Finding pleasure

“To whom can I speak and give warning? Who will listen to me? Their ears are closed so they cannot hear. The word of the Lord is offensive to them; they find no pleasure in it.” Jeremiah 6,10 (NIV)

Today’s message is a medicine that prevents and cures perverseness towards God and the things of God.

This term “perverse”, is found especially in the book of Proverbs and it means “showing a deliberate and obstinate desire to behave in a way that is unreasonable or unacceptable”. It means to be contrary and difficult. Such attitude is of no surprise when it comes to a non-believer; for them “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17,9 NKJV).

However, the prophet Ezekiel wrote God's wonderful promise on salvation and the new birth experience: “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.” (Ezekiel 36,26 NKJV))

But, what if it’s a believer who is acting ‘perverse’?

I believe two things can be the cause: ignorance or lack of humility. The person is either blind to certain truths or they are lacking in humility and they, therefore, take offense and become resistant to God.

God is gracious and kind and He overlooks so much when we are ignorant.

By His mercies, He extends His hand, finds us in the pit and pulls us out. But that does not mean that that’s all there is to God. There are these two realities: where God finds us and where God is.

In building our relationship with Him, God wants us to find Him where He is or, even better, He wants to take us where He is. But this requires HUMILITY. The humility to acknowledge that there is more to what we think we know. The humility to be teachable.

This is what the Lord says: “Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. But you said, ‘We will not walk in it. ’I appointed watchmen over you and said, ‘Listen to the sound of the trumpet!’ But you said, ‘We will not listen.’ Jeremiah 6,16-17 (NIV)

In the book of John chapter 6, the story is given of how Jesus fed five thousand men miraculously. The following day, they looked for Him. But Jesus said to them: “Most assuredly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled.” (Verse 26 NKJV) He continued to say that He is the bread of life and that they must eat His flesh to have life.

"Therefore, when many of his disciples heard this, they said, “This teaching is hard. Who can accept it?”

Jesus, knowing in himself that his disciples were grumbling about this, asked them, “Does this offend you?"

(Verse 60-61 CSB)

Yes, Jesus had fed them bread. But He also wanted them to have “the food that lasts for eternal life” (Verse 27)

Jesus knows our good, bad and ugly. He also wants us to know His good, better and best. Or rather as the Scriptures phrase it: His good, acceptable and perfect will.

Child of God, determine in your heart that Jesus’ words are worth the esteem they deserve.

If Jesus is Lord, let Him be your lord indeed. Do not lean on your own understanding.

Give Him all your apprehensions and doubts. His lordship is righteous, good and never wicked.

“But with righteousness He shall judge the poor, And decide with equity for the meek of the earth; He shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, And with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked.” (Isaiah 11,4 NKJV) 

When we die to self, Christ's life reflects the most. And we find pleasure.

You have a tender heart, a soft heart, a heart of flesh. This is the new heart God gave you. It's right in there.

"Harsh discipline is for him who forsakes the way, and he who hates correction will die." Proverbs 15,10 (NKJV)