Let's look at Jeremiah chapter 17 and verse number 4.
Jeremiah 17 and verse number 4,
which reads,
And thou even thyself shall discontinue
from thine heritage that I gave thee,
and I will cause thee to serve thine enemies
in the land which thou knowest not.
For ye have kindled a fire in mine anger
which shall burn forever.
The title for the sermon this afternoon is burn forever.
Burn forever.
So we see that God, you know,
is able to cause a fire to burn
and it will never be quenched.
And of course, when we think about this,
what do we think about?
We think about hell, don't we?
We think about the, or ultimately the lake of fire,
and that fire will never be quenched.
It's going to burn for all eternity.
And so we start to see the doctrine of hell
being taught through this chapter.
So we start there in verse number 1, Jeremiah 17 verse 1.
It says,
The sin of Judah is written with a pen of iron.
So think about this, you know,
these words, pen of iron,
and with the point of a diamond.
You know, diamonds are a very, very hard rock,
very hard substance.
It is graven upon the table of their hearts
and upon the horns of your altars.
So what God is saying here, of course,
that, you know, the sins that Judah has done,
even though he has promised through Jeremiah
that, you know, to turn back to God
if they were to turn back, he would forgive them.
If they were to turn back,
they would not face the judgment of God.
But Judah had gone to a point,
and God knowing that they had gone to a point
where they're not going to have forgiveness,
that God's judgment is going to fall at its fullest.
And so the idea there of the sins being written
in a pen of iron or with the point of a diamond
is that their sins will not be forgotten by God.
He's not going to forgive them, right?
They're going to continue down their downward spiral.
They're going to continue worshiping the false gods.
They're going to continue blaspheming God
and His commandments.
And so what God is saying here
is your judgment is guaranteed.
You are going to face the brunt of my judgment.
Of course, that results in the Babylonian captivity to come.
Look at verse number two.
Whilst their children remember their altars
and their groves by the green trees upon the high hills.
And so what God is saying is these sins
that will not be forgotten or forgiven
are generational sins.
Their fathers have done it.
Their fathers' fathers have done it.
Even the children remember all this false worship
that's been happening on the land.
This isn't some recent thing.
God has given them multiple generations
to get right with God.
And so judgment's going to fall.
Verse number three.
O my mountain in the field,
I will give thy substance and all thy treasures
to the spoil.
So this was God's mountain.
This was God's heritage.
And God says, look,
I'm just going to give this over to the spoil.
I'm going to give it all over to the Babylonians
when they come.
It says, and thy high places for sin
throughout all thy borders,
and thou, even thyself,
shall discontinue from thine heritage
that I gave thee.
Oh, the land belongs to the Jews.
Not if they're against God.
Not if they're anti-God.
Not if they hate Jesus Christ.
Not if they worship a false religion.
God says, look, I'm going to remove
that heritage from you, right?
That I gave you.
I'm going to discontinue the heritage.
And so, you know, we have a people in Israel today,
and we have many Christians that say,
well, that's the Jews' land.
God gave them the land.
You know, not according to the Bible.
You know, if they do not love God,
they're not worshiping God,
they don't have the Father
because they don't have the Son,
that is not their land, okay?
And it's just political forces, you know,
trying to cause them to have that land.
And I know why.
We know the Antichrist is going to come,
and the Antichrist who just mimics Christ,
he needs his own Israel.
He needs his own people.
He needs his own nation,
because he's trying to imitate what Christ does.
But moving on from there, it says,
and I will cause thee to serve thine enemies
in the land which thou knowest not.
So we know the enemies that they're going to serve
are the Babylonians,
but notice what God says in the next phrase.
For ye have kindled a fire in mine anger,
which shall burn forever, okay?
So we know this isn't just about the captivity, okay?
And yeah, you know, when the Babylonians came,
they did burn down the temple,
they did burn down Jerusalem.
Hey, but that burning eventually stopped, okay?
It's not like that fire continued to this day, okay?
No, God says they've kindled a fire,
he's so angry at them,
he's so full of anger, so full of wrath,
it's kindled a fire that'll burn forever.
And we know the only fire that burns forever,
of course, is hellfire, okay?
And you know, as we've been looking at this,
you know, through the story of Jeremiah,
even though they are the people of God,
even though this is supposed to be God's nation,
many of them are unsaved.
In fact, this nation is basically a reprobate nation,
we've seen that before, right?
It's a reprobate nation,
there's definitely reprobate people,
there are unsaved people,
and God is saying, look,
yes, Babylon is gonna come to destroy you,
but my final judgment on you will be the eternal fires,
the fires that cannot be quenched.
It will burn forever.
And of course, this is hell, okay?
So their ultimate judgment will be in hell.
And brethren, we need to understand
the doctrine of hell very well, okay?
Because truly, you know, for most people,
you know, in order for them to be saved
and to desire, you know, salvation,
it's the fear of hell.
It's the fear of facing God's judgment, okay?
Where people say, you know what,
if I could choose between heaven or hell,
of course, if they're speaking honestly,
they prefer heaven.
They don't want to burn forever.
I mean, I'm sure we've all suffered burns to some extent.
You don't want to suffer that pain for all eternity
in God's anger,
but I do want you to notice in verse number four,
you know, some people teach that, you know,
hell is a separation from God, right?
So many churches teach this, I don't understand.
It's like, God set a fire somewhere in the distance,
and he has nothing to do with that fire now.
No, look, the fire,
for you have kindled a fire in my anger.
You know what burns hell?
It's the anger of God.
It's a wrath of God.
God is there.
God is lighting up hell, okay?
All that fire that burns, it's from God, okay?
This isn't some separation from God,
as we'll soon see.
No, you're very much in the presence of God
when you're burning in hell fire, okay?
I mean, that's the scariest thing of all.
You know, if God were to walk away,
if God were to have nothing to do with hell,
yeah, those fires will burn out, okay?
But it's God's anger that keeps those fires burning.
Can you keep your finger there?
And let's go to Isaiah 66.
Isaiah 66.
Now, the prophet Isaiah also preached
against the southern kingdom of Judah,
like Jeremiah did,
but Isaiah was earlier than Jeremiah, okay?
He was an earlier prophet than Jeremiah.
I'm not sure if they really crossed paths all that much,
possibly, you know, as Isaiah was older,
but Isaiah also teaches something quite similar here.
