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Amen so I want to look this morning here at Jeremiah's message that he preaches to a group of people who are not right with God basically you have Israel at a time when they are very backslidden they're on the cusp of being judged severely by God and God's ready to send the the heathen hordes against them to carry them away captive and he looks out for a man and sees Jeremiah and he sends Jeremiah to preach a message and it's not a popular message but Jeremiah goes ahead and he preaches in any way because that's what he's been commanded to do and I want to look at that message this morning and the first thing I want us to notice about Jeremiah's message is that Jeremiah's message is prescribed it's prescribed meaning this that it God is the one that commanded him to preach this message Jeremiah didn't just wake up one morning and say you know what I feel like going out there and making a bunch of enemies and telling people a bunch of doom and gloom and making them mad having them haul me off to prison and go through this great trial and affliction you know this is something that God came to him and said go preach this go tell my people so on and so forth you look there in Jeremiah 26 look at verse 1 it says in the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah came this word from Jeremiah's own imagination from Jeremiah's own heart because he just had a bone to pick with the people no and you read the book of Jeremiah Jeremiah often stops in the middle of these judgments that are being pronounced and you have these prayers where he's just lamenting what is taking place he's heartbroken for these people I'm sure this wasn't easy for him this wasn't something that he enjoyed but it says there that this word came from who it came from the Lord and he had a job to do he is told to go and preach this and then you've noticed there in verse 2 he's told to hold nothing back he's saying don't go there and just say what you feel like saying Jeremiah go to these people and preach the whole council that I'm giving you preach everything that I'm telling you to preach it says in verse 2 thus saith the Lord stand in the court of the Lord's house and speak unto all the cities of Judah which shall which come to worship in the Lord's house all the words that I command thee to speak unto them diminish not a word diminish not a word and you say why did God have to tell Jeremiah that because it might have been very tempting for Jeremiah to say well surely the Lord doesn't want me to tell them all of this I mean this is some bad news I'm about to share with them this is the whole book of Jeremiah is just one long scathing rebuke it's just one I mean it's just doom gloom judgment and you know maybe Jeremiah might have been tempted because he like he is just a man you know and perhaps might have wanted to hold something back I'm not saying that he did he certainly didn't hold anything back but this is also you know an admonition for all those that would come after him every man of God that would come after him has to understand that when he preaches God's Word he needs to preach all of it and to diminish not a word and if the Bible says that it needs to be preached because people need to hear it you know these people would not have been served by Jeremiah just going there and said everything's fine you're okay and then they said well you know what who are what are all these Assyrians and Egyptians and these Babylonians coming here and sieging our town and and and you know we're we're starving to death Jeremiah I thought you said everything was gonna be okay and you know what they had plenty of people back then that we're gonna preach that positive only message to them there are plenty of prophets in Jeremiah's day saying Jeremiah's lying he's a heretic he's a false prophet everything's fine just go about your business but when a message truly came from God when there really was a messenger from God that that came that message was negative and there's a reason behind it and I'll get into that here in a minute but the lesson is that preacher should not hold back God's message I won't have you turn there but if you want to go to 2 Timothy chapter 4 2 Timothy chapter 4 because nothing's changed you know a lot of today people think oh you know I don't want to go to that church because he gets up and yells I don't want to go to that church because it's these negative message I don't want to be told that I'm doing anything wrong I just want to go to a church where they're just gonna say hey everything's fine continue on in your sin God's not mad at you I just want to go to you know the bookstore and and pick up a book by Joyce Meyer I want to pick up Joel Steen's book and just have a feel-good you know a read and just walk away with the with the warm fuzzy feeling and say everything's fine I don't have to change that's that's not the case that hasn't changed it well that's Jeremiah back in the Old Testament of course we know back then that's how preachers were supposed to preach but we're supposed to preach the same way today it says there in 2 Timothy chapter 4 verse 1 I charged thee before God so again who sent Jeremiah to sent this bring this message it says it was the word came from the Lord okay and Paul here is giving this charge to Timothy before who before God saying you know don't don't diminish anything why because you're preaching before God okay before God and Lord Jesus Christ who shall judge the quick and the dead at the appearing at the excuse me at the peering and his kingdom preach the word be instant in season out of season now what's in season out of season mean when it's popular when it's not popular you know there was a time when hard hard preaching was more popular well people would go to church and say I'm going to get my face ripped I'm going there and and they they were going there and they were expecting to hear hard preaching that's what the majority of people wanted that was there have been times where that's been in season that's not today today at this type of preaching is out of season people don't want that he says to go there to and to preach the word to be instant in season out of season reprove rebuke exhort with all long-suffering and doctrine for the time will come when they shall not endure sound doctrine which shall heat to themselves teachers having itching ears meaning what they just want someone to go like this forum and say oh it's okay just grab that earlobe and just it's alright everything's fine but that's not the way God called us to preach that's not what God wants go back to Jeremiah chapter 26 Jeremiah chapter 26 he said in Isaiah chapter 58 cry aloud and spare not lift up thy voice like a trumpet and show my people their transgression and the house of Jacob their sins Isaiah of course is Jeremiah's contemporary someone else was preaching at that time and he was told to what to show his people their sins you know a lot of times it's easy for us to just preach against the world and say well let's just talk about the world's sins let's just preach against the sodomites let's just preach everything that's going on out there all and that's easy but the real hard preaching is what it's in here when you start to show God's people their sins and say you need to change you need to make a change you know and a lot of preachers won't do that you can see why God would command Jeremiah to say diminish not a word because it's really easy to get up preach against the world's another thing to say hey we got to preach about something we got to deal with something we got to make sure that we're right in God's house the Bible says