Romans 10:17, and 1 Peter 1:23 to show the life-giving nature of Scripture.

God's Word is a powerful instrument in His hands

God uses His Word as a fire to purify or consume and as a hammer to break hard hearts; He sovereignly wields it to accomplish His will.

Weaver expounds Jeremiah 23:29, referencing Isaiah 55:11 and Isaiah 46:10 to show God's Word accomplishes His purpose, and uses the imagery of a hammer needing a hand.

True preachers must persevere despite opposition

Preachers must continue preaching the Word faithfully in all seasons, trusting God to defend them and bring fruit in due time.

Weaver shares personal experience of criticism and quotes David, 'My defense is of the Lord,' and Paul's charge to be instant in season and out of season.

National hope requires God's intervention through His Word

America cannot be saved by political means; only God's Word, applied by the Holy Spirit, can break hard hearts and bring repentance and reconstruction.

Weaver states, 'America's hope lies only in God and His word,' and prays for God to 'lay Thine hand upon the hammer and break our hard, cold hearts.'

Scripture References

Jeremiah 23:25-32: The primary text of the sermon, read at the beginning, condemning false prophets who speak lies and dreams.
Matthew 12:30: Used to illustrate that there is no neutrality; one is either with Christ or against Him.
Jonah 2:9: Cited to support that salvation of any kind is of the Lord, not man.
John 8:36: Quoted to show that true liberty comes from Christ.
2 Timothy 3:16: Referenced to argue that all Scripture is inspired and profitable, so not preaching it is stealing God's words.
Deuteronomy 4:2: Quoted to show God's command not to add to or diminish from His Word.
Revelation 22:19: Cited as a New Testament parallel warning against taking away from God's words.
Ecclesiastes 5:3: Mentioned to argue that dreams come from natural causes, not divine inspiration.
John 6:63: Quoted to show that Christ's words are spirit and life, contrasting with chaff.
Romans 10:17: Cited to prove that faith comes by hearing the Word of God, not chaff.
1 Peter 1:23: Referenced to show believers are born again by the incorruptible Word of God.
Psalm 19:7: Quoted to demonstrate the converting power of God's law.
Isaiah 55:8-11: Read to show that God's Word will accomplish His purpose and not return void.
Isaiah 46:10: Quoted to affirm that God's counsel shall stand and He will do all His pleasure.
Deuteronomy 33:2: Referenced by Calvin in a quote about the law being a fiery law.
Jeremiah 4:3: Mentioned by Trapp in a quote about the Word as a plow to break fallow ground.
Hebrews 4:12: Referenced by Trapp as the Word being a sword to pierce.
Romans 7:9: Mentioned by Trapp in connection with the Word laying sinners dead.
Zechariah 7:12: Quoted to illustrate hearts made hard as adamant stone to resist God's words.
Ezekiel 36:26: Cited to show God's promise to remove the stony heart and give a heart of flesh.

Historical References

Alexis de Tocqueville: Frenchman who visited America in the 1830s and wrote 'Democracy in America,' quoted to show the historical influence of Christianity on American liberty.
John Calvin: Reformer whose commentary on Jeremiah 23:30 and 23:29 is quoted to explain stealing God's words and the fire of God's Word.
John Trapp: Puritan commentator quoted on false prophets 'filching' God's words and on the hammer of God's Word breaking hard hearts.
Marcion the heretic: Early heretic mentioned by Trapp as one who 'gnawed and tawed' the Scriptures, called 'the Rat of Pontus' by Tertullian.
Tertullian: Early church father who called Marcion 'the Rat of Pontus' for his handling of Scripture.
Francis Thompson: Poet who wrote 'The Hound of Heaven,' referenced to illustrate the Holy Spirit's pursuit of sinners.
Jael and Sisera (Judges 5): Biblical story used as an illustration that tyranny is overcome by the hammer of God's Word, as Jael used a hammer to kill Sisera.

Important Quotes

What is the chaff to the wheat, saith the Lord?

Central verse contrasting the worthlessness of false doctrine with the life-giving truth of God's Word.

Is not my word like as a fire, saith the Lord, and like a hammer that breaketh a rock in pieces?

Key verse demonstrating the power of God's Word to purify, consume, or break hard hearts.

Upon my arrival in the United States, the religious aspect of the country was the first thing that struck my attention. And the longer I stayed there, the more I perceived the great political consequences resulting from this new state of things. In the United States, the sovereign authority is religious. There is no country in the world where the Christian religion retains a greater influence over the souls of men than in America. Not until I went into the churches of America and heard her pulpits aflame with righteousness did I understand the secret of her genius and power.

De Tocqueville's observation highlighting the historical link between Christianity and American liberty, used to argue for the necessity of true preaching.

The Americans combine notions of Christianity and of liberty so intimately in their minds that it is impossible to conceive the one without the other.

Further de Tocqueville quote emphasizing the inseparability of Christianity and freedom in the American founding.

The prophet that hath a dream, let him tell a dream; and he that hath my word, let him speak my word faithfully.

God's command distinguishing between false dreams and true proclamation of His Word.

So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I send it.

Isaiah 55:11 quoted to affirm the efficacy of God's Word in achieving His purposes.

My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure.

Isaiah 46:10 quoted to emphasize God's sovereign power to accomplish His will.

A new heart will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you, and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh.

Ezekiel 36:26 quoted to show God's promise of heart transformation, the ultimate goal of the hammer of His Word.

Discussion Questions

[Question]

In what ways do modern preachers 'steal' God's words by not preaching the whole counsel of Scripture?

[Context]

Weaver explains that false prophets steal God's words by ignoring or not teaching parts of the Bible.

[Question]

How can we discern between the 'wheat' of true biblical teaching and the 'chaff' of false doctrine in today's churches?

[Context]

The sermon contrasts the life-giving nature of God's Word with the emptiness of false teaching.

[Question]

What does it mean for God's Word to be like a fire and a hammer, and how have you experienced this in your own life?

[Context]

Weaver expounds Jeremiah 23:29, describing the Word's power to purify, consume, or break.

[Question]

Why is perseverance in preaching and teaching the Word essential, even when facing criticism or opposition?

[Context]

Weaver shares personal experiences of criticism and emphasizes the need to keep preaching in season and out of season.

[Question]

How does the sermon challenge the common tendency to place hope in political solutions rather than in God and His Word?

[Context]

Weaver argues that America's hope is only in God, not in the Constitution or political parties.

[Question]

In what ways can we support and encourage true preachers who faithfully proclaim God's Word?

[Context]

The application calls for prayer, support, and encouragement of true preachers.

Applications

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