If you go to Isaiah 66 and verse number 22,
Isaiah 66 and verse number 22,
we need to think about hell.
You know, it's not a pleasant thought,
but, you know, it ought to drive us
when we know that souls are gonna burn for all eternity.
But shouldn't that drive us to go,
you know what, I don't want people to suffer that fate.
I wanna go there and give them the gospel,
I wanna give them the good news
so they don't have to burn forever.
And you know, Isaiah 66 verse 22, it reads,
for as the new heavens and the new earth,
so we know that one day, you know,
we read about this in Revelation,
God's gonna create a new heaven and a new earth, right?
And say, well, maybe there's no more hell.
Well, let's keep going.
Which I will make shall remain before me, save the Lord,
so shall your seed and your name remain.
And it shall come to pass
that from one new moon to another
and from one Sabbath to another
shall all flesh come to worship before me, save the Lord.
And they shall go forth and look upon the carcasses
of the men that have transgressed upon me, against me,
for their worms shall not die,
neither shall their fire be quenched,
and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh.
So look, even when God creates the new heavens
and the new earth,
even in the state of eternity with God forever,
guess what's still on fire?
Hell, okay?
And those that have transgressed against God,
now we've all transgressed against God, haven't we?
We've all sinned against God, okay?
But guess what?
By receiving Christ, our sins have been forgiven, okay?
And forgotten, okay?
And Christ paid for it all, okay?
He was punished in the body of Jesus Christ.
But then there are those that have not received salvation,
they still stand before God as transgressors of God,
and their fate will be in this fire, right?
What did it say there?
Neither shall their fire be quenched.
The fire will burn for all eternity.
And so look, somehow,
and you know, don't tell me to give you
every single detail here,
but somehow in eternity, new heavens and new earth,
you know, we're gonna be able to see from a distance,
you know, those fires that burn,
and see that, you know,
just a remembrance of God's judgment, God's anger,
the rejection of his son, the rejection of the gospel,
the rejection of salvation,
and those fires will burn forever.
And you know, just the thought about it today,
especially thinking about loved ones,
people that we know that are gonna end up in that place,
maybe even loved ones that are in that place right now
that have passed away.
You know, it's sad, isn't it?
It's sad to think about those things.
It's almost like a burden upon us
knowing that that's where they are.
But don't forget, when God creates a new heaven
and a new earth,
we're gonna be in a new resurrected body
at that point in time.
You know, we're going to understand fully
and appreciate fully the judgment of God.
And even though we see these souls
and these bodies burning for all eternity,
we're just gonna go,
well, we just know this is righteous God.
This is the right thing that took place.
This is your rightful judgment that took place.
And so it's probably not gonna,
it's obviously not gonna have that impact, you know,
because we, you know, we have our weak flesh.
We have our weak flesh.
You know, we don't understand God completely.
We understand God as far as what he explains to us
in the Bible,
but sometimes even that goes over our head a little bit,
right?
But we're gonna be in a place
where we're gonna fully understand.
We're gonna be able to see God face to face.
We're gonna be able to stand before the glory of God.
We're gonna be in our new bodies
and we're gonna have a better understanding
of the judgment of God and his righteousness.
But the point I wanna drive there, brethren,
is it burns forever, okay?
There's no stopping the fires of hell.
Now, if you can please turn to Revelation chapter 20,
because there are those that teach
that, you know, when you're thrown into hell,
you're not suffering.
You no longer suffer.
You get thrown in there.
You get destroyed.
You're annihilated.
Annihilated.
You don't exist anymore, as it were.
The JWs teach this.
Does anyone know, no?
Anyone else that teach these things?
Seventh-day Adventists.
Seventh-day Adventists believe in annihilation.
Christadelphians.
Yeah, so it's a strange thing.
You know why they think that?
Because they don't know the God of the Bible.
They don't.
They've just been taught God is love, right?
And that's what people say.
People say to you at the door,
how can God cause people to go to hell?
Isn't God love?
Isn't God all loving?
Yeah, but he's also a very angry God.
You know, you gotta pick up your Bible and read it
and know the true God of the Bible, right?
When you know the true God, you understand hell.
You understand heaven.
It all makes sense, okay?
The fact that he sacrificed his son for us,
free gift, free way to heaven,
and people still reject him.
But Revelation chapter 20, verse 10.
So this is a great passage to show those that,
you know, don't believe you're going to
suffer in hell for all eternity.
Verse number 10, it says,
and the devil that deceived them
was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone
where the beast and the false prophet are
and shall be tormented day and night forever and ever.
The title for the sermon this afternoon was Burn Forever.
You know what's gonna happen?
They're gonna burn forever.
Look, you know, this takes place 1,000 years.
You know, the beast and the false prophet,
they were thrown there 1,000 years ago.
They're still there, okay?
They've been burning day and night forever and ever,
for 1,000 years so far.
And what does it say?
They're tormented day and night, forever and ever, okay?
They're tormented in the flames.
Do you remember when Jesus Christ gave the story
of the rich man that went to hell?
You know, he said in Luke 16, 23,
and in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments,
and see if Abraham are far off and Lazarus in his bosom.
And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me
and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger
in water and cool my tongue,
for I am tormented in this flame.
Hey, that's a guy in hell, okay?
He still has consciousness.
He knows he's in flames.
Not, you know, he's thirsty.
He needs a drop of water, but not just that.
He's been tormented in the flames of hell, okay?
That's a man who literally just opens his eyes.
He's in hell.
He's in torments.
I need water.
That's what he wants.
That's second number one in hell, okay?
Now, these guys are there for 1,000 years and beyond,
day and night forever and ever.
You know, this God, this part of God
doesn't get preached much, okay?
But we need to, this is the truth of the Bible, okay?
This is why salvation is so important.
It's why we need to make sure that our children are saved.
Okay, don't just assume they're saved
because they come to church.
Don't just assume they're saved
because they know a little bit about the Bible, okay?
Make sure that your children
have believed on the Lord Jesus Christ.
I've seen too many kids go to church
and then end up hating God, you know?
Becoming children of the devil.
You know, their parents never made sure
that they understood the gospel.
They just thought if we just live a Christian life,
we go to church, it's all good.
The Sunday school teachers are gonna teach them.
They're gonna get saved.