that judgment shall begin in the house of God it's where it ought to begin so Jeremiah's message is not only prescribed it's commanded by God but also it's not popular as I've kind of already illustrated and we see that in Jeremiah 26 they didn't hear Jeremiah's preaching and say oh thank you for that you know that I needed that Jeremiah good message didn't walk up and say hey good sermon that really spoke to my heart I appreciate that is that what happened in the story not even close it says in verse 8 now it came to pass when Jeremiah had made an end of speaking all that the Lord had commanded him to speak unto all the people that the priests and the prophets excuse me that the priests and the prophets and all the people took him saying thou shalt surely die now you can begin to see why God said don't diminish a word don't diminish a word because you're gonna go preach something and it's gonna make them so mad they're gonna want to kill you they're gonna want to put you to death Jeremiah Jeremiah's message not only is it prescribed it's commanded by God it's not popular when he preached this they were condemned he was condemned by the people there was no great revival we all know the story if we've read it God brought in you know brought in the heathen brought in bat you know the Babylonians they were carried away captive and if you know the story Jeremiah he came on the other side clean I mean he had to go through some things he's lowered down in the mire he's given water and bread of affliction he's in prison he doesn't know if he's gonna live or die but when when judgment finally comes when the word comes true Jeremiah's set free he's giving some money by the Babylonians and say hey go wherever you want obviously he's heartbroken he didn't come out on the other side with an attitude like told you so should have listened to me he was heartbroken over what happened Jeremiah's message is not popular why is that because it's negative it's a negative message that he was sent to preach look the popular preacher is the positive only preacher today the guy gets up is only gonna tell you what you want to hear that's the popular guy he's the one that's gonna fill a stadium he's the one that's gonna you know preach to thousands upon thousands and sell books and be on Larry King and you know get invited here and get invited there and have a jet and he's everyone's gonna love him and all men are gonna speak well of him the Bible said woe unto you when all men shall speak well when men shall speak well of you for so did they the fathers of the false prophets okay you got a positive only guy chances are in fact it's an you know almost a guarantee that guy's a false prophet preaching a false gospel the very least he's he's a not doing God's people any favors you know it was no different Jeremiah's day in chapter 14 I'll read you says the prophets prophesy lies in my name I sent them not neither have I commanded them neither spake and neither spake unto them they prophesy unto you a false vision and divination and a thing of not and their deceit and the deceit of their heart the positive only guy the false prophet who's gonna prophesy laying lies in God's name he's there to just prophesy out of the deceit of his own heart he's going after filthy lucre all he wants is your money you know churches often get that that rap don't they they say people go they just want your money you know that's true about a lot of churches they all they want is your money you know I know because they won't preach anything negative they won't preach anything that somebody might hear and say I'm never going back they'll never preach anything that's gonna send people toward that for the door you know but that's not what we're called to preach here and I'm not trying to win a popularity contest in case you haven't noticed because that's not what God has called God's preachers to do he's called them to caught and get up and to hold nothing to back to preach all the counsel of God and there's nothing new in Jeremiah's day he had his positive only preachers and you know what you say well why is it that these people these false prophets can can get away with it we'll go to Jeremiah chapter 5 keep something Jeremiah 26 go to chapter 5 how is it that people can just go in there and and and fill a stadium and sit there and listen to such a liar like Joel steam or some other positive only preacher because that's what people want to hear people today especially that's all they want to hear they don't want to be told you need to change they don't want to be told you need to get right that's not what they want to hear that's why let me look there in Jeremiah chapter 5 verse 30 a wonderful and horrible thing is committed in the land say wonderful and horrible how could that be that seems like two different ideas well wonderful you know back then didn't really mean the same thing it does today it's it's like it's it's shocking is what he's saying we're in wonder you ever been in wonder or something here's some news is you're left in wonder right we use it today in a different way but it says there and wonderful and horrible thing is committed in the land the prophets prophesy falsely and the priests bear rule by their means notice this and my people love to have it so and what will you do in the end thereof the people there that they've had these false prophets they loved it they said prophesy to us lies tell us smooth things don't tell us things we don't want to hear so that's Jeremiah's message it was something that was prescribed it was something that was not popular but what specifically was his message well his message is this amend your ways amend your ways that's the title of the sermon amend your ways Jeremiah chapter 26 if you look at verse 12 it says then Jeremiah then spake Jeremiah unto all the princes and all the people saying the Lord sent me to prophesy against this house and against the city all the words that you have heard verse 13 therefore now amend your ways and your doings obey the voice of the Lord your God and the Lord will repent him of the evil that he had pronounced against you so what's the difference between the false prophet of Jeremiah's day in the man of God what's the difference between his message and the message of the false prophets of his day is that his message was a message it was a call to change for people to do what to amend their ways and their doings and to do what and obey the voice of the Lord you know people don't like to hear that message obey right I mean from the time we're this tall and even younger I'm just kids obey no and you know what some of us never change we grew up that way I mean we might learn to respect our parents and respect our bosses and respect our elders and so but when it comes to God we still say no you know what God's got to get the paddle out and go to work that's what he's doing here in Jeremiah that's what this is all about it's one big spanking from God against his people he's getting all the kids together and lining them up and just right down the row let him have it why because they need to change they need to amend their ways they need to do what learn to obey that's his message through and through go over to go over to 2nd Kings chapter 23 but keep something in Jeremiah 26 all morning we're gonna come back 2nd Kings 23 Jeremiah's message over and over again amend amend change obey stop doing what you're doing quit committing abominations quit getting into sin obey the Lord he said in Jeremiah 7 verse 1 the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord saying stand in the gate of the Lord's house and proclaim there this word and say hear the word of the Lord