WEBVTT 00:00.000 --> 00:05.500 Now, Pasher, the son of Imre the priest, who was also chief governor in the house of the 00:05.500 --> 00:08.320 Lord, heard that Jeremiah prophesied these things. 00:08.320 --> 00:11.440 Then Pasher smote Jeremiah the prophet, and put him in the stocks that were in the high 00:11.440 --> 00:14.420 gate of Benjamin, which was by the house of the Lord. 00:14.420 --> 00:18.680 It came to pass on tomorrow that Pasher brought forth Jeremiah out of the stocks. 00:18.680 --> 00:24.040 And said Jeremiah unto him, The Lord hath not called thy name Pasher, but Magor Mesebib. 00:24.040 --> 00:27.520 For thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will make thee a terror to thyself and to all thy friends, 00:27.520 --> 00:29.320 and they shall fall by the sword of their enemies. 00:29.320 --> 00:33.520 And thine eyes shall behold it, and I will give all Judah into the hand of the king of 00:33.520 --> 00:37.880 Babylon, and ye shall carry them captive into Babylon, and shall slay them with the sword. 00:37.880 --> 00:41.840 Moreover, I will deliver all the strength of this city, and all the labors thereof, and 00:41.840 --> 00:45.000 all the precious things thereof, and all the treasures of the king of Judah, while they 00:45.000 --> 00:48.320 give them to the hand of their enemies, which shall spoil them, and take them, and carry 00:48.320 --> 00:49.320 them to Babylon. 00:49.320 --> 00:52.840 And thou, Pasher, and all that dwell thine house, shall go into the captivity. 00:53.840 --> 00:58.240 And thou shalt come to Babylon, and there thou shalt die, and shalt be buried there, 00:58.240 --> 01:02.120 thou and all thy friends to whom thou hast prophesied lies. 01:02.120 --> 01:04.200 Lord thou hast deceived me, and I was deceived. 01:04.200 --> 01:06.320 Thou art stronger than I, and hast prevailed. 01:06.320 --> 01:08.480 I am in derision daily. 01:08.480 --> 01:09.480 Every one mocketh me. 01:09.480 --> 01:14.360 For since I spake, I cried out, I cried violence and spoil, because the word of the Lord was 01:14.360 --> 01:18.000 made a reproach unto me in a derision daily. 01:18.000 --> 01:21.280 Then I said, I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name. 01:21.720 --> 01:25.200 But his word was in my heart as a burning fire, shut up in my bones. 01:25.200 --> 01:28.160 And I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay. 01:28.160 --> 01:31.000 For I heard the defaming of many, fear on every side. 01:31.000 --> 01:33.200 Reports say they, and we will report it. 01:33.200 --> 01:37.280 All my familiars watched for my halting, saying, peradventure he will be enticed, and we shall 01:37.280 --> 01:41.240 prevail against him, and we shall take our revenge on him. 01:41.240 --> 01:43.480 But the Lord is with me as a mighty terrible one. 01:43.480 --> 01:46.880 Therefore my persecutors shall stumble, and they shall not prevail. 01:46.880 --> 01:49.760 They shall be greatly ashamed, for they shall not prosper. 01:49.760 --> 01:53.160 Their everlasting confusion shall never be forgotten. 01:53.160 --> 01:57.480 But O Lord of hosts, that triest the righteous, and seeth the reigns in the heart, let me 01:57.480 --> 02:02.160 see thy vengeance on them, for unto thee have I opened my cause. 02:02.160 --> 02:05.400 Sing unto the Lord, praise ye the Lord, for ye have delivered the soul of the poor from 02:05.400 --> 02:07.720 the hand of evildoers. 02:07.720 --> 02:09.760 Cursed be the day wherein I was born. 02:09.760 --> 02:12.960 Let not the day wherein my mother bare me be blessed. 02:12.960 --> 02:16.920 Cursed be the man who brought tidings to my father, saying, a man-child is born unto thee, 02:16.920 --> 02:17.920 making him very glad. 02:18.280 --> 02:21.480 And let that man be as the cities which the Lord overthrew and repented not. 02:21.480 --> 02:25.360 And let him hear the cry in the morning and the shouting in noontide, because he slew 02:25.360 --> 02:29.520 me not from the womb, or that my mother might have been my grave and her womb to be always 02:29.520 --> 02:31.080 great with me. 02:31.080 --> 02:34.680 Wherefore came I forth out of the womb to see labor and sorrow, that my days should 02:34.680 --> 02:36.680 be consumed with shame. 02:36.680 --> 02:37.680 Let's pray to the Lord God. 02:37.680 --> 02:39.280 We thank you for this opportunity to be in your house. 02:39.280 --> 02:43.000 We just ask that you would bless our pastor with your Holy Spirit now as he preaches your 02:43.000 --> 02:44.000 word. 02:44.000 --> 02:47.000 And please give us, help us be edified thereby and in Jesus name we pray. 02:47.880 --> 02:48.880 Amen. 02:48.880 --> 02:51.760 Okay, we're in Jeremiah chapter 20 this morning. 02:51.760 --> 02:53.360 Look at verse number 4. 02:53.360 --> 02:58.080 It says, For thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will make thee a terror to thyself and to 02:58.080 --> 03:03.140 all thy friends, and they shall fall by the sword of their enemies, and thine eyes shall 03:03.140 --> 03:04.140 behold it. 03:04.140 --> 03:08.920 And I will give all Judah into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall carry them 03:08.920 --> 03:12.880 captive into Babylon, and shall slay them with the sword. 03:12.880 --> 03:18.160 And I will deliver all the strength of this city, and all the laborers thereof, and all 03:18.160 --> 03:22.240 the precious things thereof, and all the treasures of the kings of Judah will I give into the 03:22.240 --> 03:29.200 hand of their enemies, which shall spoil them, and take them, and carry them to Babylon. 03:29.200 --> 03:32.120 The title of my sermon this morning is the Babylonian Captivity. 03:32.120 --> 03:33.120 The Babylonian Captivity. 03:33.120 --> 03:35.360 It's a good old fashioned Mother's Day sermon. 03:35.360 --> 03:36.360 Amen. 03:36.360 --> 03:38.400 I want to preach on the subject of the Babylonian Captivity. 03:38.560 --> 03:43.320 And I want to give you some of the historical context from the Word of God of what exactly 03:43.320 --> 03:46.720 took place in this event in the nation of Israel. 03:46.720 --> 03:53.120 Now let me first off talk about why the Babylonian Captivity took place in the beginning. 03:53.120 --> 03:54.920 Why did it happen in the first place? 03:54.920 --> 04:01.340 The Book of Jeremiah is a book largely based in this pre-captivity era where God is sending 04:01.340 --> 04:03.560 Jeremiah to Judah. 04:03.560 --> 04:04.840 He's preaching against Israel. 04:04.840 --> 04:09.760 He's mainly talking to Judah, and he's essentially warning them of the captivity to come. 04:09.760 --> 04:14.040 Because of their sin, they're involved in covetousness and idolatry. 04:14.040 --> 04:18.120 They are committing grievous abominations in the land. 04:18.120 --> 04:20.880 And so God is constantly sending them prophets to warn them. 04:20.880 --> 04:23.240 He's saying, hey, you need to get right with God. 04:23.240 --> 04:24.240 Stop doing these things. 04:24.240 --> 04:25.240 Repent of your ways. 04:25.240 --> 04:27.360 Turn from your wickedness. 04:27.360 --> 04:29.880 Stop committing evil in the sight of the Lord. 04:29.880 --> 04:32.240 God is going to be angry with you. 04:32.240 --> 04:33.960 He's going to punish you. 04:34.120 --> 04:35.840 They're just not listening. 04:35.840 --> 04:39.560 And in this particular book, we see that they breached the covenant on multiple occasions 04:39.560 --> 04:41.800 throughout the span of many years. 04:41.800 --> 04:49.240 And therefore, God was going to allow a foreign nation to come in and destroy them and take 04:49.240 --> 04:55.200 them into captivity and shame them and humble them in order to punish them for what they've 04:55.200 --> 04:56.200 done. 04:56.200 --> 04:59.840 And specifically, he actually prophesied of the fact that they're going to be gone into 05:00.320 --> 05:05.640 captivity for 70 years, which equates to the amount of time that the nation refused to 05:05.640 --> 05:09.120 observe the Sabbath here in during this particular time. 05:09.120 --> 05:11.200 Now turn to the book of Daniel, if you would. 05:11.200 --> 05:12.560 Hold your place there in Jeremiah. 05:12.560 --> 05:13.560 We're going to come back to that. 05:13.560 --> 05:15.600 Go to Daniel, chapter one, if you would. 05:15.600 --> 05:19.360 I'm going to reach you from second Chronicles chapter 36 and verse 20. 05:19.360 --> 05:24.680 It says, and then that had escaped from the sword carried he away to Babylon, where they 05:24.680 --> 05:29.360 were servants to him and his sons until the reign of the kingdom of Persia. 05:29.360 --> 05:36.200 To fulfill the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed her 05:36.200 --> 05:42.120 Sabbaths, it says, for as long as she lay desolate, she kept Sabbath to fulfill three 05:42.120 --> 05:44.200 score and 10 years. 05:44.200 --> 05:48.600 So again, it's telling us here that they would be gone for a total of 70 years. 05:48.600 --> 05:53.960 Now, part of this punishment of allowing them to be taken captive for 70 years is the fact 05:54.520 --> 05:59.640 basically wants that previous generation, that wicked, godless generation to just die 05:59.640 --> 06:00.640 out. 06:00.640 --> 06:01.640 Okay. 06:01.640 --> 06:05.520 He wanted them to just die out and you know, it would take about 70 years, right? 06:05.520 --> 06:09.520 And of course, at the end of those 70 years, the implication here is that you were going 06:09.520 --> 06:15.520 to have a new generation that arose that did believe on the Lord, that wanted to seek God. 06:15.520 --> 06:19.000 And of course, they would be brought back into the land later on. 06:19.000 --> 06:23.160 So that was part of the punishment there is that he wanted them to die out. 06:23.640 --> 06:27.160 Now, the important thing to know regarding the Babylonian captivity that a lot of people 06:27.160 --> 06:30.520 don't really think about is the fact that it wasn't one single event. 06:30.520 --> 06:36.120 A lot of times people think, oh, when Nebuchadnezzar came and destroyed Babylon, just immediately 06:36.120 --> 06:41.200 he just took everyone and destroyed everything and just took them all in one swipe. 06:41.200 --> 06:43.500 But it actually took place in waves. 06:43.500 --> 06:45.200 It took place in stages. 06:45.200 --> 06:46.200 Okay. 06:46.200 --> 06:50.760 And in fact, even between the first and second wave, which is commonly referred to as the 06:50.760 --> 06:56.080 deportation of Judah, you have about 20 years in between. 06:56.080 --> 06:57.080 Okay. 06:57.080 --> 07:01.520 So how do we apply this, these particular things in a spiritual manner? 07:01.520 --> 07:04.800 Well, if you think about it, you know, the captivity of the children of Israel, and of 07:04.800 --> 07:09.040 course, I'm specifically referring to Judah, the captivity of the children of Israel is 07:09.040 --> 07:12.400 basically an example of God's people backsliding. 07:12.400 --> 07:13.400 Okay. 07:13.400 --> 07:17.320 They're suffering the consequences of their actions. 07:17.320 --> 07:24.260 They are reaping the punishment of continued disobedience and rebellion and just completely 07:24.260 --> 07:30.520 turning their backs on the word of God and insulting God with their disobedience. 07:30.520 --> 07:34.120 And it's for that reason that God says, okay, I'm just going to take you into captivity 07:34.120 --> 07:35.120 then. 07:35.120 --> 07:36.120 You know, you're not listening. 07:36.120 --> 07:37.120 You're just being rebellious. 07:37.120 --> 07:38.640 You're being stubborn. 07:38.640 --> 07:40.040 You're not willing to change your ways. 07:40.040 --> 07:45.160 Then, okay, I'm going to have a foreign nation come and just completely decimates you to 07:45.160 --> 07:46.440 kind of wake you up. 07:46.440 --> 07:50.320 And if you're not willing to wake up during the punishment, then fine. 07:50.320 --> 07:54.520 I will use the next generation to follow and you're just going to die out. 07:54.520 --> 07:56.240 That's basically what's taking place here. 07:56.240 --> 07:57.240 Okay. 07:57.240 --> 08:01.920 And, you know, when we apply this to us as believers, you know, this can also happen 08:01.920 --> 08:03.440 to Christians, right? 08:03.440 --> 08:05.040 Where they become stubborn. 08:05.040 --> 08:08.160 They don't want to listen to the reproofments of the word of God. 08:08.160 --> 08:09.880 They can get involved in sin. 08:09.880 --> 08:12.740 They can get involved in that which is not pleasing unto the Lord. 08:13.620 --> 08:17.780 you're like reaching out to believers through daily Bible reading. 08:17.780 --> 08:20.180 He's reaching out to them to the preaching of God's word. 08:20.180 --> 08:22.420 But sometimes Christians are just stubborn. 08:22.420 --> 08:26.420 You know, they're just like, now it goes through one ear and out the other. 08:26.420 --> 08:30.660 They're not willing to listen to listen to the admonishments of the word of God. 08:30.660 --> 08:31.740 And then what does God have to do? 08:31.740 --> 08:36.260 He has to come and allow them to be taken captive by the enemy. 