(Disclaimer: This transcript is auto-generated and may contain mistakes.)

Thank you everybody for coming this evening, please take your seats, if you would please turn with me to song 364. Song number 364, Standing on the Promises. Sing it out on the first. Standing on the promises of God my Savior. Standing, standing, I'm standing on the promises of God. Standing on the promises I cannot fail, when the house is torn without a clear assail. By the living Word of God I shall prevail, standing on the promises of God. Standing, standing, I'm standing on the promises of God my Savior. Standing, standing, I'm standing on the promises of God. Standing on the promises of Christ the Lord, proud to live eternally by the strong Lord. Overcoming gaming with the Spirit's sword, standing on the promises of God. Standing, standing, I'm standing on the promises of God my Savior. Standing, standing, I'm standing on the promises of God. Standing on the promises I cannot fall, missing every moment to the Spirit's fall. Resting in my Savior as my all alone, standing on the promises of God. Standing, standing, I'm standing on the promises of God my Savior. Standing, standing, I'm standing on the promises of God. Brother John T. Shelley, could you pray for me? Thank you, God, for letting us be here tonight. I pray that you would bless all aspects of the service. So God bless you with your Spirit, and then you just bless the soul and the rest of the week. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen. Please turn with me to song 173. Song number 173, Love Lifted. Sing it out in reverse. I was sinking deep in sin, far from the peaceful storm. Carrying deep this pain within, seeking to rise no more. But the master of the sea, where life is scaring dry, From the waters lifted me, I'll sing as I'm. Love lifted me, love lifted me, when nothing else could help. Love lifted me, love lifted me, when nothing else could help. Love lifted me, oh my heart to him I give, never to give up evil. In his blessed presence live, never his praise is seen. Love so mighty and so true, merits my soul's pass on. Faithful loving service to him he holds. Love lifted me, love lifted me, when nothing else could help. Love lifted me, love lifted me, when nothing else could help. Love lifted me. Soul in danger look above, Jesus completely sails. He will lift you by his love, out of the angry ways. He's the master of the sea, willows his willow bay. He your savior wants to be saved today. Love lifted me, love lifted me, when nothing else could help. Love lifted me, love lifted me, when nothing else could help. Love lifted me. Alright, this time we'll go through our announcements. If you don't have a bulletin slip up your hand nice and high, we'll get to you with one. We only have a few left it looks like. On the inside we have our service times. Sunday mornings at 10.30 is our preaching service. Sunday nights at 6.30. And then Wednesday nights at 7 is our Bible study. This week we're in Jeremiah chapter number 31. The soul winning times are listed there below as well as salvations, baptisms and offering totals. Let's go ahead and count up the soul winning from the past few days. Anything from Monday, any soul winning from Monday? Six, that was where you took the team to the reservation, right? Anything outside of that team with brother Garrett on Monday? How many? Three more, okay. Alright, two over here. Anybody else? Alright, and then how about Tuesday? Anything from Tuesday? Three for the group with brother Shelley. Four more over here. One back there. Alright, two over here. And then anything else from Tuesday? Okay, and then how about today? So my team total for the van had two saved. Anything outside of the van group? One. Two. One. Alright, two and two. Okay, that's fine. We'll tag it if it didn't get counted. Alright, one. Two over here. Alright, anything else from today? Alright, keep up the great work on soul winning. This was a first for me. Somebody yelled at me and told me that I was a Hillary supporter. I thought that was kind of strange. And it was just completely out of nowhere. But it just goes to show how people are so brainwashed right now. Their mind is so on the things of this world. And their mind is just so into TV and everything. It's not in the word of God. It's all the media controlled. It was not even a political conversation. It was about eternal security of the believer, right? And then she was trying to complain about some soul winner that had knocked her door three months ago. And once I found out who it was, I knew that there's no way that this person was rude to her. Because it's really friendly, nice people that aren't rude out soul winning. And she just blew up at me and she said, Well you're probably a Hillary Clinton supporter. It had nothing to do with anything. Like literally we're talking about eternal security and soul winning etiquette. And then she told me to, you know, bleep off and whatever. But it was just kind of interesting that she just, that's just, You support Hillary Clinton! It's like people, they're not thinking about the word of God. They're not thinking about the gospel. And even a lot of Christians are sucked into this right now. Just like, all the evil in this world is Hillary and everything that is good and clean and wholesome and righteous is Trump. That's what people believe right now. I'm not kidding. Or, if you talk to the other crowd, it's the opposite. All the evil in this world is represented by Trump, you know, and Hillary is just this angel or whatever. But it just blew me away that somebody's that deep into TV and radio and everything to where you're trying to talk about the word of God. And then it's just, oh yeah, well you must support Hillary. Yeah, yeah right. I'm a big Hillary supporter. There, I said it. Yeah, I'm sure. Who in the world would believe that about the faithful word Baptist Church? She must not know us very well. Anyway, I thought that was just kind of funny. But anyway, across the page, the November birthdays, this Sunday we're celebrating the November birthdays. So if you come to church early, we'll have coffee and donuts before the morning service. And then there's a field trip coming up for the homeschoolers on November the 4th, which is just this Friday, just two days away. Congratulations to the Lone family on the birth of their baby. Baby Eve was born on Tuesday, October 25th. And then tonight is the last night to sign up for the portraits. This is it, folks. So if you've been procrastinating, you've got to get signed up tonight. Paul and Theresa Wittenberger are sitting in that corner right there. If you need to get up right now and go sign up with them, you can, just so you don't forget. But be sure to get signed up tonight or you're not going to be in the book and you're not going to get your beautiful portraits. And then this Saturday is the Soul Winning in the Parks event. If you want to come to this, show up at the church building at 9.15 a.m. It'd probably be a good idea to bring like a picnic sack lunch or some kind of an ice chest or cooler or whatever for a picnic. We're going to be meeting up here and then we'll divide up and go to a few different parks in the area and just go Soul Winning in the Parks. So something different. And that's going to be this Saturday at 9.15 a.m. right here. And then on the back, of course, we have the annual chili cook-off a couple days ago. I hope everybody had a great time. I know I did. It seemed like everybody had a blast. And so thanks to everybody who put all the work into setting it up, cleaning it up afterward and all the hard work that went into making the chilis and the sides and everything like that. Other upcoming events. The wedding of August and Grace is going to be on Friday evening, November 11th at 6 p.m. And we'll have dinner and dessert with that. And then the 11th annual church picnic is on November 19th and a baby shower on the 20th. Also, don't forget if you know people in other parts of the country that we're having a Soul Winning marathon in Jacksonville, Florida on January the 14th, Saturday. Brother Tyler Baker is going to be starting a church in Jacksonville, Florida in August of next year. So he's going there to do a Soul Winning marathon in January on the 14th. And then I'm going to be doing a Soul Winning marathon where I'm going up to Minneapolis, Minnesota on January 20th, Friday, January 20th. So if you know anybody in those areas, be sure to spread the word on those. And that's about it for announcements. Let's go ahead and introduce any first-time