["Pomp and Circumstance"]
If you'd like to take the word, if you want to go ahead and turn in your hymnal to song number two.
We begin the services tonight by singing song number two, glory to his name.
Song number two in your hymnal.
And if you'd like to sing it up, song number two.
["Pomp and Circumstance"]
["Glory to His Name"]
At this time, we will have to have a word of prayer.
Dear Lord, I need you for the opportunity you have to be in your house,
Lord, for the preaching of your word.
I pray and ask the Lord that you help tonight in the preaching of it.
Lord, that you bless your word that goes forth.
Lord, you help me, fill me with your spirit.
Lord, to edify your people to do the glory for it in Jesus' name. Amen.
And then we'll go to song number 100.
Song number 100, Day by Day.
Song number 100.
Day by day, angels passing over,
Strength by God and to be my child this year.
Trust me, give me my Father's might to be so then,
Like my Father's glory over here.
Angels' God, this might be our adventure,
There's much I can do to stay where God's will is due,
But with me is my faith and pleasure,
May we follow him with us ever and ever.
Every day, we all find himself as near me,
With a splash, he must be my child.
For my care is complete, and care is near me,
He must be my special friend.
The protection of this child's treasure
Is a charge that I'll make some believe,
As I give my strength to the adventure,
There's no plan to be lonely.
Help me live every generation,
So to trust my Father's love for you,
That I lose my faith in consolation,
All my faith, knowing that I love you, I do.
Help me, Lord, with the courage that will be gained,
And to take as much as I can,
For I love you, but there's no place for me,
And I need you, Lord, by your side.
A couple of notes regarding our church for anyone that's visiting.
And of course, over on the right-hand side, the great report coming back from Nigeria,
where we had a small team go over there.
Six homeowners spent a lot of time in a very receptive area,
and came back with 362 salvations to report.
So they're not back yet, but they're on their way, from what I understand.
And this is something that Brother Raymond Cooper kind of headed up,
and he'll be preaching about at the missions conference.
So if you want more details about that, make sure you get up there.
When he's preaching, I'll have a more detailed schedule coming out, of course.
And you can always email the church and get that ahead of time as well,
if you're looking for some of those details of who's preaching when,
and all the different activities that are going on.
But I'm sure it's going to be a very exciting report.
I know some of the pictures that came back,
I mean, it looked like a really rough part of the world.
Which to us, we look at that and say,
hey, that's our kind of place.
Because that's where people are very humble, meek, and ready,
and wanting to receive the gospel.
They are hungering for the good news, for some kind of hope.
So it's great to have a great report.
I mean, imagine what we could have accomplished there
with a larger group that had gone over there.
This is just kind of a scouting mission with the six people going over there.
I'm sure there's going to be plans in the near future,
not too distant future, to take a larger group over there.
I'm kind of shooting from the hip by saying that,
I think that's kind of what the plan is.
So if it's not there, it's going to be somewhere else.
We're always going somewhere.
So I'd always encourage everybody, I know we all have busy lives,
and we can't always get away.
There's different seasons in life that we're all in.
But if it's possible, if you can make it out to one of these missions trips,
whether it's here in the States, the Caribbean,
or even internationally like this, I'd really encourage you to go.
It's an experience you'll never forget,
and it's something to really just bolster your faith
and really encourage you in preaching the gospel.
So anyways, there's that.
And then, of course, we had a great turnout yesterday up in Eloi
and a good yield there with 28 salvation, so a very receptive area.
And then we had the missions conference as well coming up November 8th through the 12th.
So there's just missions, missions, missions.
That's what we're about here.
And then also continue to pray for the expectant ladies there.
You've got the list on the back of the bulletin.
The yearbook portraits are coming up on the 29th, which is really soon.
So I'm not going to try and give an exact date.
Two weeks, thank you.
I'm trying to do math on the fly here.
What's seven plus seven?
And then you add that to 15 and you get 29.
You're right.
So two weeks away, you say I'm not ready.
Well, you know, maybe we all got to just, you know, start skipping some meals
and maybe some fasting, you know, get down there and suck it in for the picture.
But, you know, it's coming up quick.
So the background is blue this year.
So hopefully everybody here is going to participate in that and get their photo taken.
And you'll have a nice copy for yourself to do whatever you'd like with that.
Also, the annual chili cook-off is coming up at the end of the month, Tuesday, October 31st.
You've got until six o'clock to get the chili in here.
We've extended that date, or excuse me, that cutoff time by an hour.
And we'll have the sides.
There'll be prizes awarded.
You guys know the rules.
It has to be from scratch.
No preseason packets, no MSG.
Okay, I've got to throw that in there, right, every time now.
I'm not going to let the MSG thing go.
It's too rich.
But there's that.
Also, I did want to mention very quickly, too, I've really appreciated all the help
with the cleaning of the building.
However, we're going to stop doing that.
I'm going to take that back over.
And I don't want that to be taken as a reflection of the job that was being done.
Everything was fine.
Everything was great.
It's just that I'm going to be transitioning into more of a part-time role here with the church.
I'm still going to be preaching.
I'm still going to be living in Tucson.
Don't worry about any of that.
But it's just something I need to kind of take on for myself, keep in front of me.
It helps me kind of keep track of what we need in the church, too.
If anything, it's just made it a little bit more difficult for me to get things ordered.
So I don't want to go on and on about it.
But I do appreciate the help from everybody that participated.
But I think it's just going to work best if I take that back over and just kind of do that myself,
simply because we are still a smaller church.
It's not like it takes a lot of time for me to come down here.
And again, it's good for me to just be here throughout the week doing the cleaning,
keeping an eye on where things are as far as the inventory and stuff.
It's just going to run more smoothly, I think, doing that.
Because I do understand it's a lot to ask people to come in on their time off
and clean this entire building and be as thorough as we need to be.
So I have the time.
I'm on staff.
There's just no reason for me not to do it.
So again, please don't take that wrong.
It's not a reflection on anyone's – I'm not upset or anything like that.
It's just I think it's going to work best for the church if I do that.
And I know I just did kind of throw that out there about the whole me going part time.
So I'm actually seeking for a job right now to go out and work a 40-hour work week, 9 to 5.
I've got a really good lead on a job.
I pray for it, that I get it, so that I'm able to –
it would be really conducive with the ministry and things like that.
I've got other couple things out there that would be great too.