08:36.260 --> 08:37.380 Okay. 08:37.380 --> 08:38.740 And make no mistake about it. 08:38.780 --> 08:44.180 You know, just as Judah was taken into captivity in like manner, the believer can often be 08:44.180 --> 08:49.140 taken captive by the world, by the sins of the flesh. 08:49.140 --> 08:52.500 And yes, even by the devil through strong delusions and so forth. 08:52.500 --> 08:55.300 You don't have to turn there, but I'm going to read to you from Romans chapter seven, 08:55.300 --> 08:59.420 verse 23 says, but I see another law in my members. 08:59.420 --> 09:03.180 Listen to this warring against the law of my mind. 09:03.180 --> 09:04.180 Right. 09:04.180 --> 09:09.940 Bringing me into captivity to the law of sin, which is in my members. 09:09.940 --> 09:11.580 The Bible says, so make no mistake about it. 09:11.580 --> 09:14.780 Christians, we obviously know we can't lose our salvation. 09:14.780 --> 09:18.500 Eternal life is ours forever for all of eternity. 09:18.500 --> 09:20.700 Nothing could take us out of the hand of God. 09:20.700 --> 09:22.780 Nothing could separate us from the love of God. 09:22.780 --> 09:24.100 But make no mistake about it. 09:24.100 --> 09:26.580 Satan can still take you captive. 09:26.580 --> 09:31.580 Your sin can still captivate you and keep you useless in the things of God and 09:31.580 --> 09:33.620 absolutely just destroy your life. 09:33.620 --> 09:34.620 Okay. 09:34.620 --> 09:38.220 You know, he says he's bringing me into captivity to the law of sin. 09:38.220 --> 09:43.380 So just as Judas captivity happened in stages, by the way, well, in like manner, 09:43.380 --> 09:47.420 backsliding can also happen in stages. 09:47.420 --> 09:49.220 Meaning that here's the thing. 09:49.220 --> 09:52.140 Sometimes people think, oh man, that person just got out of church. 09:52.140 --> 09:54.100 They must have just backslidden wrong. 09:54.100 --> 09:56.740 It happened in stages. 09:56.740 --> 09:59.980 You know, backsliding doesn't happen overnight. 09:59.980 --> 10:02.260 It happens incrementally. 10:02.260 --> 10:03.980 It happens in waves. 10:03.980 --> 10:05.780 It happens in stages. 10:05.780 --> 10:11.420 Just like with the Babylonian captivity, it happened over a period of time. 10:11.420 --> 10:14.820 And what I want to preach about this morning is the fact that you need to make 10:14.820 --> 10:19.780 sure that you take inventory of your own spiritual life and make sure that you're 10:19.780 --> 10:22.700 not backsliding incrementally, right? 10:22.700 --> 10:27.540 You're not getting away from the things of God in waves, in stages, because that's 10:27.580 --> 10:30.180 exactly how Satan operates. 10:30.180 --> 10:32.740 He's not trying to just take you out with one swipe. 10:32.740 --> 10:38.420 He's like the matador fighting the bull, just one stab after another, just one 10:38.420 --> 10:42.660 here and one there till it completely bleeds out and dies. 10:42.660 --> 10:46.180 And that's exactly how Satan seeks to take you down. 10:46.180 --> 10:48.300 That's how backsliding happens. 10:48.300 --> 10:49.940 It happens in waves. 10:49.940 --> 10:54.340 Often people being taken captive by the flesh, by the world and by the devil 10:54.340 --> 10:55.740 incrementally. 10:55.740 --> 11:00.140 And obviously, captivity sometimes is an accumulation of just many years of 11:00.140 --> 11:02.300 making bad decisions. 11:02.300 --> 11:04.700 You're not taking your thoughts captive. 11:04.700 --> 11:10.860 And therefore, your unbiblical ideologies and ideas and thoughts take you captive. 11:10.860 --> 11:14.580 And it eventually takes you out of church, takes you out of the service of God, 11:14.580 --> 11:16.180 and takes you into sin. 11:16.180 --> 11:18.780 And you become a backsliding Christian. 11:18.780 --> 11:22.540 And so I want to talk about the return of Judah later today, later tonight. 11:22.540 --> 11:27.060 So this morning is the Babylonian captivity and how that happened in stages. 11:27.060 --> 11:30.300 This evening, I'm going to talk about the return from Babylon. 11:30.300 --> 11:34.060 And that actually happened in stages as well, just like the restoration of 11:34.060 --> 11:38.340 believers often happens incrementally in stages. 11:38.340 --> 11:41.140 You don't just come back 100%. 11:41.140 --> 11:43.940 Sometimes Christians think like right when they get back, they're just going to 11:43.940 --> 11:45.300 hop right back in. 11:45.300 --> 11:47.660 They're going to be back to where they used to be overnight. 11:47.660 --> 11:49.700 Doesn't really happen that way. 11:49.700 --> 11:52.700 You didn't backslide overnight, and you're not going to get right 11:52.700 --> 11:53.900 necessarily overnight as well. 11:53.900 --> 11:56.740 You could be forgiven of your sins overnight. 11:56.740 --> 12:00.580 You can get right with God overnight per se as far as having your sins forgiven, 12:00.580 --> 12:01.700 being cleansed. 12:01.700 --> 12:05.180 But as far as getting back into the battle, getting back to where you 12:05.180 --> 12:08.020 spiritually were before, that doesn't happen overnight. 12:08.020 --> 12:10.980 It happens in stages as well. 12:10.980 --> 12:14.820 And this morning, I want to talk about the stages of captivity and relate them 12:14.820 --> 12:16.100 to the Christian life. 12:16.100 --> 12:19.100 And this evening, we'll talk about the return from Babylon and how that happens 12:19.100 --> 12:20.420 in stages as well. 12:20.420 --> 12:22.580 Now, let's talk about the first wave. 12:22.580 --> 12:25.580 Now, when we think of the Babylonian captivity, the first thing that you think 12:25.580 --> 12:27.700 about is Jews, right? 12:27.700 --> 12:29.500 Like, oh, they're being punished for what they did. 12:29.500 --> 12:30.900 And yeah, that's absolutely right. 12:30.900 --> 12:32.140 But that's a sermon for another day. 12:32.140 --> 12:35.620 I've said that probably 100 times within the last six months or so. 12:35.620 --> 12:40.700 This particular sermon, I want to talk about the actual deportation, each and 12:40.700 --> 12:43.460 every one of them, and how we can apply them as Christians. 12:43.460 --> 12:47.180 So the first wave that we're going to look at is the deportation of the 12:47.180 --> 12:49.740 nobility and young elites. 12:49.740 --> 12:52.940 OK, so keep in mind, Jeremiah is preaching. 12:52.940 --> 12:54.420 The prophets are preaching. 12:54.420 --> 12:55.740 They're not getting right with God. 12:55.740 --> 13:00.380 God says, OK, I'm going to send Nebuchadnezzar, my servant, to go and take 13:00.380 --> 13:01.580 you over and destroy you. 13:01.580 --> 13:05.340 And the first thing that he does before anything else is that he takes the 13:05.340 --> 13:08.060 nobility and the young elite. 13:08.060 --> 13:12.460 And I do believe that it's in this particular deportation that Daniel is 13:12.460 --> 13:12.980 taken. 13:12.980 --> 13:17.140 OK, so this stage happened around 605 BC. 13:17.140 --> 13:20.940 When we think of the Babylonian captivity, we often assert that it 13:20.940 --> 13:22.220 happened in 586. 13:22.220 --> 13:25.900 But that's actually the very last stage of the captivity. 13:25.900 --> 13:31.660 The very beginning wave actually happened in 605 BC during the reign of 13:31.660 --> 13:32.980 King Jehoiakim. 13:32.980 --> 13:35.060 OK, and again, this is when Daniel is taken. 13:35.060 --> 13:37.460 Look at Daniel chapter one. 13:37.460 --> 13:40.740 In verse number one, it says, In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim, 13:40.740 --> 13:44.180 King of Judah came to Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon unto Jerusalem, and 13:44.180 --> 13:45.700 besieged it. 13:45.740 --> 13:49.780 And the Lord gave Jehoiakim, King of Judah, into his hand. 13:49.780 --> 13:51.060 Now, what does that tell us there? 13:51.060 --> 13:55.380 It tells us that God often punishes you by allowing you to fall into the 13:55.380 --> 13:58.460 hands of the enemy. 13:58.460 --> 14:03.340 He says here that he gave Jehoiakim, King of Judah, into his hand. 14:03.340 --> 14:06.140 His is referring to King Nebuchadnezzar. 14:06.140 --> 14:06.460 And you know what? 14:06.460 --> 14:10.140 The Bible often tells us that someone who's being disciplined by God is 14:10.140 --> 14:14.100 being given over unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh. 14:14.100 --> 14:15.340 Right? 14:15.940 --> 14:19.540 And you think to yourself, oh man, we should fear the enemy. 14:19.540 --> 14:21.500 We should fear what the enemy can do unto us. 14:21.500 --> 14:23.820 We should fear what Satan can do. 14:23.820 --> 14:25.220 He's a powerful agent. 14:25.220 --> 14:27.740 We should fear what the enemies of this world can do unto us. 14:27.740 --> 14:29.700 No, fear God. 14:29.700 --> 14:31.820 That's what you need to be afraid of. 14:31.820 --> 14:33.740 I'm not saying that Satan is not powerful. 14:33.740 --> 14:35.060 We obviously know that he is. 14:35.060 --> 14:37.380 We obviously know that people in this world are dangerous. 14:37.380 --> 14:41.420 But far too many times, Christians place more fear on the enemy than on 14:41.420 --> 14:42.380 God himself. 14:42.380 --> 14:44.380 You don't want God to be your enemy. 14:44.380 --> 14:45.420 OK? 14:46.340 --> 14:49.820 What the Bible emphasizes more than anything else is to fear the Lord thy 14:49.820 --> 14:50.260 God. 14:50.260 --> 14:50.500 Why? 14:50.500 --> 14:54.660 Because he can give you into the hand of your enemy at any given time. 14:54.660 --> 14:59.540 So why don't you go ahead and please God, serve God, be right with God, and 14:59.540 --> 15:01.020 you don't have to worry about the enemy. 15:01.020 --> 15:04.180 And in fact, the Bible specifically says, when a man's ways please the 15:04.180 --> 15:07.620 Lord, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with them. 15:07.620 --> 15:09.740 Think about that. 15:09.740 --> 15:11.860 Obviously, we need to be vigilant regarding the enemy. 15:11.860 --> 15:13.820 We have the world, the flesh, and the devil. 15:13.860 --> 15:16.380 We have a wicked society and a wicked culture. 15:16.380 --> 15:20.860 But folks, let me just remind you, at the end of the day, they are all on a 15:20.860 --> 15:22.420 leash by God. 15:22.420 --> 15:26.220 And God is the one who withholds them from destroying your life. 15:26.220 --> 15:30.700 And if you don't want to be destroyed by the enemy, make sure that God is 15:30.700 --> 15:31.660 happy with you. 15:31.660 --> 15:32.180 OK? 15:32.180 --> 15:34.820 Make sure that you're pleasing God. 15:34.820 --> 15:38.780 And so that also shows us that if you do fall into the hands of your 15:38.780 --> 15:42.740 enemy, you know, number one, you need to evaluate yourself to see, am I 15:42.740 --> 15:44.340 right with God? 15:44.340 --> 15:46.940 Lord, is there anything you're mad about? 15:46.940 --> 15:49.060 You know, do I have some sin in my life? 15:49.060 --> 15:50.380 Confess that sin. 15:50.380 --> 15:51.260 Get it right with God. 15:51.260 --> 15:53.940 But after you've done that and you think to yourself, well, I've cleared 15:53.940 --> 15:55.900 myself, I know that I'm right with God. 15:55.900 --> 15:57.300 I don't have any sin in my life. 15:57.300 --> 15:59.460 Well, then it's a Job situation. 15:59.460 --> 16:03.060 Hast thou considered my servant Job that there is none like him in all 16:03.060 --> 16:07.660 the earth, a perfect and upright man, one who is cheweth evil, right? 16:07.700 --> 16:13.660 He's basically allowing Satan to come and test you and to attack you in 16:13.660 --> 16:16.420 order to make you better because he knows that you can handle it. 16:16.420 --> 16:17.340 OK? 16:17.340 --> 16:21.940 Point that I'm making here is that this particular case is not a Job case. 16:21.940 --> 16:24.860 Jehoiakim, along with the rest of Judah, are wicked. 16:24.860 --> 16:27.980 And so God's like, OK, you guys want to remain in rebellion? 16:27.980 --> 16:31.380 I'm going to go ahead and take your children first. 16:31.380 --> 16:32.220 OK? 16:32.220 --> 16:36.700 So it says here in verse number two again, the Lord gave Jehoiakim the 16:36.700 --> 16:40.660 King of Judah into his hand with part of the vessels of the house of God, 16:40.660 --> 16:44.020 which he carried into the land of Shinar to the house of his God. 16:44.020 --> 16:47.660 And he brought the vessels into the treasure house of his God. 16:47.660 --> 16:52.020 And the king spank unto Ashpenaz, the master of his eunuchs, that he should 16:52.020 --> 16:56.740 bring certain of the children of Israel and of the king's seed and of the 16:56.740 --> 17:02.980 princes, children in whom is no blemish, but well favored and skillful in all 17:03.020 --> 17:08.380 wisdom and cunning in knowledge and understanding science and such as had 17:08.380 --> 17:12.860 ability in them to stand in the king's palace and whom they might teach the 17:12.860 --> 17:15.100 learning and the tongue of the Chaldeans. 17:15.100 --> 17:19.980 So I want you to notice here that part of the punishment is that God allows the 17:19.980 --> 17:24.300 children to be taken first, to essentially become Babylonians. 17:24.300 --> 17:28.860 And let me just remind you that one of the motives that you should have to stay 17:28.860 --> 17:32.620 right with God is for the sake of your children. 