Maybe they're already saved.
They know God, no.
They need to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.
They need to understand what Christ has done for them.
I don't wanna see my kids in hell.
You know, I'd rather see, and I don't even wanna see this.
I don't even wanna see one of my kids destroy their lives.
You know, become a drunkard.
You know, become a drug addict.
You know, just be a lowlife bum
that does nothing with his life
and dies early in life.
But I'd rather that and he goes to heaven
than have a successful, productive life
with all the money, all the, you know,
everything he needs in life
and then he dies and goes to hell.
I'd rather my kid just be a bum,
drunkard, selfish, fornicator,
you know, just living for himself,
but, you know, he was saved.
I'd much rather that because for all eternity,
I know that I'll be able to be with my children in heaven.
And not having to think about the fact
that they're gonna be in hellfire,
you know, being tormented in the flame day and night.
You're in Revelation, aren't you?
Can you please go to Revelation 14?
Turn to Revelation 14, verse 10.
Revelation 14, verse 10.
And, you know, if you find it hard
to understand this doctrine of hell,
what I want you to realize
is that it was never intended for man.
God did not create hell for man.
You know, God was not like,
I'm gonna make hell
because I just wanna see men suffer and burn.
No, you know, in Matthew 25, verse 41,
Jesus Christ says,
then shall he say unto them on the left hand,
depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire,
prepared for the devil and his angels.
That's why hell was created.
It wasn't for the devil and his angels to rule in hell,
like the conscience depicts.
No, you know, God created hell
that the devil and his angels, the fallen angels,
would burn there for all eternity.
It was never intended for man.
Okay, but of course the devil comes in,
you know, brings temptations, you know,
steals away the gospel, puts his false prophets in
and makes it impossible, or not impossible,
but makes it very difficult for many
to come to the true knowledge of salvation.
And so, you know, it wasn't God's purpose.
He did not want man to suffer in hell fire.
That was never the plan.
It was for the devil and his angels.
Where did I get you to turn?
Revelation 14, verse 10.
As I told you, you know,
hell is not separation from God.
It says here the same shall drink of the wine
of the wrath of God,
which is poured out without mixture
into the cup of his indignation.
And he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone.
Away from God?
Away from the, separated from God for all eternity?
No, okay.
Fire and brimstone.
In the presence of the holy angels
and in the presence of the lamb.
Who's the lamb?
Jesus Christ.
Who's in hell burning those souls?
Who's in hell tormenting those people
day and night forever and ever?
It's Jesus, okay?
It's the wrath.
It's the anger of God that lights up hell, okay?
So there's no separation.
You will never be separated from God.
You will always be in the presence of God, always.
After your body dies,
your soul is gonna be in the presence of God.
I just wanna make sure it's in the presence in heaven, okay?
In perfect righteousness,
in the glory of God,
not facing the anger of God, you know?
Not dealing with God's wrath
and facing his presence there.
I'm sure those in hell
want nothing more than for God to leave
so the fires stop burning, okay?
But no, they're very much in the presence of God.
Can you please turn to 2 Thessalonians chapter one?
2 Thessalonians chapter one.
I just don't understand why
so many preachers preach that hell is a separation from God.
It's not in the Bible.
Say, why did so many people say it?
Because pastors, they go to Bible college
and they just learn how to be parrots.
They get taught something.
Hell is a separation of God, you know?
Oh, yeah, hell is a separation of God.
Hell is a separation of God.
Pastor, have you got a Bible verse for that?
Of course it's a separation of God.
No, God is right there.
If you just, if you stop telling us
that it's a separation from God
and you tell us that it's God lighting the fires of hell,
maybe we'll finally have a proper fear of God
and we'll tremble when you think about God's anger.
Okay, so it's so important that we understand God's wrath.
2 Thessalonians chapter one verse nine.
It says, who shall be punished,
speaking about unbelievers here,
with everlasting destruction
from the presence of the Lord
and from the glory of his power.
So listen, how are they gonna be punished?
The punishment is coming from the presence of the Lord.
Here is some revelation that Jesus Christ,
the presence of the Lamb, they're in there
and that they're in the presence of the Lamb right there.
So the fires are coming from, that's what destroys them.
It's the presence of the Lamb
and from the glory of his power.
As a believer, I want nothing more than to see God's glory.
I want to see God's power at its fullest.
But not if you're unsaved.
It's gonna wipe you out, okay?
And I use that term loosely
because we know they're gonna be tormented forever and ever
and the fire's never gonna be quenched.
They can't face the power and the glory of God
in the same capacity that we can.
We're gonna have a resurrection, perfect bodies.
Well, we can face God's glory and power
and it's gonna be wonderful.
These guys are gonna be resurrected
in bodies of damnation, okay?
Just to be destroyed
and the same power and glory that we rejoice in
is gonna be burning them for all eternity, okay?
It's coming from the power of God.
Can you please turn to one more passage?
Isaiah chapter five, please.
Isaiah chapter five and verse number 13.
One of the sad realities of the Bible is that
God has to continually increase the capacity of hell.
Did you know that?
Hell right now is limited in how much you can take in.
And because so many in the millions
are going to hell every day,
God has to increase, you know, has to enlarge hell.
And we see that there in Isaiah five, verse 13.
Isaiah chapter five, verse number 13, which says,
therefore my people are gone into captivity.
Now remember, Isaiah's preaching the southern kingdom.
He's preaching the same people
that Jeremiah is preaching to, right?
Isaiah is prophesying earlier than Jeremiah
that the people are going into the Babylonian captivity.
Look at this.
Because they have no knowledge
and their honorable men are famished
and their multitude dried up with thirst,
therefore hell have enlarged herself
and opened her mouth without measure
and their glory and their multitude and their pomp
and he that rejoiceth shall descend into it.
So listen, the southern kingdom had become so wicked, right?
And God's gonna judge them and God says,
look, I need to enlarge hell.
It needs to be made bigger to accommodate
for all of you people that are going there.
He's preaching again to the southern kingdom.
And again, what did God say in Jeremiah?
For you have kindled a fire in mine anger,
which shall burn forever.
You know, God's just having to open that space up,
you know, without measure.
I mean, you know, people are going to hell
for everything in the millions,
in the millions every single day, you know?
So this is a serious doctrine, you know?
And as uncomfortable as it is, we need to know it.
