The Sounds of War
“Oh, my anguish, my anguish! I writhe in pain. Oh, the agony of my heart! My heart pounds within me, I cannot keep silent. For I have heard the sound of the trumpet; I have heard the battle cry… Jeremiah 4:19.”
Jeremiah was a watchman on the wall. He saw and heard the sound of the invading armies. The church is fighting a desperate battle, and in many cases, it is being invaded and we are losing the battle. Well, the armies that we are facing today are not soldiers, but they are the ideas and ways of the world.
The false prophets in Jeremiah’s day were saying, “Peace, peace,” and there was no peace. What are many pastors and church leaders saying today? They are saying it’s ok to behave like the world; it’s ok to bring worldly music or worldly entertainment into the church; it’s ok to bring the prosperity gospel into the church.
Have we a heart like Jeremiah? His heart was stirred and so were his lips. He couldn’t keep silent. We are not at peace, one day we will have true peace, but until then, we are at war. Have we heard the sound of the trumpet? Jeremiah had heard it, and he couldn’t keep silent. Pastors are the principal watchmen on the walls. They are to sound the trumpet, the warning signal, if you aren’t doing it, they must question why they are in the ministry.
Ministers of the gospel are not here to tickle ears or make people comfortable. The Bible warns tin 2 Timothy 4:3: “For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions.” Many churches are so dead, that even if a preacher of the Word came in and sounded the alarm, the church would remain dead.
Is there a sound of war in your life? We are in a war; a daily battle with the world, the flesh and the devil. Are you responding to the sound of the trumpet? The enemy is seeking to break down the wall of the church.
We are to defend the gospel, fight back and take action. Pray God would grant us a heart like Jeremiah.
God bless you, Keith