Jeremiah chapter number one verse number one the Bible reads the words of Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah of the priests that were in
Anathoth in the land of Benjamin to whom the word of the Lord came in the days of Josiah
the son of Ammon king of Judah in the 13th year of his reign it came also in the days of
Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah
unto the end of the 11th year of Zedekiah the son of Josiah king of Judah under the carrying away of
Jerusalem captive in the fifth month now tonight as we start a brand new book
Jeremiah and our Bible study and we go through this whole entire book verse by verse
Let's start out just by noticing that in the first three verses here
God explains to us the time frame that Jeremiah is preaching and this is always very important when you're understanding
These books God didn't just put this at the beginning just to fill up a couple of verses
He's actually telling us important information about the context here now the last bunch of Wednesday nights
We've been going through Zechariah
That was at the end of the Babylonian captivity the 70 year
Captivity of the children of Judah had ended and in the days of Ezra and Nehemiah when they're coming back to Israel
That's when Zechariah was preaching. Well Jeremiah on the other hand is on the other side of that
Jeremiah is preaching in the days leading up to the captivity in the days of Josiah
Jehoiakim and Zedekiah
These are the final kings of Judah before they go captive into Babylon
So this is a time when the children of Judah are in a lot of disobedience
Against the Lord God's very angry with them to the point where he's going to destroy their entire nation
He's gonna allow the temple to be destroyed and he's gonna cause them to be carried away captive into Babylon because of this
Jeremiah's preaching is very negative
It's a very negative book of the Bible because he's talking to a rebellious house of Israel
That's going to be punished severely and he's warning of that punishment
He's trying to preach to them that they need to repent and turn back to God and so forth
So that's why that information is important there in verses 1 through 3 now in verse number 4 the Bible reads then the Word of
the Lord came unto me saying
before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee and
Before thou came us forth out of the womb
I sanctified thee and I ordained thee a prophet under the nations now notice here
When God talks about choosing Jeremiah before he was even born
To perform this function where he's going to be a prophet to the nation and where he's going to bring a lot of negative
Preaching to the children of Judah to the Jews at that time
Notice that he says I knew thee and I ordained thee
Okay, so the reason that's important is because God often chooses people
To do certain things or to perform great tasks and obviously a man like Jeremiah had a very important role
Because not only is he a prophet to the nations for that generation
But also his words were going to be recorded in the book of Jeremiah and he was going to be one of the holy men
of God who spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost and he's going to be writing a book of the Bible
I mean we have this book of Jeremiah today and it's based around the life and preaching of this man Jeremiah
So this is an extremely important man
Especially in light of the fact that the book of Jeremiah is pretty much the longest book in the Bible with Psalms
They're both right about the same length when you look at how many words are in them
Because even though Jeremiah only has 52 chapters those chapters are very long chapters
So this is a very serious biblical book and God is telling Jeremiah
I already ordained you to be a prophet
I already had this path for you chosen before you were even formed in the belly
Before you even were conceived in your mother's womb
He says to that in verse 6 then said I our Lord God behold I I cannot speak for I am a child
But the Lord said to me say not I am a child
For thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee and whatsoever. I command thee thou shalt speak now
If you would flip over to 1st Peter chapter 1 in the New Testament
Go to the very end of the Bible and just a few books before Revelation. You'll find 1st Peter chapter number 1 and
The reason I bring this up is because the Bible talks a lot about God for ordaining things and God
Choosing people before they're even born or making plans about what people are going to do before they're born and
there's a word that the Bible uses that's
predestination and
There's a lot of controversy around the word predestination because there's a false doctrine that has sprung up around this word that
Basically teaches that God chooses who goes to heaven and who goes to hell that God would basically
Just choose a person for absolutely no reason and
Just say this person's going to hell because it's my will and there's nothing they or anybody else can do about it
and then this person over here I've chosen to go to heaven and
This doctrine is known as Calvinism
But some people will just call it predestination and they mean basically
That God is the one that already decided who's going to be saved and a lot of times these people will laugh at or scoff
At you when you go out and you and you try to really make a difference and
You try to go out and reach people with the gospel and save them with fear and pulling them out of the fire and all
They'll say well, you know God's got to draw them and you know, it's it's God that's gonna do it because he's already chosen
He's already for ordained it and they'll make a lot of statements like well, you know, if you don't do it
Somebody else will do it
somebody else will do it if you don't do it because it's if it's God's will it's gonna happen type of thing and