all you Judah and enter in at the gates to worship the Lord thus saith the Lord of hosts the God of Israel amend your ways and your doings and I will cause you to dwell in this place you know that's a that's a promise you know that's shadowing a threat really when you listen when you hear what he said there he said amend your ways and your doings and I will cause you to what dwell in this place meaning this if you don't you're not gonna dwell in this place you're not gonna remain in this land you're gonna become captives trust ye not he said in lying words saying the temple of the Lord the temple of the Lord the temple of the Lord are these for if you thoroughly amend your ways and your doings if you thoroughly execute judgment between a man and his neighbor if you oppress not the stranger the fatherless and the widow and shed not innocent blood in this place and boy that's the message for America today to stop shedding innocent blood in this place through the wars through the oppression through the abortions neither walk after the gods to your hurt then I will cause you to dwell in this place see we want to dwell people want to dwell with God they want to have peace they want to have a nice life they want to you know they want to let dwell in the land of their fathers forever and ever but do they want to amend their ways do they want to obey do they want to amend their doings quite often not but again that's the promise that if we do amend our ways and if we do change that if we do obey you know God is gonna be at peace with us I'm not saying we're gonna be perfect I'm not saying God isn't have to deal with us from time to time we're all work in progress but you know what we're not gonna have the hand of God coming down upon us we're not gonna have the chastening hand of God come down in our lives and I want you to notice where Jeremiah's message is being preached and I'll just you know I'll just say it is that it's being preached in the house of the Lord isn't it he's telling him to go stand in the gate of the Lord's house and proclaim this word he's going to church and preaching this he's preaching this message to church going people people that are there the prophets the priests and all the people that have come to worship the Lord that's who he sent to preach to you know what that tells me is that going to church isn't enough going to church isn't enough if you think well I'm just gonna go to church on Sunday and check that box off and God's gonna be happy with me and I can just do whatever I want the rest of the week you're sorely mistaken the Christian life happens outside this building you live for God when you walk out the doors that's when that's really tested that's where God's blessing is out there and how do I think you should be in church yeah of course but do you think that's how you know God's blessing is just whether or not you go to church I mean how easy is it come on how easy is it you know it's easy right you just show up and sit down you know do this try to stay awake right it's easy well I came to church Lord bless me did you did you do anything that you heard this week did you did you apply any of that to your life no you need to mend your ways you change you need to obey the voice of the Lord so this was doing done in the Lord's house that's where it was preached but you know people just don't want to amend their ways why because they get comfortable with their ways they get used to their sin say why is it people just get stuck with certain sins and they just never change I mean it could just be ruining their life just destroying them just leading them down a path to certain destruction and they'll just they're just perfectly content to stay on that path why is that because that's what they're comfortable with the idea of changing anything frightens them because change is hard it's not easy to say I'm gonna give up this habit I'm gonna get rid of this sin I'm gonna start doing that I mean that's why there's a whole culture out there of self-improvement right and people are just making all this money from books about self-improvement because people need help in that area because change is hard it's difficult people get really comfortable in their ways which are not the Lord's ways and they need to change look there in 2nd Kings chapter 23 verse 28 this is a great example of that it says there now the rest the acts of Josiah and all that he did are they not written in the books of the Chronicles of the King of Judah of course Josiah was really the last godly king that they had and then he had his sons and they didn't turn out so well it says in verse in verse 29 in his days a Pharaoh and Pharaoh Nico king of Egypt went up against the king of Assyria to the river Euphrates and King Josiah went out against him and slew him in Megiddo when he had seen him and his servants carried him in a chariot dead from Megiddo so it was Josiah that was slain he was carried from Megiddo and brought him to Jerusalem and buried him in his own sepulcher and the people of the land took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah and anointed him and made him king in his father's stead and Jehoahaz was twenty and three years old when he began to reign and he reigned three months in Jerusalem and his mother's name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah and he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord according to all that his fathers had done and that's a phrase that comes up over and over and over again according to all that his fathers had done according to all that his fathers had done you know people get comfortable with their sways because well that's just the way daddy did it that's the way grandpa was look my family's just been this way as long as I can remember my daddy and my daddy and my daddy's daddy we just always been this way and we're not gonna change the Bible says you need to change you demand well I've just always been a drunk I got drunk young and my dad is one that got me drunk and his daddy got him drunk and we've all been drunks and we all get together and we get drunk change the Bible says amend your ways quit being a drunk it's hard change anyway do something hard but that's how people end up and you know with cirrhosis of the liver that's how people end up in a hospital bed in a fiery wreck and they you know and they die if they're lucky you know I'll just park it on there for a minute you ever seen these people that get in some fiery car they get all drunk and they just go out and they just get in some fiery wreck and they're just scarred horribly for life or worse yet they weren't in the one that drunk some other guy that was drunk hit them I mean what's it gonna take for people to change you know that's just one example but people can know these type of things say yeah I know the statistics and I've heard and I had friends went through that I mean I had a friend that went up in a fiery wreck out drunk driving when I was in high school and I had a button we were all friends with them you know what a lot of those friends are still drinking to this day still doing the same thing they always been doing because they don't want to change they don't want a man why because it's hard well get over it and do something hard in your life you know life you know we got it I don't know what it is about Americans these day I think we just got it too easy everything's just right here so it's brought groceries are brought and entertained for hours I don't have to go to church I can watch it right here I mean that's how easy it is I mean it's just gotten such we've become such a soft culture you know and I'm not taking those things for granted