17:32.620 --> 17:35.540 Because you know, the devil wants your children too, right? 17:35.540 --> 17:38.340 He wants to turn them into Babylonians. 17:38.340 --> 17:40.140 He wants to destroy them. 17:40.140 --> 17:44.500 He wants to change the way they believe, change what they think, change what they 17:44.500 --> 17:45.340 do. 17:45.340 --> 17:49.740 And part of the punishment of a parent not remaining right with God is that the 17:49.740 --> 17:52.660 children end up being taken into Babylon. 17:52.660 --> 17:56.460 They end up going contrary to what the word of God says. 17:56.460 --> 17:59.820 And it's because of the rebellion of the parents. 17:59.820 --> 18:01.020 That's what we see here. 18:01.020 --> 18:02.820 Go to Jeremiah chapter 26, if you would. 18:02.820 --> 18:04.700 Jeremiah chapter 26. 18:04.700 --> 18:05.500 Now let's just be honest. 18:05.500 --> 18:08.940 You know, once this happens, many in Judah, specifically Jehoiakim, should have 18:08.940 --> 18:14.500 been like, all right, we need to humble ourselves before the side of the Lord. 18:14.500 --> 18:19.460 We need to get right with God because more destruction is on its way if this is 18:19.460 --> 18:21.460 the first part of the wave, right? 18:21.460 --> 18:27.020 So the first deportation, the first stage of punishment is to remove all of the 18:27.020 --> 18:32.740 elite young people and take them to Babylon to become Babylonians. 18:32.740 --> 18:35.860 You're like, man, you know, I don't want my kids to grow up to be someone like me 18:35.860 --> 18:36.700 the way I was in the world. 18:36.700 --> 18:38.860 Then stay in church. 18:38.860 --> 18:40.140 Keep reading the Bible. 18:40.140 --> 18:41.700 Serve God. 18:41.700 --> 18:45.220 Make Christ the preeminent one in your home. 18:45.220 --> 18:48.300 Make Christ the preeminent one, you know, at your job. 18:48.300 --> 18:55.260 Exemplify what it is to be a Christian, you know, for the sake of your children. 18:55.260 --> 18:58.580 And obviously we understand that sometimes children just don't turn out. 18:58.580 --> 19:00.020 And that's obviously the case. 19:00.020 --> 19:03.820 But in general, the Bible does say to train up a child in the way he should go 19:03.820 --> 19:05.420 when he is old, he will not depart from it. 19:05.420 --> 19:08.460 So part of that is you exemplifying what it is to be a Christian. 19:08.460 --> 19:14.380 Better for you to just put it all in, to go all out to serve God, to just be the 19:14.380 --> 19:19.180 best example and have your kid not turn out for God, than for you to just be 19:19.180 --> 19:24.940 lackadaisical about it, not be in church, be inconsistent, not serve God. 19:24.940 --> 19:26.940 And then your kids also don't turn out for God. 19:26.940 --> 19:28.900 And then you're kind of blaming yourself for it. 19:28.900 --> 19:31.900 At least if they don't turn out for God when you serve God, it's like, well, I've 19:31.900 --> 19:33.380 done all that I can. 19:33.380 --> 19:35.340 Right? 19:35.340 --> 19:40.260 Look at Jeremiah chapter 26, if you would, in verse 21. 19:40.260 --> 19:44.860 So this is after, Jeremiah 26 is after the first deportation. 19:44.860 --> 19:45.580 OK? 19:45.580 --> 19:48.500 So the elite children have been taken. 19:48.500 --> 19:50.940 That first deportation has already taken place. 19:50.940 --> 19:51.820 It says in verse 21. 19:51.820 --> 19:55.140 So the king sent Jehuda to fetch the roll. 19:55.140 --> 19:59.220 And he took it out of Eli Shama, the scribes chamber. 19:59.220 --> 20:03.420 And Jehuda read it in the ears of the king and in the ears of all the princes 20:03.420 --> 20:05.540 which stood beside the king. 20:05.540 --> 20:08.060 The king sat in the winter house in the ninth month. 20:08.060 --> 20:10.300 And there was a fire on the hearth burning before him. 20:10.300 --> 20:15.340 Now, what he's reading here is the word of God, but specifically regarding 20:15.340 --> 20:22.580 the judgment, the punishment that's going to come upon the people for their rebellion 20:22.580 --> 20:23.300 against God. 20:23.300 --> 20:24.180 OK? 20:24.180 --> 20:25.780 This is what he's reading here. 20:25.780 --> 20:27.380 So he's reading this. 20:27.380 --> 20:31.500 And it says that there's a fire in the hearth burning before him. 20:31.500 --> 20:35.300 He goes on to say, and it came to pass that when Jehuda had read three or four 20:35.300 --> 20:42.420 leaves, he cut it with a penknife and cast it into the fire that was on the hearth 20:42.420 --> 20:46.140 until all the roll was consumed in the fire that was on the hearth. 20:46.140 --> 20:49.780 So instead of being like, man, this sounds pretty bad. 20:49.780 --> 20:53.820 Maybe we need to rectify our ways here and get right with God. 20:53.820 --> 20:55.060 He takes a knife. 20:55.060 --> 21:00.380 He starts cutting it up, the word of God, and he throws it into the fire. 21:00.380 --> 21:03.500 This is obviously someone who's rejecting the word of God, right? 21:03.500 --> 21:07.220 Yet they were not afraid, nor rent their garments, neither the king, 21:07.220 --> 21:09.860 nor any of his servants that heard all these words. 21:09.860 --> 21:14.300 Nevertheless, El-Nathan and Deliah and Gamariah had made intercessions to the king 21:14.300 --> 21:16.740 that he would not burn the roll, but he would not hear them. 21:16.740 --> 21:17.740 So what do we have here? 21:17.740 --> 21:22.460 We have an example that a king, despite the fact that punishment has already come, 21:22.460 --> 21:23.860 he reads the word of God. 21:23.860 --> 21:26.060 He sees the consequences of his actions. 21:26.060 --> 21:26.820 And what does he do? 21:26.820 --> 21:28.420 He just burns it with fire. 21:28.420 --> 21:30.300 He just takes a knife and he cuts it up. 21:30.300 --> 21:31.660 Now, what is the equivalent to that? 21:31.660 --> 21:32.740 Equivalent to that is this. 21:32.740 --> 21:36.940 Maybe you're backslidden, but you're still in church. 21:36.980 --> 21:39.900 But you're backslidden in here. 21:39.900 --> 21:40.500 And you know what? 21:40.500 --> 21:43.460 Maybe you've already suffered some of the consequences of your actions. 21:43.460 --> 21:47.460 Well, this is the roll coming out and being read before you, right? 21:47.460 --> 21:49.540 The preaching of God's word. 21:49.540 --> 21:52.100 Maybe you're reading the word of God on a daily basis, 21:52.100 --> 21:54.540 and you're seeing the consequences of your actions. 21:54.540 --> 21:56.940 And in your heart, you're just like, I'll take that piece out. 21:56.940 --> 21:58.540 He's cherry picking. 21:58.540 --> 22:00.140 He's just saying that. 22:00.140 --> 22:01.900 He always preaches this. 22:01.900 --> 22:03.500 He's so unloving. 22:03.500 --> 22:04.980 He doesn't really care. 22:04.980 --> 22:06.780 Nothing's going to happen to me. 22:06.780 --> 22:09.660 And then ultimately, just throw it in the fire. 22:09.660 --> 22:12.100 This is an example of someone who just disregards 22:12.100 --> 22:15.780 the preaching of the word of God. 22:15.780 --> 22:18.380 And sometimes people are like, oh, man, I just 22:18.380 --> 22:21.780 feel like God's not really answering my prayers right now. 22:21.780 --> 22:25.060 Well, how often have you gone to church, though? 22:25.060 --> 22:29.020 Because if you're outside waiting for something to happen in the sky 22:29.020 --> 22:31.020 or something like that, it's not going to happen. 22:31.020 --> 22:32.940 God's not going to come to you in a dream. 22:32.940 --> 22:34.820 He's not going to come to you in a cloud. 22:34.820 --> 22:36.580 I mean, he will later on. 22:36.580 --> 22:39.500 But I'm talking about in a vision, in a cloud. 22:39.500 --> 22:43.020 He's not going to cause it to rain fire and brimstone 22:43.020 --> 22:44.700 to prove himself to you. 22:44.700 --> 22:47.020 He's not going to provide some sort of miraculous vision 22:47.020 --> 22:48.620 or dream for you. 22:48.620 --> 22:52.540 The answer to your prayer is in the Bible. 22:52.540 --> 22:57.660 So if you want to double your chances of getting your prayers answered 22:57.660 --> 23:00.300 to whatever it is that you need, first and foremost, read the Bible 23:00.300 --> 23:02.100 every single day. 23:02.100 --> 23:05.660 Give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine. 23:05.660 --> 23:10.620 Make sure that you make reading the Word of God a daily discipline 23:10.620 --> 23:13.660 so that when you read it, you're actually getting your prayers answered. 23:13.660 --> 23:14.620 Because let me just say this. 23:14.620 --> 23:16.380 A lot of the answers that you need to your prayers 23:16.380 --> 23:17.220 are already answered. 23:17.220 --> 23:18.580 They're already in the Bible. 23:18.580 --> 23:21.180 It's just that you just don't know what God requires 23:21.180 --> 23:22.820 regarding this certain thing, right? 23:22.820 --> 23:27.020 But then when you read it, you're like, oh, I was just thinking about this. 23:27.020 --> 23:27.900 But here's the thing. 23:27.900 --> 23:32.220 A supplement to that is the preaching of God's word. 23:32.220 --> 23:35.180 Where the pastor gets up, he preaches the Word of God. 23:35.220 --> 23:38.500 He hits on your particular sin, not because I know it, 23:38.500 --> 23:42.940 not because your spouse told me, not because a church member divulged it 23:42.940 --> 23:47.100 to me, it's just because God is working in conjunction. 23:47.100 --> 23:49.940 The Word of God is working in conjunction with the preaching of God's word 23:49.940 --> 23:52.500 to kind of give you that answer to your prayer. 23:52.500 --> 23:56.900 Don't be Jehoiakim and just cut it up and disregard it and say, 23:56.900 --> 23:59.140 eh, that's true for someone else, but not for me. 23:59.140 --> 24:00.660 I'm not backslidden. 24:00.660 --> 24:03.100 I can quit whenever I want. 24:03.100 --> 24:05.580 I can quit this sin at any given time. 24:05.580 --> 24:06.620 I can continue this. 24:06.620 --> 24:07.980 Nothing's happened to me. 24:07.980 --> 24:09.900 Don't be a stubborn Christian is what I'm saying. 24:09.900 --> 24:10.900 Right. 24:11.700 --> 24:14.260 And obviously, you know, we need to come to church to learn information 24:14.260 --> 24:16.460 and you guys are learning information right now. 24:16.460 --> 24:18.620 We need to learn biblical history. 24:18.620 --> 24:20.980 We need to learn doctrines and so forth. 24:20.980 --> 24:23.740 But sometimes you just need your sin to be preached against. 24:24.940 --> 24:31.180 Sometimes, you know, your pride, your arrogance, your sin, your lust, 24:31.180 --> 24:34.260 your fill in the blank needs to get called out. 24:34.260 --> 24:36.020 It needs to be preached against. 24:36.020 --> 24:40.500 Your effeminacy, your rebellion, your feminism, whatever it is, 24:40.500 --> 24:43.900 whatever you want to put in that slot needs to get called out. 24:43.900 --> 24:46.980 Why? Because then, you know, what's going to happen if it doesn't 24:46.980 --> 24:49.860 or if you don't listen is that the second wave is coming. 24:51.220 --> 24:54.340 And look, here's the thing, folks, you're right and I'm right about this. 24:54.340 --> 24:56.060 God is merciful. 24:56.060 --> 24:58.140 And you know, if we look at the score, it's like, man, God's being really 24:58.140 --> 24:59.540 merciful to Judah. 24:59.540 --> 25:02.940 Because when you read Jeremiah, man, Judah's just bad. 25:03.820 --> 25:07.420 It's like super, like as many cities as they had, that's how many idols 25:07.420 --> 25:10.860 and false gods they had as well, like on every corner. 25:10.860 --> 25:14.220 There was a time where Judah became like India, let's put it that way, 25:14.220 --> 25:15.860 when it came to idolatry. 25:15.860 --> 25:19.940 If you ever go to like Southeast Asia, Cambodia, places like this, you know, 25:19.940 --> 25:23.060 we know, we've seen idolatry in the United States of America, 25:23.060 --> 25:27.180 but nothing like Southeast Asia, the 1040 window or whatever. 25:27.180 --> 25:31.220 They have gross idolatry over there where it's just like idols on every corner. 25:31.220 --> 25:35.620 Well, that's how Judah became the epicenter of biblical, 25:35.620 --> 25:38.100 the biblical religion, the old covenant. 25:38.100 --> 25:41.660 It became such where idolatry was just on every corner. 25:41.660 --> 25:46.860 The priests, the prophets, the men of God, so-called, 25:46.860 --> 25:48.740 were given over to covetousness. 25:48.740 --> 25:50.540 Adultery was taking place. 25:50.540 --> 25:54.100 Just all manner of filth and disgusting things were taking place. 25:54.140 --> 26:00.260 Yet God's like, OK, I'll send the first wave and hopefully you get right after that. 26:00.260 --> 26:06.540 So don't mistake God's mercy for your justification or something like that. 26:06.540 --> 26:10.100 It's like, well, you know, God hasn't really punished me severely, 26:10.100 --> 26:12.620 so that means I must be right with God or something. 26:12.620 --> 26:14.900 That means I can keep doing this particular sin. 26:14.900 --> 26:19.460 That means I can continue in my rebellion against him because nothing's happening. 