Even people who haven't gone all the way into this doctrine
Sometimes they have a tendency toward this doctrine this attitude of well if you don't do it someone else will
Well, I don't believe that for one second, you know
The Bible teaches that if our gospel be hid it is hid to them that are lost
They're the ones who suffer, you know to whom the god of this world has blinded the minds of them that believe not
So when the Bible talks about God
Predestinating us or God
Electing us or choosing us. I want to show you that when you look up these scriptures
It's not what this false doctrine of Calvinism teaches that God is choosing which ones go to heaven and which ones go to hell
See that election according the Bible is based upon the foreknowledge of God now
What does election mean election just simply means choosing for example, this is an election year
What does that mean people are going to be choosing a president they're gonna be choosing senators and congressman
So election means choosing but God's choosing is based upon his foreknowledge. It's not based upon
Just the mysteries of his will and randomness. No, actually there is a method to it. See he chose Jeremiah
Because he foreknew Jeremiah
it's not that God just picked a random guy and
Just say well
I'm just gonna make you a prophet to the nations because if he would have picked a lot of people they would have screwed up
That job
I mean Jeremiah had to do a lot of really hard things and preach a lot of really hard sermons and a lot of people
Would have failed but he picked a guy that he foreknew
Would do the job the way that he wanted it to do
So he said I knew you before you were formed and I ordained you now look at first Peter chapter 1 verse 2
We can even just start in verse 1 Peter an apostle of Jesus Christ to the stranger scattered throughout Pontus Galatia Cappadocia
Aza and Bithynia
Elect right what's elect mean chosen elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father
Through sanctification of the Spirit unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ grace unto you and peace
Be multiplied flip over to Romans chapter 8 Romans chapter 8 is probably the most famous scripture that mentions
predestination or
Election according to the foreknowledge of God so it's not that God
Chooses who goes to heaven and who goes to hell because actually if that were the case God would choose for everybody to go to heaven
Because the Bible says that God's not willing that any should perish
But that also come to repentance the Bible says that he will have all men to be saved and to come unto the knowledge of
The truth he gave himself a ransom for all John 3 16 is not just a cruel joke
When he said that God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish
But have everlasting life. Oh, just kidding. It was only for certain people
No, he said he gave himself for the whole world, but the whole world is not saved
It's whosoever believeth it shall be saved
But he gave himself for the whole world the grace of God that bringeth salvation has appeared unto all men the Bible says and so
Salvation is available to all Jesus Christ died for all and the Bible says
Whosoever will and whosoever will in our mind of an acro means whosoever wants to whosoever will let him take the water of life
freely
Jesus said to the Pharisees, but you will not come to me that you might have life
He said you don't want to you don't want to come to me
Because it's the man who has to make the decision to accept
The offer of eternal salvation the free gift of eternal life
Look what the Bible says in Romans chapter 8 verse 28 and we know that all things work together for good
To them that love God to them who are the called
according to his purpose
For whom he did for know
He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his son that he might be the firstborn
Among many brethren now the Bible is telling us here that the people that are predestinated
are those which he foreknew
Meaning that God knows the end from the beginning and before this world was ever even created
He already knew who would be saved and who would not be saved
He already knew that there would be people who would believe on Jesus Christ and people who would not believe on Jesus Christ
He knew that there would be people like Jeremiah that he could use
Greatly to do powerful works for God and then he knew that there were other people
That would be losers that he wouldn't pick people like that for such an important job as to be a prophet to the nations
He knows all these things. It's all part of his four nodes
So the Bible says here if you look carefully in verse 29 for whom he did for know he also did
Predestinate to be conformed to the image of his son
so what this verse is actually saying is that God foreknew which people would be saved which people would believe on Christ and
those people
He predestinated them that they would be conformed to the image of his son
So he looks into the future and he says, okay Steven Anderson is gonna believe on Jesus Christ as a six-year-old boy. I
For know that he's gonna be a believer
His destiny is to be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ
And he looked and saw you the same thing and he said I know this person is going to be saved
So he predestined all those that believe that they would be conformed to the image of his son
That's their destiny to be conformed to the image of Christ because in the resurrection
We shall be like him for we shall see him as he is and the Bible says here
That he might be the firstborn among many brethren verse 30
Moreover whom he did predestinate
Then he also called and whom he called then he also justified and whom he justified then he also glorified
Now, what does this all go back to though God's foreknowledge?