But there's one job in particular in a sales position, indoor sales position,
where I have a bit of a background in the industry that I have a background in.
And it sounds like it's going to happen.
I've talked to the branch manager down there twice in the last two weeks.
I went in there Friday, kind of prodded him a little bit.
He's just been really busy.
He's got my resume.
I filled out an application.
And he said Friday, I'm going to get right on this.
And he said, I want you here.
And corporate has said, we want to hire someone.
So it seems like it's all kind of coming together.
So it's just kind of the next step in the process of this church becoming independent eventually.
So sometimes you've just got to be bivocational.
Paul did it.
I'm no better than he.
So it's not anything I'm opposed to.
I'm honestly kind of looking forward to it.
I miss just kind of that 9 to 5, just being out there in the world working alongside everybody else.
So anyway, keep that in prayer.
I just wanted to mention that as well.
Let's count up a soul winning going back to Friday.
If anyone's got anything to report from Friday.
Or anything from Saturday.
Or anything from today.
Got the two today.
Praise the Lord.
Is that today too?
The same two?
Okay.
So I don't get to count those twice?
Okay.
Well you guys can fight about who gets to report next time.
So anyway.
Let's go ahead and sing one more song before we get into the preaching tonight.
We're going to go over to song number 323.
One of my personal favorites.
More about Jesus.
Song number 323.
Song 323.
One of my personal favorites.
Jeremiah chapter number 8.
That's Jeremiah chapter number 8.
Jeremiah chapter 8.
Beginning at verse 1.
At that time, saith the Lord,
we shall bring out the bones of the kings of Judah,
and the bones of his princes,
and the bones of the priests,
and the bones of the prophets,
and the bones of the inhabitants of Jerusalem,
out of their graves.
And they shall spread them before the sun,
and the moon, and all the hosts of heaven,
whom they have served,
and after whom they have walked,
and whom they have sought,
and whom they have worshiped.
They shall not be gathered, nor be buried.
They shall be done upon the face of the earth,
and there shall be chosen rather than light
by all the residue of them
that remain of this evil family,
which remain in all the places
whether I have driven them,
saith the Lord of hosts.
Moreover, thou shalt say unto them,
O Lord,
shall they fall and not arise?
Shall he turn away and not return?
Why then is his people Jerusalem
slain and bagged by a perpetual accident?
They hold fast the seed,
they refuse to return.
I argue and heard that they
spake not arise,
though man repented of his wickedness,
saying, What have I done?
Everyone turned to his course,
as the horse rushed into the valley.
The man extorted in the heaven
knoweth her twenty times,
and the purgo and the crane
and the swallow
observe the kind of the covenant,
though my people know not the judgment of the Lord.
How do ye say, We are wise,
and the law of the Lord is with us?
Lo, certainly in vain may he be hit.
The pen of the scribes
is in vain.
The wise men are ashamed,
they are dismayed and hated.
Lo, they have rejected the word of the Lord.
What wisdom is in them?
Therefore,
will I give their wives unto others
and their fields to them that
shall inherit them?
For they, for everyone,
from the least, even unto the greatest,
have given to the covetous ones,
from the prophet, even unto the priest,
everyone, nearly possible.
For they have healed
the hurt of the daughter of my people,
slightly, saying, Peace,
peace, for there is no peace.
Were they ashamed when they had committed
abomination? Nay, they were not
at all ashamed. Neither could
they blush. Therefore, shall they
fall among them that fall.
In the time of their visitation, they shall be
cast down, saith the Lord.
I will surely pursue them, saith the Lord.
There shall be no grapes
on the vine or figs on the fig tree,
and the leaf shall fade,
and the things that I have given them shall pass away
from them. Why do we sit
still? Assemble yourselves
and let us enter into the defense city,
and let us be silent.
For the Lord our God
has cleared us of silence and given
us water and salt to drink,
because we have sinned against the Lord.
We look for peace, but no
good pain, and for a time of
hell and behold, trouble.
The snorting of his horses
was heard from them.
The whole land trembled at the
sound of the name of the stronghold.
For they have
come and have devoured the
land and all that is in
it, the city and those that
dwell therein. For behold, I will
send serpents and cockatrice
among you which would not be charmed,
and they shall bite you, saith the Lord.
When I would comfort
myself against sorrow, my
heart would faint in me.
Behold, the voice of the pride of the daughter
of my people because of them
that dwell in the far country
is not the Lord
and is not her king
in her? Why have they provoked
me to anger with their
great amenities and with strange
advantages? The harvest has passed,
the summer has ended,
and we are not saved.
For the hurt of the daughter of my people
and my hurt, I am black.
Astonishment has taken hold on me.
Is there no mom
in Julia? Is there no position
there? Why then
is not the help of the daughter of my people
recovered?
Alright, so in Jeremiah chapter number
eight there, of course you get a really
strong
sense of the things that are taking place
to the nation of Israel, of course judgments
coming upon that city,
Jerusalem, that nation, and
you're kind of getting a
sense of how Jeremiah
is taking it. And you can see in this chapter
and elsewhere in Jeremiah
that it's not like Jeremiah is some kind
of cold-hearted, callous
jerk when it comes to this judgment.
He's actually very
moved by this. He's very
sorrowful for the things that are befalling
his people.
And you get a series of these hypothetical
questions throughout this chapter
here. The first being
there in verse four where it says,
Moreover, thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the
Lord, Shall they fall and not arise?
Shall he turn away
and not return? So he's saying
yes, God is judging
but isn't he also going to restore?
When God judges a nation or judges
us and our lives or judges a
people, we have to remember
that God
that chastening
may last for the night, but joy
cometh in the morning.
That there's seasons that we go through if we've done
wrong, then obviously we're going to be punished
as individuals or as a nation
in the case of Jeremiah in his day.
But that God will also return.
He's not saying, it's not that God
doesn't want to return. It's not that God doesn't
want to show mercy. It's just that
these people have no interest in
getting right with God.
He says, Why then is this people, verse five,
of Jerusalem slitten back by a perpetual
backsliding? He's saying, I would return
is it that they're fallen and can't arise again?
Is it that I've turned and will not return unto them?
That's a hypothetical question.
Of course I will. I'm
merciful. I'm long suffering. I'm
gracious. Yes, I judge
but also I forgive and I
heal. And he's saying, they should know
this about me. Why then
is this people of Jerusalem slitten back by a
perpetual backsliding? They're not getting right.
