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Okay, there we go, all right. So this is, in general, true, okay? So in general, I remember thinking, you know, in my youth, I would listen to my grandpa talk about, you know, World War II and some of the things that happened that, you know, this farm kid who got sent to the South Pacific and saw some of these, I mean, I remember these stories and even, you know, up the final years before he died, just remembering, man, you know, what's going to happen in my life? I mean, I can't imagine being in that type of situation, you know, what's going to happen in my life? You know, there's nothing that's ever come even close to that for me, you know, but turn to Daniel chapter 11. The Bible teaches, you know, that there may be historic times and that historic times for the Christian should be great times and will be great times for certain people. What type of people? Turn to Daniel chapter 11. Would you give up prosperity? Here's a question for you. Would you give up prosperity for living in historic times? Would you? As a believer, would you give that up? Would you, and not that you will have a choice, but, you know, would you trade those two things? I bet you most Christians would not, but look at what the Bible says. Now, Daniel chapter 10 and Daniel chapter 11 are some of the most cryptic prophecy in the Bible. Some of the, you know, the prophecy that's in there has dual meanings for what was happening at that time and then what would happen in the end times, but one thing is clear. Look at Daniel chapter 11 in verse number 45. The Bible does say this in verse number 40, I'm sorry. The Bible says in Daniel 11 verse 40, and at the time of the end shall the king of the south push at him and the king of the north shall come against him like a whirlwind with chariots and horsemen and with many ships and he shall enter into countries and shall overflow and pass over. So there's this big prophecy in Daniel chapter 10, Daniel chapter 11 about these kings and what's going to happen and look, but it has a dual meaning as far as what was happening then and what's going to happen when at the time of the end. So there's a dual prophecy in Daniel chapter 11 here, now look back at verse 32 of Daniel chapter 11. You say, what does this have to do with what we're talking about? You know, I mean the king of the north and the king of the south, it applies to the Medo-Persian empire at times, but also to the end times as we see in verse number 45. During the time of the end, specifically talks about the abomination of desolation. There was also a dual prophecy there. It's happened once before in history and it's going to happen again at the time of the end. Look at verse 32, go back to verse 31 of Daniel chapter 11, and arms shall stand on his part and they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength and they shall take away the daily sacrifice and they shall place the abomination that maketh desolate and such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he corrupt by flatteries but the people that do know their God shall be strong and do exploits. So the point being this, you know, this is talking specifically about the abomination of desolation which happened, you know, once again, once before in history where a man came into the sanctuary, declared himself to be God and, you know, polluted the sanctuary. That's going to happen again with the antichrist in the end times, the Bible says. But look at what it says that the Christians do, that certain Christians will do, by the way. It says the people that do know their God shall be strong and what? And do exploits. So the Bible here is saying that there's certain people, there's certain saved people, they're going to do great things during this horrible historic time. Okay. And, Bullock, it's not going to be everybody. Look, if you're saved, God knows you. We'll talk about that tonight. But if you know God, if you study the Bible, if you are living the Christian life, that's what it's talking about. It's talking about the people who are spiritually strong, they're going to do great things in these historic times. You know, I was talking to my wife the other night, just a few nights ago, and we were talking about, you know, I wonder if things will ever settle back. You know, kind of the way that, you know, they used to be, you know, a year ago or a year and a half ago. You know, we were talking about, you know, when's this thing all going to be the way things have changed so much? When's it going to, you know, settle back? Was this just a preview? Was it just kind of a preview and it's going to settle back into the way things were? You know, I mean, I tend to think, want to think like that in my own mind, and maybe I'm an optimist, whatever. But look, I'm thinking maybe not. You know, I obviously don't know, but I'm thinking maybe not. I mean, some things that I'm seeing that maybe I'll mention in a few weeks' time, I'm seeing some things now that I never thought I would see in my lifetime. Some things as far as, you know, people requiring things and people just getting really strange all around us out in the world. I never thought that I would see this. You know, it's possible that the things, you know, maybe we're just headed down a slide towards, you