Because it's whosoever believeth in him
That has access to these blessings and these promises of being conformed to the image of a son being glorified
The Bible says that it's by faith. It's by grace that we have access
By faith we have access to this grace wherein we stand the Bible says go over if you would Ephesians chapter 1
This is also scripture that people will turn to
Talking about this subject of predestination or election God's choosing and you know
Whether we're talking about God choosing
People to do works for him like he chose 12 disciples, for example, or he chose Jeremiah to be a prophet
but by the way, God doesn't always just choose people just
It went let me start over when it says that God chose someone it's not always talking about the fact that they're saved
For example, he said of the disciples have not I chosen you 12 and one of you is a devil
You know, he chose them for a job. He chose them for that specific task
According to his foreknowledge it was his will that there would be one who was a devil
Because he would be betrayed by him that the scriptures might be fulfilled
So that's all part of his will to make that choice
But God does not choose people to go to heaven and choose people to go to hell and then create this illusion that we have
The ability to just believe on him and be saved that would be ridiculous doesn't make any sense and it's contrary to the Bible
but it says here in
Ephesians chapter 1 verse 3
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings and heavenly places in Christ
According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world
That we should be holy and without blame before him and love now read that verse very carefully. This verse does not say
God has chosen us in him before the foundation of the world and nuts to everybody else
He chose that we would be in the group and others wouldn't know he's saying he chose us
That we should be holy and without blame before
So God chose he looked forward in the future and said I'm gonna take a people
That believe on me and I'm gonna purify unto myself a peculiar people zealous of good works
I'm gonna take people that believe in me and I'm gonna save them and I'm going to
Predestinate them look at verse 5
Having predestinated us under the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself
according to the good pleasure of
His will to the play praise of his of the glory of his grace wherein he hath made us
Accepted in the beloved in whom we have redemption through his blood the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of his grace
So let's go back to Jeremiah 1
But I just wanted to show you that God's choice is based on his foreknowledge
And so in Ephesians chapter 1 he's not choosing which people will be saved and which people will not be saved
He's choosing that the people which are saved will walk blameless before him
He's choosing that they'll be conformed to the image of his son. He's choosing that they'll be adopted. He's choosing that they'll be glorified
He's choosing that someday they'll inherit all things. That's the choice that he made
He chose that all believers would have these blessings so you can see how people twist scripture though and say oh God
Chooses which one will be saved and which one will not be saved and again one of the biggest problems with that doctrine
Despite what people will say is that it leads to people being
Laxagesical or apathetic and not really feeling like what they do matters because they feel oh
It's all foreordained and they don't have the urgency of wow
People are going to hell and we need to go out and get him saved
We need to go out and preach the gospel
We need to pull these people out of the fire if our gospel be hid it's hid to them that are lost
It's more like no. No God's got it all under control. Just sit back relax
And if people really want to be saved they'll be saved if God, you know
If you don't do it somebody else would it it's not so and and here's what they'll say
Well, but what about these great soul winners and evangelists of the past that were Calvinist, but here's what's funny about that
The exception proves the rule you can point me they pointed me they said well
Here's two people in Phoenix, Arizona who are zealous soul winners and they're Calvinists
Somebody pointed this out to me and I'm thinking to myself. Okay, so you're pointing to me to two people, right?
but I will say this there are a whole bunch of
Presbyterian churches all over this city and a whole bunch of Calvinist Baptist churches a bunch of Reformed Baptists, right?