visitors. If you're here for the very first time, we just want to quickly get your name and where you're from. Anybody here for the first time? Just get your name and where you're from. Yes? Alright, great to have you, Robert. Anybody else? Just stand if it's your first time. Did I miss anybody else? Alright, very good. Be sure to get to know Robert. And with that, let's go ahead and sing our next song. Let's turn to 31. Song number 31, He Lives. Song number 31. Let's sing it out on that first verse. Song number 31. Let's sing it out on the first. I serve God with His Savior, He's in the world today. I know that He is living, whatever man may say. I see His hand of mercy, I hear His voice of cheer. And just the time I need Him, He's always near. He lives, He lives, Christ Jesus lives today. He walks with me and talks with me along life's narrow way. He lives, He lives, with salvation to impart. You ask me how I know He lives, He lives in my heart. In all the world around me, I see His loving care. And though my heart grows weary, I never will despair. I know that He is leading through all the stormy blast. The day of His appearing will come and last. He lives, He lives, Christ Jesus lives today. He walks with me and talks with me along life's narrow way. He lives, He lives, with salvation to impart. You ask me how I know He lives, He lives in my heart. Rejoice, rejoice, O Christian, look up your voice and sing eternal hallelujah to Jesus Christ the King. The hope of all who seek Him, the help of all who find. The other is so loving, so good and kind. He lives, He lives, Christ Jesus lives today. He walks with me and talks with me along life's narrow way. He lives, He lives, with salvation to impart. You ask me how I know He lives, He lives within my heart. Alright, this time we'll go ahead and pass our offering plate and as the plate goes around, let's turn our Bibles to Jeremiah chapter 31. Jeremiah chapter number 31, as we always do, we'll read the entire chapter beginning in verse number 1. You can follow along silently with Brother Jesse as he reads. Jeremiah chapter 31 beginning in verse number 1. Jeremiah chapter 31. At the same time, saith the Lord, will I be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall be my people. Thus saith the Lord, the people which were left of the sword found grace in the wilderness, even Israel, when I went to cause him to rest. The Lord hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love. Therefore, with lovingkindness have I drawn thee. Again I will build thee, and thou shalt be built, O virgin of Israel. Thou shalt again be adorned with thy tabrets, and shalt go forth in the dances of them that make merry. Thou shalt yet plant vines upon the mountains of Samaria. The planters shall plant and shall eat them as common things. For there shall be a day that the watchmen upon the mountain Ephraim shall cry, Arise ye, and let us go up to Zion unto the Lord our God. For thus saith the Lord, Sing with gladness for Jacob, and shout among the chief of the nations. Publish ye, praise ye, and say, O Lord, save thy people, the remnant of Israel. Behold, I will bring them from the north country, and gather them from the coasts of the earth. And with them the blind and the lame, the woman with child, and her that travelth with child together. A great company shall return thither. They shall come with weeping, and with supplications will I lead them. I will cause them to walk by the rivers of waters in a straight way, wherein they shall not stumble. For I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn. Hear the word of the Lord, O ye nations, and declare it in the isles afar off, and say, He that scattered Israel will gather him and keep him, as a shepherd doth his flock. For the Lord hath redeemed Jacob, and ransomed him from the hand of him that was stronger than he. Therefore they shall come and sing in the height of Zion, and shall flow together to the goodness of the Lord, for wheat, and for wine, and for oil, and for the young of the flock, and of the herd. And their souls shall be as watered garden, and they shall not sorrow any more at all. Then shall the virgin rejoice in the dance, both young men and old together. For I will turn their mourning into joy, and will comfort them, and make them rejoice from their sorrow. And I will satiate the soul of the priest with fatness, and my people shall be satisfied with my goodness, saith the Lord. Thus saith the Lord, A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, and bitter weeping. Rehel weeping for her children refused to be comforted for her children, because they were not. Thus saith the Lord, Refrain thy voice from weeping, and then eyes from tears. For thy works shall be rewarded, saith the Lord, and they shall come again from the land of the enemy. And there is hope in thine end, saith the Lord, that thy children shall come again to their own border. I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself thus. Thou hast chastised me, and I was chastised, as a bullock unaccustomed to the yoke. Turn thou me, and I shall be turned, for thou art the Lord my God. Surely after that I was turned, I repented, and after that I was instructed. I smote upon my thigh, I was ashamed, yea, even confounded, because I did bear the reproach of my youth. Is Ephraim my dear son? Is he a pleasant child? For since I spake against him, I do earnestly remember him still. Therefore my bowels are troubled for him. I will surely have mercy upon him, saith the Lord. Set thee up waymarks, make thee high heaps. Set thine heart toward the highway, even the way which thou wentest. Turn again, O virgin of Israel, turn again to these thy cities. How long wilt thou go about, O thou backsliding daughter? For the Lord hath created a new thing in the earth. A woman shall compass a man. Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel. As yet they shall use this speech in the land of Judah, and in the cities thereof, when I shall bring again their captivity. The Lord bless thee, O habitation of justice, and mountain of holiness. And there shall dwell in Judah itself, and in all the cities thereof together, husbandmen, and they that go forth with flocks. For I have satiated the weary soul, and I have replenished every sorrowful soul. Upon this I waked and beheld, and my sleep was sweet unto me. Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man, and with the seed of beast. And it shall come to pass, that like as I have watched over them to pluck up, and to break down, and to throw down, and to destroy, and to afflict, so will I watch over them to build and to plant, saith the Lord. In those days they shall say no more, the fathers have eaten a sour grape, and the children's teeth are set on edge. But every one shall die for his own iniquity. Every man that eateth a sour grape, his teeth shall be set on edge. Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah. Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, which my covenant they break, although I was not husband unto them, saith the Lord. But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel. After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts, and will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall teach no more every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord. For they shall all know me from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord, for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more. Thus saith the Lord, which giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon, and of the stars for a light by night, which divided the sea when the waves thereof roar. The Lord of hosts is his name. If those ordinances depart from before me, saith the Lord, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me forever. Thus saith the Lord, if heaven above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, I will also cast off all the seed of Israel, for all that they have done, saith the Lord. Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that the city shall be built to the Lord, from the tower of Hananil, unto the gate of the corner. And the measuring line shall yet go forth against it upon the hill Garib, and shall compass about to Goath. And the whole valley of the dead bodies, and of the ashes, and all the fields under the brook of Kidron, under the corners of the horse-gate toward the east, shall be holy unto the Lord. It shall not be plucked up, nor thrown down, any more forever. Brother Josh Hall, will you pray for us? Dear Lord, I thank you for this opportunity to gather in your house. I pray for you. I bless you with the blessing of your word. I pray for your spirit, and help you be glorified by it. Amen. In Jeremiah chapter 31, the Bible reads, At the same time, saith the Lord, will I be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall be my people. Thus saith the Lord, the people which were left of the sword found grace in the wilderness, even Israel, when I went to cause them to rest. Now, let me just start out by again giving you the context of the book of Jeremiah. The coming judgment is being talked about over and over again in the book of Jeremiah, where the Babylonians are going to come in and destroy Jerusalem, destroy the temple, take them captive, but that 70 years later, after they go captive, God's going to bring them back to the promised land. They're going to rebuild the temple. They're going to rebuild Jerusalem. And of course, that rebuilding is found in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah. Now, at this point in Jeremiah, we're getting into a section where he's talking less about the judgment and destruction that Nebuchadnezzar is going to bring, and he's talking more prophetically about when they come back 70 years later. That's what he started talking about in chapter 29. That's what most of chapter 30 is about, 31. The next few chapters, he's going to continue on these things. So this is a more positive chapter about them coming back and being restored after the Babylonian captivity is over. Now, it says in verse number one, at the same time, sayeth the Lord, will I be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall be my people. And let me first, keep your finger there, go to Genesis 12. Let me first just point out some things about that word families there, okay? Often when the Bible uses the word families, it's not referring to what we would think of as families, meaning mom, dad, and the kids, but that the word families is often referring to a certain tribe, or a certain nationality, or even a certain nation. For example, if we get the context within the book of Jeremiah itself, just two chapters later in Jeremiah chapter 33, it talks about the two families that God had chosen to serve him, talking about the sons of David that would sit on the throne, and the Levites that would be the priests. And it says in verse 24 of Jeremiah 33, you go ahead and go to Genesis, but he says, Considerest thou not what this family hath spoken, saying, The two families which the Lord hath chosen, he hath even cast them off, and so on. So when he talks about the two families, he's talking about the tribe of Levi, and he's talking about the sons of David and the tribe of Judah. Look at Genesis chapter 12, verse number one, the Bible reads, Now the Lord hath said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will show thee, and I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great, and thou shalt be a blessing. And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee, and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. You see that? In thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. Go to Galatians chapter 3 now with that in mind. Galatians chapter 3. Now obviously, every single family, if we were to take the definition, father, mother, and kids, is not blessed today. And is not blessed in Abraham whatsoever. But in the sense of tribes or nationalities, all families of the earth are blessed in Abraham because of the fact that there are people that are saved from every nation under heaven. No matter what country you go to in this world, no matter what language is spoken, red and yellow, black and white, you will find people who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ as their savior in every corner of this globe. And the Bible talks about how in the book of Revelation, when John sees the great multitude appear in heaven, that there were people there in heaven, people that had been saved, out of every tongue, every nation, every kindred, and every tribe on this earth. So that's what it means when it says in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. Look down at your Bible there in Galatians 3 verse 6. It says, even as Abraham believed God and it was counted to him for righteousness, know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham. And the scripture foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham saying, in thee shall all nations be blessed. And throughout the Bible it says it both ways. Sometimes it will say, in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed, or in thee shall all nations of the earth be blessed, because he's making the same point. He's getting the same thing across there. Now a lot of people misunderstand what that blessing is. They think the I'll bless them that bless thee and curse them that curse thee just has to do with being a physical Jew. Just, if you're the nation of Israel, if we bless Israel, God's going to bless us. And if we curse Israel, but no, no, no. It says that those that are of faith are the ones that are blessed with Abraham. And that God, when he said, I'll bless him that blesseth thee and curse them that curse thee, and in thee shall all nations of the earth be blessed, and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed, it says in verse 8 that the scripture was foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith. So that blessing has nothing to do with being a part of a physical nation or flying a physical flag. That has to do with believing in Jesus. And he says if you are saved by faith, justified by faith, that verse was about you. It foresaw you, no matter what heathen nation you come from, believing on Christ and being blessed with faithful Abraham. So to say that that verse is about anything else is to contradict this. The Bible says, well that's what that verse is about. It's about God justifying people by faith when they believe in Jesus. Other people will twist that. Let's keep reading. Verse 9, so then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham. For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse, for it is written, cursed is everyone that continueeth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for the just shall live by faith. And the law is not of faith, but the man that doeth them shall live in them. Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us, for it is written, cursed is everyone that hangeth on a tree, that the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ. So it doesn't come on the Jews who reject Christ. No, the blessing of Abraham comes on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. But let me ask you this. Are there some people who descended from Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob who believed on Jesus Christ? Absolutely. And a lot of people at the time of Christ when Jesus was preaching in Galilee and in Judea and all those places, they believed on him, they got saved, and they are the remnant. Okay, go to Romans chapter 11. This is all going to tie in with Jeremiah chapter 31. Go to Romans chapter 11. The Bible says in verse number 1, I say then, hath God cast away his people? God forbid. For I also am an Israelite of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. God hath not cast away his people, which he foreknew. What ye not what the Scripture saith of Elias, how he maketh intercession to God against Israel, saying, Lord, they have killed thy prophets, and dig down thine altars, and I am left alone, and they seek my life. But what saith the answer of God unto him? I have reserved to myself seven thousand who have not bowed the knee to the image of Baal. Even so then, at this present time also, there is a remnant according to the election of grace. Look at verse 7. What then? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for, but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded. So what's the Bible saying here? God did not cast away his people Israel in the sense that there is still a remnant of believing Israel. He said, well God didn't cast away his people because I'm an Israelite, Paul said. Paul was of the tribe of Benjamin. He was a Hebrew of the Hebrews. And he said, well apparently God has not cast away all of his people, because here I am. Here's Peter, here's John, here's James. There were a lot of the Hebrews, a lot of the Israelites who believed on Jesus Christ. They are still part of that election, the chosen. Election just means chosen. Okay, we have an election happening this month. What does that mean? They're choosing leaders. Okay, well election is sort of like selection. You know, you're making a choice. And so when the Bible talks about the elect or the election, it's saying the chosen ones, the chosen people. Okay, so what he's saying is that if you're by grace, if you're saved by grace, you're part of that election, right? So he said Israel has not obtained that which he's seeking for, but the election hath obtained it. That proves that Israel and the election are not the same thing here. Because not everyone of the seed of Israel physically believes on Christ, because that's what you have to do to be elect. You have to be by faith. You've got to be by grace. That's how you get blessed with faithful Abraham. But notice, this is very important to lay this foundation, that there is a righteous remnant. There is a saved remnant, and God fulfills his promises through that saved remnant. But people who don't believe, people that are bowing down to the image of Baal, they lose out on that. They don't just get a free pass because of their genealogy. They are rejected. Go back to Jeremiah chapter 31. And this is what we had in the last few chapters where he brought up the good figs and the bad figs. And he said the house of Israel is like this rotten fruit of bad figs where they can't be salvaged. And then other people of the children of Israel who believed on the Lord and are following him, they were like the good figs. So it's a mixture. It's both, okay? Israel physically represents people who believe and don't believe in the Old Testament. Well, the unbelievers are cut off, and the believers are blessed with Abraham. I mean, it's that simple. And then God, of course, in the New Testament has extended that to the Gentiles where now we are the chosen people. As long as we believe in Christ, we're blessed with faithful Abraham. Now look at Jeremiah chapter 31 with all that in mind. It says in verse 1, at the same time, say that the Lord will I be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall be my people. Here's what he's promising. He's basically promising that there will be representatives of all of the tribes that are going to be brought back in the land of Judah at the end of the Babylonian captivity. Okay? Now obviously it's predominantly the southern kingdom that comes back. But there are representatives of other tribes sprinkled in there. You know, it's 90 some percent. I don't know the exact percentage, but I would guess it's 90 percent if it is the tribes of Judah, Benjamin, and Levi. But there was a sprinkling even in the days of Hezekiah that came from the other 10 tribes. And even in the New Testament, we see there's a woman of Asher that's mentioned and someone of Simeon. So there is a remnant, there is a righteous remnant of all the families of Israel, meaning of all the main tribes. There are those saved representatives. Look at verse number seven. It says, For thus saith the Lord, sing with gladness for Jacob, and shout among the chief of the nations, publish ye, praise ye, and say, O Lord, save thy people, comma. And then he's going to define who thy people are. Save thy people, the remnant of Israel. So who are God's people? God's people are the remnant of Israel. The remnant is who? Those who trust in the Lord. And who's not the remnant of Israel? It's the people who turned away from the Lord. They're the bad figs. They're the ones that are going to be destroyed and scattered and decimated. Okay, so we see that in verse one. At the same time, saith the Lord, will I be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall be my people. Thus saith the Lord, the people which were left of the sword found grace in the wilderness. Notice the mention of grace. Even Israel, when I went to cause him to rest, the Lord hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love. Therefore, with lovingkindness have I drawn thee. Again, I will build thee, and thou shalt be built, O virgin of Israel. Thou shalt again be adorned with thy tabards, and shalt go forth in the dances of them that make merry. So here we see that God is addressing the virgin of Israel. When you think of the virgin of Israel, are you thinking of a young person or an old person? You hear virgin. You know, it's probably a young person, right? So when the Bible here is using this term throughout Jeremiah, talking about the virgin, that symbolizes the next generation that's uncorrupted. Because his people, the children of Israel, he uses this metaphor over and over again in Jeremiah that they had committed adultery, he said. You know, by turning to false gods, it was like a spiritual adultery. But then he says to the next generation that they're like the virgin of Israel. You know, they haven't screwed up yet. They're young and clean and pure, and that's who he's reaching out to. And I think one of the great lessons that we can learn from this is that even though the children of Israel were very wicked, and God had to punish them and take them into captivity, their descendants, 70 years later, were able to be right with God, live for God, and live a clean life, and to be called the virgin of Israel, and to be extended grace and promises and so forth. You know, and that should be encouraging to anybody who maybe comes from a family lineage of a rough background, right? Maybe your parents, you know, did everything wrong, had a wicked and sinful life. Maybe your grandparents or great-grandparents, maybe you just come from a long line of just scoundrels and rotten, wicked people. But you know what? The Bible is showing us here and in many other places that we can still live for God, and we don't have to use that as an excuse. Now, thank God, you know, I grew up in a Christian home. My grandparents are Christian and so forth, but not everybody has that testimony. A lot of people here, their parents were not Christians, and they were not raised in a godly home. But you know what? You can still live for the Lord and do great things with your life. You don't want to hide behind that past and use that as an excuse to be somewhat lesser for the Lord. You know, the Bible says that we should forget those things which are behind and reach forth unto those things which are before. I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. And don't think to yourself, well, you know, I'm not going to be as great as so and so because of the fact that I came from a rough background. No, no, no. You can still be used greatly. And God's trying to be an encouragement to these people. He said don't, and there are a lot of verses like this, don't be like your fathers, he says. And don't be like their fathers that were stiff-necked people, that were rebellious people. Don't be like them. And he's appealing to the young and saying be different. And you know, that's what we need today in 2016. We need a generation of young people that would not just blindly follow the mistakes of their parents and grandparents. The last generation, you know, and the baby boomer generation, I guess is what you'd call it, right? The baby boomer generation really messed things up and really made a lot of mistakes by and large, okay? And we shouldn't just blindly just, well, let's just keep on keeping on. What we need to do is we need to rise up and rebuild the old paths and the old waste places and go back to the Word of God. And I believe that every generation has to do that for themselves. You know, I've noticed, and the Bible says through much idleness of the hands, the house droppeth through. And I've noticed that around the house, if you neglect things, they tend to deteriorate. Even, you know, you'll get everything dialed in the way you want it and if you don't maintain it, it deteriorates. And that's like that with anything. You have to keep maintaining it. So what happens is great preachers will rise up and create great soul-winning movements and churches will be established and doctrine will be laid down strongly. But over time, every movement tends to deteriorate and it tends to die, tends to go soft. And then the new generation has to rise up and sort of start over and you have to redo things all the time. You know, I was just thinking about our camera system here for the live stream. You know, I spent days and days running cables and setting up cameras and getting it all working. But, you know, that was like a year or two ago and now it's just one camera is dying after another and it gets messed up and then the software gets back. And then it gets to the point where now we just have one camera angle. We had like five, you know, which one's