We need to understand it, okay?
And if this information causes someone to have some fear
and leads them to salvation, praise God.
Yeah, praise God.
We need to hear preaching about hell.
Back to Jeremiah 17 and verse number five.
Jeremiah 17, verse number five.
Jeremiah 17, five reads,
Thus saith the Lord, cursed be the man
that trusteth in man and make of flesh his arm
and whose heart departeth from the Lord.
For he shall be like the heath in the desert
and shall not see when good cometh,
but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness
in a salt land and not inhabited.
And so the Lord is warning, you know,
man not to trust in man, okay?
And so I assume there are people on the land
that are hearing the preaching of Jeremiah,
hearing that the Lord's going to judge us
if we don't fix ourselves up,
but they're trusting in other men who are saying,
no, it's all going to be good.
You know, God's not angry at us.
You know, it's all going to be fine here.
And so they're trusting man
instead of trusting what the Lord has to say.
And here's the problem, when you trust man,
when you trust man for security or comfort
instead of the Lord, it says in verse number six,
he shall be like the heath in the desert.
Now I had to look this up.
I wasn't really familiar with that word before,
but heath is a reference to land that is infertile.
Like it's not good for growing, okay?
You might get some shrubs that grow on that land,
but you're not going to be able to like,
you know, farm the land, okay?
It's very infertile.
You know, the soil's no good, right?
That's the heath.
And so God is saying, look, you know,
if you trust man instead of trusting the Lord,
you're going to be infertile.
You're not going to be productive.
You're going to be good for nothing,
is what he's saying, okay?
And then verse number seven.
So in comparison to those that trust man,
in verse number seven, it says,
blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord
and whose hope the Lord is.
For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters
that spreadeth out her roots by the river
and shall not see when he cometh,
but her leaf shall be green
and shall not be careful in the year of droughts,
neither shall cease from yielding fruits.
Now, brethren, when you read verse number seven
and eight there in Jeremiah,
I'm just wondering, does it remind you
of another passage in the Bible?
Does anyone have any thoughts
on what passage that might remind you of?
Well, it's very much like Psalm one.
If you can please turn to the first Psalm, please.
Psalm one.
It's very similar, a lot of same wordings there, okay?
But the point was that if we're blessed,
you know, the blessed man is one who trusts
in the Lord, we don't trust in man,
and it would be like this tree planted by waters.
We're gonna have the nutrients,
we're gonna have the healthy soil,
we're gonna have what we need,
the nourishments to be a firm tree
instead of being at this, you know,
shrub that's trying to grow in a land,
a heath, you know, of a land.
And so it's so important, brethren,
that you learn to trust in the Lord, okay?
That's what's gonna keep you going.
That's what's gonna keep you serving the Lord,
you know, all the days of your life.
And please don't trust your pastor.
Don't set me up and say, you know what,
I'm gonna serve the Lord so long as we have Pastor Kevin here,
I know I'm gonna serve the Lord.
Don't set me up, I'm just a man.
I can fail you.
I don't wanna fail you, but I can fail you, okay?
And maybe I've already failed you sometimes.
It's possible, okay?
I'm just a man, okay?
Don't build your walk with God on men.
I don't care how good of a preacher people are,
they're still men.
Don't make mistakes, okay?
You set your heart on the Lord, I promise you.
No matter if I let you down,
or if some other pastor's let you down,
but if you put your trust in the Lord,
I promise you, you're gonna be like that tree,
and you're gonna be planted, you're gonna be firm,
you're gonna be strong, and it doesn't matter what happens,
doesn't matter what men let you down,
you're still gonna be strong serving the Lord, okay?
Look at Psalm 1, 1, Psalm 1, 1.
Blessed is the man that walketh not
in the counsel of the ungodly,
standeth in the way of sinners,
nor siteth in the seat of the scornful,
but his delight is in the law of the Lord,
and in his law doth he meditate day and night.
Now, this is where we get the idea here,
verse number three, and he shall be like a tree
planted by the rivers of water,
that bringeth forth his fruit in his season.
His leaf also shall not wither,
and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper, okay?
So we see that's almost the same,
as we read in Jeremiah,
but what we learn in the Psalm there,
you know how we read in Jeremiah,
that some of that trust in the Lord
is like a tree planted by the waters?
What Psalm adds to that is we understand
what those waters are.
Again, there in verse number two,
but his delight is in the law of the Lord,
and in his law, that's your scriptures,
that's your Bible, doth he meditate day and night?
He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water.
So the rivers of water that give us life,
that sustain us, that keep us strong,
that nourishes us, brethren,
it's the law of the Lord, it's the Bible,
it's the scriptures, okay?
Remember that.
In order for you to stay strong as a believer,
you need to draw from the waters of the Lord, okay?
Draw from those rivers, which is your Bible reading, okay?
You set down your Bible, if you stop reading your Bible,
you're not going to be able to receive the nutrients,
the water, the refreshing water,
that your tree needs, okay, to stand strong
and not to wither in the time of heat.
Back to Jeremiah 17, verse number nine.
Jeremiah chapter 17, verse number nine.
And I've already preached about the heart,
so I'm not going to cover this in any depth,
but this is a very famous passage,
it's one of my favorite passages.
Every time someone says, you know, trust your heart,
I love turning to this passage, okay, to verse number nine.
The heart is deceitful above all things,
and desperately wicked, who can know it?
I, the Lord, search the heart,
I try the reins, even to give every man
according to his ways,
and according to the fruit of his doings.
So brethren, who tries, or who searches the heart,
and who tries the reins?
Who's going to give every man according to his ways?
Now look, for the wicked, God's going to give
according to their ways, aren't they, isn't he?
Their ultimate, hell, hell fire.
Okay, but for us as believers,
if we're walking in the Spirit,
he's going to do what the Lord wants from us,
he's going to try us as well,
he's going to see what's in our heart,
you know, as long as we're serving the Lord,
you know what, he's also going to give
according to our ways.
One day, the Lord's going to come back and reward us
for the great works we were able to do for the Lord, okay?
Whether you're a believer or an unbeliever,
you're going to receive the end results of your ways, okay?
Ideally, you want your ways to be the Lord's ways, okay?
Be saved and doing what the Lord requires of you,
and God promises you great rewards.