26:19.460 --> 26:20.580 Well, here's the thing. 26:20.580 --> 26:23.340 Maybe you're just suffering the first wave. 26:23.340 --> 26:25.780 Maybe it's just the first stage of captivity. 26:27.900 --> 26:31.500 And you think to yourself, well, you know, yeah, I have suffered loss, 26:31.500 --> 26:36.100 but not like severe loss, well, because it's only the first deportation. 26:36.100 --> 26:38.060 It's only the first captivity. 26:38.060 --> 26:39.580 It's only the first stage. 26:39.580 --> 26:44.180 And if you choose not to get right with God, the other stages are coming as well. 26:44.180 --> 26:48.420 So sometimes people begin to backslide, as indicated by the fact that they reject 26:48.420 --> 26:52.300 the clear preaching of God's word and the teaching of scripture. 26:52.340 --> 26:56.940 The warnings that are seeking to help them, to prevent them from suffering 26:56.940 --> 26:59.460 the consequences of their actions further. 26:59.460 --> 27:01.540 But yet, you know, they don't get right with God. 27:01.540 --> 27:03.540 Proverbs chapter 14. 27:03.540 --> 27:06.740 Go with me, if you would, to actually stay in Jeremiah. 27:06.740 --> 27:08.340 Let's see, go to Romans, chapter six, actually. 27:08.340 --> 27:09.860 Go to Romans, chapter six. 27:09.860 --> 27:11.780 And then we're going to come back to Jeremiah. 27:11.780 --> 27:14.180 We're going to go to chapter 22. 27:15.580 --> 27:19.260 Proverbs chapter 14, verse 14 says, The backslider in heart 27:19.260 --> 27:23.420 shall be filled with his own ways. 27:23.420 --> 27:26.860 And the good man shall be satisfied from himself. 27:26.860 --> 27:30.540 You know, there's a danger in backsliding in the Christian life, 27:30.540 --> 27:33.340 where your heart becomes hardened and you can't really, 27:33.340 --> 27:35.460 you don't have any self-awareness. 27:35.460 --> 27:39.460 You're not really aware that you're backslidden, right? 27:39.460 --> 27:42.500 There comes a time where, like, you don't realize that you smell. 27:45.540 --> 27:46.020 You know what I mean? 27:46.020 --> 27:48.420 Let's get practical here. 27:48.500 --> 27:52.820 Let's say you're just a person, this is just an illustration. 27:52.820 --> 27:59.100 I don't know this by experience, as of yet, within the last week. 27:59.100 --> 28:03.100 Well, let's say you're just a person who does not shower. 28:03.100 --> 28:05.060 You just don't like to shower. 28:05.060 --> 28:08.300 And let's say you just go weeks on end being that way. 28:08.300 --> 28:11.620 Eventually, you just kind of get used to your own smell. 28:11.620 --> 28:12.620 Right? 28:12.620 --> 28:16.100 You guys know what I'm talking about? 28:16.100 --> 28:19.540 Any moms know what I'm talking about? 28:19.540 --> 28:21.340 Moms with kids know what I'm talking about? 28:21.340 --> 28:22.220 I'm just kidding. 28:22.220 --> 28:25.180 You know, you just don't know that you smell, right? 28:25.180 --> 28:29.140 You just kind of get accustomed to your stench. 28:29.140 --> 28:29.820 You don't know. 28:29.820 --> 28:36.220 And it kind of requires someone else on the outside to smell you. 28:36.220 --> 28:38.380 Is this not true? 28:38.380 --> 28:42.740 And it's just like, hey, bro, you need deodorant. 28:42.740 --> 28:44.180 But that's just a bandaid. 28:44.180 --> 28:46.180 You need to take a shower. 28:46.180 --> 28:46.860 Right? 28:46.860 --> 28:48.780 Like, you stink. 28:48.780 --> 28:51.020 Or it's just like, hey, bro, you need to brush your teeth. 28:51.020 --> 28:52.980 Do you brush your teeth? 28:52.980 --> 28:55.580 And sometimes it can be offensive to people, right? 28:55.580 --> 28:56.860 People can get offended at that. 28:56.860 --> 28:57.860 Some of you look offended. 28:57.860 --> 28:58.900 I don't know why. 28:58.900 --> 29:00.540 If you're offended, go take a shower. 29:00.540 --> 29:02.060 You won't be offended. 29:02.060 --> 29:03.860 You can join the clean club. 29:03.860 --> 29:05.740 But some people get offended at that. 29:05.740 --> 29:09.660 But it requires someone on the outside to kind of let 29:09.660 --> 29:12.260 you know what your condition is. 29:12.260 --> 29:13.700 And it's just like, you don't know. 29:13.740 --> 29:14.060 But you know what? 29:14.060 --> 29:15.540 That's kind of how sin is. 29:15.540 --> 29:17.740 That's kind of like a backslider, is it not? 29:17.740 --> 29:21.260 A backslider can be filled with his own ways to the point 29:21.260 --> 29:25.660 where he doesn't really realize how backslidden he really is. 29:25.660 --> 29:28.380 He doesn't really realize how much he stinks. 29:28.380 --> 29:30.700 He doesn't realize that he smells. 29:30.700 --> 29:31.980 His breath smells. 29:31.980 --> 29:33.180 His pit smells. 29:33.180 --> 29:34.660 His clothes smell. 29:34.660 --> 29:36.180 Everything stinks on him. 29:36.180 --> 29:37.900 But he doesn't realize it. 29:37.900 --> 29:38.580 And you know what? 29:38.580 --> 29:43.060 It requires a preacher to come to him and say, you stink, bro. 29:43.060 --> 29:44.660 And sometimes it can be offensive, 29:44.660 --> 29:46.900 but it's for their own good. 29:46.900 --> 29:48.100 Right? 29:48.100 --> 29:50.020 Well, I'm the preacher coming to you saying 29:50.020 --> 29:52.740 that you stink, if you do. 29:52.740 --> 29:55.420 It's just like, I'm coming to you and saying, hey, 29:55.420 --> 29:57.100 you're backslidden. 29:57.100 --> 30:00.980 Your heart is becoming hardened towards the things of God. 30:00.980 --> 30:02.580 You don't see it. 30:02.580 --> 30:05.820 You're liking weird posts on Instagram. 30:05.820 --> 30:09.300 You're commenting weird things on social media. 30:09.300 --> 30:10.500 You stink. 30:10.500 --> 30:12.260 And you're just like, really? 30:12.260 --> 30:14.420 I was like, oh, I don't smell it. 30:14.420 --> 30:15.940 Yeah, you don't smell it, because you're 30:15.940 --> 30:18.220 filled with your own waste. 30:18.220 --> 30:22.580 You become accustomed to who you are. 30:22.580 --> 30:28.500 Now, the response should be, well, thanks for telling me. 30:28.500 --> 30:30.060 Let me give you this illustration. 30:30.060 --> 30:32.060 Now, this happened years and years ago. 30:32.060 --> 30:36.220 This is like a long time ago on the galaxy, far, far away. 30:36.220 --> 30:37.940 Different church, not this church. 30:37.940 --> 30:40.940 I was in Bible college years ago, many, many, many moons 30:40.940 --> 30:42.140 ago. 30:42.780 --> 30:46.140 There's a guy who came to college. 30:46.140 --> 30:49.140 We're all training for the ministry or whatever. 30:49.140 --> 30:50.780 And this one guy, he came to college. 30:50.780 --> 30:53.660 And man, he was just really rough around the edges. 30:53.660 --> 30:55.580 He didn't really grow up in a structured home. 30:55.580 --> 30:56.900 So Bible college was good for him, 30:56.900 --> 30:58.380 because it gave him structure. 30:58.380 --> 31:00.900 But one thing he just did not learn how to do is shower. 31:03.500 --> 31:04.420 I mean, it's not hard. 31:04.420 --> 31:08.180 Just get in there and scrub and use shampoo. 31:08.180 --> 31:08.740 But he didn't. 31:08.740 --> 31:10.020 He just did not shower. 31:10.020 --> 31:10.900 So he didn't shower. 31:10.900 --> 31:13.540 He didn't clean his clothes. 31:13.540 --> 31:15.660 He never brushed his teeth. 31:15.660 --> 31:18.380 And people around him just didn't want to offend him. 31:18.380 --> 31:20.860 So they never said anything to him. 31:20.860 --> 31:24.380 But they gave me him to disciple. 31:24.380 --> 31:26.460 They wanted me to disciple him. 31:26.460 --> 31:28.540 And I think it's because they knew that I'll probably 31:28.540 --> 31:29.220 tell him something. 31:29.220 --> 31:30.300 I don't know. 31:30.300 --> 31:33.100 They're like, can you invest in this young man? 31:33.100 --> 31:33.860 I'm just like, sure. 31:33.860 --> 31:38.580 So I was with him, not 24-7, but close to it. 31:38.580 --> 31:39.420 He was in my car. 31:39.420 --> 31:40.900 I would take him soul-winding. 31:40.900 --> 31:42.100 We'd go out to eat. 31:42.100 --> 31:43.740 He was helping me with ministry. 31:43.740 --> 31:45.820 He was just always with me. 31:45.820 --> 31:47.460 And it got pretty bad. 31:47.460 --> 31:48.780 And I'm just like, man, I thought 31:48.780 --> 31:50.340 he just had a bad day at one point. 31:50.340 --> 31:54.380 But it was just like, no, this is daily stink. 31:54.380 --> 31:55.460 And it got to a point. 31:55.460 --> 31:56.700 And I know this is gross, but this 31:56.700 --> 31:59.100 is going to illustrate the point perfectly. 31:59.100 --> 32:02.300 It got to a point that even when he would get out of my car, 32:02.300 --> 32:06.940 you know like in cartoons, like the cloud? 32:06.940 --> 32:09.220 It stayed there. 32:09.860 --> 32:13.540 I feel like he's still here with me. 32:13.540 --> 32:16.180 He's with me here in spirit because he just stinks. 32:16.180 --> 32:19.340 So it was just like, this is ridiculous. 32:19.340 --> 32:20.900 We can't continue like this. 32:20.900 --> 32:23.900 So I'm just going to have to break the news to him. 32:23.900 --> 32:26.900 But I'm going to do it as best as I possibly can. 32:26.900 --> 32:29.980 So I took my brother-in-law, Brother Tim. 32:29.980 --> 32:31.780 He was not my brother-in-law at the time. 32:31.780 --> 32:33.020 I said, I need your help. 32:33.020 --> 32:35.500 I said, I need to meet with this guy. 32:35.500 --> 32:37.580 I said, this guy, you know that he stinks. 32:37.580 --> 32:39.060 Everyone knows that he stinks. 32:39.060 --> 32:40.300 No one's willing to tell him anything. 32:40.300 --> 32:42.460 So we're going to have a sit-down talk with him tonight, 32:42.460 --> 32:43.260 I said. 32:43.260 --> 32:45.340 And we're going to tell him that he stinks. 32:45.340 --> 32:48.540 But I said, we're going to provide the solution. 32:48.540 --> 32:52.060 So I'm going to buy soaps and everything and a sponge. 32:52.060 --> 32:53.500 And after we have the talk, I'm going 32:53.500 --> 32:55.860 to tell him, go shower right now. 32:55.860 --> 32:58.660 And I'm going to tell him, go ahead and grab all your clothes. 32:58.660 --> 33:02.820 And Tim is going to take them for you and wash them for you. 33:02.820 --> 33:04.860 And he's going to take your suits to the dry clean. 33:04.860 --> 33:07.820 So we're trying to make it as conducive to his transition 33:07.820 --> 33:10.900 to cleanliness as possible. 33:10.900 --> 33:14.460 And so he came, and then I said, hey, I don't want to offend you, 33:14.460 --> 33:15.860 but I got to tell you this. 33:15.860 --> 33:18.580 You stink really bad. 33:18.580 --> 33:20.300 And I know you don't shower. 33:20.300 --> 33:22.380 You live in the dorms with us, and you're 33:22.380 --> 33:25.660 becoming an offense to those around you. 33:25.660 --> 33:27.900 You're like, I can't believe you told him that. 33:27.900 --> 33:29.340 No one else would. 33:29.340 --> 33:31.140 I'm surprised no one did. 33:31.140 --> 33:34.700 So I'm just like, you smell really bad, and it's offensive. 33:34.700 --> 33:36.740 And man, you're making my car smell. 33:36.780 --> 33:39.020 And people around you are offended by this. 33:39.020 --> 33:41.980 You're working in ministry, and your clothes smell. 33:41.980 --> 33:44.980 And he's just shocked. 33:44.980 --> 33:49.100 I said, but we're here to help. 33:49.100 --> 33:51.020 And I said, I got you some soap, and I want 33:51.020 --> 33:53.220 you to go take a shower right now. 33:53.220 --> 33:55.140 And I told him, I gave him a sponge, 33:55.140 --> 33:58.860 and I said, I want you to scrub everywhere. 33:58.860 --> 34:01.940 This is an everywhere scrub. 34:01.940 --> 34:03.140 OK? 34:03.140 --> 34:05.900 It's like telling your kids, scrub everywhere, right? 34:05.900 --> 34:07.420 I want you to scrub everywhere. 34:07.420 --> 34:09.140 I said, Tim's going to take your clothes. 34:09.140 --> 34:11.540 And he's like, all right. 34:11.540 --> 34:12.460 And he did it. 34:12.460 --> 34:14.420 And he showered, and he became clean. 34:14.420 --> 34:15.140 And you know what? 34:15.140 --> 34:16.900 He actually did appreciate it. 34:16.900 --> 34:18.580 Now, I will say that later on, I think 34:18.580 --> 34:22.340 he ended up reverting back to his old ways. 34:22.340 --> 34:24.140 I've done all that I can, though, right? 34:24.140 --> 34:25.460 What's the point that I'm making? 34:25.460 --> 34:27.540 You know, obviously, the preaching of God's word 34:27.540 --> 34:29.220 is to help you realize your condition. 34:29.220 --> 34:32.980 But you know, this church, the Bible, God, those around you 34:32.980 --> 34:35.180 is the environment that you need conducive 34:35.180 --> 34:37.380 to your restoration. 34:37.380 --> 34:40.260 So it's just like, yeah, you stink, but it's OK, though. 34:40.260 --> 34:42.460 Here's the soap. 34:42.460 --> 34:44.060 Here's the shower. 34:44.060 --> 34:44.940 Here's the sponge. 34:44.940 --> 34:46.820 Scrub everywhere. 34:46.820 --> 34:48.700 We'll even help you clean your clothes, 34:48.700 --> 34:50.340 spiritually speaking, right? 34:50.340 --> 34:51.980 We'll help you to get back on your feet. 34:51.980 --> 34:54.820 The point is, don't reject that. 34:54.820 --> 34:57.300 Don't be like Jehoiakim and say, you know, 34:57.300 --> 34:59.140 I don't need a shower. 