and moves on. I believe that is what needs to
happen in our day.
Let us look at the passage in Jeremiah
2:9-13. Jeremiah's ministry stretched over
the reign of five kings. He had served in the
time of King Josiah, so he had seen revival
and renewal in his day. But even though that
revival was very important and very powerful,
it only lasted until Josiah died.
In Jeremiah 2:11-13 Jeremiah's
concern for his people is expressed: “Has a
nation changed their gods, which are no gods?
but My people have changed their glory for that
which doth not profit. Be astonished, O ye
heavens, at this, and be horribly afraid, be
very desolate, says the Lord. For My people
have committed two evils; they have forsaken
Me the fountain of living waters, and hewn
themselves cisterns, broken cisterns, that
cannot hold water.”
Cisterns are necessary; they are
legitimate; there is a proper use of cisterns.
But the problem with cisterns is that
although they are proper and useful for
saving and catching rainwater for times when
there is no water, they become a place of
pollution and stagnation, and they ultimately
become cracked and leak. In that condition
they are useless.
The people of Israel had come to a place
where they completely ignored their God.
Jeremiah 2:5 says they had “gone far from”
Him, and verse 7 says they had made God's
heritage an abomination. The priests were
silent. The rulers had transgressed, and the
prophets prophesied by other gods. This was
a dark hour in the history of the people of
Israel. They had forsaken God and
substituted “cisterns” of their own making.
Substitutes For Reality In The
Church Today
I want to share with you a few things I
see to be substitutes evangelicals today use to
“get by.” Obviously, however, although we
think we are getting by, we are doing the thing
Paul told us we ought not to do: we are
comparing ourselves with ourselves (2 Cor
10:12). We have the wrong standards for
success. We feel we are very much alive
because we are growing. But on closer
scrutiny, we are probably growing in ways
that are not very healthy.
Here are some of the substitutes I see.
“Substitutes” is a mild word to use. You
could use the word “idols.” You could use the
word in 2 Chronicles 7:14-- “wicked ways.”
It would be more correct.
1. Endless Technology versus
Supernatural Intervention of God
Technology has had a powerful effect on
this particular generation. It is documented
that this generation has seen change more
rapidly than any other generation previously
living on the face of the earth. This rapid
change in technology has affected us as
individuals and also affected the church in
this fast-paced society.
Endless technology is a substitute for
the supernatural intervention of God. There's
always one more thing pastors can try; one
more program, one more technology, one
more gimmick. We resort to these and fail to
allow God to intervene with the supernatural.
2. Guiltless Evangelism versus
Radical Repentance.
In eager effort for church growth, the
Church has overdone in attempting to be
“user friendly” and “seeker sensitive.” People
www.bymonline.org | April 2020 | Page 4