know, the times of the end at this point. But you know, it is possible that it's just a preview, but maybe things are just, this is just where it's going to go, you know, for this nation, okay? But if that be the case, if that be the case, you're like, this is depressing, right? I mean, it's not going to go back to normal and all this, you know, crazy, you know, control over our lives and all this kind of stuff, this is going to be the new norm. It's like, that's depressing. Well first of all, whether it's the end times or the end of the beginning of the end for just our nation or whatever, the point is that for the people that do know their God, this is a time where you can do great things and you will do great things, the Bible says. Look, just understand that Baruch, he was hiding. He was running. I mean, there were, the king of the nation was after him and Jeremiah. I mean, he was pretty much like living a life completely in danger at this point and, but look what he did. Look what he did. He carried, he literally was the one, I mean, he's in the Bible, hello, you know, he's in the Bible. None of us here are going to be in the Bible ever, no matter what we do. The man's in the Bible and the man's in the Bible as the man that God chose to write down his words and not only write down his words, but deliver that message to the nation, not just the king, the entire nation, the Bible says. So look, this man did great exploits for the world, for the, for the Lord. He was living in historic times. So no matter what happens with us, if this is, if things never go back to normal and we are living in historic times, no matter, the more historic it gets, the better it is because that means there's more opportunity for the people that do know their God. I want to know my God, don't you? I mean, that is the opportunity here. You know, maybe it's not going to be a great time for prosperity, but you know what, if you do know your God, it's going to be a great time for you because you're going to have great opportunities. You know, you're going to have great opportunities. I mean, forget, you know, the war stories, forget all the, you know, the, the historical things that maybe people in your family has done. You can do great exploits for the Lord in historic times. So be looking for those things and you know what, know your God. Know your God and you'll recognize those moments. And then not only will you recognize them, but you'll, you'll carry them out. You'll carry out those actions. The second thing about Baruch this morning, the second thing was this, you know, he was the man of God's right hand man. That's pretty good. Turn to Hebrews chapter 10. Baruch was the right hand man to the man of God. It's more proof that, you know, even Jeremiah, it's more proof that there's no one that can go this thing alone. There's no one, not even Jeremiah. Think about it. Look at verse 23 of Hebrews chapter 10. We read Hebrews 10, 25 all the time, but I think we should always read these three verses whenever we read Hebrews 10, 25. Because look, these three verses, they put the whole thought together. These three verses. Look at verse 23 of Hebrews 10, let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering, for he is faithful that promised. Verse 24, and let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works. And then verse 25, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together as the manner of some is, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the day approaching. Look, really, as much as we read Hebrews 25 about coming to church and not forsaking church and things like that, we should always be reading these three verses together. Why? Because look, it's in the context of living our faith without wavering. Verse 23. It's in the context of how do you live, hey, how do you live a life without wavering? How do I live this Christian life without wavering? There's all this stuff that the Bible's telling me is going to come at me all the time. I don't want to waver. You want to waver? How many people do you see that waver? A lot of people waver. I don't want to waver. Okay, how do I not waver? By provoking one another. Verse 24. One way to not waver is like, you know, I don't know. Provoking one another. Can you provoke one another by yourself in your house? No, you can't. So you provoke one another, verse 24, by supporting one another. How do you do that? By gathering together, verse 25. It's just a great three verses that should come together all the time. But it shows us, it shows us how important support is. How important, you know, not just the assembly, but support. Two, not wavering in the faith. Look, you're going to be in hard times, you're going to want to do exploits. You can't waver. I mean, you can't be a person that's like, I don't know if I want to do that. That might happen. You want me to go read this? Are you kidding me? You hear what that says? You want me to read that? The king's going to find out. Are you crazy? You can't waver. There's no wavering. If you're going to do exploits, there's no wavering. It can't be on the table. So you want to not waver? How do you do that? Provoke one another, support one another. How do you do that? Gather together. That's Hebrews 10. Hold fast. Hold fast. And then you'll hold fast a profession