But I want you to notice there, the Bible says,
I, the Lord, search the heart.
Now, who says these words?
You know, sometimes people read the Bible,
they read the Old Testament
and they tend to think about God the Father.
And look, of course, God the Father is the one true God.
Absolutely, okay?
And sometimes people don't realize,
or they think that, you know,
Jesus really only comes into the picture
in the New Testament.
Well, can you please turn to Revelation chapter two, please,
Revelation chapter two and verse number 23.
Revelation chapter two, verse number 23.
And as you guys know, the book of Revelations
were written to seven churches.
I won't give you the full context here,
but I just want you to notice the word in here.
In Revelation 2, 23, Jesus Christ says,
I will kill her children with death,
speaking about false prophets.
And I won't get into that right now.
It says this, and then it says,
and all the churches shall know that I am he,
which searcheth the reins and hearts.
And I will give unto every one of you
according to your works.
So who searches the reins and the hearts?
Jesus Christ says,
I am he that searches the reins and the hearts.
You know, that's what he says, right?
And I will give unto you according to your works.
So in Jeremiah, when we read there,
I the Lord search the heart, try the reins,
and give every man according to his ways.
Who's saying those words?
Jesus Christ.
Okay, these are the words of Jesus.
And people are like, you know, I love Jesus.
I love the God of the New Testament.
You know, Jesus was mild.
You know, he was humble.
He was loving.
I don't like the God of the Old Testament.
That is Jesus.
The one that, you know, will cast sinners
and the lost, those that reject him into hellfire.
It is fire coming from the presence of the lamb.
It's coming from Jesus Christ.
So look, Jeremiah knows Jesus Christ.
It's Jesus that's given him this word to preach.
Okay, so never think that Jesus
was not in the Old Testament.
Okay, he just reveals himself more so.
He explains the Trinity to us.
He explains the nature of God to us in the New Testament.
So we go back to the Old Testament and we say,
man, look, Jesus is all over the place.
Okay, the Bible is a Christ centric book.
Okay, Christ first, because you need to go through Christ
to get to the Father, okay.
Now, chapter 11, please, Jeremiah 17, verse 11.
As the partridge sitth on eggs and hatcheth them not,
so he that getteth riches.
Now, I don't know about the partridge bird.
I assume, based on this, that they're a type of bird
that lays its eggs but doesn't sit there to hatch
and maybe the babies hatch by themselves.
I'm not sure.
Maybe someone that knows better, you can tell me this.
Okay, but the point is, you know, this partridge,
this bird has done all the work to bring forth these eggs
but then it misses out on the birdlings being hatched,
right.
It kind of reminds me when that one time
that I took my wife, I can't remember which baby it was,
we took her to Liverpool Hospital to give birth
and, you know, I parked in emergency
and I saw you could only park there like for five minutes.
So I said, don't worry, honey, you know,
here's a wheelchair.
I don't know, someone brought out a wheelchair.
I'm gonna quickly go park the car.
I don't think I was gone more than five minutes.
I came back and the baby was already born.
The baby was born in the emergency, right.
So, and all that work and it's like,
I can't, oh, baby's already gone.
Baby's here, right.
You kind of missed out on that experience, right.
So that's kind of what it's saying.
And it says, so he that getteth riches and not by right.
So the people in the land, they're getting riches,
they're wealthy, they've got stuff, not by the right ways.
It says, shall leave them in the midst of his days
and his end shall be a full.
Okay, so what God is saying, part of this judgment
is they're not gonna be able to enjoy
what they've produced.
You know, all this labor, trying to be rich,
having all the possessions, you know,
being prosperous on the land.
God is saying, you know what, when my judgment comes,
you're not even gonna be able to enjoy it.
You put all this effort in and it's gonna be gone, okay.
Verse number 12, a glorious high throne from the beginning
is the place of our sanctuary.
And I believe Jeremiah here is just thinking back
to the good old days, right, when Judah was a place,
was a godly place and you know, God's presence was there,
it was this place of sanctuary.
Verse number 13, oh Lord, the hope of Israel,
all that forsake thee shall be ashamed
and they that depart from me shall be written in the earth.
Now I just wanna, let's break that down
as we read it there.
So Jeremiah is saying, he's speaking to the Lord, right,
the hope of Israel, all that forsake thee,
so all that forsake God shall be ashamed.
Then he says, and they that depart from me, who's me?
Jeremiah, okay, and they that depart from me
shall be written in the earth
because they have forsaken the Lord,
the fountain of living waters.
And so what Jeremiah's saying is this, you know,
the people of the land, they have forsaken God, okay,
but then Jeremiah also reflects and say,
well, they've also departed from me.
Because well, who's Jeremiah?
Jeremiah is God's man.
That's the man that God is using to preach his judgment,
to preach his word.
And so by leaving Jeremiah,
by people just listening to Jeremiah,
who's this Jeremiah?
Who cares?
By acting in that way,
they've also rejected the Lord through that process, okay.
And let this be a reminder to you
when you go soul winning, okay,
and someone, you know, maybe mocks you,
someone, you know, has a go at you,
laughs at you, right, ridicules you at the door.
Yes, you know, they've left you as you were,
but the one they're really rejecting is the Lord God.
Okay, just remember that, okay.
Don't get offended, don't get flustered,
I can't believe, listen, they're rejecting God.
They're rejecting God, okay.
They don't wanna listen to you
because they don't wanna listen to what God has to say.
And so what this tells me, brethren,
it's so important that we get, you know,
behind good men of God, good preachers, good pastors
that are preaching God's word, okay.
And look, as I told you, I'm a man,
I'm gonna fail you, I promise you I'm gonna fail you.
Listen, when I fail you, I want you to remember,
oh, Pastor Kevin told me he's gonna fail me.
Okay, just remember that, okay.
But as long as I'm preaching God's word, okay,
as long as I'm preaching God's word without compromise,
you know, every chapter, every verse, right,
preaching the truth of God's word, listen, don't leave, okay.
If you like this church,
if you like the preaching of the Bible,
don't leave this church, okay.
And say, well, you know what,
Pastor Kevin preached on hell today,
I just don't like hearing that.
I'm getting sick of Jeremiah, it's such a negative book,
I can't, you know what, I wanna come
and I wanna be happy and rejoice,
I wanna hear good news, you know,
and I'm getting sick of this kind of preaching
and you leave, listen, yeah, okay, you've left me,
but really, you're rejecting the Lord.