believe me I appreciate things like climate control amen I appreciate things like you know indoor plumbing I'm not saying let's get rid of that do something hard I'm just saying look we should be not be such soft people spiritually that when God says change we're willing to change sometimes you need to amend your ways and look at things and say what am I doing wrong here what do I need to change in my life and this goes for all of us I mean if we were all did some soul-searching we all you know we might not have some open sin but you know we might have a poor attitude in our heart we might have covetous you apply it however you see fit I just don't want people to get the idea you know because a lot of times when you preach on sin that people don't you didn't mention my sin I know I talked about drunkenness and fornication and adultery but you didn't mention this sin so you know you know I can't I can't get up here every Sunday and preach with us and make sure I touch on every single person sin one I don't know what everybody sins are but you do you know it's usually that one you're thinking about right about now when a sermon like this gets preached the one that makes you hope he doesn't say hope he doesn't bring up okay that's the one all right that you apply it there and you change that okay where did I have to go second Kings 23 where were we and they kill you he dies they make his son King and then it says in verse 32 and he did that which is easel aside evil the side look according all that his father's did had done verse 33 and Pharaoh Nico put him bands at ribla in the hand of Hamath and he might not reign in Jerusalem and put the land to a tribute of 100 talents of silver and a talent of gold and Pharaoh Nico made Eliakim the son of Jiah Josiah King in the room of Josiah his father so then he gets his other brother and there that's what's going on he takes the one out what's the other one in and turned his name to Jehoiakim so he takes Eliakim and puts him in the room of his brother right Pharaoh Nico the king of Egypt and notice what he does when he puts him in there he turns his name to Jehoiakim and you know the in the vibe in the Bible Egypt is a picture of the world okay when you think about it when they came out of an exodus when they came out of Egypt that's a picture of you getting saved right then the blood was applied to the door posts and the plagues you know didn't touch the children of Israel they were separate right and they came out you know that's us coming out of the world we're getting saved we're made separate we're sanctified we're sealed by the Spirit you know you could see the image all the way through the story of the story of Exodus then they go down in the sea that's your baptism they come up on the other side and then they have to fight in the land of Canaan you know there's punishments along the way they backslide that's a picture of the Christian life and Egypt in that picture represents the world and it does often throughout Scripture and I want you to notice that when when Pharaoh Nico the king of Egypt came and took Josiah his father and turned his name into Jehoiakim what's the application here the world's got a plan for you look the devil has a plan for your life the devil and the world they want you to just they want you to live a certain way they want you to be perfectly comfortable with what they've laid out for you that's why people don't change they get comfortable with the world they get used to they say they look around say well everybody else is doing it so why don't I I'm just you know I'm perfectly comfortable being like they are being just like them he changed his name and he got comfortable and he came to Egypt and died there they are comfortable with the way of the world you know we should not be comfortable with the way of the world you should not have this attitude of well that's just what they taught me in school you know that's what I that's what Oprah said to do you know that's what my relatives told me but their worldly philosophy and their worldly way of living you know sometimes people take advice from the wrong people just because they're relatives just because they're a friend just because they're what comfortable with them and they just go along because they don't want to make ways with people that they're what comfortable with they don't want to mend their ways because they don't want to offend grandma or mom or dad or a sister or whoever and they take advice from people that have no business giving advice you know advice like about marriage you know the last person you should take advice from or about marriages anyone who's divorced I'm not saying that to be mean that's just the truth I'm not going to take parenting advice from people who have terrible kids unless they're telling me what they did wrong you know but that's it's usually how it goes people who have made mistakes in these areas are the first ones to offer advice a lot of times and people go ahead and take it why because they're comfortable they're gonna take it you know grandma's and auntie so and so is advice on marriage because well I don't want upset her but they've made a wreck out of her look I've seen it over and over and over again happens all the time let's just move on a story here we'll go back to well no let's just stay there let's stay there in 2nd Kings 2nd Kings says there in verse 35 and Jehoiakim gave the silver and the gold to Pharaoh and he taxed the land of the to give the money according to the commandment of Pharaoh he exacted the silver and the gold of the people of the land everyone according to his taxation so Pharaoh Nico has just got these people right under his thumb right where he wants them you know why a lot of people refuse to change people refuse to amend their ways because they're comfortable with being oppressed they've never known anything else they're just used for somebody having them right there and look the world it wants to you know get you comfortable with them and it wants to oppress you they want you living in sin they want you just disregarding the things of God not going to church not reading the Bible not living for the Lord and you know what you can get real comfortable with that why because that's what everybody else is doing it's real easy to get comfortable with that because that's the vast majority of people today that's majority of people you know this might comes a shock are not independent fundamental Baptist this morning they're not King James Bible believing soul winners they're worldly people and they have and they have their problems I'm not saying if you live for God you're never gonna have another problem again but look I'm not gonna have a lot of the problems that they have you know I don't have the marriage problems that a lot of people have it's because I don't follow the world's advice on marriage you know I don't have the problems with my children that a lot of people have because I don't follow the world's advice when it comes to raising children now I'm not saying you can't find a nugget of truth there and there and apply it but this is the ultimate source of all things that pertain unto life and godliness this will teach you how to raise your family this will teach you to have how to have a good marriage this will teach you how to live a quiet and peaceable life and all godliness and honesty this book not dr. Spock which is probably known most people in your don't know that is or whatever you know New Age neo child-rearing theories out there and they're just making more books trying to sell more because look people are looking for answers aren't they they're all right here and they're tried and they're