34:59.140 --> 35:00.820 I'm fine. 35:00.820 --> 35:02.420 Nothing's wrong with me. 35:02.420 --> 35:05.220 No, take the correction and actually 35:05.220 --> 35:08.660 make the necessary changes so that you just 35:08.660 --> 35:13.100 don't suffer a further wave of destruction. 35:13.100 --> 35:15.100 The backsliding heart is filled with his own ways. 35:15.100 --> 35:17.260 He can't really, he's not self-aware, 35:17.260 --> 35:20.300 because he's so involved in his own sin. 35:20.300 --> 35:22.180 He's so involved in his backsliding ways, 35:22.180 --> 35:22.780 he can't see it. 35:22.780 --> 35:26.460 So it requires someone on the outside to come in and let 35:26.460 --> 35:29.100 him know his condition before the Lord. 35:29.100 --> 35:30.900 The Bible says in Proverbs 29, verse 1, 35:30.900 --> 35:35.060 he that being often reproved hardeneth his neck 35:35.060 --> 35:38.340 shall suddenly be destroyed and that without remedy. 35:38.340 --> 35:40.580 Meaning that there's going to come a time where destruction 35:40.580 --> 35:44.340 comes and there is no solution for you. 35:44.340 --> 35:46.420 The first wave is not it. 35:46.420 --> 35:48.460 The second wave, you're getting pretty close. 35:48.460 --> 35:50.700 At the third wave, you're done. 35:50.700 --> 35:53.100 Meaning God just destroys you and you just have no remedy. 35:53.100 --> 35:57.260 There is no solution to the problem. 35:57.260 --> 35:59.180 So in this particular case, the young elites 35:59.180 --> 36:02.660 are already taken and yet King Jehoiakim 36:02.660 --> 36:04.820 refuses to submit to God. 36:04.820 --> 36:07.220 And Nebuchadnezzar allowed him to rule 36:07.220 --> 36:09.220 under Babylonian authority. 36:09.220 --> 36:11.340 And he did it for three years, but then he rebelled 36:11.340 --> 36:12.740 and then died shortly thereafter. 36:12.740 --> 36:14.700 That's basically what happened. 36:14.700 --> 36:17.100 And let me just say this, Jehoiakim 36:17.100 --> 36:22.700 is allowing the King of Babylon to rule over him. 36:22.700 --> 36:27.380 Instead of actually allowing God to rule over him, 36:27.380 --> 36:30.140 he's allowing the King of Babylon to rule over him. 36:30.140 --> 36:32.540 And yes, he rebelled against the King of Babylon, 36:32.540 --> 36:35.420 but he didn't draw an eye to God though. 36:35.420 --> 36:38.140 Now look at Romans 6, verse 16. 36:38.140 --> 36:42.220 It says, know ye not that to whom ye yield yourselves, 36:42.220 --> 36:46.940 servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey, 36:46.940 --> 36:50.300 whether of sin unto death or of obedience unto righteousness. 36:50.300 --> 36:52.060 Skip down to verse 19. 36:52.060 --> 36:53.700 I speak after the manner of men because 36:53.700 --> 36:55.420 of the infirmity of your flesh. 36:55.420 --> 36:57.500 For as ye have yielded your members, 36:57.500 --> 37:01.220 servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity, 37:01.220 --> 37:04.260 even so now yield your members, servants to righteousness, 37:04.260 --> 37:05.260 unto holiness. 37:05.260 --> 37:07.620 For when you were the servants of sin, 37:07.620 --> 37:09.500 you were free from righteousness. 37:09.500 --> 37:11.820 What fruit had he done in those things, wherever you are not 37:11.820 --> 37:14.580 ashamed, for the end of those things is death. 37:14.580 --> 37:15.780 So you know what happened here? 37:15.780 --> 37:18.740 He's serving the King of Babylon. 37:18.740 --> 37:20.780 It's not doing him any good because he's not 37:20.780 --> 37:22.820 submitting to God, but because he refuses 37:22.820 --> 37:24.220 to submit to the King of Babylon, 37:24.260 --> 37:26.140 eventually that produced death because he 37:26.140 --> 37:27.780 didn't draw nigh to God. 37:27.780 --> 37:28.020 You know what? 37:28.020 --> 37:30.060 It's not enough for you to quit your bad habit. 37:30.060 --> 37:32.460 You better start reading the Bible too. 37:32.460 --> 37:34.060 It's not enough for you to stop sinning. 37:34.060 --> 37:36.420 You need to replace it with righteousness. 37:36.420 --> 37:38.980 It's not enough for you to just get away from the wrong crowd. 37:38.980 --> 37:41.140 You need to get with the right crowd. 37:41.140 --> 37:43.500 It's not enough for you to just stop drinking. 37:43.500 --> 37:45.180 You need to make sure you replace it 37:45.180 --> 37:49.380 with a godly habit and virtue and righteousness. 37:49.380 --> 37:51.940 Don't be a Jehoiakim that just completely 37:52.060 --> 37:54.860 rejects the word of God, despite the fact that the children have 37:54.860 --> 37:57.660 already been taken, the first wave has been accomplished, 37:57.660 --> 38:00.380 yet he's stubborn, he's prideful, he rebels, 38:00.380 --> 38:03.060 and he dies because of it. 38:03.060 --> 38:03.660 What is his end? 38:03.660 --> 38:05.580 Go back to Jeremiah 22. 38:05.580 --> 38:07.940 Jeremiah chapter 22, if you would. 38:07.940 --> 38:11.820 Then we're going to go to Jeremiah 36. 38:11.820 --> 38:13.180 Jeremiah 22, verse 18. 38:16.740 --> 38:18.420 Jeremiah chapter 22, verse 18 says, 38:18.420 --> 38:21.140 Therefore, thus saith the Lord concerning Jehoiakim, 38:21.140 --> 38:23.540 the son of Josiah, king of Judah, 38:23.540 --> 38:25.900 they shall not lament for him, saying, 38:25.900 --> 38:30.060 Ah, my brother, or Ah, sister, they shall not lament for him, 38:30.060 --> 38:33.660 saying, Ah, Lord, or Ah, his glory. 38:33.660 --> 38:38.580 He shall be buried with the burial of an ass, 38:38.580 --> 38:41.180 drawn and cast forth beyond the gates of Jerusalem. 38:41.180 --> 38:44.380 That's God who said it, by the way. 38:44.420 --> 38:48.420 He's like, when Jehoiakim dies, no one's going to care. 38:48.420 --> 38:51.060 I don't know about you, but when I die, I want people to care. 38:51.060 --> 38:52.300 Now, I'm not going to know that people care, 38:52.300 --> 38:55.780 but I like to think that people would care, though. 38:55.780 --> 38:58.820 People are not in heaven looking down on me. 38:58.820 --> 39:00.100 I'm not present. 39:00.100 --> 39:03.700 But I want my memory to be just, to be blessed. 39:03.700 --> 39:08.100 I want my memory of my life to be remembered in a godly fashion. 39:08.100 --> 39:09.660 I want people to honor my death. 39:09.660 --> 39:11.140 And I'm sure you would want the same. 39:11.140 --> 39:13.300 Don't have a death like Jehoiakim, 39:13.300 --> 39:14.900 where God's saying here, he's going 39:14.900 --> 39:17.420 to have the burial of an ass. 39:17.420 --> 39:20.420 Meaning he's as good as the beast of the field, 39:20.420 --> 39:24.020 a beast that dies in the field and just is cast away. 39:24.020 --> 39:25.660 His carcass is just thrown. 39:25.660 --> 39:27.420 That's how God's going to regard Jehoiakim. 39:27.420 --> 39:28.020 And you know what? 39:28.020 --> 39:29.740 That's exactly how God will regard 39:29.740 --> 39:34.180 any rebellious child of God that refuses to get right with him. 39:34.180 --> 39:36.540 You will not be remembered in a godly fashion. 39:36.540 --> 39:38.260 Look at chapter 36, if you would. 39:38.260 --> 39:40.260 Chapter 36. 39:40.260 --> 39:41.340 Jeremiah chapter 36. 39:41.340 --> 39:43.940 The title of the sermon is The Babylonian Captivity. 39:43.940 --> 39:47.100 We're looking at the first wave of deportation, 39:47.100 --> 39:50.980 the young elites, and Jehoiakim's response 39:50.980 --> 39:54.100 to the word of God, his response to the punishment. 39:54.100 --> 39:55.180 Look at verse 29. 39:55.180 --> 39:57.140 And thou shalt say to Jehoiakim, king of Judah, 39:57.140 --> 40:00.780 thus saith the Lord, thou hast burned this roll, saying, 40:00.780 --> 40:02.460 why hast thou render in? 40:02.460 --> 40:04.340 Saying the king of Babylon shall certainly 40:04.340 --> 40:07.580 come and destroy this land, and shall cause to cease from thence 40:07.580 --> 40:09.020 a man and beast. 40:09.100 --> 40:12.500 Therefore thus saith the Lord of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, 40:12.500 --> 40:16.340 he shall have none to sit upon the throne of David, 40:16.340 --> 40:20.700 and his dead body shall be cast out in the day to the heat, 40:20.700 --> 40:22.420 and in the night to the frost. 40:22.420 --> 40:23.820 It sounds like God doesn't really 40:23.820 --> 40:26.620 care what happens to Jehoiakim after that. 40:26.620 --> 40:28.300 He's just going to be discarded. 40:28.300 --> 40:28.800 Why? 40:28.800 --> 40:30.340 Because he's a person who refused 40:30.340 --> 40:31.940 the correction of the Lord. 40:31.940 --> 40:34.020 Go to 2 Kings chapter 24. 40:34.020 --> 40:35.820 2 Kings chapter 24. 40:35.820 --> 40:39.300 The Babylonian captivity happened in stages. 40:39.300 --> 40:43.060 The first deportation was in 506 BC 40:43.060 --> 40:45.300 with the deportation of the young elites 40:45.300 --> 40:47.500 under the leadership of Jehoiakim. 40:47.500 --> 40:52.900 After Jehoiakim dies, then you have Jehoiachin taking over. 40:52.900 --> 40:54.300 Now this is the second wave. 40:54.300 --> 40:56.340 Let's talk about the second wave here. 40:56.340 --> 41:01.100 The second wave of deportation was Jehoiachin, 41:01.100 --> 41:03.660 as well as the skilled people of the land. 41:03.660 --> 41:07.820 And this was actually the far more larger deportation 41:07.820 --> 41:08.700 compared to the first. 41:08.700 --> 41:11.220 A lot more people were taken in the second one 41:11.220 --> 41:13.060 than in the first. 41:13.060 --> 41:17.940 So more damage was done on the second than on the first. 41:17.940 --> 41:20.060 So what's the spiritual principle there? 41:20.060 --> 41:22.340 If you don't get right with God, the consequences 41:22.340 --> 41:24.600 just become more severe. 41:24.600 --> 41:27.660 The loss becomes greater. 41:28.660 --> 41:34.220 The ramifications of your actions multiply. 41:34.220 --> 41:37.700 You lose more on the second wave than on the first. 41:37.700 --> 41:38.200 Why? 41:38.200 --> 41:40.660 Because apparently you didn't get it the first time. 41:40.660 --> 41:44.340 So God has to bring his hand down even harder the second. 41:44.340 --> 41:48.500 So the second stage actually happened around 597 BC. 41:48.500 --> 41:50.340 Look at 2 Kings 24. 41:50.340 --> 41:53.660 In verse number 12, it says, and Jehoiachin, the king of Judah, 41:53.660 --> 41:55.820 went out to the king of Babylon. 41:55.820 --> 41:58.620 He and his mother and his servants and his princes 41:58.620 --> 42:00.900 and his officers and the king of Babylon 42:00.900 --> 42:03.580 took him in the eighth year of his reign. 42:03.580 --> 42:07.100 And he carried out thence all the treasures 42:07.100 --> 42:10.980 of the house of the Lord and the treasures of the king's house 42:10.980 --> 42:13.940 and cut in pieces all the vessels of gold 42:13.940 --> 42:16.060 which Solomon king of Israel had made 42:16.060 --> 42:18.940 in the temple of the Lord, as the Lord had said. 42:18.940 --> 42:22.180 And he carried away all Jerusalem and all the princes 42:22.180 --> 42:26.260 and all the mighty men of valor, even 10,000 captives 42:26.260 --> 42:28.460 and all the craftsmen and smiths. 42:28.460 --> 42:30.060 None remain. 42:30.060 --> 42:33.420 Save the poorest sort of the people of the land. 42:33.420 --> 42:36.740 So what we see here is Babylon removing 42:36.740 --> 42:39.260 that which is valuable from Jerusalem 42:39.260 --> 42:41.780 so as to prevent them from rebuilding again. 42:41.780 --> 42:43.740 So he not only takes all the people, 42:43.740 --> 42:45.840 but he also takes all the treasures. 42:45.840 --> 42:47.840 He takes all the resources. 42:47.840 --> 42:52.200 He takes anything that Jerusalem could use in the future 42:52.200 --> 42:55.040 to rebuild once again. 42:55.040 --> 42:57.560 He takes the treasures of the house of the Lord. 42:57.560 --> 42:59.440 He takes the princes. 42:59.440 --> 43:01.120 He takes the mighty men of valor. 43:01.120 --> 43:03.200 So there's no fight in them left. 43:03.200 --> 43:05.480 The craftsmen and the smiths. 43:05.480 --> 43:09.600 In other words, Judah basically loses its riches, its strength, 43:09.600 --> 43:12.840 and its ability to reconstruct and build. 43:12.840 --> 43:13.560 And you know what? 43:13.560 --> 43:17.320 This is exactly what sin does to a believer. 43:17.320 --> 43:20.400 It just strips you of everything. 43:20.400 --> 43:24.360 Takes the most valuable parts of your being. 43:24.360 --> 43:26.160 It removes your virtue. 43:26.160 --> 43:27.920 It removes your confidence. 43:27.920 --> 43:29.560 It takes away your faith. 43:29.560 --> 43:31.500 It takes away your resources. 43:31.500 --> 43:34.320 It takes away everything that is valuable to you. 43:34.320 --> 43:36.040 It'll just strip it away from you. 43:36.040 --> 43:40.240 Because sin will cost you more than you want to pay. 43:40.240 --> 43:42.040 Keep you longer than you want to stay. 43:42.040 --> 43:45.000 And so far, I don't remember the third one. 43:45.000 --> 43:45.800 What's the point here? 43:45.800 --> 43:50.840 The point is that sin will do to you what the King of Babylon 43:50.840 --> 43:52.640 did in the second wave. 43:52.640 --> 43:55.800 And that is completely strip you of everything. 