of your faith without wavering. So look, Barak was supporting Jeremiah. Jeremiah was in trouble. He couldn't go places. He was being locked up. He was being thrown in pits. And he needed support. He couldn't just walk around freely. Barak, you know, hey, could you put yourself in danger for me? No problem. Look, there's going to need to be support for, I mean, look. In this case, I mean, I think a lot of times people think that the man of God is just like, oh, you know, he's the pastor. He's the pastor. I mean, pastor, humanities. I mean, look at that guy. Super strong faith. Super strong Christian. He's like, what could he ever need from me? He needs your support. Your pastor needs your support. You know, I mean, look, here's the thing. He's a person. Here's the thing. I mean, you think you get attacked. You think you get attacked. Look at the man of God, what he's going through here. You think you're under attack or maybe people are coming at you or whatever. I mean, think of the man of God, look, Jeremiah needed support and Barak was there to do it. So he was supporting the man of God. He was the right hand man of the man of God. Lesson number three. And this is the main lesson that I want to bring up from Baruch this morning is I want to talk about this idea of waiting on the Lord. Look, things, I mean, think about this man. Things were not going well here. After the first role was read, it was received badly by the king. They were hunted. And then God was like, hey, just do that all over again. Just go ahead and just do that. And you're just like, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing and expecting different results. Right? I mean, can you imagine that's the human logic thinking about this? Okay, God, you want me to do it again? Probably the same thing is going to happen except worse. But he did. He just did it. There was not a word in the Bible that he questioned a single thing. He just did what God told him. So look, sometimes the point is here is sometimes doing what you're supposed to do might produce results that are not favorable for you personally. You're like, what? Like what? Sometimes doing what the Bible says to do might mean you get less money. Sometimes doing what you're supposed to do might mean that you're less successful in the things that the world would consider success. I mean, it's kind of anti-prosperity gospel there. So look, this is the difference between persecution and tribulation, by the way. Tribulation is other people coming at you because you're doing what you're supposed to do. I mean, take work, for example. Guys at work, everything at work, you're like, I work really hard. I work like I'm working for Christ and all this. Look, things at work may not always go for you positive because you do all those things. Guys at work, just because you work hard doesn't mean that everything's always going to be great for you out in the world. Why? Because there's bad people. That's why. Because there's bad people out there. Some people just aren't going to like that you're different. Some people might hate the fact that you're different for the reasons that you're different. Look, that's where the prosperity gospel goes all wrong. It's the people factor. It's the sinner factor. Right? I mean, and it's not just work, that's life. That's the Christian life. Sometimes doing what the Bible says you're supposed to do is going to hurt you personally. But will you waver? You know, the prosperity gospel would be at least closer to the truth if you didn't have other people to deal with. But we're all sinners. Even saved people are sinners. So first, the first thing you say, well, what do I do? You say, what do I do? Turn to Romans chapter five. See, what do I do? I'm doing what I'm supposed to do, and things are getting worse for me. It's like, what? Well, first of all, the Bible never promised you. That was Joel Osteen that promised you those things. Okay? The Bible never promised you that if you live the Christian life and you follow the Bible and you love God and you follow the commandments, that everything's just going to be great all the time. That's not a promise you're given. So the first thing you're going to need, I'm going to give you some tools this morning. The first tool, the first wrench that you need to put in your belt is this. Now, look at Romans 5-3. And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also. This tribulation is the world coming at us for what we believe and what we do, knowing that tribulation worketh patience. The first thing you're going to need is patience. Okay, now turn to Psalm 37. You have to have patience. And I'm going to show you how to use that patience. And we'll look at Barak and we'll see that that's what he did. We'll get Psalm 37 in verse number 7. So look, you have to have patience. Okay? You have to have patience. Why? I'm going to explain it to you. Look. Look at Psalm 37 in verse number 7. The Bible says this. It says, rest in the Lord and wait patiently for him. Fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass. Cease from anger and forsake wrath, fret not thyself in any wise to do evil. For evildoers shall be cut off, but those who wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the earth. Now there's a lot here. I mean, there's some very specific