tested and they're true and they work but people get comfortable with the worldly philosophies and they are just exacted then I mean it's not their literal money I mean he's exacting them of their substance like they're silver and gold that people just have all their energies everything is just sapped right out of them because they're just spinning their wheels because they're comfortable with the world's advice the worldly philosophies they're comfortable with being treated poorly by the world and that's exactly what the world does they're comfortable with being in bondage people just get at ease with that don't they why don't people change say well I've just always had these shackles on and I don't know what I'd do without them my whole wardrobe is is centered around my my handcuffs you know I've accessorized to this to this bondage in my life if I got rid of that boy nothing's you know it just ties everything together you know that's the illustration I'm using and it might seem silly but that's a spiritual reality for a lot of people look I've just always had this sin I don't know what I'd do without it you know I mean when it comes to any sin I mean think about a sin like smoking right and it is a sin smoking is a sin you're the temple of the you're the temple of the Holy Ghost okay you know you don't want to defile that temple you know God has got you've gotten that on loan let's not destroy it and smoking Bible doesn't say thou shalt not smoke do I think it's the worst thing in the world though it won't take you to hell you'll just smell like you've been there okay but look people say I can't quit because I mean it's just it's I've done it for years I don't know what else to do one of the hardest things about quitting is that they tell you you need to find something to do with your hands because there's that you know that fidgeting I remember I had an uncle who quit he'd smoked for decades I'd never known it you know by the time I I knew him in my life he quit for years and years and years I always noticed me always had like a piece of black electrical tape rolled up just a little piece and he's always doing something with it he's always or he had a twisty tie and he was always or he's chewing gummy bears a lot until you know then he had to give that up to a poor guy couldn't catch a break right but I remember that I asked my aunt why does he do that well he used to smoke and now he had always asked that was the one thing that helped me quit you just to have something to replace I can't quit doing this what am I gonna do with my hands I gotta put something in between my lips I get some gum take the wrapper do like my uncle did this is all I'm saying is that people don't want to change because they're comfortable with bondage they get comfortable with sin just having just ruling their life and ruining it you know and those of us that have either gotten past that I mean maybe we could have a little more sympathy or those of us that have never been in bondage to a sin like that we look at that and just we go how can anybody be in heroin addict and put that stuff in their veins when they know what it does to them I mean haven't you seen the the mugshots you know how could you get cooked on meth you ever seen that mugshot you know the time-lapse of the meth addicts that came through that one department over and over again over the years is like their face just slowly melted it's sad we look at I can't understand that who would do that that's the power of bondage that's the power of addiction and a lot of times those people do want to change but they're just so comfortable with it they can't imagine life being any other way the Bible tells us in a glacious Galatians 5 to stand fast and liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage now I know that primary application is you know not to be Judaized not to go back into the you know practicing Old Testament law and things like that but look Christ has given us freedom from sin you know there is no sin in your life that you can't have the victory over I'm not saying it's gonna be easy I'm not saying there isn't some sin that you might really struggle with and it might take a lot of concerted effort on your part to get over it but you have Christ's Spirit he's for you you have that way of escape through prayer it's always there there's no temptation of taking you but such as is common to man God will not tempt you but that you're able to with the temptation make a way to escape that you may be able to bear it it's always there but people don't want to take that route because they're comfortable with bondage says in verse 36 Jehoiakim was twenty and five years old we began to reign and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem and his mother's name was Zebuda the daughter of Padiah of Rumah and he did that which is evil which was evil in the sight of Lord according to what all that his father's had done he's just comfortable he's running Israel right into the ground and he's there he's getting judged firsthand he's just gonna keep on doing what he's doing because that's just what my dad did that's just the way it's always been in my family they're comfortable with generational sin look someone's got to break that eventually you come from a long line of whatever why don't you why don't you be the the odd branch in the family tree you know I mean why don't you know we'll break off all together and graft into another one once you break that cycle that generational cycle of addiction in your family you know I'm gonna be the first one who you know doesn't turn into alcoholic I'm gonna be the first one that has a marriage that goes the distance I mean the first one that raises some godly kids I mean the first one that whatever lives for the Lord I'm gonna be the first independent fundamental Baptist in my family and I'll stick out like that sore thumb I don't mind because I'm not comfortable with bondage anymore I want to change I knew having this printed on both sides was gonna mess me up they're comfortable with being a bondage let's go back to Jeremiah chapter 26 Jeremiah 26 and we'll we'll wrap this up look people need to amend their ways because of the fact that God's gonna judge them if they don't people get comfortable with the way the world they get comfortable with the way things have always been the philosophies of the world and people don't want to amend their ways they get comfortable you know what they need to amend their ways because of the fact if they don't they're going to get judged and that's what Jeremiah was trying to get across look you need to get right with God or you're gonna get judged okay go to 1st Corinthians 5 because a lot of times when we talk about God's judgment you know a lot of people can just take that as a very you know abstract idea and it's it's crazy because things can happen in their lives they'll say well maybe that isn't God's judgment I mean I look back at my life I look at circumstances I was in in seasons of my life that I went through and go that was definitely God judging me there's just no doubt about it a lot of people can explain that away ah it's a coincidence because things happen right but you know there's one concrete judgment there's one concrete thing that can happen in your Christian life that there's just no question about it it's judgment it's called getting kicked out of church and this is this is a concept that a lot of churches don't practice you know to their own detriment but it's one that we practice you know we we do kick people at a church and not because I like it but again I'm to not diminish a word from the Word of God you know and my job as the overseer of