They've backslidden
and they keep backsliding and they keep
refusing, as it says there, to get right.
They hold fast deceit.
They refuse to return. So he's saying, the problem
is not with me, the Lord.
The problem is with this
people. They don't want to get right with God.
I hearkened and heard, verse
six, but they spake not a right. No man
repented of his wickedness, saying, What have I done?
Everyone turned to
his course as the horse
rusheth into battle. He said they just kept right
on doing the wicked things that
they were doing. Look at
verse eight. It says, How do you say
we are wise and the
law of the Lord is with us?
Lo, certainly in vain,
he made it. The pen of the
scribes is in vain.
He's saying, How can you call yourself wise?
Verse
nine, The wise men are ashamed. They are dismayed
and taken. Lo, they have rejected
the word of the Lord and what
wisdom is in them.
So what he's saying here is these so-called
wise men, these so-called scribes that have
rejected the word of God, that there is no wisdom
in them at all. And we cannot
consider ourselves a wise people outside
of the counsel of God.
And then, of course,
because of that, because of the fact they're
rejecting the word of the Lord,
there's these great
consequences that come upon them. Verse 10,
Therefore will I give their wives unto others
and their fields to them that shall inherit them.
For every one of them from the least
even unto the greatest is given to covetousness
from the prophet even of the priest,
every one dealeth falsely.
He's saying, Because these people are so wicked,
I'm going to bring this great judgment
where they're going to be taken captive, their wives
are going to be given to others, and the land,
the fields that they have, other people
are going to work them.
You know, speaking more specifically to the
priests and the scribes, verse 11,
For they, the priests and the scribes,
these so-called wise men,
have healed the hurt of my daughter, the daughter of
my people, slightly, saying,
Peace, peace, when there is no peace.
So they've healed him
slightly. The priests
and the scribes,
they have healed the daughter of his people
only slightly, meaning not at all,
not even sufficiently enough.
They haven't gotten them right with God.
Israel is this continual state
of backsliding, not getting
right with God. They don't know to return
unto God. They refuse to do it. They keep
dealing falsely because they're all given unto
covetousness from the priest, even
the prophet, the priest, even to the least of them,
everyone is dealing falsely.
They're following the example that's being
set for them by their leaders to be covetous
and to not get right with God. They
are not able to heal God's people. Why?
All because of the fact
that they have rejected the word of the Lord.
That's what verse 9 is saying. They have rejected
the word of the Lord, and now we see the results.
God's going to judge these
people, and these people are
not going to be healed because there's only
peace and there's only healing
when we obey
the commandments of God.
Verse 12, Were they ashamed
when they had not committed abomination? Nay,
they were not ashamed at all, neither could they blush.
For they shall fall among them
that fall in the time of their visitation. They shall
be cast down, saith the Lord. I will surely
consume them,
saith the Lord, that there shall be no grapes
on the vine, nor figs on the tree,
and the leaves shall fade, and the things
that I have given them shall pass
away from them. He's going to take my blessing
away from them, and they're going to suffer
hunger.
And then in verse 14, you
kind of get Jeremiah's perspective.
I believe he takes over in speaking here.
Why do we sit still?
Assemble yourselves and let us enter into the defense
cities, and let us be silent there.
For the Lord our God hath put us to
silence, and hath given us water of
gall to drink, because we have sinned against the Lord.
So he's saying, hey, let's repent.
Let's go sit in the dust.
Let's go and get
right with God. He's saying, God
has given us gall to drink.
We're bitter. Things are not
good. Verse 15,
we looked for peace, but no good
came. And for a time of
health and behold, trouble. Now, there's an
exclamation point at the end of that sentence.
So you're getting, again, the sense of
Jeremiah's heart.
How disturbed he is by the things
that he's seeing, the things that are befalling
God's people. And he's not
just sitting back going, hahaha,
I told you so.
He's not saying, oh, I warned you.
He's saying, he's right in there with them.
And we know the
story of Jeremiah. Eventually
God does release Jeremiah.
He comes out clean on the other side, but he has
to endure these things with these people.
He himself has to be persecuted to a certain
degree. But that doesn't change the fact
that he still is burdened for
these people, even these people who have rejected
the counsel of God, and are covetous
from the top to the bottom.
And all he's trying to do is say, hey,
let's just get right with God. Let's just go
and sit in the defense cities, and let's just
get right with God.
But you know what? We look for peace,
and no good came. It didn't happen.
We look for a time of hell
and behold, trouble.
Verse 16,
The snorting of his horses was heard from Dan.
The whole land trembled at the sound
of the neighing of his strong ones. Talking about the
armies that are coming. For they are come
and have devoured the land, and all that
is in it, the city and those that
dwell therein. He's saying, we
were hoping things would turn out right, and all
we heard were the horses, the armies coming, and they
destroyed everything in their path.
For behold, I will send
serpents, cockatrice is among you which will not
be charmed, and they shall bite you,
sayeth the Lord.
Now notice verse 18, he says,
When I would comfort myself against
sorrow, my heart
is faint in me.
He's saying, you know, I
tried to get people right, we were looking for health,
and all we saw was judgment, all we saw was
destruction, all we saw was the hand of God heavy
upon his people, and I tried
to comfort myself
when I would comfort myself against the
sorrow, against everything that I'm seeing,
my heart is faint in me.
He's saying, I tried to comfort myself
and it didn't work.
I tried to encourage myself and
bolster myself and remind myself
that God is still good, but it didn't
work. My heart
is still faint in me.
Look at verse 19,
Behold the voice of the cry of the daughter of my
people, because of them that dwell in
a far country. He's saying, look at the
judgment, look at the sorrow
and the suffering that's taking place
because of these four invaders
that have come upon us. It's not
the Lord in Zion, it's not
her king and her, why have they provoked
me to anger with their graven images
and with strange vanities?
So Jeremiah
himself is even upset.
He's saying, this is Israel, the Lord
God is our God, why are you worshipping
these graven images?
Why are you worshipping these strange vanities?
Don't you know when it's time to get right?
Don't you know that we're destroyed?
And he goes on and says, the harvest
has passed, the summer has ended,
and we are not saved.
There was a season where we were hoping
things would turn out right,
that people would get right, but you know what, it hasn't happened.
We're still under judgment and we're going to be
destroyed. And he said,
for the hurt of my people am I hurt.