And then there are a bunch of independent fundamental Baptist churches that are not Calvinist
Let me ask you something who's knocking the doors in this city. Is it the Presbyterians?
When was the last time the Presbyterians came to your door? When was the last time the Reformed Baptist came to your door?
When was the last time somebody from James White's church came to your door? It's not gonna happen
Okay, so they can point out oh this guy 200 years ago, he was real zealous about souls, okay
What about your average independent fundamental Baptist?
Church sends out scores of people every week knocking doors. And by the way, our church is not the only soul winning Church
Thank God we do a lot of soul winning here
But you know what? There are a lot of other independent Baptist churches all over America that knock
Thousands and thousands and thousands of doors and they're not Calvinist and the churches
I've been in there were Calvinists were dead as a doornail and the exception proves the rule
But the vast majority of anybody who gives a rip about where people go when they die
it happens to be people that aren't Calvinists and
Most of the Calvinists are these go down deep stay down long come up dry
sit in their ivory tower with their commentaries and their church fathers and all their
Theological mumbo-jumbo and you know, that's the truth and it's the it's the ones who say
Whosoever will may come that are actually doing the real soul winning and that's a fact
That's that's what we see but it'd be that as it may it's what the Bible teaches anyway
But anyway, we see this about Jeremiah that he's chosen to be a prophet unto the nations
Another thing I want to point out about that verse in verse 5 is that Jeremiah was not called to only preach unto
The children of Judah that was not his only ministry
Sometimes people get a very strange view that God only cared about
the chosen nation of Israel in the Old Testament and it was sort of just
To hell with everybody else. That's pretty much what they think and then they think open in the New Testament
He opened it up beyond that but if you stop and think about it
Obviously in the Old Testament the nation of Israel were a chosen people a chosen nation
They were set apart and holy unto God, but they were actually designed to be a light unto the Gentiles
They weren't designed to just be this isolated group of people
That God would love them and deal with them and save them and just not care about anyone else
No, God actually loved people in the Old Testament tube that were not of the chosen ones
He still loved the world at that time as well
And so when we see here that Jeremiah is called to be a prophet unto the nations as we read the book of Jeremiah
You're gonna see various instances where he preaches to foreign countries where God sends him on tour literally
Around the world where God sends him to all nations and where the Bible literally lists
Nation after nation after nation where Jeremiah traveled and preached the Word of God you go to the book of Isaiah
You're gonna find the same thing
You're gonna find God sending Isaiah to all nations of the earth all of them and then through the ministry of Daniel
Shadrach Meshach and Abednego we see God's Word going out to all tongues all
Kindreds all nations in the book of Esther we see the Word of God going out to a hundred and twenty-seven
provinces all the way from Ethiopia to India
So God's plan has always included all men upon the earth. He's the God of the whole earth
Is he the God of the Jews only is he not also the Gentiles?
Yes of the Gentiles also and even in the Old Testament
God
Had a plan and cared about all the people of the world
Did the nation of Israel have a special purpose in the Old Testament where they had chosen people?
Did they bring forth the Lord Jesus Christ where the oracles of God committed unto them?