enough, right? But the point is that things, you know, I was just saying the other day, you know, I need to just spend a couple of days and just redo this whole thing. But why? And I'm saying to myself, you know, you think you just set it up and it'll just work forever. But nothing is like that. You always have to redo it. You got to repaint the house. You got to rerun the plumbing. You got to redo the electrical. That's how it is spiritually. You got to start new churches. You got to light the soul winning fire once again. You got to lay down the doctrines and hard preaching once again. And every generation has to do that. And if we don't do it, those of us that are in this so-called millennial generation or around that or younger, if we don't do it, we're doomed. The previous generation, that movement is decaying and dying that they're scaling back soul winning to once a month. And then it's just a door hanger. We have to rise up and rebuild. We have to start over. That's what God's telling these people. You know, you have to start over and rebuild. Now, one of the things that's interesting here is when he says in verse two, are you there in Jeremiah 31? Thus saith the Lord, the people which were left of the sword found grace in the wilderness. Now, here's what I want to point out about grace. OK, grace is when you receive something that you don't deserve. Right? It's given to you and you don't deserve it. You don't earn it. You don't pay for it. You don't work for it. Right? Some people define it as unmerited favor. And that's a pretty good definition of grace. But here's the thing about that though. A lot of people will misunderstand grace or take that concept too far to the point where they'll say this. Well, it's unmerited favor. It's undeserved. Therefore, you do nothing and receive it. That's not true. But that's what a lot of people will say. Oh, well, it's grace. That means it's just you do nothing and therefore receive it. But that's not true. Because, for example, when it comes to salvation, in order to receive God's grace of salvation, there's something you have to do. You have to believe on Jesus Christ. Now, believing on Jesus Christ is not earning it. It's not meriting it. It's not working for it. You're still getting something you don't deserve. Like, for example, if I said to you, come to me after the service and ask me and I have a special gift for you. If you come to me after the service and ask me, I will give you a special gift. Right? And let's say 200 people walk out and get in the car and leave without asking me. Right? And then let's say five people walk up to me and say, I would like to receive that gift. Okay? And then let's say I hand them a flash drive or whatever. Here's your gift. Did they earn that? Did they pay for that? Did they work for that? Did they deserve that necessarily? No, no. It's still a free gift, but did they have to do something to get it? They had to come and ask. And the people who didn't come and ask did not receive it. The people who did come and ask did receive it. Now, if those people came to me and I said, okay, wash my car and I'll give it to you, well, then that's not grace. That's no longer a gift. Or if I said, here, here's your free gift, but it's $1. That's no longer a gift at that point. Or if I said, well, here, I'm going to give you this gift, but you have to commit that you're going to attend church, you know, for the next year. That wouldn't be a gift either. That's working for it. That's earning it. But just simply coming and asking is not. That's why the Bible says if thou knewest the gift of God and who it was that said unto thee, give me to drink, thou wouldest have asked of him and he would have given thee that living water, which is eternal life. The Bible says, if ye then be evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children. How much more will the heavenly father give good things to them that ask him? Matthew chapter number seven, I believe. And then also in Luke 11, where he says, he'll give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him if you give good gifts unto your children. So the point is, God's grace is undeserved, it's unmerited, it's not something that you work for or earn. Because if it's of works, then is it no more grace? Otherwise grace is no more grace. He said if it be of works, then is it no more grace? Otherwise work is no more work. It's either grace or it works. But does that mean you just do nothing and receive it? Absolutely not. Because if some atheist just sits there and does nothing, they're going to hell. They don't get any grace. Because the Bible says believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. The Bible says that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God has raised from the dead, thou shalt be saved. But you have to believe in your heart and you have to confess with your mouth. That's not working, that's not earning, that's not paying, but you do have to do something. Well here's the thing. When the Bible talks about the remnant of Israel finding grace, okay verse 2, Thus saith the Lord, the people which were left of the sword found grace in the wilderness, even Israel, when I went to cause them to rest. And then verse 7 he talks about thy people the remnant of Israel. Look, the children of Israel did not deserve to be saved. They did not deserve the grace that God extended to them, but hold on a minute, they had to do something to receive it. They had to believe in them. They had to have faith in the Lord. And if they're putting their trust in Baal, and if they're worshipping false gods, and if they're denying the Lord, they don't receive that grace. So a lot of people will twist this grace and say, oh well Israel, you know, they're in the promised land by grace, even though they don't believe in Christ, even though they reject Christ. It's just by grace. So it becomes like a Calvinist doctrine, which Calvinism teaches that basically God just gives you his grace and you do nothing. You don't have to do anything, it's just automatic. It's called irresistible grace. That's the I in their Tulip program. Irresistible grace meaning you just, and then the U in Tulip is unconditional election. Unconditional election. So a lot of people will say, well I'm not a Calvinist, but then all of a sudden when it comes to Israel, they go full Calvinist and say that they're unconditionally God's chosen people, and that they just get grace without having to do anything. Well look, it's not unconditional election, it's if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in thine heart that God has raised him from the dead. You know the Bible doesn't say, for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever automatically goes to heaven, he said that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. That's why the Bible says for by grace are you saved, it doesn't just have a period there and not give any more information, it says for by grace are you saved through faith. How do you get the grace? By faith. So anyway, that's a pretty important concept here, because you don't want to get mixed up on what grace means. And just this overboard, grace like, it's just everybody just gets it, just grace for everybody, no no, you believe, then you get grace. And that doesn't mean you earned it, it doesn't mean it stops being grace, it's still grace through faith. Let's keep reading. It says in verse number 8, Behold I will bring them from the north country, talking about the children of Israel that have been scattered, and gather them from the coasts of the earth, and with them the blind and the lame, the woman with child, and her that travaileth with child together, a great company shall return thither. They shall come with weeping, and with supplications I will lead them. I will cause them to walk by the rivers of waters in a straight way, wherein they shall not stumble, for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn. Now look, if you look at these scriptures where he says, I'm going to cause them to walk by the rivers of water, I'm going to lead them, and so forth, that should maybe bring to mind Psalm 23. The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He leadeth me beside the still waters, right? But here's the thing, he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake, but the Lord's got to be your shepherd. He doesn't just lead everybody by the still waters, he doesn't lead the atheist by the still waters, he doesn't lead the Muslim, he doesn't lead the Jew, he doesn't lead the Hindu, you have to be a