He said, I am
black, astonishment hath taken
hold on me. When he says, I am black, there he's
referring to the fact that he's been exposed to the elements.
Right, like in Song of Solomon.
The woman says in Song
of Solomon chapter 1 verse 6,
look not upon me for I am black
because the sun hath looked upon me.
Right, so he's not trying to
describe his ethnicity here. He's saying,
I've been out in the elements, I'm
blackened, that he could even
mean soiled. That's another definition
of being black.
And he's saying, I'm out there,
I'm exposed to these elements, I've been
dirty, I've been
just, you know, in the dust,
I've just been suffering right alongside these people.
Astonishment hath taken
hold on me.
He's saying, I'm looking to get these people right,
I'm trying to straighten them out, and you know, it just seems like
nobody cares that they're just giving to covetousness,
they're just following these strange vanities.
And I'm trying to comfort
myself, and when I go to do that,
my heart is faint within me.
You know, I can kind of relate to
Jeremiah.
You know, because a pastor's burden
is for the health
of his congregation, for their
spiritual well-being.
You know, a pastor
wants to see his people grow
spiritually and do right
and to have God's blessing
in their lives.
But often, you know, we see the opposite.
You know, we see people
go after strange vanities, we see people
being judged, and we say,
don't you see what's happening?
And it's not that
we're trying to throw our head back and laugh about it
or say, I told you so, but it's
because we want people to be
blessed and not judged.
And you can kind of relate to him
here, he's saying, I'm astonished.
Astonishment hath taken hold on me,
I'm just perplexed. I don't know what else to do.
I tried to
comfort myself against
sorrow, but my heart is faint within me.
He said, I am black, I'm an
astonishment hath taken hold of me. But look at verse 22.
He says, is there
no balm in Gilead?
He doesn't get to the end of this
and say, you know what,
forget it. You deserve
everything you've got coming, Israel.
He's saying
there's still a possibility to heal.
And these people need to be
healed. They've been
beaten up, they're starving, I mean,
they're being judged severely by God,
and he's just at the end saying, I don't know what else
to do but to remind you that there is a balm in
Gilead. He's saying,
can't you turn to God and get healed? Can't you
get right with God? If you turn
to God, wouldn't He bless you still? Wouldn't
He forgive you and draw you close?
Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician
there? Why
then is not the health of my people
recovered? And again, these are
hypotheticals. Of course there's a balm in Gilead.
Well, if that's the case, then why isn't
my people recovered? Because they're given
to covetousness.
Because they've rejected the word of God.
Because they've rejected the counsel of the Lord.
And that's
really the source of His grief.
The fact is that there is a balm in Gilead
and yet the health of
their people is not recovered.
And I want to preach a sermon
tonight entitled, A Balm in Gilead.
A Balm in Gilead.
You know, there is still a balm today.
Now, a balm is
maybe not a term we're familiar
with. But a balm is basically just
an ointment that you would have applied to some kind of a
wound or a burn or something like that. You think
about maybe some of the balms that we
have today. You know, you pull a muscle.
It used to be in the day it only
came in the jar, like the gel form, the icy
hot, right? But now you can get like the
pads and everything like that. But that was kind
of a balm, wasn't it?
I've never tried it. I've never
you have to pull a muscle to need it. I've just
never done that.
You know, so you might
think of that or maybe a balm like
you know, these different essential oils
that people put on things.
And I'm not knocking that. And I think there's something
to that. You know, they're
the cure all of them, you know, or something like that.
We all understand what a balm is,
hopefully. That a balm
is something that you would apply to a wound.
And obviously,
Jeremiah here is speaking
figuratively when he talks about this balm.
Because the problem that Israel has
is a spiritual problem. And the
solution is a spiritual solution.
They need to apply this
balm in their lives.
Spiritually. So what is the balm for
us today? Well, I would say that the balm
for us today is the word of God.
I mean, because really,
you know, right in the middle of this chapter where we're at,
that's the problem. You say, why
is all of this happening to them?
Because they have rejected the word of the Lord.
And as a result, they're injured.
And as a result, they're judged. And as a result
of rejecting the word of the Lord, they are not healed.
It's not that the balm isn't there.
It's that they've rejected it.
That's why they're not healed.
Because they've rejected the word of God.
So the word of God, in a sense, is a balm
in our lives.
You know, it'll keep, you know, the great thing about it
is that if we obey the word of God,
we don't even need
the balm. It'll keep us from getting hurt to begin with.
But look,
if we have rejected the counsel
of God, if we have made mistakes
in our lives, we should not
be like Israel here and just assume
it's all over, or just keep following
after vanities. What we need to do
is get that balm
and apply it to our lives spiritually
so that we can be healed.
Excuse me.
Go to
1 Thessalonians, chapter number 4.
We're done in Jeremiah.
1 Thessalonians, chapter number 4.
You know, the Bible
is that balm that we need to apply to our lives
today. We read it
this morning in Luke 4, where Jesus,
reading from Isaiah, said,
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He had anointed me to preach the gospel
to the poor. He has sent me to
heal the brokenhearted.
You know, Christ came to heal.
Christ came to
apply that balm.
To preach deliverance to the captives, recovering
of the sight of the blind, to set at liberty them that
are bruised.
You know, the ministry that we have
through the preaching of the word of God
and reading the word of God is
a ministry that will heal.
It will heal
the unsaved
of that, you know, that incurable
wound of sin
that they can't fix themselves.
But Christ can fix that.
He can heal it.
Look at 1 Thessalonians 4, verse 17.
Then we which are alive and remain shall
be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the
Lord in the air, and so shall we ever
be with the Lord. I know this is a reference to
the rapture.
What I want to focus on is verse 18, where
He says, Wherefore comfort one
another with these words.
He's saying we're not like others who sorrow.
We don't sorrow like the world.
We don't sorrow as those who have no hope.
Yes, we sorrow when we see our
loved ones die. But you know what? We have
this hope that we are going to
meet them again if they're in Christ.
And that's a comfort that we
have that's given to us through
these words. The only reason
we know that or believe that is because of the Bible.
The Bible is
the balm that we need.
We need to comfort ourselves
with these words. We need to
apply the salve of Scripture.
We need to apply the balm
of the Bible to our lives.
So in what ways
is the Bible a balm
to us? In what ways will it heal us?
Well, one, it offers
comfort there, doesn't it?