this flock is to protect it and to keep sin out because I want the Spirit of God on this church that's what I want because I'm here to do a work for the Lord and God isn't gonna bless a church where people are bringing in sin and an open sin okay and there's several of these sins that can get you kicked out okay say well that doesn't sound very nice you know what tell it to the Apostle Paul Apostle Paul in 1st Timothy chapter 1 said he's out he ended you know a nice little epistle to Timothy of whom is Hymenaeus and Alexander I mean he's naming names here I'm in a s and Alexander well you shouldn't mention names well Paul did and he didn't just you know say it on Facebook didn't just say it on a sermon one Sunday he wrote it down in the eternal Word of God for everyone to read for millennium I mean I you could debate whether or not these guys are saved if you know my opinion is they probably weren't but maybe they were I don't know I haven't really studied that out too much but you know if let's say Hymenaeus Alexander are in heaven you think they're maybe they'll want to change their name you know you could just call me Manny for short I'm Alex Alexander yeah so when were you for you from where what happened you know what's your story why I was around possible for a while really you weren't in the Hymenaeus and Alexander were you yeah yes I was right Paul and look Paul called out names and he said this whom I have delivered unto Satan that's a very powerful Satan statement when you think about it here's the Apostle Paul saying there hey there's these two guys and I just went here you go Satan have your way with them why that they may learn not to blaspheme there was it wasn't just because Paul's mean and Paul Paul you know just didn't like them you know they did Paul dirty or whatever it's because they were blasphemers and Paul said have at it Satan so that they can learn to what to amend their ways to change and to stop being blasphemers that's the whole point of church discipline is so that people will change it says in 1st Corinthians chapter 5 verse 9 I wrote it to you an epistle not to company with fornicators yet not altogether with the fornicators of this world or with the covetous or extortioners or with idolaters for then you must needs go out of the world he's saying look don't keep company with fornicators meaning you know you can't have them in church but he says there yet now together the fornicators of this world so he's talking about people who are in church look is if we were to go around say well I can't company with any fornicator in the world that would make living life very difficult wouldn't it you know you call lyft or an uber you get in are you a fornicator okay well just I can't talk to you you know I can't company you go to the checkout lane the the you know the the teller the cashier wants to make a little small talk while she's ringing up your groceries well before we have any company together are you a fornicator no okay let's talk it's nice weather today right he's talking that's the fornicators of the world okay he's saying yet not all together fornicators the world or with the covetous or extortioners why then you for then you must needs go out of the world look if that was the standard let's go start that commune right let's just go live under and under paths let's go let's just all move up on Mount limit and live in the sticks and just you know eat acorns or something or whatever there is to eat always comes back to food with me for some reason he says but now I have written unto you not to keep company if any man that is called a brother okay so who is the brother you know somebody that's been coming to church brother so-and-so they're saved they've been coming to church he says look at that person be what a fornicator or covetous or an idolater or a railer or a drunkard or an extortioner with such and one know not to eat saying don't have fellowship with these people they cannot be in our company okay because God will judge that and it sets a bad example to everybody else around them now look are there churches out there that have all these people in them yep by the droves and that's why people go there because they know if they go there no one will ever talk they're not gonna tell me to stop being a fornicator they're not gonna stop telling they're never gonna tell me to stop being a covetous they're not even gonna stop me to tell us tell me to stop being an idolater they could say oh you could keep that statue of Mary I know you're Catholic but you can come to our ecumenical services and we're all you know we all worship the same God they're never gonna tell me to stop being a railer they're never gonna tell me to stop you know get off Facebook or bad-mouthing people behind their back I'm not saying get off Facebook I'm saying bad-mouthing people on Facebook you can get on Facebook it's okay just don't be a railer you're never gonna tell me to stop being a drunkard that's a big one isn't it those are probably the two big ones in this list right that we're gonna ever gonna deal with I mean we could deal with these other ones I mean obviously covetous people who want to just come in and they're just there to try to give you a business card get you in their pyramid scheme they're just looking for business contacts because our whole life is just about money money money money they're covetous you know what they're not that we're not to keep company with them they're not allowed okay we're probably never gonna deal with an idolater although we could you know somebody's gonna come and just say you know I'm gonna worship this statue right or a railer now that we will probably have to deal with or an extortioner you know someone's gonna come in and just try to blackmail people or something like that we're probably not gonna deal with that there's a chance you know what we are gonna deal with in 2021 America fornication and drunkenness because those are two things that run rampant in our country today those are two things that are just lifted up as that's just having a good time that's just what everybody's doing getting drunk and fornicating and the Bible says if you're a fornicator a drunk that you are to be that we're not to eat with such in one that they are to be put out look there in 1st Corinthians look at chapter 5 verse 1 it is court reported commonly that there is fornication among you you know and this is to the church at Corinth and such fornication so not as much as named among the Gentiles that one should have his father's wife that's not talking about incest talking about this is probably this guy's second wife you know wasn't his mother but he's that's who he's committing fornication with it you know if it's fornication that probably means that the father's passed on otherwise would be adultery he says in verse 2 but notice what's making Paul mad here it's not the fact that that somebody's committing fornication it's the fact that it's being tolerated that he's saying oh and that the church is saying oh it's okay it's all right and it's it's not so much as named among the Gentiles but look at verse 2 and you're puffed up you're saying oh yeah we're such a great church we have such a loving spirit here we're such a loving people that we're more loving than God we just let fornicators and drunkards and extortioners and idolaters we just let them come right in and just get right right at home with us because we just love them so much because we're just so loving Paul says you're puffed up who do you think you are you're puffed up what's puffed up mean it means you're full yourself I'm so spiritual right that's what it is I'm so puffed up is what he's saying