steps here. There's some very specific direction here. First of all, you know, the Bible says don't get angry about it. It says patiently wait. Look at verse number 7. It says, wait patiently for him and, and it says, don't fret. What does that mean? It says, don't worry. It says, okay, things aren't going well. Things aren't going well. What am I supposed to do? Be patient and don't worry about it. That's the first thing. So just don't worry about it and be patient, meaning I'm going to wait, meaning I'm not going to go make rash decisions and I'm not going to go try to, you know, go outside and like pretend like this thing isn't going to be solved by God and start just doing things my own way. I'm going to just, I'm going to wait patiently. That's number one. And number two, I'm not going to worry while I'm waiting. I'm not going to worry about it. Look, when you're going through bad times as a Christian, you just have to know, look, you just have to know, and I don't know, look, I'm, I don't know why people who are, who are Christians that know their God miss this, but you got to remember that God is still in this thing. I mean, what in the world? God is still here. God is still on the throne. God is still in control. Keep doing what you're supposed to be doing and enacting the way you're supposed to act. Look at that. It says that too. Verse eight and verse nine. This is what it's talking about. It says, Hey, while you're waiting, it says, don't worry while you're waiting. And then do keep doing what you're supposed to be doing. Don't go get worldly. Don't go start making your own decisions. Don't don't look, just know it might be a while. It might be a while. You may look, you might have to rewrite the scroll. You might have to reread the scroll, and then you might have to rewrite it again and again and again. I mean, whatever. You might have to do it again and again. So what to do while being patient? Well, you know, here's the thing. What's the first part of the whole thing? Look at verse seven, rest in the Lord. What does that mean? That doesn't mean take a nap. Okay, look, here's what it means. Here's what rest in the Lord means. I always tell myself in situations like this, and look, I don't always do the right thing. You know, I'm a sinner just like the rest of you, but I'm pretty good at this one. I'm pretty good at this one. I always tell myself, all right, I'm just going to do the right thing. God has this. I'm going to do the right thing. I just need to sustain. I just need to pull back to the fortress. What does that mean? That's what rest in the Lord means. It means you pull back to that spiritual life. It's like, I don't know what's going on out here. Well, I'm going to pull back to the fortress, and I'm going to get this spiritual life going. I'm going to make sure that I'm holding on patiently. I'm going to rest in the Lord. I'm going to focus more on the rest. What does it say? It says rest. It doesn't say rest. It says rest in the Lord. It means fire up your spiritual life. It means pull back to that spiritual fortress. It means start doing the things that you're supposed to be doing even more. That's your fortress. That's your walls. But you know what? Here's the thing. People tend, rest in the Lord. Verse seven is exactly the opposite of verse eight and verse nine. It's saying rest in the Lord. Don't go that way. But isn't that what people do? Isn't that what people do? I mean, pastor will tell you this. Anybody who's been in the ministry for years and years and years will tell you this. People get out of church and they quit the spiritual life when major bad things happen in their life or things aren't going well or whatever. It's like, God, I'll love you as long as you make me rich. Who in the world are you? Some friend you are. Some loving child you are. Dad, I'll love you as long as you keep giving me stuff every day. But that's what people do. And when things go south, they're verse eight and verse nine. They just start doing evil and they start going the way of the world and start doing things their own way. And that's what Psalm 37 is telling you not to do here. It's telling you, don't go that way. It's saying, look, it's saying, rest in the Lord. It says seize from anger, forsake wrath. That's what people in the world do. They get angry and they say stuff and they fire back at people and they get in the flesh and they just start tearing each other apart. Like don't be like that or you're going to get treated like that. It says, or, you know, for evildoers shall be cut off. Look at saying, look, you don't want to be under the chastisement of the Lord when you're going through hard times. You want to be patiently waiting on Him and resting in Him. That's what Psalm 37 is talking about here. You know, so times are tough. Times are tough. I'm going to quit church, you know, I'm going to quit soul winning, I'm going to quit the spiritual life. It's exactly the wrong direction. It's exactly the opposite of resting in the Lord. You know, get in the Bible more, soul win more, you know, get to church more when things are going bad. You say, but things aren't getting better, but do it more then. I mean, God is still there. You will be tempted to go worldly. That's what Psalm 37 is warning you against. But look, God likes to see