Christian. You have to believe on Jesus Christ. You have to have faith in the Lord. Obviously, when Jeremiah was written, they did not have that name of Jesus revealed unto them, but they believed on the Lord. That's the same Lord we believe in, his name's Jesus. That name has been revealed in the day we live in. I've got to hurry up for sake of time, but jump down if you would, I want to point out another key point here. Go to verse 35 of Jeremiah chapter 31. Go to verse 35, it says, If heaven above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, I will also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they have done, saith the Lord. Now a lot of people would point to this passage and say, well look right here, God will never turn away from the physical nation of Israel. And they'll quote this, and I've heard people quote this, but they leave out a key word. There's a couple things I want to point out here. They leave out a real key word here. Look at verse 37. Thus saith the Lord, if heaven above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, I will also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they have done, saith the Lord. Now what's he promising? He's not promising I'm not going to cast any of them off. He's saying I'm not going to cast them all off. Now guess what, he will cast some of them off. The ones who reject the Lord, the ones who don't believe in him, they're going to be cast off. That's why he even said in Matthew chapter number 8, he said, Many shall come from the east and the west, and shall sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the children of the kingdom, meaning the physical kingdom of Israel, but the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. He said people will be coming from all nations, east, west, north, south, and hanging out with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Red, yellow, black, white people are going to be hanging with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob because they're the spiritual sons of Abraham by faith, and then the Jews of the earthly kingdom are going to be cast out into everlasting darkness. They're going to be cast out into everlasting fire. They're going to be cast out and there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Again, he said, God has not cast away his people because I'm also an Israelite. There is a remnant according to the election of grace. Well, here he says, I will not cast off all the seed of Israel. But they'll quote this as he's not going to cast off any of the seed of Israel, or they'll never stop being a nation. That's the first thing I would point out. And then the second thing I would point out is that in Romans chapter 9 it says, Well, they're not all Israel which are of Israel. Neither are they, because they're the seed of Abraham, are they all children. I mean, when the Pharisees told Jesus, we be Abraham's seed. He said, if you were Abraham's seed, you'd do the works of Abraham, you'd do the deeds of your father, you're of your father, the devil. So again, we have to understand that there is a remnant of believing Israelites, according to the flesh, that do believe on the Lord Jesus Christ as their savior. They're chosen, but anyone who doesn't is not. That's very clear, all throughout the Bible, even in the book of Jeremiah, before Christ had even come. He was already rejecting portions of Israel, and rejecting individuals who forsook the Lord, and worshiped other gods. He cast them out, he destroyed them, and on and on. I mean, it's redundant, because we've done it for, you know, we've seen it in Jeremiah for 30 weeks already. Let's back up a little bit here, and look at verse number 10. It says, So all of this is prophetic of them, 70 years after being destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar. They're going to be brought back, they're going to be blessed, everything's going to be great. Now look at the next scripture, this is interesting, because he quotes, or he gives a scripture that's going to be quoted in the New Testament. It says in verse 15, Thus saith the Lord, a voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation and bitter weeping. Rachel, weeping for her children, refused to be comforted for her children, because they were not. Now, this scripture has to do with, in Matthew chapter 2, we won't turn there for the sake of time, King Herod wants to destroy baby Jesus. So he inquires of the wise men when they saw the star appear in the sky, and he figures out that Jesus is probably about two years old at the most, based on when they saw that star appear. So he actually commands them to go to Bethlehem and to all the coasts thereof, that area, and to murder all of the children there from two years old and under. They're murdering babies, they're murdering toddlers, I mean can you imagine how horrific that is? What kind of a wicked person would give such a government decree to go in and murder the children from two years old and younger in a town and in a certain area? And the only way that Jesus even survived was that an angel came and warned Joseph in the night and told him to take Mary and take the child and to flee into Egypt, and to wait there until the angel told them to come back. So they actually went and lived in Egypt until an angel came and told them, hey, Herod's dead, they're dead which sought the young child's life, God punished them and they all died, and then eventually Jesus came back to the land of Judea, but then because his father was still afraid to be in Judea, he went into Galilee and he ended up being raised in Nazareth and so forth. So that's what this scripture is because it says when Herod did that, when he murdered all his children, it says then was fulfilled that which was spoken of by Jeremy the prophet, and then it quotes this scripture. So now that we know that scripture from Matthew 2, we can have a greater understanding of this. So it says here that Rachel is weeping for her children and refused to be comforted because they were not. Now who is Rachel? Well if you remember the patriarchs, the 12 tribes of Israel, they were the sons of four different women. Jacob had four different wives. And we have Rachel and Leah were the two sisters. So here's the thing, Rachel is the mother of Joseph and Benjamin. So that's the tribe here that we're referring to as part of these fatalities, part of this death. So it says here Rachel weeping for her children refused to be comforted for her children because they were not. And in Matthew it says because they are not. What does it mean to are not or to be not? It means that they're dead. That's used throughout the Bible to mean that someone's dead when it says that so and so is not or that they are not. So she refused to be comforted because they're dead. Now look at the next verse. Thus saith the Lord, refrain thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears. For thy work shall be rewarded, saith the Lord, and they shall come again from the land of the enemy. And there is hope in thine hands, saith the Lord, that thy children shall come again to their own border. Let me ask you this. How is it possible that these children would come again to their own border if they're dead? Well here's why. Because the Bible clearly teaches that babies and young children that are too young to understand about sin and to understand the gospel, to understand right and wrong, that they go to heaven when they die automatically. So basically if a child dies in its mother's womb, it goes straight to heaven no matter what. If a newborn baby dies, it goes to heaven. If a little toddler, you know, here was two years old and under, obviously a two year old is not old enough yet to understand the gospel, to understand sin and judgment and heaven and hell, they get a free pass. That's what the Bible teaches. You know, there are a lot of scriptures on that. You know, it's a whole sermon in and of itself. I'd point to scriptures in Romans 7 and the book of Job, 2 Samuel, you know, there are a lot of scriptures on that. Ecclesiastes mentions it. There are many places we could go to teach that truth that a young child or a baby or a toddler is in a state of innocence, sort of like Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden where they don't have the knowledge of good and evil. Which is why, if you remember Adam and Eve in the Garden, they didn't care that they were naked. They didn't really have a concept of that. Once they ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, immediately they knew that they were