But in Jeremiah's case, he's
saying he's trying to get them to come back
to God, but they're rejecting the word of God.
So
if we're going to apply the balm
in our lives,
what will happen is that it's something that will bring us
back out of sin. It's something that will bring
us back from
maybe being lukewarm. It'll bring us back
from a life of sin. The balm is something
that will bring us back.
That's how the balm works.
See, if I apply the balm
of God's word in my life, you know,
what can I expect? What would that look like?
Well, it would look like the person
who's living a sinful life
getting right with God and coming back
to God.
Maybe somebody who's backslid and saying, you know,
I'm going to live for the Lord. I'm going to live for God.
I'm going to win souls. I'm going to
obey the commandments of God. That's
applying the balm in your life.
So, you know,
when we do the opposite, what we're doing is taking the balm
and just saying, no thanks,
and getting rid of it.
And then we trip and stumble
and fumble through life, and we get
beat up and scarred and nicked
and ripped up,
and we're wounded spiritually,
and then we go back and go back crawling back.
Well, maybe I need this balm after all.
What would that look
like if we were to apply that balm to our lives?
We'd get right with God.
It restores us.
Go over to Hebrews chapter number four.
Hebrews chapter number four.
If we're going to apply
the balm of Gilead, the balm of
God's word in our life, what
would that look like?
If we were to see somebody who was
applying that balm, if in Jeremiah's
day the nation of Israel had sought
that balm of Gilead, what would that
would have looked like, we wonder?
Well, it would have looked like them getting
rid of their vanities. It would have looked like
them turning from their idols.
It would have looked like them not
being covetous. It would look like the scribes
and the priests not rejecting the word
of God, but actually preaching and teaching
the word of God, and instead of healing God's
people only slightly, he would bring them back
to a full recovery. He would restore their health
spiritually. That's what it looks
like when we apply the balm of the Bible in our
lives. It brings us back. It restores us.
Because the Bible has the power
to convict us. It has
the power to put its finger right
where the problem is in our lives, doesn't
it?
So many people go through
life wondering, it just seems like
something's wrong. It just seems like nothing ever succeeds.
It just seems like everything I do just falls apart.
It seems like I'm never satisfied.
What is the problem?
A lot of times, you know,
you've got to get saved. They're unsatisfied.
But even in Christian's
lives, you say, why is it that
I'm just not fulfilled? Why don't I have joy?
It's because
we're ignoring this book.
And the Bible
will say, here's the problem. Here's
how you fix it. Here's the balm.
The Bible will say,
you know, take two of these and call me in the morning.
Look at Hebrews 4, verse 12,
for the word of God is quick
and powerful.
There is no more
powerful source in this word
than God's word.
It's not just a
book of suggestions.
It's not just something that we'd
lightly adhere to. It is a powerful
source of healing
and guidance in our lives.
It's sharper than
any two-edged sword, piercing even
to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit and the joints
and marrow, and it's a discerner
of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
I think that's why so many
of us sometimes don't want to read
this book.
Why we don't want to be under the sound
preaching of God's word. Why so many
Christians today would just want to go to some
church where the preacher's just going to tell them
everything they want to hear, you know, and maybe
quote a passage or two.
Because when we get into the preaching of God's word,
where the whole counsel of the word of God is preached,
when we get alone with God, and we
read every line of that book, there's going to be times
where God says, here's your problem.
Fix this.
Get this right.
And that's a balm.
Might not sound like it.
If I were to come up and say, you know,
looks like you got a wound right there
and stuck my finger in it, you'd go,
ow!
You know, you want me to come up with
the Big Bird Band-Aid and put it on there.
But we got to know
where that wound is first.
Sometimes my kids will say, Dad, look,
if you got a bruise, I'll say, that one?
Ah!
Right?
But that's what the word of God does. It is a healer
in that way. It says, well, here's the problem.
You're like, oh, I didn't even know I had that.
I didn't even know I was
walking around with this gaping wound in my life.
I didn't even know I was
bleeding out spiritually.
And God's saying, here's the problem.
You're broken.
You're wounded. But I can fix it.
If we'll obey.
If we'll do what the Bible says.
You know,
some people might say, I don't know if I really believe that.
Well, you know,
ignore it.
Don't take my word for it.
Go out there and live a life of sin.
Go out there and enjoy
the pleasures of sin for a season.
And when you come out the
other side broken,
bloodied, and bruised, then
maybe you'll believe me.
When life and sin has its way
with you, you'll come around
and say, you know what, that preacher was right.
The Bible was true.
The Bible is a balm because
it restores us. How does it do that?
How does it bring us back
and restore us? Well, it convinces
us of sin.
If you would, go to 1 Corinthians
chapter 14. 1 Corinthians chapter 14.
In John 16, Jesus
said, nevertheless, I tell you the truth.
Is it expedient for you that I
go away? For if I go not away,
the Comforter will not come unto
you. But if I depart,
I will send him unto you.
The Comforter there, obviously
we all know, is a reference to the Holy Spirit.
It's another name for the Holy Spirit.
He's saying,
I'm going to send the Comforter unto you
when I go.
And it's kind of, it's almost
kind of a, it isn't a contradiction, but it kind of
makes you scratch your head and kind of, how can you call
him a Comforter when you read verse 8?
Because it says in verse 8, when he has
come, he will reprove the world
of sin. Well, that doesn't sound very comforting.
You know, when the Holy Spirit
comes and says, you're doing wrong. Well, what comfort
is that?
When he reproves the world of sin and of righteousness
and of judgment.
What comfort is
that? And I say, hey, judgment's coming.
Get right, or get
wrecked.
Well, that's not a comfort. Well, it is a comfort
if you obey it.
Look at 1 Corinthians chapter 14
verse 3, it says, but he that prophesieth,
you know, he that preaches,
speaketh unto men to
edification and to exhortation
and comfort.
You know, the guy that's preaching
God's word, what he's doing
unto men is edifying them.
He's exhorting them and he's comforting them.
But
let's compare spiritual things with spiritual.
We also know that Timothy
was told to reprove, rebuke, and exhort
with all longsuffering and doctrine.
And those are negative things.
And
the point I'm trying to make is that
the Bible is a balm
because it brings us back and restores us
the way that it does that is because
it tells us negative things. It puts
its finger on where the problem is.
I mean, how do you exhort
and comfort somebody with the word of God?