You're walking away from what God wants you to hear
and wants you to learn.
So listen, you know, look, if one day you leave this church,
I'm not here, I'm not holding anyone hostage.
You know, I've had people say to me, you know what,
I'm thinking of leaving the church
and I just encourage, I say, look,
if you wanna leave, it's your business,
you know, I hope you find another good church,
you know, another preacher that's gonna preach God's word,
you know, you have my blessing,
don't be a stranger, we can still be friends, all right,
you can still get along, all right,
but where you wanna go is at least 20,
you know, especially if you're moving to another place,
just find another good church,
find a preacher of God's word, all right.
You say, well, there is no other good preachers
and there's no other good church, then stay here,
stay here then, right.
I don't care how big or how small we are,
as long as God's word is being preached,
listen, as long as the preacher's doing what is right,
they're bringing you close to the Lord,
they're bringing you to understand
and learn the words of God.
Can you please turn to John chapter seven,
keep your finger there, turn to John chapter seven.
John chapter seven, verse 37.
In Jeremiah, it said, because they have forsaken the Lord,
the fountain of living waters.
And again, this proves to us that many of the people
on the land at this point in time were not saved.
I would say the vast majority were not saved.
You know, I kind of think of Judah here, like Australia.
You know, it's a country,
it's got a bit of a Christian heritage to some extent,
but really the majority of Australians,
would you agree, are not saved?
Just a small portion.
Well, the reason that I'm saying that they're not saved
is because they, again, it said they've forsaken the Lord,
the fountain of living waters.
Now, when you read John chapter seven, verse 37,
it says here, in the last day, the great day of the feast,
Jesus stood and cried, saying,
if any man thirsts, let him come unto me and drink.
So he's offering what?
The living waters.
Verse number 38.
He that believeth on me, as the scripture have said,
out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.
Look at verse number 39.
But this spake he of the Spirit,
which they that believe on him should receive,
for the Holy Ghost was not yet given,
because that Jesus was not yet glorified.
So what we understand in the New Testament,
one of the differences with the Old Testament
and the New, sorry, New Testament and the Old Testament,
is that as a believer in the New Testament,
you receive the Holy Ghost.
You have the permanent indwelling of the Holy Ghost.
And this has been referenced to the living waters.
Out of our belly shall flow rivers of living water.
This is the work of the Holy Ghost in our lives.
As long as we're allowing God to change us
and to work in us, it's the Holy Ghost
that's going to be working in our lives to reflect Christ.
But at what point do we receive this?
At salvation.
And even though this was not yet given
in the Old Testament days, the principle is true.
The fact that they are forsaking God,
the one who offers the living waters,
therefore what are they rejecting?
They're rejecting salvation.
Because it's salvation that gives us those living waters.
It's salvation that gives us everlasting waters.
And so these people of the land,
they're not just rejecting the judgment,
the preaching of Jeremiah, but they're rejecting salvation.
And I think sometimes we forget this
as we read through the Bible.
Many of these people were just not saved.
I look at Judah, not that much different to Australia
or any other nation on this earth today
where the majority are not saved.
Back to Jeremiah 17, verse 14.
Jeremiah 17, 14.
And again, I like Jeremiah
because he always reflects back to himself.
You know, I always say this when I preach.
I don't want you to think,
oh, Pastor Kevin's preaching about brother.
Brother Matthew today, I knew it.
Brother Matthew, I hope he's listening.
You know, don't be that way, okay?
Whenever there's preaching, how does this change me?
What do I need to do?
Who cares about everybody else, right?
You listen, you pay attention.
You see how God wants to change you
because Jeremiah's preaching against this lost nation, right?
Preaching against this reprobate nation.
But then he says in verse number 14,
heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed.
Save me and I shall be saved, for thou art my praise.
I like Jeremiah, he does this a lot.
He reflects back to himself.
He's done preaching, he's done preaching damnation
and judgment, and then he stops and goes,
man, I'm a sinner too.
You know, I need to be healed too.
Lord, can you please forgive me?
Can you please heal me?
You know, and when he says he has saved me,
he's not talking about salvation of the soul
because he's already a saved man, right?
What he's referring to again,
he's trying to understand the judgment of God
and he doesn't want to face that.
Lord, help save me from your judgment.
You know, I don't want to feel the brunt
of this judgment to come.
You know, save me from this.
So you can see Jeremiah, he reflects upon himself, right?
Verse number 15.
Behold, they say unto me,
where is the word of the Lord?
Let it come now.
So they say to Jeremiah, where is the word of the Lord?
Come, you know, let it come now.
So they're mocking Jeremiah, they're being sarcastic.
Like, oh, Jeremiah, what do you have to say now?
What is God telling you now, Jeremiah?
Again, remember, Jeremiah's preaching for years
and years and years, nothing's happening yet, okay?
And brethren, you know what?
We just keep preaching.
We keep, one day judgment's gonna fall.
One day God's wrath's gonna fall in this world.
One day those same people that we preached the gospel to,
and they mocked us, they're gonna die
and they're gonna go to hell, okay?
There's not, who cares if they mock, right?
People mock Jeremiah, people mock Jesus,
they're gonna mock you, okay?
We're just gonna learn how to get over it,
have thick skin, and just get on with the job
that Christ has left us to do.
Verse number 16.
As for me, I have not hastened from being a pastor
to follow thee, neither have I desired the woeful day
thou knowest that which came out of my lips
was right before thee.
So what we learn there is that Jeremiah,
even though he's preaching the judgment of God,
he says, look, in verse number 16,
neither have I desired the woeful day.
He says, God, you know what, I'm preaching this,
but I really don't wanna see it, Lord.
I don't wanna experience it, right?
He's not like, God, just destroy this nation,
yeah, let it all burn, Lord, yeah!
And he's like, man, Lord, I don't,
I'll preach what you want me to preach, Lord,
but I just, I don't, he's a man, he's normal, right?
He's a normal guy.
He's not this bloodthirsty prophet.
He goes, I just don't wanna experience it.
Neither have I desired the woeful day,
thou knowest, he goes, God, you know,
I don't wanna see this.
But even if he doesn't wanna see it,
even if he doesn't wanna experience it, right?