naked and they made the fig leaf aprons. Well, guess what, a two year old, they don't know they're naked either. You know, and that's why kids that are one, two, three, four years old will run through the house naked and they don't care. Now, when they get to a certain age where all of a sudden they start covering up and being aware of that, that's showing that they're getting to that age where they're starting to understand. That's probably a good rule of thumb that they're coming to that age where they're starting to have a concept of where they could start to begin to hear the gospel and perhaps respond to it. And, you know, it's different with everybody. People say, well, what's that age of accountability? Well, it's going to be different with everybody because some kids mature faster than others. You know, if it's a really slow kid, he's going to be older. If it's somebody with Down syndrome, obviously they're going to be much older before they would get to the point where they would have an understanding like that. A really smart, precocious kid could pick up on that at a younger age. But here we see that two years old and under, God's basically giving the assurance that these children are coming back, meaning that they're coming back in the resurrection. Because in the resurrection, of course, you know, the 12 apostles are going to be sitting on 12 thrones, judging the 12 tribes of Israel. And these young people that were murdered, these two year olds and one year olds and babies, they're going to be brought back at that time. So what's God saying here in this passage? He's saying not to mourn like those who have no hope. It's very similar to 1 Thessalonians 4 where he says that we should not mourn like those who have no hope because if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with them. They're going to come back to their own border and that would include those who are two years old and under and even obviously some three and four year olds depending on their level of understanding and it could even go older than that. But, but obviously, you know, when you're, when you're, I heard some goofed up doctrine, somebody said that you get a free pass till you're 20. Like what in the world? Yeah, the age of accountability is not 20. That's, that's garbage. That's a dumb doctrine that I heard of a few years ago. That's nonsense. Obviously someone knows good and evil long before they're 20 years old. Okay, that's ridiculous. So anyway, that's a good passage there. That's just another scripture to add to the long list of scriptures that support the doctrine that babies and newborns and so forth, they do go to heaven even though they haven't obviously called upon the name of the Lord Jesus or called upon Lord in any fashion. Look at verse number 18. It says, I've surely heard a for a frame bemoaning himself. Thus thou has chastised me and I was chastised as a bullock unaccustomed to the yoke. Turn now me and I shall be turned for thou at the Lord my God. Surely after that I was turned, I repented and after that I was instructed, I smote upon my thigh. I was ashamed. Yeah, even confounded because I did bear the reproach of my youth is Ephraim my dear son. Is he a pleasant child? For since I spake against him, I do earnestly remember him still. Therefore, my bowels are troubled for him. I will surely have mercy upon him, say at the Lord. Again, talking about how Ephraim representing the northern kingdom of Israel had been punished and God's extending mercy unto them if they will get right with the Lord. He says in verse number 21. When I shall bring again their captivity, the Lord bless thee, O habitation of justice and mountain of holiness. So what he's saying is that even though it's going to be a desolate ruin for 70 years, again, it will become a habitation of justice. Justice is synonymous with righteousness. It'll be a habitation of justice and it would once again be a mountain of holiness. And there shall dwell in Judah itself and in all the cities thereof together husbandmen and they that go forth with flocks. For I have satiated the weary soul and I have replenished every sorrowful soul. Upon this I waked and beheld and my sleep was sweet unto me. Behold, the days come, say at the Lord, that I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man and with the seed of beast. And it shall come to pass that like as I have watched over them to pluck up and to break down and to throw down and to destroy and to afflict, so will I watch over them to build and to plant, say at the Lord. In those days they shall say no more. The fathers have eaten a sour grape and the children's teeth are set on edge, but everyone shall die for his own iniquity. Every man that eateth the sour grape, his teeth shall be set on edge. So what he's saying here is that God had in the past come in and destroyed the nation of Judah, plucked it up, broken it down. That's talking about when he brings in Babylon to destroy them. But then 70 years later he says he's going to come back, he's going to build and to plant. And that they would no longer use the proverb, the fathers have eaten the sour grapes and the children's teeth are set on edge. That would become a saying or would become a saying in the land of Israel, meaning, why are we getting punished for what our parents did? You know, the fathers have eaten the sour grapes and the children's teeth are set on edge. What he's saying is they won't say that anymore because they'll see that if they get right with God, they'll be blessed. God does not just write people off just because of who their parents are, going back to what I started out talking about at the beginning of the sermon. Now, it is true that the Bible says that the sins of the fathers are visited upon the children under the third and fourth generation. Look, if your dad is a drunk, if your dad is an atheist, if your dad is a murderer, if your dad is an adulterer, don't you think that's going to negatively impact your life? So you're starting out at a disadvantage because of the fact that you have wicked parents. Whereas, conversely, if someone has a godly, saved, righteous set of parents, they're starting out with an advantage. But here's the thing, both people can live for the Lord. One of them has a little more of an uphill battle, but they can both live for the Lord. They can both be greatly used by God. There was a nation in the Old Testament that was cursed, the Canaanites, that was majorly cursed throughout scripture, but yet even one of Jesus' disciples was Simon the Canaanite. Showing that you can overcome a difficult background coming from a bad family or whatever, and we can do all things through Christ which strengthens us. So, you know, don't get this attitude of, well, I'm doomed because my grandparents and parents. No, no, no. That might make it harder for you. You might be starting at a disadvantage, but you can turn that thing around. And if you were born into a Christian home, unto whom much is given, of him shall much be required. And, you know, so that should just make you realize that God's going to hold you to an even higher standard. Let's keep reading here. One last thing because we already covered verse 35 on earlier in the message, but I want to cover verses 31 through 34. It says, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. Now let me stop and point out that the word covenant in the Bible is used interchangeably with the word testament. If you read the book of Hebrews, he goes back and forth between calling it the new covenant and the new testament. Okay? Keep your finger here. Go to Hebrews 8. This is the last thing we're going to look at tonight, Hebrews chapter 8. So the new covenant is synonymous with the new testament. Now, when we think of new testament, we think of the 27 books from Matthew to Revelation. And when we think old testament, we think of Genesis to Malachi. Now, there's nothing wrong with calling it that. Obviously, it makes sense to call it that because the 39 books from Genesis to Malachi, you know, deal with the time when they're under the old covenant, the old testament. That's when they were written, so it makes sense to call it the old testament. And then Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John record the bringing in of a new testament and everything else after that is new testament. That makes sense. But we have to understand that when we read in the Bible and he says new testament or new covenant, he's not talking about a book. He's talking about the covenant itself. Now, what is a covenant? A covenant