Of course
But God also wanted other people to hear the preaching to think about all the great stories in the Old Testament
About non Jews receiving salvation from the Lord think about people like Nahum in the Syrian
You know any and by the way, Jesus talked about this when he was in his ministry
He said in Matthew chapter 8
When a man you don't have to turn there, but when a man
Came to him with great faith
He said unto this man. This man was not a Jew. He said verily I say unto you
I have not found so great faith
No
not in Israel and
I say unto you
The many shall come from the east and west and shall sit down with Abraham Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven
But the children of the kingdom meaning the kingdom of Israel shall be cast out into outer darkness
There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth when Jesus was almost pushed off a cliff
you remember when they tried to push Jesus off a cliff in
Luke chapter 4 he goes and preaches as his hometown. In fact, let's quickly turn there Luke chapter number 4. That's a great story
Jesus goes back to preach to his hometown. And of course the Bible says a prophet is not without honor
Save in his own country and in his own house, but Jesus actually points back to
Old Testament stories showing that even in the Old Testament God cared about people of other nations
And he wasn't just specific to the Jews only
Look what it says in verse number 24 of chapter 4 and he said verily I say unto you
No prophet is accepted in his own country
But I tell you of a truth many widows were in Israel in the days of Elias
When the heaven was shut up three years and six months when great famine was throughout all the land
But under none of them was Elias sent
save unto
Sarepta a city of Zidon
unto a woman that was a widow and many lepers were in Israel in the time of Alyssius the prophet and
None of them was cleansed saving Naaman the Syrian and all they in the synagogue when they heard these things were filled with wrath
And you know even this preaching today could create wrath in people
When you start saying hey guess what?
God loves people that aren't just the Jews
but also the Gentiles only and that there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek and that God has
Salvation for all and he's the god of the whole earth and his house is a house of prayer for all nations
You know they get angry about that and here the Bible says that they were angry at Jesus for pointing out
It looked some of the greatest works in the Old Testament were done toward foreigners
He said there were a lot of other widows that he could have helped out
But he helped out a foreigner a lot of guys could have been healed of leprosy
But it was a foreigner that was helped out and by the way we need to get past this attitude
That a lot of people have today. That's an anti foreigner attitude. It's not biblical
What is it some kind of a liberal or do you hippie but hold on a second
I thought the Bible is our final authority here not talk radio
Okay, so what does the Bible say about the stranger it says treat the stranger well
Says treat him as one born in the land
Okay, it doesn't say to hate foreigners and to end to get this
Tribalistic where you know hey white people and look there are people out there today that are white supremacist and
There are people out there that are black supremacists. You know what about these black Hebrew Israelites?
and
They talk about how blacks are the chosen people and everything like that
It's huge movement
And then there are all kinds of white people that are the same way and there are
Hispanics and Indians and everybody else that feels the same way, but wait a minute
God forbid that I should glory save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ
That's what the glory and being white or brown or black or yellow. It doesn't matter
It's meaningless in the eyes of God avoid genealogies. He said avoid genealogies who cares
But yet people today get this attitude that one nation is better than another
When really God has made all kindreds of the earth of one blood, and he's not a respecter of persons
And you know it's it's to the Jew first and also to the Greek and there's no difference between the two
He's made us both one in Christ Jesus in Christ
There is neither male nor female Jew nor Greek bond nor free Scythian Parthian. It doesn't matter
So we need to understand that
Jeremiah was ordained a prophet to the nations
Let's look at this in Jeremiah chapter 1 verse 6 then said I ah Lord God behold. I cannot speak for I am a child
But the Lord said unto me say not I am a child
For thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee and whatsoever. I command thee thou shalt speak
This is a great scripture for children right here, and I hope every child who's here today would
Listen to what this scripture is saying don't say I cannot speak for I'm a child
You know children can be used by God to win souls unto Jesus Christ. They can be used to preach God's Word
You know I remember the story of my grandpa
Who got saved because of the testimony of a five-year-old boy literally God used a five-year-old boy?
to win my grandfather the Lord
Okay, and you know what what Baptist pastors had failed to do in the past this five-year-old boy accomplished
there was a kid who lived on his street and this five-year-old boy came to him and
Quoted the Romans road to him and preached the gospel, and he didn't get saved right then and there
But he said wow I I got to go to the church that this kid is from I'm gonna go check that church out
He was so impressed that this five-year-old boy came up and started witnessing to him and preaching to God five five years old
Preach to him the Romans Road
He went to church that Sunday, and then the Tuesday night thereafter
The pastor and a deacon dr.
Roland Rasmussen and and one of the deacons there from faith Baptist Church in Canoga Park
Came to his house and won him and my dad to the Lord the same day my grandfather and my dad the same day
Why because of a five-year-old boy?
