H. L. Sheppard

Bulletin

July 2005

THE SAD OLD MELACHOLY
PREACHER

He would weep and pray, agonize then mourn over Judah. He had warned them of the coming judgment if they refused to shape up. Desperate to make vivid his prophetic utterance, he buried his clothes, then went out and dug them up:

“You were once like that Judah”

He preached.

“But look at the shape you are in now: you are buried neck-deep in your sins.

“You are a tattered, moldy and maggot-ridden skeleton of your old self.”

“A once burning symbol of loyalty and faithfulness, you are now no more than a smoldering ruin of former greatness.”

“Your faith, that once led God’s conquering armies into battle, is no longer a mighty force, but a national farce.”

“Time for your repentance is rapidly running out”

Jer 8:20 “The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved.”

Jeremiah was a God-ordained physician, sent to tell a recalcitrant Judah that, unless he submitted to emergency treatment, he would surely die. His was a tragic job. Even from prison he would urge God’s People to accept the cure and turn from their wicked ways. Judgment was inevitable. But alas, Judah relegated Jeremiah’s message to that of a snake-oil salesman trying to make a quick buck. Nobody listened. Nobody believed. Nobody cared. Even the king had him publicly held in stocks in the city square, so that the cynical citizens could pelt him with rotten tomatoes.

That is often the kind of treatment the world imposes upon its saviors. Tell the truth, and be castigated for such candor. Lay it out before them so vividly that no one could misunderstand God’s purpose, and watch the cynics criticize your intentions.

The “weeping prophet” was a sad old melancholy preacher. For over forty years he preached a message no one wanted to hear:

“Repent before God sends judgment!”

But alas, his tears went unnoticed, his sermons unheeded, his supplications ignored. At most, the mournful messenger of Judah apparently never had more than one convert. He expounded the prophetic word until Judah was taken into captivity, then he died.

We are living in the infancy of the seventh millennium from Adam. The time for Jesus Christ’s return is imminent. Can you hear the weeping voice of God’s messenger crying out for you to wake-up? Six millenniums have come and gone. The world has seen the birth, life and crucifixion of a savior. His Church, born again of His own Spirit and washed in His blood, now stands expectantly watching, with her nosed pressed against the window pane, anxiously anticipating Christ’s soon return.

Jer 8:20 “ The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved.

The Preacher is still crying out to all who will hear, “Repent before God sends judgment!”

ARE YOU SAVED?