is basically a deal or an agreement. It's some kind of an agreement that's made, a contract that's made between two parties. That's what a covenant or a testament is. Okay. And so the new testament, the new covenant is basically it's like a new arrangement. Okay. Versus the old covenant. Now, the old covenant. When did the old covenant come into effect? Well, according to both Hebrews and Jeremiah, the answer is the same. Look down at your Bible there. Keep your finger in Hebrews eight. Look at Jeremiah, though, and we'll read when the old covenant happened. It says in verse number 32, not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt. So when did the old covenant come into force? In the day when he took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, right? That was the old covenant was instituted in the days of Moses. Okay. When was the new covenant instituted? It was instituted with the death of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross. His crucifixion, his death, burial, and resurrection brought in the new covenant, the new testament. Okay. So it says here, not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt. So the new testament, the new covenant is not the same as the old testament. He said, I'm making a new covenant that's not according to the covenant that I made with them when I brought them out of the land of Egypt, which my covenant they break, although I was a husband unto them. Okay. Look at Hebrews chapter eight, where this is quoted. Hebrews chapter number eight says in verse number seven, for if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second for finding fault with them. So there was nothing wrong with the covenant, but there was something wrong with them. They broke the covenant finding fault with them. He says, behold, the days come say at the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, because they continued not in my covenant. And I regarded them not say at the Lord for this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel. After those days, say at the Lord, I will put my laws into their mind and write them in their hearts. And I will be to them a God and they shall be to me a people and they shall not teach every man, his neighbor and every man, his brother saying, no, the Lord for also know me from the least to the greatest for I will be merciful to their own righteousness and their sins and their iniquities. Well, I remember no more in that he sayeth a new covenant. He have made the first old. That's where we get the term old testament or old covenant. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away. Let me ask this. Does the old covenant endure forever? No, he said, no, it's old. There's a new covenant and that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away. Look at verse number six. It says, but now if you obtained a more excellent ministry, speaking of Jesus, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises. So which covenant is better? Which testament is better? The old or the new? The new testament is better. The new covenant is better. Now, why is it better? Because the old covenant was an agreement that God made with the children of Israel when he brought them out of the land of Egypt. And we don't have time to go there, but he told them, look, if you will obey my voice and keep my commandments and follow my laws, then you'll be my people and I'll be your God. And he said, you will be a peculiar people. You will be a holy nation. You will be a nation of priests. You'll find this in Exodus right after they pull out of Egypt. He tells them, if not unconditional, if you obey me, follow me, obey my laws, keep my word, you'll be a holy nation. So that covenant with Israel and with Judah was that they would be the chosen people of God if they obeyed. And of course they didn't obey. They broke the covenant and he took it away from them. What is the new covenant? The new covenant is not the same as the old covenant. The new covenant doesn't say, hey, if you obey all my laws, then you're my people. And the new covenant is not saying that it's restricted to one physical nation. The new covenant says that if you believe in Jesus Christ, if you're sanctified by the blood of Jesus, that you are God's chosen people. 1 Peter 2 verses 9 and 10. So it's now those that were not God's people in the past have become a holy nation and that nation in the New Testament is just made up of those who believe in Christ. And God has broken down the middle wall of partition between the Jew and the Gentile and so that whoever believes in the Lord Jesus Christ is one of God's people. And even if that person does not obey God's commandments, even if they break God's laws, they are still one of God's chosen people. He'll discipline them, but they're still one of the elect. They're still one of the chosen. Nothing can separate the elect from the love of God. The Bible says in Romans chapter 8, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord, you know, once we're saved. Now here's the thing. In the Old Testament, salvation was still by grace through faith, just like it is now, of course. I mean, if you could work your way to heaven in the Old Testament, you could work your way to heaven now. Nobody's ever been good enough to work their way to heaven. That's why we even needed Jesus. Look, if righteousness could come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain. Right? Righteousness has never been by the law. It's never been by works. In the Old Testament, individual salvation is by faith, just like in the New Testament, individual salvation by faith. But the difference in the two covenants is under the Old Covenant, who is the nation? Who are the chosen people? That's what changed. Old Covenant, it's Israel, as long as they're obeying his word, as long as they're obeying the law. New Covenant, it's believers of all nations. That's the big difference between the old. Now, which one's better? The New Covenant is a better covenant. The one that's sanctified by the blood of Jesus Christ. It's a better testament for several reasons. Number one is because, you know, it's more inclusive in the sense that all nations have the opportunity, even if they live very far geographically, they can still be part of the holy nation. They can still be God's chosen people, whether they're in Africa, Asia, Australia, South America, where it doesn't matter. That's one reason why it's superior. And it's also superior because of the fact that it's not contingent upon one specific nation's obedience. Because why? They're going to mess that up. And then the covenant breaks. The New Covenant is one that's unconditionally made once you've believed on Christ. So there's that condition of believing in Christ, but then at that point, there's nothing you could do to lose that status. Anyway, we're out of time. Let's go ahead and close in prayer. Father, we thank you so much for Jeremiah chapter 31, Lord, and for your promises. And it's encouraging to see that even though we had so many negative chapters in Jeremiah, where the children of Judah were under some very harsh judgments, it's encouraging to see you talking about bringing them back and rebuilding them and reaching out to the young generation and telling them, you know, your father's maybe in the sour grapes, but you don't have to. And so, Lord, we just pray that every young person that's here would rise up and serve you with their lives, whether they came from a Christian home or not. And, Lord, we pray that we would understand the truth that grace is something that we've obtained through faith, not of ourselves, but that it's by faith we do have to believe to get that, Lord. And if there's anybody here who's not saved, I pray that they would get saved before it's eternally too late. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. All right, let's go ahead and sing one song before we go. Song number 129, Rock of Ages. Song number 129. Sing it out in the verse. Rock of ages, clap for me. Let me hide myself in thee. Let the water and the mud, from the human side which flow, be us in the cupboard door. Save from wrath, and make me pure. Could my tears forever flow? Could my zeal no linger though? These poor sin you have not atone. Thou must stay, and thou alone. In my hand, Lord, Christ I pray. Simply too, I cross my plea. While I draw this clean breath. When my eye struggles in death. When I rise to worlds unknown. And behold, beyond my throne. Rock of ages, clap for me. Let me hide myself in thee. Amen. You are dismissed. You are dismissed.