Jeremiah 43:1 – And it came to pass, that when Jeremiah had made an end of speaking unto all the people all the words of the Lord their God, for which the Lord their God had sent him to them, even all these words,

Jeremiah 43:2 – Then spake Azariah the son of Hoshaiah, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the proud men, saying unto Jeremiah, Thou speakest falsely: the Lord our God hath not sent thee to say, Go not into Egypt to sojourn there:

Jeremiah 43:3 – But Baruch the son of Neriah setteth thee on against us, for to deliver us into the hand of the Chaldeans, that they might put us to death, and carry us away captives into Babylon.

Jeremiah 43:4 – So Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces, and all the people, obeyed not the voice of the Lord, to dwell in the land of Judah.

Hello readers, ever dealt with the “my Jesus says it’s ok” crowd? I have. And so did Jeremiah moreso. See, in Jeremiah 42 and 43, the Jews had banded up and come to Jeremiah to ask him what they should do. It had been a pretty wild time in Israel, they’d been conquered by Nebuchadnezzar and only a remnant was left to stay in the land, and they were getting to thinking it would be better down in Egypt. So they put the religious dog on and came to Jeremiah asking him to find out from God what they should do and boy we will do it! I sounded so good. They were super spiritual. They were so interested in honoring God with the direction of their lives! Bit like us apparently. You’d think we were so interested in finding out what God’s word says and obeying it by what we say and profess and the performance we put on before others…

So Jeremiah returned with God’s word to them and the direction for their lives. But they said our Jesus hasn’t said that. Our Jesus said it’s fine to go down to Egypt. My Jesus, your Jesus, everyone has a Jesus these days don’t they. So many Christians around these parts apparently, yet all with such a different Jesus it’s incredible. Jeremiah came back to them with the word of God, hey God has said this… but there was a problem. See, they’d already decided they were going back to Egypt, the whole thing was to make it look like they were obeying God to achieve that rare bonus of doing what they wanted and looking spiritual in the process. Bit like we all do. We like to frame things so it looks like what we’re doing is for God and because we want to do right, but really deep down it’s all self serving and self interest without the least bit genuine interest in God’s will and way for our lives.

Jeremiah told them if you go to Egypt you will die, if you stay you’ll be fine. But they called him a liar. Because their “Jesus” said something different. Their Jesus had different commands to them. See, Jeremiah was dealing with the “my Jesus” crowd. Because they said, like we do, “my Jesus says it’s ok for me to go back to Egypt”. Ever heard these before, or seen the attitude reflected in the professing Christians of 2022? My Jesus is fine with my sin. My Jesus doesn’t require repentance. My Jesus is fine with my social drinking. My Jesus is fine with me believing evolution and calling him a liar. My Jesus is fine with my worldly living. My Jesus is fine with a bit of premarital sex. My Jesus is fine with my life and I’m honoring him with my life and seeking his direction for me. Yeah we can really turn up the bull can’t we. Jeremiah was dealing with the “my Jesus” crowd of his day.

But all the while, Jesus really isn’t “your Jesus” to make say and approve what you want. The real Lord Jesus Christ of the Bible isn’t your little idol that you fashion with your depraved graving tool of lust and pride. He isn’t your little puppet which you tell him what he said and what he really means. God can speak for himself. And he has. And he had here, and he had spoken clearly on their situation, what to do and what not to do. See the truth  is, there is just one Jesus Christ, and there is just one word of God. Despite modern societies trillion different versions of him, lots of “Jesus” little gods, there is just one. God had said don’t go back to Egypt… out of Egypt have I called my son. He’d called them OUT of Egypt, not to back to Egypt ever again. He’d pronounced a woe on all who went down to Egypt for help. Oh but their Jesus was different to that Jesus. Because their Jesus wasn’t the real God of Israel, just a little religious password for them in life. They’d already decided they were going to Egypt for the security, because a life of trusting God in their land was unthinkable compared to Pharaoh’s big army.

This “my Jesus says it’s ok for me to blah, blah, blah” is nothing new. Christians tote their “my Jesus” stuff to excuse all their drinking, smoking, drugging, sleeping around, living carnal and worldly and then have the audacity (aka no fear of God) to tack God’s name and stamp of approval to it all. My Jesus told me to do it. But no he didn’t. The Bible still says what it’s always said. Sin is still sin. Hell is still hell. Judgment is still judgment. Truth is still truth. Light is still light. Clean is still clean. Unclean is still unclean. And what God has said is forever settled in heaven. That means it’s not subject to change.

Maybe you’ve lived your life with the “my Jesus is fine with my self serving and self interest and self directed life” type  attitude. You ain’t fooling anyone. They didn’t fool Jeremiah, much less God. Jeremiah said stay in the land as God has commanded you and went on to say that God knows you had already decided what you wanted to do and you won’t listen anyway. Bit like us… is God’s word really going to turn our direction for our lives? For most of us… no. It doesn’t matter what God has said and the directions and judgments and statutes and principles he has said. We are going to do it our way while we say we are obeying him. These people, like many professing Christians, were not interested in God’s word at all, they weren’t interested in what God said to do, they were never going to take his direction for their lives. Bit like most of us. We really are just gonna do what we want to do, we’ve already decided it and God is going to have to fit in with that. Let’s just be honest about it.

But we are going to make an awful wreck with our “my Jesus” like he’s my pet type attitude. Death and life, curse and blessing were on the line here. There is more riding on your flipping off of God’s word than you think. And in case you haven’t got the memo yet, God’s word is to direct us, not we direct him. These bunch of idiots thought they had it mapped out better, but they would go to a place far more dangerous than the one they were leaving because it was “too dangerous”. You think you know better than God’s word and wisdom for your decisions in your life? Good luck with that. While you play your “my Jesus” games your whole life, know that in the end, it won’t be “my Jesus” you stand before, but the Lord Jesus Christ who has himself defined who he is and said what he has said, and who with authority has commanded repentance and salvation, without which you will go to hellfire forever. Jesus commands obedience, and you may get to tell him what he means now, but in the end he will tell you where you are going for all of eternity.

We need to stop this “my Jesus is ok with me going down to Egypt” attitude. He wasn’t ok with it. He had not said to do it. He had not said to go there. But they’re going to run the red lights anyway. The fact is, God has spoken. It is written. Going back to Egypt was against God’s word. But apparently it was what their Jesus had told them to do. Oh yeah, God is going to direct you in violation to his own word? Hardly. What a joke this was, but so true of what has become a timeless trademark of humanity and Jesus Christ. We say we love him, we say we honor him… but our heart is far from him. When was the last time you did something based on what the Bible says rather than what you want to do and  have decided to do? God can’t tell you anything can he. We aren’t the least bit interested in his direction. We are only interested in our direction. Are we that different really? How much of your life is your direction which you say Jesus is fine with… while it violates the clear teaching and principles and direction of God’s word? How many Christians have attitudes and speak and do in violation to God’s word in just about every area of life, while they quote “my Jesus is fine with me doing this and doing that”. C’mon, it’s time to drop this religious game and get serious with God. Jeremiah told these guys God’s word, the truth… it could’ve worked out well for them, but hey, their Jesus told them something else right?

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