You know God can use
children to preach the Word of God and
You know I thank God for the fact that I you know my children in the neighborhood have won some kids unto the Lord in
The neighborhood you know when they run into kids on the street or at the park
So if you're a child you're listening to me don't say oh well. I'm a child. I'm just I can't speak
I'm a child you know what if you have friends in the neighborhood that you play with
Maybe you go to school, or maybe you're part of a homeschool group
Why don't you open your mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel?
And you know I've often thought about all the kids that I knew when I was in elementary school
junior high and high school
And I've often thought about the fact that I bet you I could have won some of them to the Lord if I would have
If I would have tried you ever think about that
I think about kids that I knew and I think about wow I bet you I could have won them unto the Lord
But I just didn't do it nobody taught me to do solely. I didn't learn soul-winning until I was like 17 years old
But God wants to use
Children he wants to use man woman boy and girl
To to win people to Christ and to preach the gospel
So don't say I'm a child because if you start when you're a child be like Timothy who from a child knew the holy scriptures
Which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith, which is in Christ Jesus
And you can be used by God even as a child the Bible says out of the mouths of babes and sucklings thou has perfected
praise
You know suffer the children to come unto me from such as the kingdom of God
Verily I say to you whosoever shall not be converted and become as a little child
He said shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven you have to become as a little child and have the faith of a child
That's why children are easy to win the Lord and you know who's good at winning children of the Lord other children
Children winning children to the Lord
Otherwise what are you even doing playing with all these neighborhood kids and everything if you're not gonna win them to Christ
You know that's why we're on this earth to
Preach the gospel and the younger you start doing that the better. I wish I would have started younger
I wish I would have used all those opportunities
I had when I was a kid and and I really wanted to but I just didn't know what I was doing
But if you grow up in this church you have no excuse because there's an abundance of opportunity to learn
Then said I all Lord God behold I cannot speak for I am a child
but the Lord said to me say not I am a child for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee and
Whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak the verse that comes to mind is when Paul tells Timothy let no man despise thy youth
but be thou an example of the believers in word in
conversation and charity in spirit and faith and purity
The
Bible says in verse 8 be not afraid of their faces for I am with thee to deliver these sayeth the Lord
Then the Lord put forth his hand and touched my mouth and the Lord said unto me behold
I've put my words in thy mouth
see I've set thee this day over the nations and over the kingdoms to root out and to pull down and to destroy and
Throw down to build and to plant so here Jeremiah is being commissioned to go out and preach a hard message
And so he's told don't be afraid of their faces
He's saying people are going to give you dirty looks
You know people are going to confront you and be an enemy unto you, and you can't be afraid of them
I'm going to deliver you because I'm sending you to root out
I'm sending you to pull down to destroy now most people don't think of a preacher as a destroyer do they?
You know nobody prays before the sermon Lord
I pray that you would just help pastor Anderson. Just destroy what he needs to destroy tonight
Lord just help him to destroy it
You know what what do you think about that pastor that you know he's destructive?