you're puffed up and have not rather what mourned that he that hath done this deed might be taken away from among you saying you should have put him out these should be taken away from among you shouldn't be there fornicator he says for verily I as absent in the body but present in the spirit have judged as though I were present concerning him that had done this deed in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ this isn't just Paul's opinion Paul's not just pulling this out of a hat and saying what you know just because I feel like it he's saying do this and what in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ the name of God when you're gathered together in my spirit with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ deliver such on one there it is again unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh you think this is a heart sermon you think I'm being mean Paul was a whole lot harder preaching I'll ever be he's saying you take that person and you deliver them unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh why it's so that they can learn their lesson that fornication is a wicked sin and you apply this to any one of these sins that are listen they're drunkenness covetousness extortion whatever now it is limited those five sins you know so don't come to me and say well we need to kick so-and-so out because I don't like their face and people and I'm they don't it's not that that's not their exact terminology their exact excuse but I people try this kind of thing well you know the Bible says we should kick people out yeah for these five things okay my hands are bound by that right and I'm not by the way I'm not on a hair trigger to kick people out of church I'm trying to grow a church what's the purpose of this what's the purpose of not tolerating these sins in church is so that people will do what amend their ways and amend their doings and be obedient to what the scripture says again this is what the scripture says this is thus saith the Lord this isn't my opinion this isn't just a matter of what makes sense for people this is what matter this is a matter of whether or not you want to be right with God now whether or not you want to make life easier what's more convenient it's a matter of whether or not you're gonna be right with God well I know I shouldn't drink but you know I'm gonna go ahead I'm just gonna drink a little less you know I'm gonna I won't drink hard liquor anymore you know switch to Coors Light or something like that I'll just drink a 12-pack well you know I'll just cut it down that doesn't make you right with God that your logic doesn't play into this when it comes to these these sins and people want to just reason things away or they want to act like well that's just what that that's just your opinion brother Corbin that's just what the church you know that's just your dogma you know this is doctrine okay doctrine is what the Bible teaches dogma is what a church believes and a person a creed is your personal belief and here our Creed your Creed our dogma should all lined up with what doctrine okay this isn't just the church's dogma this is Bible doctrine about whether or not you want to be right with God forget about being right with the church what about God you know I want to be right with God look if you want to be right with God you'll be right with the church and you'll be right with everybody else in the church if you're what right with God first and I want to be right with God because I don't want to get delivered unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh he's saying look that the Spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus look you can be saved and be all these things you can be saved and being drunk you can be saved be covetous you can be saved on your way heaven be a fornicator but you know what you can also have the destruction along the of the flesh along the way and you can catch the disease and have all the problems and everything else and not be right with God on your way to heaven that's an option for you that's you know a lot of people go that way I'll tell you right right now this is probably the number one subject one of the most you know one of the main subjects that people quit church over fornication and remarriage after divorce those two things more people quit this church over those two things than anything else why because that's what's prevalent in our society and you say well it's worth it you know it's just that's just what you got fine I'll go but here's the thing getting kicked out of church is the least of people's problems I mean he's being delivered unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh that's what he's saying you know the most concerning thing here is not whether or not I get to be in church or not it's whether or not God's wrath is going to be on my life or not reason why that the Paul wanted this person put out of the churches so that there's no collateral damage so when God's wrath doesn't come down it doesn't take out a bunch of other people with them and drag them down you know you let drunkenness and fornication these things stay in the church you know then the young people see that and say oh well I guess the preacher isn't that adamant about not committing those sins because obviously you know he's letting it in the church so maybe it's okay and then those people just start to drag all the other people around them down Paul is saying get them out why because they're a ticking time bomb for God's wrath so you know getting kicked out of church is the least of those people's problems it's God's wrath coming down in your life that's what should be most concerning if we're you know if we're guilty of these sins that's what it says in 1st Corinthians chapter 5 look at verse 12 for what have I to do to judge them that are without also that are without do you not judge them that are within but then that are without God judges so when we put people out they're now out and who judges them at that point God does but we don't judge the world we don't go around trying to you know I don't I'm not gonna go home this afternoon and knock on my neighbor's door and turn him over 1st Corinthians 5 say look I noticed you're committing adultery here and you know why because he's a sinner he's unsaved he's not in the tree he doesn't he doesn't come here it's not my job it's not my place God will judge him you know when it comes to this church this house you know we do have judgment here and this is how we judge according to the scripture drunkenness fornication covetous not allowed because we don't want we don't want God's wrath we don't want to be there when God's wrath comes down on people and more than that we want people to do what to amend their ways and to change and to obey because then they can have God's blessing in their life and look people think well it's not that big a deal you know especially today with with sins like drunkenness and fornication to say it's not that big a deal well I'll remind you that you know in the Old Testament God killed like in one day 30 and 20,000 people were killed over the sin of fornication in one day God just said take him out now that's the obviously that's how we're advocating here but that is that's just how shows you that's how God's feels and he and he references that first Corinthians chapter 10 I'll read to you verse 8 neither let us commit fornication as some of them committed and fell in one day three and twenty thousand neither let us tempt Christ as also some of them as also tempted and were destroyed of serpents so those things are written for our admonition this is Jeremiah's message it's a you know this is my