Jeremiah 6:16
Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein.
The days of Jeremiah’s ministry to the people of Israel were days of deep spiritual wickedness.
The people had sinned against God to the point where He was ready to give them up into captivity.
And, in fact, they did go into captivity in just a few short years.
Yet, even while they perched on the edge of judgment, the Lord desires to see them turn back to Him.
As we look at our own present days , we will discover that many are only professing Christ but they are not a possessor of Christ .
There is a huge darkness hovering over the earth , this darkness has closed the eyes of people from seeing the reality of what the true faith is .
This is why we have people who draw near the altars and say nice things about the Lord but yet have no value for the crucifixion of Christ after leaving the place of worship .
The true faith that produces results is a true treasure that is missing today , it is a faith that comes with a high price .
If we are going to see divine results in our Spiritual and physical life , then we must travel in the old path that our fathers in the faith travelled through.
The Lord wants His people to travel the right path.
He wants them on a path that will lead them in His direction.
While this word of correction was spoken to the Jews many years ago, there is a lesson in this verse for the modern church today.
I want you to know that there is a right path and there is a wrong path.
We must be sure we are walking the one which God has ordained, the one that He can bless, the one that honors Him.
People are for them not to allow themselves to be led astray by the false prophets and leaders of their day.
They are to look back to men like Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses and others who walked the path of obedience and holiness before the Lord and they are to seek that path for themselves.
If you look at these saints, they are carriers of God’s presence , they enjoy the covenant of God , they see the physical manifestations of the glory of God .
They hear God , visited by God , touched by God , announced by God , filled by God , all because they walked in the right path, they walked in the path of righteousness, they walked and Abide and continued in the path till their last breath.
How can we walk outside God’s path and expect to see God’s kind of results ?
We can’t be doing wrong things and expect to see the right results.
Faith as of old is the faith that rejects self and sins , it sentences self to death and the unfruitful deeds of darkness.
Where the deeds of darkness exist, there is going to be death of spirituality and Divine results .
Where self exists, there are going to be manifestations of the Spirit of the man of sins , where there is self you can’t find the spirit of Christ there and where there is Christ you can not find self there .
Permit me to share with you, characteristics of the Old path , and faith as of old.
1. Salvation Through The Blood – Heb. 9:22
2. Belief In The Scriptures – 2 Tim. 3:16; Psa. 119:89. (Ill. 66 books, 1,189 chapters, 41,173 verses; 774,746 words; 3,566,480 letters in the Bible. It is every ounce the infallible, inerrant, inspired Word of God.)
3. Love For The Church – Heb. 10:25
4. The Reality Of Heaven And Hell – John 14:1-3; Psa. 9:17.
5. The Value Of The Human Soul – Mark 8:36-37.
6. The Soon Return Of Jesus – Rev. 20:12; I Thes 4:13-18.
7. The Holiness Of God –
But this modern day tries to bring God down to man’s level. We have forgotten that He is holy – Isa. 6:3; 1 Pet. 1:16.
Fact : Regardless of which signs the world changes, it does not change the road!
The Word of God is still settled in Heaven.
We still know the “old paths”.
There is no question about which way is the right way. And, God’s requirement has not changed: ask for the olds and walk therein!)
II. A REWARD
A. God’s promise to those who walk in His paths is that they will find rest for our souls. That is, in His paths, we can be assured of three great truths.
1. One, we can be sure that we will arrive at the proper destination! When we take the Lord’s highway, we can be sure that it will end in His presence!
2. HE WILL BE OUR GUARD
3. We can know that while we are on the Lord’s path, the deepest needs of our soul will be met! There will be fellowship with Him and joy in His presence at the end of the way!
However, those who fail to ask for the old paths will find themselves walking in the ways of destruction and misery.
When we turn our backs on the way God has chosen as the right way we’ll find that the way is difficult, there is no peace or safety and the destination is ever in question.
There is a reward for those who will walk in the Lord’s pathway!
THE CONSEQUENCES OF REFUSING FAITH AS OF OLD .
A. This text tells us that some decided that they would not walk in the Lord’s will and in the Lord’s path.
The results of their choice is chastisement and destruction, v. 17-30.
There is a high price to pay for refusing to walk in the Lord’s will!
B. We are living in a day when many are refusing to walk in the old paths.
Either the old way is too narrow, or they feel that God just doesn’t know what He is talking about.
Yet, no matter what the world does, let us, the people of the Lord, stand tall in the old way.
Let us be unashamed of who we are.
Let us hold our heads high and walk in the way God has ordained without apology and without backing down.
Let us be everything the Lord commanded us to be in His Word, 1 Cor. 15:58.
Conclusion : The old way isn’t the popular way!
It is being abandoned daily by people who have decided that new is better.
Yes they are leaving the Bible, the old songs of the faith, old fashioned worship, praising the Lord, and preaching.
Entertainments services are replacing old time worship of the Lord.
Yet, God has not changed, Heb. 13:8.
I can find no room to change myself.
The enemies are changing the signs, but the Lord will know the way.
Let’s ask Him and He will lead!