And I mean that in the best possible way
But what but I mean, this is part of the ministry
Some things that need to be destroyed and notice when you look at his ministry
He says root out pull down destroy and throw down
Those are four negatives, and then he says to build and to plan that's two positives
it's a two-thirds negative message and and and one-third positive that Jeremiah is going to be preaching and
So many preachers today are a hundred percent positive and zero percent negative or ninety nine percent
Positive and one percent negative, and you know some people are too negative. I agree, but we need a balance
We need a tearing down type of a sermon you say well
I you know I want to be built up yeah, but sometimes you need to be torn down
Sometimes you need a swift kick in the pants more than you need a pat on the back
and
So the Bible says in verse number 11 moreover the word of the Lord came unto me saying Jeremiah
What seest thou and I said I see a rod of an almond tree
Then said the Lord unto me thou is well seen for I will hasten my word
To perform it and
The word of the Lord came unto me the second time saying what seest thou and I said I see a seething pot in the
Face thereof is toward the north
Then the Lord said unto me out of the north and evil shall break forth upon all the inhabitants of the land
For lo
I will call all the families of the kingdoms of the north saith the Lord and they shall come and they shall
Set everyone is thrown at the entering of the gates of Jerusalem and against all the walls thereof roundabout and against all the cities of
Judah and I will utter my judgments against them touching all their wickedness
Who have forsaken me and have burned incense unto other gods and worship the works of their own hands
So God is pronouncing judgment upon the children of Judah for being wicked and worshiping other gods
He says I'm gonna bring evil upon them
I'm gonna bring these nations against them to destroy them and to fight against them now
This is not a very positive message when you preach to your country. Oh, by the way, there's an enemy coming
and you're gonna lose and they're gonna win because it's like whoa, you're not patriotic and
Even later in the book of Jeremiah, he's gonna be accused of treason
You've fallen under the Chaldeans you're being paid by the Chaldeans and he says well, it's a lie
But he's still thrown in prison
why because he was accused of being in the payment of the Chaldeans because he's
ruining their morale
You know by saying that they're gonna lose and he's telling just surrender to the Chaldeans
You're gonna lose anyway. It's like whoa. What are you doing, buddy?
We're at war all the talk radio was saying, you know, this guy's a traitor
We're at war this this hippie and what an anti-war or whatever
But he was preaching the Word of God. He had to preach what God said now
The first thing he shows him is a rod of an almond tree, you know
I believe he's probably just showing him there a rod that he's gonna whoop him with
You know because the rods like spare the rods spoil the child right a rod is something that you
Beat somebody with to discipline them and he's bringing discipline and punishment upon
the children of Judah and
He says there's a seething pot like a boiling pot that represents the enemy that's gonna come and destroy them
He says in verse 17 there thou therefore gird up thy loins and arise and speak unto them all that I command thee be not
dismayed at their faces
Lest I confound thee before them now God is not only
Commanding him not to be dismayed at their faces not only to fear them
But he's actually telling him that he's gonna punish him if he is dismayed at their faces
If you're dismayed at their faces, I'll confound you before them. I
Will cause you to fail you will look as a fool before them if you are dismayed at them
But he's basically telling him, you know, if you do what's right if you preach what's right? I'll defend you
He said in verse 18 for behold
I have made thee this day a defensive city and an iron pillar and brazen walls against the whole land
against the kings of Judah
Against the princes thereof against the priests thereof and against the people of the land and they shall fight against thee
But they shall not prevail against thee for I am with thee saith the Lord to deliver thee now, let me submit to you this
there's nothing new under the Sun and
If we were to take an honest look at the United States of America today
It is similar to the land of Judah at this time in the sense that we've committed great wickedness and abominations
and we know that God's anger is like a seething pot ready to boil over and we know that God's got the rod of the
Almond tree ready and we know that bad things are gonna happen to us as a result of our wickedness
we're in the same boat here and
Preachers today if they preach the truth if they cry aloud and spare not and show God's people their sins
If they get up and preach the word in season out of season and they reprove rebuke and exhort with all long-suffering and doctrine
they will end up being against the kings of the land and
Against the princes of the land against the priests of the land and against the people of the land
Look there are people that we need to preach against
there are priests and preachers that need to be preached against there are rulers and leaders that need to be preached against and
it's no different today than it was then and
God says if you will not fear if you will be a fearless preacher
He says I'll make you like a defense city
I'll make you like an iron pillar and brazen walls against the whole land and against etc
against the kings of Judah see
The word that keeps coming up in this passage is against
There are times when we preach about something and then there are times when we need to preach against something
There are times we need to stand for something and times when we need to stand
Against something and that's what the Bible is teaching here now
Let me just point out the obvious truth of this chapter that a lot of people don't want to face and that
Is this that when the children of Judah
Disobeyed the Lord and forsook him and worshipped other gods
the Bible says that God was against them and
The Bible says that God gathered nations against them and that he brought enemies against them and that he set preachers against them
Did he say to Jeremiah you're gonna be for the kings of Judah because they're the chosen people period
So you got to be forum because you got a blood if you don't bless them God won't bless you
Whoa, buddy, you better bless the king of Jude. No. No, he said no you you're against the cities of Judah
I'm not look is everybody reads every have a Bible here tonight is everybody looking at the same chapter
I'm looking at because they you're against the cities of Judah. You're against the kings of Judah. You're against Jerusalem
I'm bringing armies against us and but yet today the preachers just want to be for Jerusalem and for
Judah no matter what no matter what false God they worship and let me tell you something. There's only one God and
He has a name
Jesus and it's the name that's above any other name
Neither is there salvation in any other for there is none other name under heaven
Given among men whereby we must be saved and the Bible says that if you don't if you don't have the son
You don't have the father
Whosoever denyeth the son the same hath not the father, but he that acknowledges the son hath the father also
Who is a liar but he that denyeth that Jesus is the Christ?