Well, how can
you call the Holy Spirit a comforter
when he reproves the world of sin and righteousness
and judgment? When he's reproving.
Well, that's a comfort. How can a negative
thing be a comfort?
Well, it'd be like
the sign saying, you know, danger
ahead. Look out. It'd be like warning
somebody.
That's how it's a comfort.
The Bible is
that balm. It will comfort us.
If you want to go over to
We'll go over to Psalm 51.
Psalm 51. We'll move along here.
It says in 1 Thessalonians chapter 5 verse 9
God has not appointed us to wrath
but obtained salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ.
Wherefore comfort yourselves
together and edify one another
even as you do.
The Bible
brings us back. It convinces us of sin
and it offers us comfort
and consolation.
You know, we're to
comfort and edify one another.
We're to
comfort the feeble-minded
support the weak and be patient
toward all men.
Look at Psalm 51 verse 10. It says
Create me a clean heart
O God and renew a right spirit within me.
Cast me not away from
thy presence and take not thy Holy Spirit
from me. Restore unto me
the joy of thy salvation
and uphold me with thy free spirit.
Of course this is a prayer of David
after the sin he
committed with Bathsheba. The adultery
and murder that he committed which resulted
in the death of the child
the fruit of that union, that child.
You know
God applied the balm
to David's life in a sense when he
judged him. Because it caused David
to get right.
When all that happened, when that judgment came
David didn't get bitter
and angry and upset. He said you know what?
Create a clean heart me O God
and renew a right spirit within me.
Take not away thy presence from me
and take not thy Holy Spirit from me.
He said restore unto me the joy
of thy salvation. And it's worth pointing out
he did not say restore unto me my salvation.
He never lost
his salvation. He lost
the joy.
You know if we go out
and sin, if we go out and ignore
God's word, you know we'll be judged
like those people were back in Jeremiah chapter 8
but we'll still be saved. We'll still be
God's people.
It's just there will be no joy.
Go over to
oh let's just move along here.
Isaiah chapter number 28.
The Bible says in 2 Thessalonians chapter number 2
Now the Lord Jesus Christ himself
and God even our Father
Jesus loved us and have given us everlasting
consolation and good hope
through grace. Comfort your
hearts and establish you in
every good word and work.
You know God is a God
of comfort. God is a God
of consolation. God is someone
who wants to give us good hope through grace.
God wants to comfort our hearts and
establish us in every good word and
work. You know God
wants the best for us in our lives.
He really does.
The word of God is what's
going to bring that into our lives. It's what's going to
bring us back. That's the balm
that we need to apply in our lives.
Because it brings us back. How else
is it going to be a balm? Well it's going to build
us up. It'll build
us up. You're there in Isaiah chapter
28. We know this verse. Verse 9
Whom shall he teach knowledge and whom shall he
make to understand doctrine?
Them that are weaned from the milk and drawn from the breasts
for a precept must be a
precept, precept upon precept
line upon line, line upon
line, here a little, there
a little. Go to 2 Thessalonians
chapter number 2.
The Bible
is a balm because it brings us
back. It restores us. But it doesn't
stop there. It actually after we're
restored, after we're brought back,
it will begin to build us up.
A little here
and a little there. Line upon line.
See that's why it's so
important to be faithful to reading
the Bible. Faithful to the church.
Faithful to the services. Faithful to
giving attendance to reading, to exhortation
and to doctrine because you don't
get it all overnight.
And in fact a lot of the times
we have to go back and relay
some things. You know it's the idea
of line upon line, precept upon precept,
here, there, a little there, that wall
of the Christian life
being built up slowly
over time. You know
if we're relaying brick and one of those bricks get loose
we have to kind of go back and fix that.
Patch it up.
But you know if we're never there for the doctrine,
if we're never weaned
from the milk, if we're never taking in the
strong meat of God's word, you know we can't
expect to be built up.
The balm isn't going to work.
It builds up. It teaches us
knowledge. It makes us to understand doctrine.
Yes it brings us back
but the balm doesn't stop there.
Then it goes on to build us up.
Look there in 2 Thessalonians
chapter 2 verse 16,
Now the Lord Jesus Christ Himself
and God, even our Father,
which hath loved us
and hath given us everlasting
consolation and good hope through grace,
I know I read this earlier,
comfort your hearts and establish you
in every good word and work.
God wants to establish us.
He wants to lay those precepts
down. He wants to lay line upon line.
He wants to build us up.
But it doesn't happen overnight. We have to keep
applying that balm in our lives. Applying that balm
over and over.
Being reminded of these things.
Having them brought back into our
remembrance.
Go over to
Colossians chapter number 2.
This is the balm
that we need to apply to our lives. The Bible.
I'm really just trying to make a case
for the Bible tonight.
I mean it really is
ignoring the Bible or disregarding
the commandments of God. It really is the source
of so many people's problems.
I mean what if everybody
in the whole world decided, hey we're just going to do
whatever the Bible says.
You want to talk about hypothetical questions.
That's a big one.
We know that will never happen.
Short of Christ coming.
But you know a lot of conflicts
would end overnight, wouldn't they?
A lot of problems would get fixed
overnight.
We'd end the AIDS epidemic
real quick.
If we did everything the Bible said.
If the whole world got in God's
program. A lot of the
problems that are out there you know would
just the worst things
that are taking place in our society would just
disappear almost overnight.
People's lives
would be changed. A lot less
suffering in the world.
Of course
it's foolish to expect that
on any kind of a global scale let
alone global, regional, statewide.
You hope to just get a handful
of people together or we all get on board
and at least minimize
the suffering.
But in our lives we
have that
ability. We have that opportunity
to apply this balm in our
lives. To be brought
back to God. And not only that
but then to be built up
by the word of God.
To be established. Where'd I have you go?
Colossians 2 verse
6
He says, as he had therefore
received Christ Jesus the Lord
so walk ye in him.
You've received him. You got
saved. So why don't you walk
in him?
You know if we
live in the spirit let us
also walk in the spirit.
If you've received
Christ so walk in him.
Rooted and built up in him.
And notice
the sequence there. Rooted and
built up. You can't
build anything in your life until you're rooted.
You have to get rooted
in some things in your life. There are things
in your life that you just have to lay down that
foundation. You have to dig down deep
and found it upon the rock if you
expect to withstand the
storms that are gonna come in life.
That's where you have to start.
With the base. With the foundation.