us holding on patiently. You ever think about that? And here's another thought, if you can't be patient, and you prove that when times get a little tough for you, you know, you're not going to rewrite the scroll, you're going to complain, and you're going to quit serving the Lord, and you're going to quit being a person that knows His God, and you're going to quit doing these things, you know what, I think you're probably going to be, your patience is probably going to be tested a little bit more, until you can get it right. So look, prove to God that you can be patient. Prove, because look, you know what you're doing, you're showing that you have faith in Him. You're showing that you have faith that He's just got total control. I mean, who are you? Who am I? I mean, you know, prove that you can wait on the Lord, and you can be loyal to the Lord through tough times. Listen to Jeremiah chapter 45. Psalm 37 is those three verses, I mean, highlight those verses for hard times in your life. Pull back. Pull back and go harder for the Lord in those times in your life, and you know what, let me tell you something, and I don't know how old I have to get, but I've got so many examples in my life, and this is coming from a guy who, when he was in his 20s, would have told you that, you know what, you know, you just got to kind of find your own way, and you know, God's not going to step in and do, look, this is coming from somebody who used to think that way. Look, God's in control of this thing. You do what you're supposed to do, you just have some patience, and I mean, God can send a car 10 minutes behind you when you're in a perilous situation. God can work all that stuff out, and you won't even see it, and I told brother Johannes this yesterday, you won't even see it until you're looking back on it. You won't see it until you're looking back on it, and you'll be like, oh yeah, that's what he was doing there. So many times you'll see that, but patiently wait on the Lord, and you rest in that fortress of your spiritual life. Jeremiah chapter 45, through it all, through it all, Baruch remained faithful. He stayed by Jeremiah's side, he was patient, he rested in the Lord, he never wavered. Look at, actually go back to Jeremiah 43. Then he gets kidnapped into Egypt with Jeremiah, I mean, just gets thrown under the bus for even being around this Jeremiah guy, but he never wavered one bit. Look at Jeremiah 43, look at verse 3. But Baruch, the son of Neriah, set thee on against us, for to deliver us into the hand of the Chaldeans, that they might put us to death and carry us away captives into Babylon. They blame him. Of course, the guy that reads the bad news is always going to get blamed, right? Don't shoot the messenger, that's exactly what they're doing here. Look at verse 4. So, Johanna and the son of Korea, and all the captains of the forces, and the people obeyed not the voice of the Lord, to dwell in the land of Judah. But Johanna and the son of Korea, and the captains of the forces, took all the remnant of Judah, that were returned from all nations, whether they had been driven to dwell in the land of Judah. Even men and women and children and the king's daughters and every person that Nebuchadnezzar, the captain of the guard, had left with Gedaliah, the son of Ahakam, the son of Shaphan, and Jeremiah the prophet, and Baruch, the son of Neriah. So they came into the land of Egypt, for they obeyed not the voice of the Lord, thus they came even to Taphanes. So look, remember this. Go back to Jeremiah 45 now. Remember this, through all your trials, through all your trials, all your hard times, how did it end for Baruch? You know, look, God responded to him. God responded to Baruch. You mean, he did what he was told, he just got hated and hunted and kidnapped for it. Look at Jeremiah 45, verse number 2. Now God addresses him personally by name, okay? I mean, God talked to him personally, called him out by name, in the Bible. Thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel, unto thee, O Baruch, thou didst say, Woe is me now, for the Lord hath added grief to my sorrow. I fainted in my sighing, and I find no rest. Look, Baruch is having a hard time. He's in a hard place, and he was sorrowful, and then grief got added to it. Thou shalt say unto him, The Lord saith thus, Behold, that which I have built I will break down, and that which I have planted I will pluck up, even this whole land. And seekest thou great things for thyself? Seek them not. For behold, I will bring evil upon all flesh, saith the Lord, but thy life will I give unto thee for I pray in all places whither thou goest. Like he said, all the destruction that is coming. God says, I will protect you, Baruch. He's like, through all of the punishment that I am bringing down upon this nation, he addresses this man personally, and God says, I will spare you. Do you think God would have done that if Baruch would not have remained faithful? You don't think that saved people were killed through this whole captivity? Most of the people I would think in the nation were saved, they just weren't doing the right things. And they all died, or a lot of them died. A majority of them died. But he told Baruch, he's like, because he remained faithful, I will spare you. He stayed by Jeremiah's side no matter