John K. Jenkins Sr - Characteristics of a Backslider - Part 1

Open your Bibles, your iPhone, your iPad, your Android, your Galaxy- whatever it is that you have-to Jeremiah chapter 3. Jeremiah chapter 3 is at 12:59. I'll be done by 3:59; I promise. I want to read beginning at verse number 11 . Say "I got it" when you have it. Beginning at verse 11 of Jeremiah 3: Then the Lord said to me, "Backsliding Israel has shown herself more righteous than treacherous Judah. Go and proclaim these words toward the north and say, 'Return, backsliding Israel,' says the Lord. 'I will not cause my anger to fall on you, for I am merciful,' says the Lord. 'I will not remain angry forever. Only acknowledge your iniquity that you have transgressed against the Lord your God and have scattered your charms to alien deities under every green tree. You have not obeyed my voice,' says the Lord. 'Return, O backsliding children,' says the Lord, 'for I am married to you. I will take you one from a city and two from a family, and I will bring you to Zion.'" Wow, I love that 14th verse! God says , "I'm married to you, and I'm going to take you no matter where you are-whether in a city or in a family-and I'll bring you to Zion." Zion represents being in God's perfect will. When you go to Zion, it means you are going into God's perfect will for your life. Now I'm wondering how many of us are in Zion. Some of us have drifted away from Zion, and we are in what the Bible calls a backslidden condition. I want to talk about the characteristics of a backslider. Now, I'm not going to ask you to look down your row or in your section today; I'm going to ask you to look in your seat. You can be seated. Jeremiah has been given the assignment of preaching to a nation that has strayed away from God. As a matter of fact, during the course of his prophetic ministry-decades worth-Jeremiah has the responsibility, call , and mantle on his life of speaking to a people who have drifted away from God . As a matter of fact, that drifting away is the pattern of Israel's life. The people of God walk with God for a while , then backslide. God would raise up a generation to come and put them in bondage . Then God would raise up a deliverer to get them out, and they live right for a while, but then they revert to the same pattern again - going back to doing what they shouldn't be doing. God brings them back under bondage; then God raises up another deliverer to bring them out. It is a constant cycle of what has happened in their lives. The amazing thing is that in spite of how treacherous and backslidden God's children have been and currently are, God still does miracles for them. I thought the twelve o' clock crowd would be eager to identify with the fact that no matter how raggedy their lives have been, God performs miracles for them. I've discovered-and I wish I could tell you-I've been the pastor of this church for 23 years. Come on, say "Amen" and praise the Lord! 23 years! They said I wouldn't make it; they said I wouldn't be here today; they said I would never amount to anything. But I'm glad I can say I'm still on my way, and I'm still here in Jesus' name! I'm still here! For 23 years, I've been preaching for 40 years. I started when I was 15 years old ; I've been in ministry for 40 years . I wish I could say that for the whole 23 years of my pastoring, plus the three years I pastored a church before that , and the 40 years I've been in ministry , I lived my life walking in the purity of God-loving God, being obedient to God, never wanting to do wrong, never thinking about doing wrong, never desiring to do wrong, and never doing wrong. I wish I could tell you that was the truth , but that would be far from the truth. There have been seasons in my life where I've drifted out of fellowship with God, seasons where I thought about things I shouldn't have thought about , said things I shouldn't have said, and wanted things I shouldn't have wanted . Y'all are looking at me like... a quiet hush has fallen over the congregation; they are shocked. See, the difference between you and me is that I'm willing to admit the truth about my raggedy past. I've had seasons of being backslidden and needed to talk about it. What I learned over that time is that it is possible to be in church and in a backslidden condition. It's possible to be singing in the choir and be backslidden, to have the Bible underneath your arm and a cross around your neck, to never miss a Sunday service and still be in a backslidden condition. Go on and preach, Pastor Dingle. Oh, I forgot!