43:55.800 --> 43:57.000 It empties the treasures. 43:57.000 --> 43:58.200 It weakens the will. 43:58.200 --> 44:02.200 And often removes the ability to build anything godly again. 44:02.200 --> 44:04.680 Here's the thing, folks, is that sometimes Christians 44:04.680 --> 44:08.040 backslide for years on end to get out of church. 44:08.040 --> 44:09.280 And they don't really, because they're 44:09.280 --> 44:11.160 filled with their own ways, they don't really 44:11.160 --> 44:13.760 realize how much of their spiritual virtue 44:13.760 --> 44:15.800 has just been completely removed from them 44:15.800 --> 44:18.360 until they come back. 44:18.360 --> 44:21.880 And then they're like, oh, man, I'm so behind. 44:21.880 --> 44:25.760 And obviously, I'm not discounting the grace of God. 44:25.760 --> 44:28.480 I'm not discounting the mercy of God. 44:28.480 --> 44:33.360 God can rebuild that which the locusts have eaten. 44:33.360 --> 44:36.080 He can obviously do great things for you in your life 44:36.080 --> 44:38.800 in the long run and still bless you. 44:38.800 --> 44:40.480 But let's just be honest here. 44:40.480 --> 44:44.000 If we were to take inventory of how God could have used you 44:44.000 --> 44:46.640 or what he could have blessed you with within that era 44:46.640 --> 44:51.120 that you were backslidden, you would realize, man, I lost a lot. 44:51.120 --> 44:55.040 And there's certain damages that can't be fixed. 44:55.040 --> 44:58.280 Purity can't be fixed. 44:58.280 --> 45:00.680 Some resources can't be fixed. 45:00.680 --> 45:04.640 Things that you allow into your mind can't be fixed. 45:04.640 --> 45:06.400 Once you allow that stuff into your mind, 45:06.400 --> 45:09.120 it just stays there forever. 45:09.120 --> 45:10.000 So you backslide. 45:10.000 --> 45:11.920 You get involved in pornography. 45:11.920 --> 45:13.600 You get involved in adultery. 45:13.600 --> 45:15.480 You get involved in fornication. 45:15.480 --> 45:18.800 That stuff sticks with you for the rest of your life. 45:18.800 --> 45:23.640 Now, obviously, you can do things to kind of aid with that. 45:23.640 --> 45:26.280 You can memorize scripture and make 45:26.280 --> 45:28.440 sure you're putting godly things into your mind 45:28.440 --> 45:31.440 and think upon that which is just and lovely and good. 45:31.440 --> 45:34.000 And you can actually overcome that in a large way. 45:34.000 --> 45:34.800 But guess what? 45:34.800 --> 45:36.200 Because that door has been opened, 45:36.200 --> 45:38.000 it's always going to be unlocked. 45:38.400 --> 45:41.160 It's always going to be there. 45:41.160 --> 45:44.280 You backslide and start to get involved in drugs. 45:44.280 --> 45:45.920 You start drinking alcohol. 45:45.920 --> 45:47.400 You start smoking weed. 45:47.400 --> 45:49.160 You start doing meth. 45:49.160 --> 45:50.800 You start doing all manner of wickedness 45:50.800 --> 45:52.240 and all these recreational drugs. 45:52.240 --> 45:53.280 You've opened that door. 45:53.280 --> 45:55.160 It can never be closed. 45:55.160 --> 45:57.040 That's always going to be with you. 45:57.040 --> 45:59.120 And you're like, oh, pastor, I don't want to hear that. 45:59.120 --> 46:01.320 You know, it's just, that's hard to hear. 46:01.320 --> 46:03.920 Yeah, well, I'm saying this for those who have not yet 46:03.920 --> 46:06.320 opened that door, though. 46:06.320 --> 46:09.600 I'm saying that so that these young people and some 46:09.600 --> 46:12.280 of these older folks who maybe have not opened that door, 46:12.280 --> 46:13.640 don't open it. 46:13.640 --> 46:15.760 Don't allow the second wave to come. 46:15.760 --> 46:18.600 Don't allow Babylon to just come and just strip you 46:18.600 --> 46:21.560 of everything that's valuable, strip you of your innocence, 46:21.560 --> 46:23.200 strip you of your righteousness. 46:23.200 --> 46:27.880 And you're not going to know how valuable it was until it's gone. 46:27.880 --> 46:30.360 Because here's the thing, a backsliding person, 46:30.360 --> 46:31.680 they act like they don't care. 46:31.680 --> 46:32.920 And to a certain degree, they don't. 46:32.920 --> 46:34.760 When they're backsliding, they're just like, 46:34.760 --> 46:36.040 everything's great. 46:36.040 --> 46:38.200 Because they want to kind of portray to you 46:38.200 --> 46:40.040 that everything's great. 46:40.040 --> 46:42.640 They don't want you to be right. 46:42.640 --> 46:44.280 They don't want the Bible to be right. 46:44.280 --> 46:45.920 So on social media, they're always 46:45.920 --> 46:48.360 going to portray themselves as being happy. 46:48.360 --> 46:50.000 Everything's great. 46:50.000 --> 46:51.320 Nothing's bad. 46:51.320 --> 46:53.160 God is still blessing me. 46:53.160 --> 46:56.160 But let me just tell you right now, they have no idea 46:56.160 --> 46:57.880 of the fact that they're literally 46:57.880 --> 47:01.960 being drained of their resources, spiritually speaking. 47:01.960 --> 47:03.560 It's part of the deception. 47:03.560 --> 47:05.760 The satan just takes it and says, oh, yeah, you're doing good. 47:06.560 --> 47:10.320 As he's removing virtue, as he's removing innocence, 47:10.320 --> 47:14.080 as he's taken away years and years of serving God. 47:14.080 --> 47:15.280 And that person may not care. 47:15.280 --> 47:17.040 They're like, ah, no, I'm good. 47:17.040 --> 47:18.960 I can't believe I wasted all those years just 47:18.960 --> 47:23.280 going to church on Sunday and just going soul-winding 47:23.280 --> 47:24.320 and reading my Bible. 47:24.320 --> 47:26.480 And just, I'm already saved. 47:26.480 --> 47:28.600 And nothing's happened to me yet. 47:28.600 --> 47:29.960 And so I think I'll be fine. 47:30.000 --> 47:35.840 But you don't really realize the extent of the damage 47:35.840 --> 47:37.400 until you come back. 47:37.400 --> 47:40.200 And then you realize, I think it's time to go back. 47:40.200 --> 47:42.120 I think it's time to get back with God. 47:42.120 --> 47:46.320 And then you come back, and then the doctor examines you. 47:46.320 --> 47:48.200 You get the x-rays back. 47:48.200 --> 47:50.840 You get the blood work back. 47:50.840 --> 47:52.680 You get the scans back, and you're like, 47:52.680 --> 47:54.680 that's a lot of damage. 47:54.680 --> 47:57.760 That's an accumulation of your actions. 47:57.800 --> 48:01.120 Yeah, on the outside, everything looks hunky-dory. 48:01.120 --> 48:04.680 But on the inside, Satan's been working. 48:04.680 --> 48:07.960 The flesh has been working to completely destroy you 48:07.960 --> 48:13.040 from the inside out, taking all your treasures, 48:13.040 --> 48:15.840 taking your purity, and so forth. 48:15.840 --> 48:17.840 A Christian in this particular stage of captivity 48:17.840 --> 48:19.800 isn't completely destroyed, but they 48:19.800 --> 48:23.080 are weak and unstable and spiritually stripped. 48:23.080 --> 48:27.760 And again, don't be deceived by the social media posts 48:27.760 --> 48:31.320 of backsliding Christians trying to act like everything's great. 48:31.320 --> 48:35.640 Because we got this, and we know it's not great. 48:35.640 --> 48:38.760 Let God be true, but every man a liar. 48:38.760 --> 48:40.200 That's what the Bible says. 48:40.200 --> 48:41.880 Doesn't matter how many smiles they got. 48:41.880 --> 48:43.560 Now, obviously, some of you posting stuff, 48:43.560 --> 48:44.520 you're right with God. 48:44.520 --> 48:47.120 I believe your smile. 48:47.120 --> 48:49.640 I know you're having a good time. 48:49.640 --> 48:50.800 I like your posts. 48:50.800 --> 48:52.880 I'm talking about the ones who are just completely 48:52.880 --> 48:57.160 backslidden or not right with God. 48:57.160 --> 49:01.080 When I see them, I'm just like, liar. 49:01.080 --> 49:03.040 This guy's fronting. 49:03.040 --> 49:05.840 This guy is just putting up a front. 49:05.840 --> 49:07.240 Because I know he's not happy. 49:07.240 --> 49:09.240 Because you know what? 49:09.240 --> 49:14.000 It's miserable out of the will of God. 49:14.000 --> 49:16.600 It's a miserable thing to be out of the will of God. 49:16.600 --> 49:17.440 It's miserable. 49:17.440 --> 49:20.280 Now, it may not be miserable immediately. 49:20.280 --> 49:23.320 Oh, but it does get miserable later on. 49:23.320 --> 49:25.120 I mean, it's miserable to be unsaved. 49:25.120 --> 49:27.480 But it's also miserable to be saved and be 49:27.480 --> 49:28.480 out of the will of God. 49:28.480 --> 49:31.360 It's absolutely miserable. 49:31.360 --> 49:33.560 1 Corinthians chapter 3, you don't have to turn there. 49:33.560 --> 49:35.040 Go to John chapter 10, if you would. 49:35.040 --> 49:38.120 John chapter 10. 49:38.120 --> 49:41.240 John chapter 10, hold your place there in Jeremiah. 49:41.240 --> 49:46.280 1 Corinthians 3 and verse number 12 says, 49:46.280 --> 49:48.080 now, if any man build upon this foundation, 49:48.080 --> 49:52.160 gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble, 49:52.160 --> 49:54.000 every man's work shall be made manifest for the day 49:54.000 --> 49:56.440 shall declare, because it shall be revealed by fire. 49:56.440 --> 50:00.040 And the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. 50:00.040 --> 50:02.160 If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, 50:02.160 --> 50:03.280 he shall receive a reward. 50:03.280 --> 50:05.680 If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss. 50:05.680 --> 50:09.120 But he himself shall be saved, yet so as by fire. 50:09.120 --> 50:10.240 So let's just be honest. 50:10.240 --> 50:12.560 Some people just die in that backslidden state. 50:12.560 --> 50:14.060 And at the judgment seat of Christ, 50:14.060 --> 50:15.480 it doesn't happen immediately when they die. 50:15.480 --> 50:16.560 It happens later on. 50:16.560 --> 50:18.000 But at the judgment seat of Christ, 50:18.000 --> 50:21.720 they will see what they get, which is nothing. 50:21.720 --> 50:23.600 That's really the wake-up call for many Christians. 50:23.600 --> 50:24.520 And at that point, it's too late. 50:24.520 --> 50:26.160 Look at John chapter 10, verse 10. 50:26.160 --> 50:29.080 It says, the thief cometh not, but for to steal, 50:29.080 --> 50:31.680 and to kill, and to destroy. 50:31.680 --> 50:33.720 I am come that they might have life, 50:33.720 --> 50:36.280 and that they might have it more abundantly. 50:36.280 --> 50:40.920 Babylon came to steal, to kill, and to destroy. 50:40.920 --> 50:44.920 Satan's coming to steal, kill, and to destroy. 50:44.960 --> 50:49.000 There's nothing for you in the captivity, my friends. 50:49.000 --> 50:51.440 Babylon is not a beautiful place to be at. 50:52.520 --> 50:55.320 Nebuchadnezzar is not a righteous ruler. 50:56.520 --> 50:58.440 That geographical location, 50:58.440 --> 51:00.440 you don't wanna be there spiritually speaking. 51:00.440 --> 51:03.040 There's nothing for you there. 51:03.040 --> 51:04.580 It'll strip you of everything, 51:04.580 --> 51:07.080 and leave you completely desolate. 51:07.080 --> 51:10.480 Go to 2 Kings 25, 2 Kings 25 again. 51:10.480 --> 51:12.220 2 Kings chapter 25. 51:13.060 --> 51:15.380 So what we see in the second deportation 51:15.380 --> 51:17.500 is he comes in Jehoiachin, 51:17.500 --> 51:20.260 just hands over all the treasures. 51:20.260 --> 51:21.100 What do you want? 51:21.100 --> 51:22.700 I got gold, I got silver, 51:22.700 --> 51:25.260 I got the treasures of the house of the Lord. 51:25.260 --> 51:26.860 You know, whatever it is you want, 51:26.860 --> 51:29.300 I got it, and he just hands it over. 51:29.300 --> 51:30.580 You know, unfortunately, 51:30.580 --> 51:32.340 people who are backslidden don't realize 51:32.340 --> 51:34.140 that's exactly what they're doing. 51:34.140 --> 51:35.820 When they backslide with their family, 51:35.820 --> 51:38.060 they're just handing over their treasures to the enemy. 51:38.060 --> 51:38.900 Like, what do you want? 51:38.900 --> 51:41.620 I got daughters, I got sons, I got daughters, 51:42.180 --> 51:43.540 I got sons, I got resources, 51:43.540 --> 51:44.980 I got this, that, and the other, 51:44.980 --> 51:47.420 and they're just handing it over to Nebuchadnezzar. 51:51.340 --> 51:52.500 The Bible says in Revelation 3, 51:52.500 --> 51:53.820 you don't have to turn there, verse 17, 51:53.820 --> 51:56.100 because thou sayest, I am rich and increased with goods, 51:56.100 --> 51:57.780 and of need of nothing, 51:57.780 --> 51:59.380 and knowest not that thou are wretched, 51:59.380 --> 52:03.220 and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked. 52:03.220 --> 52:05.100 This speaks to the backslidden Christian 52:05.100 --> 52:08.380 who thinks everything is great, nothing is wrong. 52:08.380 --> 52:09.420 They think that they're rich, 52:09.420 --> 52:11.280 they think they're enjoying life, 52:11.320 --> 52:12.560 life is just great. 52:12.560 --> 52:15.120 No, you're miserable, you're poor, 52:15.120 --> 52:17.040 and you're naked, according to the Bible. 52:17.800 --> 52:18.640 So what do we have here? 52:18.640 --> 52:20.720 We have the Babylonian captivity. 52:20.720 --> 52:23.040 The first wave is to kind of wake them up. 52:23.040 --> 52:25.320 The captivity has already happened. 