You have to be rooted in him.
Now I understand we're rooted
in salvation. Nothing's gonna move us from that.
But in our lives we need to apply
this balm. We need to apply the
balm of Gilead. The balm of God's
word. The balm of the Bible in our lives and
get rooted in some things.
You know it's
a shame if we're still you know years
into our Christian life and still
floundering on things
when it comes to the word of God.
You know we've heard the preaching
of the word of God. We've read it for ourselves.
We know what it says and we just say well I don't know if I really
want to do that. I'm not sure if
I can. I don't know if I can handle that.
But we're still kind of on the fence. You're not rooted
then. How can you expect to be built up?
If you're not rooted.
You know I don't even
you just say well you're the deacon. You're the preacher here. Of course
you're gonna go to church every service but you
know for a long time before that you know
I wasn't going to church because
you know it was my job.
I went there because I wanted to be built
up. And there
was there's never been a day
since about 20
years ago where I finally
just said I'm gonna be in church every single
service. And I never questioned
that again. I just made that decision
over 20 years ago.
When I walked to a Baptist church
in January of 2022
not 2022.
2002.
You say man you just got
right.
That's not even a year ago deacon.
This guy be preaching to us?
It's 2002.
I did that and I said
you know what I know I need to be in church. This is
a good King James Bible church. The preaching
is good. You know this is where I need
to grow. I need to get some things out of my life. I need
to clean up my life. I need to be in church and
I never once one time after
that woke up and said am I going to church today?
Unless it was Monday or Tuesday or Wednesday
or we went to Wednesday night service.
But every Sunday it was like
well I'm in church.
Why? Because I was rooted.
And I'm not saying I've arrived folks. I'm not saying
but whatever growth I've had in my life
to whatever extent God has chosen
to use me
to whatever extent I've been built
up in Him it's because
I first got rooted.
That's what we need to do
in our lives. That's what the balm
looks like in your life when you begin to apply it.
When you take that balm
of Gilead and start to apply it to your life you know what will happen?
You'll get rooted.
Marriages will get
straightened out.
Well I don't know if I'm going to obey my husband.
I know that's what the Bible says. I've read Ephesians 6.
I just don't. I've heard the preaching. I don't know if I want to do that.
You're not rooted.
Don't expect to be built up.
That marriage is still going to have problems.
You know if we don't in whatever area
of life it is if we take
this balm of Gilead and say
well here's how this can heal my life.
If I apply these biblical
principles and I do what the Bible says
you know it'll fix things but I just don't know
if that's what I want to do. I'm not sure that's how
I want to raise my kids. I don't know if that's how I want to run my house.
I'm not sure if I can make those services.
I don't know if I want to take time out of my week to serve God.
You're not rooted.
And you can't expect to be built up.
You're not building on anything but sand.
And it will not withstand
the storms of life that will come to
every single one of us.
We must be rooted.
We must be built up. We must be what?
As he says here, established in the faith
as you have been taught
abounding therein with thanksgiving.
You apply the balm you know
you're going to be grateful.
You never get sick or get hurt
and you know no one likes
going to the doctor until they need to.
And then we go there and we're like
man I'm so grateful that I live
in a first world country where there's health care.
Yeah we might complain about
the bill.
But at least we're not dead.
I mean at least we have you know balm
to apply our wounds. You know we get a cut
we could put some neosporin on it.
You know there might have been a time where that was it
for you. That thing got infected bad enough
it's like well we got to cut the arm off.
You know if we're built up
and we're rooted
and built up if we find
if we get established in our faith and we're going to follow Christ
and do whatever the Bible commands
and we're just going to do it because it's
what we're supposed to do and just let our
feelings follow later and not
be led by our emotions. You know we're
going to find ourselves built up and eventually what
we're going to find ourselves is abounding
therein doing the work of God being
a fruitful life and not only that we're going to
find ourselves thanking God.
Isn't that what he says?
As you've been taught abounding therein
with thanksgiving.
And it might not be easy at first
but you know when we get rooted and we start doing the things
of God when we start letting God build
us up line by line precept upon
precept in our lives doing things
just because that's what the Bible says applying
the balm in our lives. I guarantee
you there will come a time you'll look back and say
I'm grateful. I'm thankful.
I'm thankful. I'm thankful.
The fact that I got rooted.
You know I don't regret a single decision
that I've made for Jesus Christ. Not one.
I've never looked back and said well you know maybe if I hadn't gotten
saved.
I sure regret you know getting in a good Baptist
church and hearing the word of God. I've never
regretted one single
line of scripture that I've read. Not once.
I've never regretted having sat under a single
sermon where the word of God was preached.
Never once have I walked out and said
man I wish I hadn't done that.
I've never regretted a single
moment I've spent out there
knocking doors and preaching the gospel.
I've never regretted winning a single soul
to Christ.
I've never regretted going into
the ministry. I've never regretted preaching a single
sermon. I've never regretted baptizing
a convert. I've never regretted any of it.
I've never regretted you know taking a
stand or anything like that. I don't regret anything.
Rather the opposite. I'm grateful.
I'm thankful.
And if we can't look in our own lives and
point to things and say I'm thankful
for what God did here and I'm thankful for what God
did here. I'm thankful that I did this for the Lord.
I'm thankful that I did this for the Lord.
We need to ask ourselves are we even
rooted?
Are we even rooted? Are we being built
up?
Because it just seems to me in verse
7 there's this progression. You're rooted.
You're built up. You're established.
You're taught. You abound.
And then the thanksgiving comes.
We need to get rooted. We need to apply
the balm of Gilead in our lives. We need to apply
the balm of the Bible. Look at verse 8.
Beware lest any man spoil you through
philosophy and vain deceit in the tradition
of man after the rudiments of the world and not
after Christ.
If you would we'll close
and go to Colossians chapter. We're in
Colossians 2.
The Bible is a balm
in our lives folks. There is
a balm in Gilead. Jeremiah
asked it hypothetically back there in chapter
8 where he said is there not a balm in Gilead?
Yes there is. That's the
answer.
The question is whether or not we're applying it
in our lives.
It brings us back. It restores us.
It convinces us of sin. It comforts
us. It builds us up.
The last thing it will do is it will
bind us together. I mean think about
healing a wound. Perhaps
you know a broken bone.
I've never had
a broken bone. I know
I shouldn't do that. It's bad luck to
be superstitious. I get it.