He says, that which came out of my lips
was right before thee.
You know, preaching God's word,
you're not always gonna like it.
I don't like preaching against the homos.
I don't even like bringing them up.
I don't even like preaching about hell.
It saddens me a little bit, you know, it's heavy.
There are things in the Bible, brethren,
that we, I promise you, you know,
even now you're thinking, man,
I'm gonna preach no matter what, you know, something,
listen, when you start preaching it,
you're gonna be like, ah, man,
I really don't wanna preach this again.
I'm, you know, but hey, what do we command us to do?
We're commanded to make sure that our lips
are right before God.
We preach it no matter what, okay?
That's the kind of person Jeremiah was.
He didn't wanna see, he wasn't bloodthirsty.
He wasn't just trying to want everyone to be destroyed
and Jerusalem to be on fire
and for people to cast into hell
and he's like, ah, that's wonderful.
No, that's not Jeremiah,
because I don't wanna see it, Lord,
but I'm gonna preach it anyway
because it's what you've given me to do.
I'm gonna preach your word no matter what.
Verse number 17.
Be not a terror unto me.
Thou art my hope in the day of evil.
Let them be confounded that persecute me,
but let not me be confounded.
Let them be dismayed,
but let not me be dismayed upon,
bring upon them the day of evil, look at this,
and destroy them with double destruction.
Jeremiah just finished saying,
I don't wanna see this day, okay?
But he knows that God is right.
He goes, Lord, destroy them, right?
Bring upon, bring out,
destroy them with double destruction.
And of course, this hearkens back to Jeremiah 16,
if you wanna turn there, verse number 18,
which said, and first I will recompense their iniquity
and their sin double, okay?
So God is telling Jeremiah, you know what?
I'm gonna recompense their sin double.
Next chapter, Jeremiah's like, yeah,
bring on the double destruction.
He's on God's page.
He's on God's page, okay?
He's preaching God's word.
Now, yeah, sorry, verse number 19.
Now we get onto the topic primarily here of the Sabbath.
I don't know if you, as the chapter was being read,
I don't know if you noticed,
but the last few verses is all about the Sabbath day.
So God brings up another problem that they're having,
another issue that they're facing.
It wasn't just the worshiping of false gods, okay,
and all the other wicked things they were doing,
but they had forgotten to observe the Sabbath.
Verse number 19, thus saith the Lord unto me,
go and stand in the gates of the children of the people,
whereby the kings of Judah come in,
and by the which they go out,
and in all the gates of Jerusalem,
and say unto them, hear ye the word of the Lord,
ye kings of Judah, and all Judah,
and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem
that enter in by these gates.
Thus saith the Lord, take heed to yourselves
and bear no burden on the Sabbath day.
Jeremiah's saying, look, stop working on the Sabbath.
That's what he's preaching, right?
Nor bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem.
He says, look, if you're bringing stuff,
to sell into Jerusalem, but it's a Sabbath, well stop.
Don't bring it anymore into Jerusalem.
Stop on the Sabbath, it's a time of rest.
Stop laboring, stop working.
Verse number, what about the brother?
20?
All right, 22.
Neither carry forth a burden out of your houses
on the Sabbath day, neither do ye any work.
Now that's really important, right?
Jeremiah's referring to all this burden
that they're doing, all this carrying.
He says, this is work, neither do ye any work,
but hallow ye the Sabbath day as I commanded your fathers.
All right, so when did God command the fathers?
That's of course, you know, keeping the Sabbath day
was one of the 10 commandments, was it not?
Okay, I'll quickly read it to you in Exodus 20, verse eight.
It says, remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.
That's one of the 10 commandments, okay?
And these descendants of those fathers,
those forefathers, they're neglecting the Sabbath, right?
So it's not, look, they're no longer a Christian nation.
There's nothing about this nation that yells out,
man, this is a Christian nation.
This is a nation that loves the Lord, right?
They're not obeying even this commandment
to not obey the Sabbath.
You might say, well, you know,
should we keep the Sabbath then, Pastor Kevin?
Should we not be laboring on a Saturday?
And should we be keeping this one day
where we have no work?
You know, is that what we're required to do?
Because Jeremiah, God seems very angry at these people
for not doing it.
Well, let's keep going.
Verse number 23.
But they obeyed not, neither inclined their ear,
but made their neck stiff,
that they might not hear nor receive instruction.
And it shall come to pass
if you diligently hearken unto me, saith the Lord,
to bring in no burden through the gates of the city
on the Sabbath day, but hallow the Sabbath day
to do no work therein,
then shall they enter into the gates of this city,
kings and princes sitting upon the throne of David,
riding in chariots and on horses,
they and their princes, the men of Judah
and the inhabitants of Jerusalem,
and this city shall remain forever.
God's given them another chance.
Says, look, just keep the Sabbath.
If you keep the Sabbath, God's promising, look,
this city is gonna remain forever.
This city is not gonna be burnt down.
You keep the Sabbath, you just do this part for me.
I'm gonna make sure the Babylonians
don't come and destroy you.
Now, are we required to not work on the Sabbath?
Well, yes and no.
It's both yes and no, okay?
So let's have a look at this.
Can you please turn to Colossians chapter two,
Colossians chapter two, verse number 16.
Colossians chapter two and verse number 16.
Is the Sabbath day important?
Of course it is.
It's one of the 10 commandments.
It's really important, okay?
And look, sometimes when I go door to the soul,
I encounter a seventh-day Adventist.
The seventh-day Adventists believe
they're keeping the Sabbath, but they're not keeping it,
but they believe they are, okay?
And they're telling, they'll say to me,
do you keep the Sabbath?
I've learned how to respond to them.
I would just say, yes, I do keep the Sabbath.
Okay, and they're like, oh wow, amazing, you know?
But that's not the Sabbath that I'm keeping
that they think about, right?
That's not the Sabbath.
In Colossians 2 16, Colossians 2 16, it says,
let no man therefore judge you in meat or in drink
or in respect of a holy day or of the new moon
or of the Sabbath days.
And so let no one judge you about the Sabbath days.
Well, isn't Jeremiah judging this nation
about the Sabbath days?
Of course he is, right?
Say, what's the significance of all these things,
including the Sabbath, verse number 17,
which are a shadow of things to come,
but the body is of Christ.
Listen, the Sabbath day was a shadow of Christ, okay?