52:25.320 --> 52:26.720 And when the captivity happens, 52:26.720 --> 52:28.920 Jehoiakim does not get right with God. 52:28.920 --> 52:32.800 He rejects the word of God, he burns it in the fire, 52:32.800 --> 52:35.120 he ends up rebelling against the king of Babylon, 52:35.120 --> 52:36.920 and he dies thereafter. 52:36.920 --> 52:40.200 The second wave is under Jehoiachin, 52:40.200 --> 52:43.520 and he just hands over all the treasures to the enemy, 52:43.520 --> 52:46.600 just completely stripping Jerusalem and Israel 52:46.600 --> 52:50.100 of all its valuables, everything, all its resources, 52:50.100 --> 52:51.720 the gold, the craftsmen, 52:51.720 --> 52:55.520 just leaving it completely unstable, incapacitated, 52:55.520 --> 52:57.400 not able to defend itself. 52:57.400 --> 52:59.040 And let me just say this last thing. 52:59.040 --> 53:00.840 When you are in that second wave, 53:00.840 --> 53:02.320 you're just so spiritually weak 53:02.320 --> 53:04.660 that your resistance is just low. 53:04.660 --> 53:05.500 So you may think to yourself, 53:05.500 --> 53:07.220 I'm only giving in to this particular sin, 53:07.220 --> 53:09.200 but your resistance becomes so low, 53:09.200 --> 53:11.300 you're just apt to commit any kind of sin. 53:12.240 --> 53:14.520 And just further the punishment 53:14.520 --> 53:18.640 because you've relinquished your spiritual resources. 53:18.640 --> 53:21.680 Now let's talk about the third wave, okay? 53:22.740 --> 53:26.320 The third wave was essentially the final crushing blow 53:26.320 --> 53:29.800 where Jerusalem is destroyed under Zedekiah. 53:29.800 --> 53:32.960 So you have Jehoiachin, Jehoiachin, 53:32.960 --> 53:34.720 and then you have Zedekiah. 53:34.720 --> 53:36.040 Now this particular wave is the one 53:36.040 --> 53:38.780 that we are most familiar with, 53:38.780 --> 53:41.740 because this is the one we talk about in 586 BC, 53:41.740 --> 53:44.140 where the children of Israel are taken into captivity. 53:44.140 --> 53:46.780 This is essentially like the culmination of that 53:46.780 --> 53:49.040 because this is when Babylon comes 53:49.040 --> 53:51.120 and just destroys the temple. 53:51.120 --> 53:53.900 They destroy Jerusalem, they burn it with fire, 53:53.900 --> 53:55.540 they tear down the walls. 53:55.540 --> 53:58.240 It's just the final coup d'etat 53:58.240 --> 54:00.700 to the punishment that's gonna come upon him. 54:00.700 --> 54:05.220 So this happens around 586 BC under Zedekiah. 54:05.220 --> 54:07.540 After Nebuchadnezzar carried Jehoiachin away, 54:07.620 --> 54:12.140 he made Madinah, Jehoiachin's uncle king, 54:12.140 --> 54:14.660 and changed his name to Zedekiah. 54:14.660 --> 54:17.780 Look at 2 Kings 25 and verse number eight. 54:17.780 --> 54:19.220 It says, and in the fifth month, 54:19.220 --> 54:20.980 on the seventh day of the month, 54:20.980 --> 54:23.100 which is the 19th year of King Nebuchadnezzar, 54:23.100 --> 54:24.540 King of Babylon, 54:24.540 --> 54:27.060 came Nebuchadnezzar, excuse me, 54:27.060 --> 54:29.740 Nebuchadnezzar, captain of the guard, 54:29.740 --> 54:32.500 a servant of the King of Babylon unto Jerusalem, 54:32.500 --> 54:37.180 and he burned the house of the Lord and the king's house 54:37.220 --> 54:39.480 and all the houses of Jerusalem, 54:39.480 --> 54:44.460 and every great man's house burned he with fire, 54:44.460 --> 54:46.740 and all the army of the Chaldees 54:46.740 --> 54:48.700 that were with the captain of the guard 54:48.700 --> 54:51.740 break down the walls of Jerusalem round about. 54:51.740 --> 54:54.220 Now the rest of the people that were left in the city 54:54.220 --> 54:57.020 and the fugitives that fell away to the King of Babylon 54:57.020 --> 54:58.700 with the remnant of the multitude 54:58.700 --> 55:02.660 did Nebuchadnezzar and the captain of the guard carry away. 55:02.660 --> 55:03.900 So what do we have here? 55:03.900 --> 55:06.300 We have just basically the final blow. 55:07.420 --> 55:09.940 And let me just say this, when you backslide, 55:11.100 --> 55:12.460 God's merciful, but there comes a point 55:12.460 --> 55:15.420 where he's just like, just done. 55:16.700 --> 55:18.540 You didn't respond to the captivity, 55:18.540 --> 55:21.020 you didn't respond to the second deportation, 55:21.020 --> 55:23.500 okay, I'm just gonna burn it all down then. 55:23.500 --> 55:26.740 He's gonna burn the temple down, 55:26.740 --> 55:28.380 he's gonna destroy the temple, 55:28.380 --> 55:32.540 and this is essentially, for the wages of sin is death, 55:32.540 --> 55:35.560 this is the climax of that, okay? 55:35.560 --> 55:37.600 For God just allows complete utter destruction 55:37.600 --> 55:39.360 to come upon you. 55:39.360 --> 55:43.280 Second Chronicles 36, turn with me if you would. 55:45.080 --> 55:48.640 Go to Second Kings, or you say in Second Kings 25. 55:48.640 --> 55:50.120 Second Chronicles 36 verse 12 says, 55:50.120 --> 55:52.200 and he did that which was evil on the side of the Lord 55:52.200 --> 55:54.920 and humbled not himself before Jeremiah the prophet, 55:54.920 --> 55:56.840 speaking from the mouth of the Lord. 55:56.840 --> 55:59.760 So Zedekiah, during this particular time, 55:59.760 --> 56:01.080 you would think that he would adhere 56:01.080 --> 56:04.480 to his grandfather's actions, his father's actions, 56:04.480 --> 56:06.880 but he doesn't, he doesn't respond to that at all. 56:06.880 --> 56:09.040 He actually becomes a very wicked person, 56:09.040 --> 56:13.200 an evil individual, and he represents the Christian 56:13.200 --> 56:15.240 who refuses warning after warning 56:15.240 --> 56:18.680 until the whole structure collapses, okay? 56:18.680 --> 56:21.960 At this stage, Babylon did not just take captives, 56:21.960 --> 56:24.320 Babylon burned the temple, he burned the king's house, 56:24.320 --> 56:27.400 and he broke down the walls. 56:27.400 --> 56:30.440 Now let me read to you from 1 Corinthians chapter three, 56:30.440 --> 56:32.160 and verse 16 it says this, 56:32.160 --> 56:34.040 know ye not, listen to this, 56:34.040 --> 56:38.520 know ye not that ye are the temple of God, 56:38.520 --> 56:42.800 and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you, amen, right? 56:42.800 --> 56:44.920 When you get saved, 56:44.920 --> 56:48.360 your body becomes the temple of the Holy Spirit. 56:48.360 --> 56:51.160 This is the house of God, so to speak, right? 56:51.160 --> 56:54.200 The temple of God, the Holy Spirit resides within us, 56:54.200 --> 56:57.460 he sealed unto the day of redemption, 56:57.460 --> 56:59.320 beautiful picture there, 56:59.360 --> 57:02.720 demonstrating that we cannot lose our salvation 57:02.720 --> 57:04.600 because he's the earnest of our inheritance, 57:04.600 --> 57:06.120 he dwells within this temple, 57:06.120 --> 57:07.400 we like to talk about the temple, 57:07.400 --> 57:10.720 take care of the temple, make sure you're exercising, 57:10.720 --> 57:12.480 putting the right foods in, 57:12.480 --> 57:14.040 getting the right amount of protein, 57:14.040 --> 57:15.440 make sure you exercise, 57:15.440 --> 57:17.600 take care of the temple of the Holy Ghost. 57:18.480 --> 57:20.340 Verse 17 says, if any man defile the temple, 57:20.340 --> 57:21.440 him shall God destroy. 57:26.340 --> 57:28.960 So yeah, it's great to be the temple of God. 57:30.320 --> 57:32.560 But listen here, Zedekiah, 57:34.020 --> 57:37.480 if you defile the temple, then God will just destroy you. 57:37.480 --> 57:39.200 Him shall God destroy. 57:39.200 --> 57:41.920 I mean, isn't that exactly what happened in the third wave? 57:41.920 --> 57:44.960 He came and he just completely destroyed the temple, 57:44.960 --> 57:47.260 burned it with fire, okay? 57:47.260 --> 57:49.320 If any man defile the temple, 57:49.320 --> 57:53.820 him shall God destroy, for the temple of God is holy! 57:53.820 --> 57:56.420 Which temple ye are? 57:56.420 --> 58:00.200 So yeah, oh ye backslidden one who's no longer in church, 58:00.200 --> 58:02.360 yeah, you may be having a great time, 58:02.360 --> 58:05.160 but keep in mind, you're still the temple of God though. 58:07.020 --> 58:09.020 You know, you didn't just turn in a card and say, 58:09.020 --> 58:13.880 hey, I wanna put a pause on my subscription real quick. 58:15.140 --> 58:17.660 You know, I wanna put a pause on my membership, 58:17.660 --> 58:18.580 my gym membership, 58:18.580 --> 58:21.580 because you know, I just got a lot going on right now. 58:21.580 --> 58:22.660 I'm not gonna be able to go to the gym, 58:22.660 --> 58:23.500 instead of paying 30, 58:23.500 --> 58:25.620 I'm gonna pay $10 a month or whatever, 58:25.620 --> 58:26.500 because I'm not gonna be going. 58:26.500 --> 58:29.000 I just wanna, you know, put a pause on my subscription, 58:29.000 --> 58:30.800 my membership, doesn't work that way. 58:31.940 --> 58:33.720 Does not work that way. 58:33.720 --> 58:37.500 You are the temple of God, in church, out of church, 58:37.500 --> 58:39.180 at any given time, and you know what? 58:39.180 --> 58:40.860 If any man defile the temple of God, 58:40.860 --> 58:41.900 him shall God destroy. 58:43.640 --> 58:45.580 Look at 2 Kings 25, 58:46.940 --> 58:48.300 2 Kings 25 verse one, 58:48.300 --> 58:50.340 and it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign, 58:50.340 --> 58:52.460 in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, 58:52.460 --> 58:54.660 that Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, came, 58:54.700 --> 58:57.700 and he and all his hosts, against Jerusalem, 58:57.700 --> 58:59.020 and pitched against it, 58:59.020 --> 59:01.260 and they built forts against it round about, 59:01.260 --> 59:02.620 and the city was besieged, 59:02.620 --> 59:05.580 until the eleventh year of Kings Zedekiah, 59:05.580 --> 59:07.380 and on the ninth day of the fourth month, 59:07.380 --> 59:09.380 the famine prevailed in a city, 59:09.380 --> 59:11.420 and there was no bread for the people of the land. 59:11.420 --> 59:13.980 So basically what Nebuchadnezzar is doing here, 59:13.980 --> 59:15.620 is he's starving them out. 59:15.620 --> 59:17.900 So they have the walls built up, 59:17.900 --> 59:20.140 they're starving them out, it's creating famine, 59:20.140 --> 59:22.800 and obviously this leads to desperation, 59:22.800 --> 59:24.100 and ultimate defeat. 59:24.420 --> 59:25.260 And it says in verse four, 59:25.260 --> 59:26.780 and the city was broken up, 59:26.780 --> 59:29.260 and all the men of war fled by night, 59:29.260 --> 59:31.460 by the way of the gate between the two walls, 59:31.460 --> 59:33.460 which is by the king's garden. 59:33.460 --> 59:35.580 Now the Chaldeans were against the city round about, 59:35.580 --> 59:37.940 and the king went the way toward the plain, 59:37.940 --> 59:41.940 and the army of the Chaldeans pursued after the king, 59:41.940 --> 59:44.300 and overtook him in the plains of Jericho, 59:44.300 --> 59:46.740 and all his army were scattered from him. 59:46.740 --> 59:49.140 Verse six, so they took the king, 59:49.140 --> 59:53.260 and brought him up to the king of Babylon, to Ribla, 59:53.300 --> 59:55.940 and they gave judgment upon him. 59:55.940 --> 59:59.580 Now we obviously know that the temple is destroyed, 59:59.580 --> 01:00:00.780 it's burned with fire, 01:00:00.780 --> 01:00:04.600 but Zedekiah suffers a severe punishment, 01:00:04.600 --> 01:00:07.340 that no one would ever want to have imposed upon her life, 01:00:07.340 --> 01:00:08.300 but keep in mind, 01:00:08.300 --> 01:00:12.180 this is the result of absolute rebellion, disobedience, 01:00:12.180 --> 01:00:14.500 and just a lack of repentance. 01:00:14.500 --> 01:00:16.660 Verse seven, and they slew the sons of Zedekiah 01:00:16.660 --> 01:00:17.760 before his eyes. 01:00:19.100 --> 01:00:20.740 Nope, no parent wants to see that. 01:00:23.780 --> 01:00:26.460 They slew the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, 01:00:26.460 --> 01:00:29.360 and put out the eyes of Zedekiah, 01:00:30.300 --> 01:00:31.540 and bound him with fetters of brass 01:00:31.540 --> 01:00:33.500 and carried him to Babylon. 01:00:33.500 --> 01:00:36.340 Man, so aside from the fact that they, 01:00:36.340 --> 01:00:40.940 the last thing he sees is his sons being killed, 01:00:40.940 --> 01:00:41.780 and then they pluck out his, 01:00:41.780 --> 01:00:44.020 that's the last thing he sees. 01:00:44.020 --> 01:00:45.560 You're like, that's so cruel. 01:00:45.560 --> 01:00:48.020 Yeah, well, you know, he should have thought about that. 01:00:49.660 --> 01:00:50.700 He should have thought about that 01:00:50.700 --> 01:00:52.980 before deciding to just not repent, 01:00:53.660 --> 01:00:55.820 and mock God, and just not get right with the Lord, 01:00:55.820 --> 01:00:59.660 and lead Judah into righteousness and restoration. 01:00:59.660 --> 01:01:02.420 He decided not to, and what did Nebuchadnezzar do? 01:01:02.420 --> 01:01:06.420 Okay, then I'll allow you to see your sons die, 01:01:06.420 --> 01:01:07.660 and then that'll be the last thing you see. 01:01:07.660 --> 01:01:09.340 I'm gonna pluck out your eyes, 01:01:09.340 --> 01:01:10.860 and then you're gonna be taken captive 01:01:10.860 --> 01:01:13.820 into Babylon indefinitely. 