He's anti Christ that denied the father and the son the Bible says whosoever transgresseth and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ
Hath not God
Just let that sink in whosoever transgresseth and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ
hath not God
Whosoever abideth in the doctrine of Christ. He hath both the father and the son
But hold on a second. Why is it that there is a doctrine today that says these people who do not believe in Christ have God
Is that biblical how do you say they have God
Okay, here we go again whosoever transgresseth and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ hath not God
Whosoever denyeth the son the same hath not the father but busy Oh in Israel, they have the same God that we have
Really? How does that work?
Because the Bible says that no man cometh unto the Father
but by Jesus
So therefore they don't have the same God so but do they have a God I mean you talk about God
I mean who I mean the praying to somebody at that wall. I
Mean who are they but they're praying to somebody
Okay, but you say oh they're praying to the Father really because that's not what the Bible says the Bible says they don't have God
And the Bible says that by Christ we have access
To the Father by Christ we we may come boldly before the throne of grace
Jesus the Son of God is our priest
We have one mediator between God and man the man Christ Jesus
And so it's important to keep that in mind and so as we continue on in the book of Jeremiah
We need to realize what's going on in the book. We got to get the context what's going on in the book
We've got a wicked nation
Which is similar to where we find ourselves the United States a nation that in time past was righteous
Just as the United States in time past has been a godly god-fearing nation
That's how Judah was in the past. Yeah, they had been a
Godly nation really in recent history with Josiah they had been but then they went off into wickedness once again
and so we're in the same boat today and
They had judgment coming we have judgment coming. They had a preacher that was sent unto them
We have lots of preachers that God has sent unto us in America
There are lots of preachers that God has ordained and God will continue to ordain many more preachers in the next
Several years and God willing there would be a whole army of Jeremiah type preachers
That would start churches all over America and that would be like an iron pillar
There would be like a brazen wall
There would be a defensive city that would not be afraid of the faces of man
But that God's Word would be in their mouth and they would stand up and boldly
Preach the Word of God and yes, they would build and plant but they wouldn't be afraid to tear down to destroy
That which impedes God's work
you can't build something until you first clear the ground and
Demolish that which was there
Beforehand and
So as we read the book of Jeremiah, there's a lot that we could apply
unto ourselves all the scriptures
That God gave in the Old Testament are written for our admonition
Upon whom the ends of the world are come and all scripture is given by inspiration of God is profitable for doctrine
and so as we go through Jeremiah, there will be many lessons for preacher and
parishioner alike and there will be many lessons for our nation and there will be many lessons about
You know what God wants us to do in the year 2016. Let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer. Father
We thank you so much Lord for this powerful book of Jeremiah
It's really a giant book Lord and it's one that has a lot of difficult things Lord
But I pray that through the power of the Holy Spirit as our teacher
We would understand this book over the next 51 weeks
that we study the rest of this book Lord open our eyes and and let us behold wondrous things out of your law and
Lord, please just give us an understanding heart. Give us wisdom and skill as you gave to Daniel and in Jesus name we pray. Amen