I've used this example before.
You know, before a baby is born,
mothers generally have photographs of the ultrasound, okay?
Now that ultrasound is not really the baby, okay?
It's, I don't know how it works.
It's the, it's image created by sound, right?
It's not really, it's an image of the baby.
It's not the baby.
It's like a shadow of the baby, right?
Like if I'm, do I have a shadow here when I walk?
I don't know.
If you guys, maybe I'm out of the picture,
maybe I'm in another room, but you start to see my shadow.
You know, there's Pastor Kevin who's come along, you know?
And I walk in, are you gonna walk up to my shadow
and hey, shadow, how are ya?
No, listen, once the body has arrived,
the shadow is irrelevant.
Once the baby's born,
the ultrasound pictures are irrelevant, right?
When you celebrate, you know,
a baby's one year birthday party, all right,
and you take out the cake and you invite your family
and friends to celebrate and you set up the cake,
you don't have in front of the cake
all the ultrasound pictures and your, you know,
your guests come and say, hey, where's the baby?
Don't worry about the baby.
Ultrasound pictures are here.
Let's sing happy birthday, happy birth.
Wouldn't you say that's stupid?
Once the baby is born, okay,
the ultrasound pictures are worthless.
That's not what's important.
Someone comes to see your baby,
you don't show them ultrasound pictures,
you show them the newborn baby.
That's what they wanna see.
That's what the Sabbath day was.
Was it, are ultrasound pictures important?
Are they helpful?
Of course they are.
But until, when the baby's born, they're worthless, okay?
They were a shadow of things to come.
Guess what?
The Sabbath day was a shadow of Jesus Christ.
You're saying, what sense?
Because the Sabbath day was a day of rest, of no works.
Listen, you've heard more than once behind this pulpit.
Many preachers saying that one of our key doctrines is
rest, no works.
You say, what is that salvation?
The gospel, believing in the Lord Jesus Christ
is no works.
It's rest.
We rest on the finished work of Jesus Christ.
So what's the Sabbath supposed to represent?
The Sabbath was meant to represent the gospel.
They understood the gospel with these shadows,
these pictures that God put in their holy days,
in their celebrations, in the feast
to always point to Christ.
That's why we don't do the things
that the Old Testament saints do,
because now we have Jesus, right?
But the body is of Christ.
Guess what else is the body of Christ?
The New Testament church, okay?
We don't need to celebrate the Passover.
We don't need to go and offer sacrifices.
We don't need to, you know, go and celebrate,
sorry, and rest on Saturday.
What's the point?
Christ has come.
He set up his church.
We're here to serve him now.
That's what's important.
People that go back to the Sabbath day and these things,
they're going back to the ultrasound.
They're going back to the shadow.
You know, it's pointless.
It means nothing now, okay?
It's vain.
And so, listen, the reason God's saying,
look, you just fix this up,
you're gonna last, the city's gonna remain.
There's gonna be kings.
You're gonna continue,
because this is the most important doctrine,
salvation, not of works.
Simply believe in, simply resting
on what Christ has done for us.
Back to Jeremiah 17, verse 26.
Jeremiah 17, verse 26.
So, they've corrupted the gospel, yeah?
By not observing the Sabbath,
they are symbolically corrupting the gospel.
They're symbolically saying
that the gospel is a gospel of works.
Why would they wanna work on the Sabbath day?
Why do you think they would wanna work?
Money, profits, okay?
It's all self.
It's all about me, okay?
Why stop working today?
You know, I can make more profit
if I were to sell into Jerusalem,
if I could bring my things
into the city on the Sabbath day.
Hey, I'll do more work, I can profit more.
Yeah, but you've destroyed the gospel, okay?
And the whole nation has become reprobate
in the eyes of God, okay?
God has enlarged hell to take these people in.
Verse number 26.
And they shall come from the cities of Judah,
and from the places about Jerusalem,
and from the land of Benjamin,
and from the plain, and from the mountains,
from the south, bringing burnt offerings and sacrifices,
and meat offerings and incense,
and bringing sacrifices of praise
unto the house of the Lord.
That's if they kept the Sabbath.
God is promising all of these wonderful things.
Verse number 27.
But if ye will not hearken unto me
to hallow the Sabbath day,
and not bear a burden,
even entering in at the gates of Jerusalem
on the Sabbath day.
So God now warns them,
if you don't hallow the Sabbath day,
if you don't keep the Sabbath day,
then will I kindle a fire in the gates thereof,
and it shall devour the places,
sorry, the palaces of Jerusalem.
Now, before I keep reading,
God's speaking, of course,
about the judgment of Babylon.
And we know they burnt it all by fire,
the gates, the city, the palaces, all the buildings, okay?
But then he says, and it shall not be quenched.
So not just what's happening with Babylon,
but the fires will continue to burn.
They will not be quenched, okay?
What's that about?
Again, hell, okay?
Hellfire that will not be quenched.
And so by corrupting the gospel,
by believing or making it seem like,
you know, that, you know, salvation is by works, you know?
Those people that believe salvation is by works,
what's gonna happen?
What's their end?
Hellfire, right?
They're gonna be in a fire that cannot be quenched.
You know, a judgment that's even more severe
than the Babylonians coming and slaughtering people,
burning down, destroying families, taking everything.
There's a greater judgment to come that's in hellfire.
And it's for those that believe in works.
Listen, only biblical Christianity,
it's the only religion that I know of
that teaches that salvation is by resting.
It's by faith alone.
Just trust what Christ has done for us.
Every other religion, you know,
Islam, you know, Roman Catholicism.
I mean, all the false gospels, right?
Every false way to heaven, brethren,
guess what they're teaching?
They're teaching works.
Once again, people are going to hell in the millions.
And so, brethren, we need to be like Jeremiah, you know?
God wants to use us, as I've taught this morning,
to be the preachers, to bring peace between man and God.
We have this ministry of reconciliation.
And look, if nothing drives you
to get out there and lock doors,
consider hell for a moment.
Read Bible passages about hell.
Is that really where you want your fellow Australians to go?
You know?
Listen, we can't save the whole nation,
but we can save people one at a time.
You know, one at a time.
You know, every week, a few people at a time,
there's going to be great rejoicing in heaven
because we've been able to pull them out of the fire.
Okay, let's pray.