01:01:13.820 --> 01:01:15.180 Go to 2 Peter chapter one. 01:01:15.180 --> 01:01:16.980 2 Peter chapter one and we're done. 01:01:18.040 --> 01:01:19.480 2 Peter chapter one. 01:01:23.300 --> 01:01:24.420 So this is the final straw. 01:01:24.420 --> 01:01:28.020 This is the 586 BC event that we talk about often. 01:01:28.020 --> 01:01:29.740 The destruction of Jerusalem, 01:01:29.740 --> 01:01:30.820 the destruction of the temple, 01:01:30.820 --> 01:01:32.140 the destruction of the walls, 01:01:32.140 --> 01:01:35.260 the ultimate deportation of King Nebuchadnezzar. 01:01:35.260 --> 01:01:37.660 They pluck out his eyes, they kill his sons, 01:01:37.660 --> 01:01:40.120 just absolutely decimated and destroyed. 01:01:41.220 --> 01:01:43.220 Look at 2 Peter chapter one, verse eight. 01:01:44.260 --> 01:01:46.180 It says, for if these things be in you, 01:01:46.180 --> 01:01:48.020 now the things that he's referring to 01:01:48.020 --> 01:01:49.860 are the virtues that were just listed. 01:01:49.860 --> 01:01:51.540 We're not gonna go through them all, 01:01:51.540 --> 01:01:53.020 but it's referring to these virtues. 01:01:53.020 --> 01:01:55.100 It's essentially telling us to grow in our faith, 01:01:55.100 --> 01:01:58.140 add to our faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, et cetera. 01:01:58.140 --> 01:02:01.660 It says, for if these things be in you and abound. 01:02:01.660 --> 01:02:03.820 So aside from the fact that they have to be in you, 01:02:03.820 --> 01:02:07.100 you gotta grow in these things on a regular. 01:02:07.100 --> 01:02:08.380 It's not like you just become a Christian 01:02:08.380 --> 01:02:09.480 and you've arrived. 01:02:10.780 --> 01:02:14.140 It's just like, oh, I've learned the virtue of temperance. 01:02:14.140 --> 01:02:16.580 Well, you gotta grow in your temperance. 01:02:16.580 --> 01:02:21.500 I've learned in, I've grown in the area of knowledge, 01:02:22.500 --> 01:02:23.340 of brotherly love. 01:02:23.340 --> 01:02:25.940 Yeah, but God wants you to abound in those things. 01:02:25.940 --> 01:02:28.380 In other words, he wants you to keep going forward 01:02:28.380 --> 01:02:29.620 in your Christian life. 01:02:29.620 --> 01:02:31.500 Don't remain stagnant. 01:02:31.500 --> 01:02:34.260 There's no such thing as neutral or park 01:02:34.260 --> 01:02:36.300 in the Christian life. 01:02:36.300 --> 01:02:39.020 You're either going forward or you're going backward. 01:02:39.020 --> 01:02:41.100 Now, the goal is to just take two steps forward, 01:02:41.100 --> 01:02:42.400 one step back. 01:02:42.400 --> 01:02:44.060 I'm not saying you should take a step back. 01:02:44.060 --> 01:02:46.740 It's just, you're naturally inclined to take a step back 01:02:46.740 --> 01:02:47.980 when you're going forward in the Christian life. 01:02:47.980 --> 01:02:49.020 That's just how it is. 01:02:49.020 --> 01:02:51.420 So the goal is to always take two steps forward. 01:02:52.340 --> 01:02:53.180 You take one step back. 01:02:53.180 --> 01:02:54.260 Then you take another two steps forward. 01:02:54.260 --> 01:02:57.020 You take one step back because obviously we're not perfect. 01:02:57.020 --> 01:02:58.820 The goal is though, is to go forward, 01:02:58.820 --> 01:03:01.900 to press towards the mark, right? 01:03:01.900 --> 01:03:03.500 To abound. 01:03:03.500 --> 01:03:05.820 He says, for if these things be in you and abound, 01:03:05.820 --> 01:03:09.780 they make you that ye shall neither be barren 01:03:09.780 --> 01:03:12.380 nor unfruitful in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. 01:03:12.380 --> 01:03:14.720 So if you are constantly growing in your faith, 01:03:14.720 --> 01:03:17.060 trying your best to read the Bible, 01:03:17.060 --> 01:03:19.200 to grow in your virtue, the Bible says, 01:03:19.200 --> 01:03:21.680 you're not going to be an unfruitful Christian. 01:03:21.680 --> 01:03:23.680 You're going to produce other believers. 01:03:23.680 --> 01:03:25.320 You're going to produce virtue in your life. 01:03:25.320 --> 01:03:26.780 God's going to bless you. 01:03:26.780 --> 01:03:29.160 You're going to grow in your knowledge of Jesus Christ. 01:03:29.160 --> 01:03:30.640 That's the goal. 01:03:30.640 --> 01:03:32.120 Verse nine, 01:03:32.120 --> 01:03:36.160 but he that lacketh these things is what? 01:03:36.160 --> 01:03:37.000 Blind. 01:03:38.520 --> 01:03:40.300 And cannot see afar off. 01:03:40.300 --> 01:03:45.180 And that's forgotten that he was purged from his old sins. 01:03:45.180 --> 01:03:48.040 What we see here, a Christian who decides not to grow 01:03:48.080 --> 01:03:51.440 in his faith is a Christian who's decided to regress, 01:03:51.440 --> 01:03:52.520 to backslide. 01:03:52.520 --> 01:03:53.840 And what happens thereafter? 01:03:53.840 --> 01:03:57.000 The waves start settling in. 01:03:57.000 --> 01:03:59.400 When ultimately that last wave comes, 01:04:00.400 --> 01:04:02.080 the eyes are plucked out. 01:04:02.080 --> 01:04:03.520 You suffer severe loss. 01:04:03.520 --> 01:04:07.600 And in some cases you're taking captive indefinitely. 01:04:07.600 --> 01:04:08.700 This side of eternity. 01:04:09.720 --> 01:04:10.540 And make no mistake about it, 01:04:10.540 --> 01:04:12.300 there's Christians out there who are just 01:04:12.300 --> 01:04:14.280 completely incapacitated, 01:04:14.280 --> 01:04:16.040 they can't serve God, 01:04:16.040 --> 01:04:17.640 in prison. 01:04:18.640 --> 01:04:20.960 Their bodies are destroyed beyond measure. 01:04:21.800 --> 01:04:26.160 They've completely wreaked havoc on their lives. 01:04:26.160 --> 01:04:28.000 And it's for that reason that they can't really do it. 01:04:28.000 --> 01:04:30.520 It's like they're just permanently captivated 01:04:30.520 --> 01:04:31.760 by the world, 01:04:31.760 --> 01:04:33.000 by the flesh, 01:04:33.000 --> 01:04:34.000 and by the devil. 01:04:34.000 --> 01:04:36.240 And the Bible says that they're blind. 01:04:36.240 --> 01:04:37.080 He says in verse 10, 01:04:37.080 --> 01:04:39.520 wherefore rather brethren give diligence 01:04:39.520 --> 01:04:42.280 to make your calling and election sure. 01:04:42.280 --> 01:04:43.680 For if you do these things, 01:04:43.680 --> 01:04:46.840 ye shall never fall. 01:04:47.000 --> 01:04:50.080 If you don't wanna fall back, 01:04:50.080 --> 01:04:52.640 if you don't wanna backslide, 01:04:52.640 --> 01:04:54.200 if you don't wanna get out of church, 01:04:54.200 --> 01:04:57.020 and if you don't want your kids to get out of church, 01:04:57.020 --> 01:04:58.600 if you don't want those around you, 01:04:58.600 --> 01:05:00.340 under your influence to get out of church, 01:05:00.340 --> 01:05:01.540 if you don't wanna fall, 01:05:01.540 --> 01:05:03.240 then keep adding to your faith. 01:05:03.240 --> 01:05:04.520 But more than that, 01:05:04.520 --> 01:05:07.040 respond to the punishment though. 01:05:08.240 --> 01:05:09.240 If it's come upon you. 01:05:10.440 --> 01:05:13.260 And this sermon is simply to just remind you that 01:05:13.260 --> 01:05:14.400 you might be punished right now, 01:05:14.400 --> 01:05:15.960 I don't know. 01:05:15.960 --> 01:05:19.480 Because again, a backslider is filled with his own waste. 01:05:19.480 --> 01:05:21.320 And it kinda requires someone on the outside 01:05:21.320 --> 01:05:22.560 to come to you and say, 01:05:22.560 --> 01:05:23.740 hey, you stink. 01:05:24.720 --> 01:05:26.020 Look a little backslidden. 01:05:27.200 --> 01:05:30.160 You've been missing church a lot. 01:05:30.160 --> 01:05:32.800 You don't seem like, 01:05:33.680 --> 01:05:35.200 you seem very carnal, 01:05:35.200 --> 01:05:36.280 seem very agitated. 01:05:36.280 --> 01:05:37.620 You seem like you don't even wanna be here. 01:05:37.620 --> 01:05:39.140 What's going on? 01:05:39.140 --> 01:05:41.720 And you need that wake up call a little bit 01:05:41.720 --> 01:05:44.100 to kinda like shake you up. 01:05:44.100 --> 01:05:45.400 Because really what we're saying is, 01:05:46.080 --> 01:05:47.640 I heard there's a wave coming. 01:05:49.200 --> 01:05:51.680 There's that first stage that's coming. 01:05:51.680 --> 01:05:53.600 And so you should try to get right with God. 01:05:53.600 --> 01:05:55.080 Do you need help with this? 01:05:55.080 --> 01:05:57.440 Do you need accountability? 01:05:57.440 --> 01:05:58.400 Do you need some reminder? 01:05:58.400 --> 01:05:59.800 Do you need some help? 01:05:59.800 --> 01:06:01.680 What is it that you need to prevent 01:06:02.700 --> 01:06:06.040 this Babylonian destruction that's gonna come upon you? 01:06:06.040 --> 01:06:08.320 Point that I'm making here is that, 01:06:08.320 --> 01:06:09.320 if you're thinking to yourself, 01:06:09.320 --> 01:06:11.480 yeah, I know of a person that's backsliding right now. 01:06:11.480 --> 01:06:12.440 They got out of church. 01:06:12.440 --> 01:06:13.760 And I'm like, once they got out of church, 01:06:13.760 --> 01:06:14.960 it's like, well, they backslid. 01:06:14.960 --> 01:06:17.000 No, they were backsliding a long time ago. 01:06:17.840 --> 01:06:20.360 They were backsliding in their hearts a long ago. 01:06:21.440 --> 01:06:23.580 And they just drifted in stages. 01:06:23.580 --> 01:06:25.920 They were taken captive in stages. 01:06:25.920 --> 01:06:28.320 One wave, two waves, three waves. 01:06:28.320 --> 01:06:30.080 And let me just be honest with you. 01:06:30.080 --> 01:06:31.680 There might be someone here 01:06:31.680 --> 01:06:33.440 who's in that first stage already. 01:06:34.880 --> 01:06:36.500 You might be already backsliding. 01:06:36.500 --> 01:06:38.320 Because being physically present in church 01:06:38.320 --> 01:06:40.120 doesn't mean you're not backsliding. 01:06:41.320 --> 01:06:43.260 Trust me, folks, I've done this long enough 01:06:43.260 --> 01:06:47.700 where I can look into the congregation from years past 01:06:47.700 --> 01:06:49.360 and I've seen people drift. 01:06:50.340 --> 01:06:52.460 I see it on their countenance. 01:06:52.460 --> 01:06:53.880 I see it in their attitude. 01:06:53.880 --> 01:06:55.140 I see it in their behavior. 01:06:55.140 --> 01:06:57.980 And you know what the saddest thing for me as a pastor is? 01:06:57.980 --> 01:07:01.620 Just knowing I'm not gonna see this person 01:07:01.620 --> 01:07:03.220 in the next three to six months. 01:07:03.220 --> 01:07:04.700 I just feel like I'm not. 01:07:04.700 --> 01:07:07.880 I'm doing my best to just love on them, 01:07:07.880 --> 01:07:10.860 preach to them, be kind to them, 01:07:10.860 --> 01:07:12.660 try to create an environment conducive 01:07:12.660 --> 01:07:14.020 to their spiritual growth. 01:07:14.020 --> 01:07:15.580 But just knowing deep down inside, 01:07:15.580 --> 01:07:18.260 because I'm just such a fatalistic negative person. 01:07:18.260 --> 01:07:22.000 I'm like, man, this person's not gonna make it. 01:07:23.580 --> 01:07:25.500 Family's not gonna make it. 01:07:25.500 --> 01:07:27.220 Kids are not gonna make it. 01:07:27.220 --> 01:07:28.060 And it's sad. 01:07:29.400 --> 01:07:30.240 And what do I see? 01:07:30.240 --> 01:07:31.060 I see the waves coming. 01:07:31.060 --> 01:07:32.800 And then I see the second wave. 01:07:34.020 --> 01:07:37.040 And the only wave I don't see is the third wave. 01:07:37.040 --> 01:07:37.880 You say, why not? 01:07:37.880 --> 01:07:40.060 Because the third wave is when they're gone. 01:07:40.060 --> 01:07:41.440 They're already gone. 01:07:41.480 --> 01:07:45.080 So don't fall into the Babylonian captivity. 01:07:45.080 --> 01:07:47.560 Tonight I'm gonna preach on the return from Babylon, 01:07:47.560 --> 01:07:49.680 which highlights the restoration in Ezra and Nehemiah. 01:07:49.680 --> 01:07:50.520 Let's pray. 01:07:50.520 --> 01:07:52.320 Father, we thank you so much for your word. 01:07:52.320 --> 01:07:55.780 And thank you for the explicit details 01:07:55.780 --> 01:07:57.120 of the Babylonian captivity 01:07:57.120 --> 01:07:59.660 and how we can relate it to ourselves as Christians. 01:07:59.660 --> 01:08:02.680 Lord, our hearts are prone to wander, 01:08:02.680 --> 01:08:04.760 prone to leave the God we love. 01:08:04.760 --> 01:08:07.160 We're carnal, we're fleshly, Lord. 01:08:07.160 --> 01:08:09.080 Sometimes we don't see it. 01:08:09.080 --> 01:08:11.200 We don't see sin creeping into our hearts 01:08:11.880 --> 01:08:14.400 and into our thought life, Lord, into our actions. 01:08:14.400 --> 01:08:17.360 Help us, Lord, to correct our ways. 01:08:17.360 --> 01:08:20.920 And so that we don't fall into the same trap Judah did. 01:08:20.920 --> 01:08:23.740 Help us to respond to the preaching of God's word 01:08:23.740 --> 01:08:26.400 to get right with you on a daily basis, Lord. 01:08:26.400 --> 01:08:29.000 And if we find ourselves in the first 01:08:29.000 --> 01:08:31.080 or God forbid the second wave, 01:08:31.080 --> 01:08:34.320 I pray that you'd help us to bring to mind 01:08:34.320 --> 01:08:36.580 that we need to repent, get right with you, 01:08:36.580 --> 01:08:38.600 and that you would welcome back into your good graces. 01:08:38.600 --> 01:08:39.420 We love you, we thank you. 01:08:40.140 --> 01:09:07.720 quero