what. So the point is this, if we remain faithful, if we remain faithful through the exploits, I mean the exploits are not like, you know, easy things in easy times. You know, I mean that's why nations by the way, that's why nations by the way that are just super prosperous and times are all good, you know, like the last 50 or 60 years maybe of this country, that's why nations go downhill so fast in hard times. Because it's the, in easy times, sorry, but it's the hard times that bring out the exploits in the Christians. It's the, it's the, when you read the martyr's mirror of the Christians being murdered and tortured is when you see the great exploits and the people getting saved. And I mean, I've heard it said before and I believe it reading throughout history, you want to get Baptists fired up and start killing them. Then you're going to see the exploits. But that was Baruch. And if we remain faithful through that, I mean, God willing, I mean can you imagine if you were put in a situation where you could do exploits and you're just like, nah, you wavered, what a disappointment. I mean can you imagine if you're put in a situation where you had to make a decision, it's either the Lord or, you know, prosperity or whatever you think in your own mind that means, and you choose prosperity. You choose, you know, mammon over God. I mean what a disappointment that must be. But look, you're going to, God doesn't promise to spare you in those cases. I mean that's Psalm 37. So do exploits, but it's going to take someone that won't waver to do those exploits and it's going to take patience. Because you don't know how long it's going to take. It took Baruch. There's no indication that he ever had a great life here. It might take your whole life. Maybe your whole life is somebody like Baruch who is just going to do exploits and is just going to patiently wait on the Lord his whole life. And you may patiently wait for years and years, maybe your whole life, but guess what? In the end, you know, God's going to reward you for that. And God, God is with us the whole way. And he was with Baruch the whole way and he will respond to you if you patiently wait on him. And that is the lesson of the life of Baruch. Somebody that maybe you've read in the Bible and you're just like, all right, who's this guy? Just some helper. Baruch is a great man who did great exploits in his life. And he did not waver in the face of the most serious opposition in his life. That's another thing. The opposition that we face today, what is that? What is that even? It's nothing compared to what these men went through without wavering in their life. Let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer. Dear Heavenly Father, I thank you for this morning and thank you for the fact that we could gather here together and learn about this great man in the Bible who was there by Jeremiah's side. And I thank you for Baruch and I thank you for putting him beside Jeremiah that this message could be delivered to not only, you know, the nation of Judah, but also to us that we could take from this and learn what it would take to not waver in great historical times. Lord, we love you and we ask that you bless the rest of today in Jesus' name, amen. All right, let's grab our song books and sing our song books to hymn number 45. Hymn number 45, When I Can't Read My Title Clear, hymn number 45, let's sing it out on that first verse. When I can't read my title clear to mansions in the skies, I'll bid farewell to every fear and wipe my weeping eyes and wipe my weeping eyes and wipe my weeping eyes. I'll bid farewell to every fear and wipe my weeping eyes. On the second verse, Should earth against my soul engage and fiery darts be hurled, then I can smile at Satan's rage and face a frowning world, face a frowning world, and face a frowning world, then I can smile at Satan's rage and face a frowning world. It cares like a wild deluge come and storms of sorrow fall. May I but safely reach my home, my God, my heaven, my all. My God, my heaven, my all. My God, my heaven, my all. May I but safely reach my home, my God, my heaven, my all. Hymn number 45, When I Can't Read My Title Clear, let's sing it out on the last verse. There shall I bade my weary soul in seas of heavenly rest and not a wave of trouble roll across my peaceful breast, across my peaceful breast, across my peaceful breast, and not a wave of trouble roll across my peaceful breast. Great singing. Let's bow our heads and end our service with a word of prayer. Dear heavenly Father, thank you for today. Thank you for allowing us to come back to church so we can hear your word. Lord, I just pray that you help us think about the sermon, about what Berg did, Lord. He spread the word. I thank you, Lord, for today. I just pray for the fellowship and the soul wanting to come. In Jesus' precious name, I say this. Amen. Hymn number 45, When I Can't Read My Title Clear, let's bow our heads and end our service with a word of prayer. Hymn number 45, When I Can't Read My Title Clear, let's bow our heads and end our service with a word of prayer. Hymn number 45, When I Can't Read My Title Clear, let's bow our heads and end our service with a word of prayer. Hymn number 45, When I Can't Read My Title Clear, let's bow our heads and end our service with a word of prayer.