message right now but Jeremiah's met my it's similar to Jeremiah's message in the fact that what it's negative it's not popular you know what else it is it's prescribed it's prescribed it's what I'm supposed to preach wouldn't be doing my job if I didn't preach it wouldn't be doing any favors if I didn't preach it say well I'm not guilty of that good keep it that way keep it that way Jeremiah's message and I'll close on this it's powerful it's not popular but it's prescribed we know what it is it's powerful and not just in his dynamic delivery I'm saying it's powerful because of the fact that it has the power to change people's lives it changes lives you know one thing I've learned you know I've seen it and now I've seen it firsthand hard preaching works you'll never build a church preaching like that want to bet because there's people out there they want to be told change there's people that want to go to a place that's going to help them what change they're tired of sin they're tired of being under bondage they're tired of the way of the world they're tired of the devil having his there his way in their life the worldly philosophies of everything going wrong and they want to change and sure there's plenty of people that don't and you can find a church that will never challenge you on any of that and people can just go right on their merry way with their sin but we preach this message here this negative message not only because it's biblical but because it has power to change lives it does he said in Jeremiah 26 verse 13 if you would go to Jeremiah 18 we'll end there but he said in Jeremiah 26 we already read it verse 13 therefore now amend your ways and your doings and obey the voice of the Lord your God why and the Lord will repent him of the evil that he has pronounced against you you know a bigger reason why we ought to amend and change our ways is so that God repents him of the evil that he'll do to us and and people get this saved you gotta understand when you got saved you became God's child and God is a Heavenly Father he's not an absentee father he's present in your life he's right there and he's a good Heavenly Father and he's a loving father you know what he's gonna do he's gonna chase in you the Bible says in Hebrews 12 that he chaseneth every son whom he receiveth neither is there any son with whom he chaseneth not and it goes on and says further and if you be without chastisement then you're bastards and not sons meaning if you could just go on keep sinning and never have any repercussions for it then you're not saved you're not God's child you know that's one way to preach it but think about it this way that means that if you are saved God's chastening is guaranteed in your life and if you don't want to amend your ways and you don't want to change you know God's gonna be right there to paddle you spiritually to do what to just be mean no to convince you to change I mean is that why we discipline our children because we get some sick deranged pleasure out of it it's because we want them to behave you know we slap the little hand when it reaches for the hot iron because we don't want them to burn themselves we teach them to come when I say come because I don't want to be out at the park when they haven't run towards some busy road and completely ignore me when I say come here I want them to associate the words come here coming out of my voice with you know if I don't do that you know there's repercussions that make it difficult to sit it's called spanking right that's why God wants us to change that's that's why we need to amend our ways because we want God to repent him of the evil we don't want God's chasing we want his blessing look at Jeremiah chapter 18 verse 1 look the message is clear isn't it amend your ways change you're doing I mean did anyone wonder what Jeremiah was saying when he said it did they have to sit there and go what does he mean by amend our ways he said he's saying you know honor the Sabbath you know if you read it quit committing a you know idolatry amend your ways change they didn't wonder the message is clear but here's the thing the choice is always yours whether or not you're gonna do that I can't twist people's arms and make them change sometimes I wish I could I'll be honest I wish it was that easy just a full Nelson you know say it I'll change let him go you know well that would be easy you know that's not easy though it's not that easy you got to get up and you got to just show people what the Bible says and give them opportunity to change but at the end of day you always have to understand the choice is always yours whether or not you want to amend your ways it says in Jeremiah chapter 18 verse 1 the word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord saying arise and go down to the potter's house and there I'll cause thee to hear my words then I went down to the potter's house and behold he wrought a work on the wheels and the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter so he made it again another vessel as seemed good to the potter to make it so this guy's down there he's making a pot and you know it falls over or whatever has some imperfection it doesn't turn out right so the guy starts over and makes a new one that isn't mark and God is sending Jeremiah down there to give him a picture it's he's using it as an illustration for Jeremiah it says in verse 5 then the word of Lord came to me saying Oh house of Israel cannot not do with you as with as this Potter sayeth the Lord behold as the clay is in the potter's hand so are ye in my hand Oh house of Israel at what instant I shall speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom to pluck down and to pull down to pluck up and to pull down and destroy it if that nation against whom I have pronounced turn from their evil I will repent of the evil that I have thought to do unto them at what instance I shall speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom to build and to plant it if it do evil my sight and then it obey not my voice then I will repent of the good wherewith I I said I will benefit them so saying look this that vessel was marred it was broken like he's gonna do to them he's gonna mar that vessel he's saying but I could start over again I can create a whole new thing I can start all over again and make it just the way it ought to be it's an illustration he's and obviously this is applying to the nation but we could apply this to ourselves you know we might look at our lives and just see a lot of chips in our vessel so to speak there might be some big crack in it maybe the paint's wearing off whatever we might be marred by life and and and sin and all that but you know what God can make us new again God can renew us God can still use us if we'll do what if we'll amend our ways if we'll amend our doings if we'll be obedient and change you know I know that's true because this room is filled with marred vessels that's how I know that's true you're looking at one I know for a fact that if people amend their ways and change their doings and obey the voice of the Lord God will use them God will bless their life God will work in their life for the good you know what else I know is that if they refuse not to if they refuse to say you know what I'm just gonna keep doing I'm doing I also know God that is still going to work in their life just not in a way that they would want so the choice is yours and to me if the choice is obvious change amend do right because you're God's gonna work in your life one way or another I would rather have God's blessing than his anger in my life so that's the message this morning amend your ways change let's go ahead and pray