You think about that. You'll get it later.
But part
of that you know when we fix a wound
when we fix a broken bone there's a
binding.
You know a bone gets broken bad enough
they have to set it and then they put it in a cast.
They bind it. They hold it in place.
You get a deep enough
cut and you know you have to stitch it back together.
You have to bind that thing up and get it to hold.
Until it's healed.
Look if we apply
the balm in our lives the same thing
will happen.
What the Bible does
is it binds us together and
specifically I want to close on this thought
that it will bind the brethren.
The Bible will bring us
together. The Bible says
can two walk together except they be agreed?
Another hypothetical tonight right?
The answer we know is no.
Look if we're going to accomplish something
as a church we have to have unity.
The Bible puts such an emphasis
on unity.
It's just a major
theme in the scripture.
In the New Testament. Without it
we're going to have a very difficult time accomplishing
anything for Christ.
We have to have it.
Look at Colossians chapter 2
verse 1. He said, For I would that you knew
what great conflict I have for you from them
at Laodicea. For as
many have not seen my face in the flesh
that their hearts may be comforted
being knit together in love
unto the riches of the fullness of the understanding
to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God and the
Father of our Jesus Christ in whom
are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
He's
saying he has this great conflict
for them and for them at Laodicea.
Not just the Colossians but those at Laodicea.
And everybody else who has not seen his face
in the flesh. All the other people have only
heard or read his epistles.
He has a
great conflict for them. Why? Because he wants their
hearts to be comforted. He wants their hearts
to be what? Knit together in love.
You know that
knitting together that's like a binding isn't it?
When you're taking something you're knitting something
together. You're binding it.
You know we need to
be bound together in love.
And what's going to do that?
This balm right here.
This is what will bind us together.
When we all have the same
purpose. We all have the same
understanding.
When we all understand what it is
that we're here to do.
When we all understand how
much Christ has loved every single one of us
individually.
And how God wants to use each one of
us. You know that will bind brethren
together.
Go to Romans 15.
We'll close there. Romans chapter 15.
We must be bound together.
It has to happen. We have to have
unity in a church.
When people get
bent out of shape and disgruntled
and bitter and angry.
You know
that's a drag on a church.
That's a dead limb
that has to be amputated.
You know
when gangrene sets in on a body
you know it's
too late for balm.
You just got to cut it off.
It's the only thing you do. It's going to kill everything.
So
we need to be on guard in our hearts don't we?
We need to make sure we're all applying the balm
in our own lives.
So that we don't become the gangrene
in the body of Christ.
We don't want to ruin what we got going on
here. And you know
our church needs to bind together.
We need to strengthen
the things that remain.
And really you know
more than anything as individuals
get rooted
and built up.
And take the Christian life seriously.
We're not playing games down
here. Romans 15
look at verse 4. For whatsoever things are
written aforetime are written for our learning that we
patience and comfort of
the scriptures might have hope.
What's going to comfort you in your life?
What's that balm that's going to bring hope
in your life? What's going to comfort you?
The scriptures.
And not just reading them. Not just having
some little calendar with a cute little
drawing. Just some Thomas Kincaid
painting with a cute verse over it.
Isn't that nice?
Grandma's you know
needlework you know hung up in the bathroom.
You know with
you know first Corinthians
13 written on it or something.
You know the comfort of the
scriptures is when we read it and say well that's what the
Bible says I'm going to do it.
That brings comfort. That binds
us up. As individuals that's going to bind us together
as a body.
And then he says in verse 5
now the God of patience and consolation.
What's consolation?
It's comfort. That's a balm. It's
healing. The God of patience
and consolation grant you to be like
minded. One toward another
according to Christ Jesus.
That's
a balm that God wants to apply.
That we be like minded one toward another.
That
we have fervent love of the
brethren.
I mean maybe
the preaching isn't enough to bring you to
church on a regular basis.
Maybe it's not enough to get you here.
But what about the love of the brethren?
Who
else in this world believes like
you?
Not too many people that I know of.
The people
in this room.
The people at other churches.
But I don't know about you
but I'm not running into independent
fundamental Baptist everywhere I go.
Quite the opposite.
It
seems like everywhere I'm going today
it's like Jeremiah 8 everywhere.
Everyone's given a covetousness.
It
just seems like it's just
vanities everywhere.
And what else would we expect of the world?
That's what they do.
And we were the
same way. We walked in the lust of the
flesh just like anybody else.
But you know that's not us anymore.
We've come out of that darkness
and we've come into the light of the gospel
of Christ. We need
to make sure that we're getting with the brethren
and that we're being bound together.
That we're being like-minded one toward
another. That we have one mind
and one mouth may glorify God.
We have to have unity.
And the only way we're gonna
have unity is in this church is where
we as individuals
take this balm
and apply it. Take the
Bible and apply it to your lives. And we're all
doing that to the best of our ability.
That's when we have unity.
And that's when we'll have love.
Let's go ahead and close in a word of prayer.
Dear Lord again, thank you for this body
that you've established in this town
and in this church.
And Lord I pray that you'd
help it. Lord that you'd help us to be
knit together in love. That you'd help us to
all be of one mind.
That we would strive together for the
gospel of Christ, Lord. That you'd help us to do a great
work. Lord help
us to apply the Bible to our
lives.
And not just treat it like a guidebook
or something that we follow loosely.
But see it for what it is Lord.
A light that shines in a dark
place that will guide us.
Help us Lord
to apply it. We ask in Christ's name. Amen.
Alright we're gonna go ahead and sing
this song.
Great God Almighty
the Lord
Almighty
the Lord
Almighty
the Lord
Almighty
the Lord
Almighty
the Lord
Almighty
the Lord
Almighty
the Lord
Almighty
the Lord
Almighty
the Lord
Almighty
the Lord
Almighty
the Lord
Almighty
the Lord
Almighty
the Lord
Almighty
the Lord
Almighty
the Lord
Almighty
the Lord
Almighty
the Lord
Almighty
the Lord
Almighty
the Lord
Almighty
the Lord
Almighty
the Lord
Almighty
the Lord
Almighty
the Lord
Almighty
the Lord
Almighty
the Lord
Almighty
the Lord
Almighty
the Lord
Almighty
the Lord
Almighty
the Lord
Almighty
the Lord
Almighty
the Lord
Almighty
the Lord
Almighty
the Lord