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

All right, so we're back there in Jeremiah. Look at verse number 16 and, sorry, chapter 16 and verse number 21. Verse number 21, I thought I'd take the title from here. It says, therefore behold, I will this once cause them to know, I will cause them to know mine hand in my might, and they shall know that my name is the Lord. The title for the sermon this morning is, my name is the Lord. So the culmination of this whole chapter is to point us that God is the Lord, that the Lord is Jehovah. Okay, and we'll get to that shortly, but look at verse number one there, Jeremiah 16, verse one. We start a new prophecy to Jeremiah. Don't forget that time is passing by. The years are going by and God is continually revealing more and more to Jeremiah. There in verse number one, the word of the Lord came also unto me saying. So just a reminder, every time we see that, it's a new prophecy. Jeremiah's given new words, a new thing to preach to the people of the land. Now look at verse number two. I thought this was quite interesting and I need to make a correction with something that I preached earlier in this series. Look at verse number two. It says, thou shalt not take thee a wife, neither shalt thou have sons or daughters in this place. So we see that God is commanding Jeremiah, listen Jeremiah, don't get married. You know, don't have any children. And the reason I said that I need to correct this is because if you can keep your Bible there and go to Jeremiah chapter 10, please, go to Jeremiah chapter 10. I did preach that Jeremiah was married with children. All right? But when you read there, Jeremiah 16 verse two, it's clear that God is telling Jeremiah, don't get married, don't have children, all right? So if we go there in Jeremiah chapter 10 verse number 20, I just want to show you what I taught and I need to correct that. Jeremiah says, my tabernacle is spoiled and all my cords are broken. Then he says this, my children are gone forth of me and they are not, there is none to stretch forth my tent anymore and to set up my curtains. So when you look at Jeremiah 10, 20, it appears though that Jeremiah here has a family and not just some extended family, not just referring to his parents, but where he has his own children. And so he's referring to the point that when God's judgment's going to come, that his children will no longer be, where they will lose their life or they'll be taken into captivity. You know, some judgment's going to fall upon the children of Jeremiah here. But then we look at Jeremiah 16 verse number two and God is telling Jeremiah, don't take a wife, okay? So how do we reconcile these two things then? It does appear, you know, there in Jeremiah 10 that he does have children, doesn't it, okay? But we see that Jeremiah 16, he is not to take a wife. Now, of course, what we learn here is a couple of things. Number one is that marriage, generally speaking, is for everybody. You know, as a general rule of thumb, God wants us all to get married. I mean, that was his plan from the very beginning in Genesis one, when he gives Eve unto Adam, he says, be fruitful and multiply, and they have children. Of course, that's God's plan, all right? But there are some exceptional cases, like there in Jeremiah, where God is saying, look, I don't want you to get married. I don't want you to have children. God is given a direction, a commandment specifically to Jeremiah. But so when we read Jeremiah chapter 10, we see that Jeremiah is expecting, or has that expectation that I should get married, right? As a man, I should get married, as a man, I should have children, because Jeremiah understands that is the common role, that is the common expectation that God has on a man. And so Jeremiah is looking there in Jeremiah chapter 10, how God's judgment's gonna fall in the land, and he's saying, well, what's gonna happen to my children? What's gonna happen to my family that I'm expected to have, okay? But once we get to Jeremiah 16, we see that that has not yet taken place, and God is telling Jeremiah, don't have the children. All right? So I don't want you to think that, you know, God's preference is to not get married and not have children, okay? That is for some very exceptional circumstances. We're gonna look at that, and Brother Ash, we talked about that just yesterday, right? So it's good that this topic comes up. You know, is it more right to remain unmarried, or is it better to be married? No, the general rule, Jeremiah's expectation was I need to get married one day, have my own family. Again, God is saying specifically Jeremiah, but not in your case, okay? I don't want you to have children. We're going to learn why, but first let's understand this idea. Why is it that God has some exceptional cases where he does not want somebody to get married? Well, if you can, keep your finger there in Jeremiah 16, and let's go to 1 Corinthians chapter seven. Let's go to 1 Corinthians chapter seven, please. And we're reading, of course, about the Apostle Paul and his writings to the Corinthian church, and as many of you, I don't know if you all know this, but many of you would know that Paul was unmarried, okay? He specifically says, it's not that, you know, the Bible never mentions his wife, so we just assume he's not married. No, Paul many times says that he has no wife, okay? He doesn't have a sister in the Lord where he has to, you know, perform his marriage duties to, all right? But there in 1 Corinthians chapter seven, verse number seven, 1 Corinthians 7, seven, Paul is teaching about marriage and widows and divorce, all these kinds of topics there in 1 Corinthians seven, but in verse number seven, he says, for I would that all men were even as I myself. Paul says, look, I kind of wish, you know, it would be good that everybody was like me. You say, well, what do you mean, Paul? Is it that you want everyone to be spiritual like you? You know, a great soul winner like you, is that what you're referring to? But then he says this, but every man hath his proper gift of God, all right? One after this manner and another after that. And so Paul is saying, look, everybody has been gifted, has been given a gift by God, some after one manner, which is like him, and another like another manner, okay? And he's dealing about marriage here. Look at verse number eight. I say therefore to the unmarried, so if you're a single person, okay, this is the message to you from God, all right? And widows, if you're single because you were married and now your spouse has passed away, okay, he says it is good for them if they abide even as I. So what is Jeremiah saying? I'm not married, I'm single, okay? It would be good if single people remain single, it would be good if widows remain widows as I. That's what he, that's what, you know, at the beginning of verse number seven, for I would that all men were even as myself, right? But don't forget that Paul mentioned that there is a gift, some after that manner, some after another manner, okay? Look at verse number nine. But if they cannot contain, let them marry, for it is better to marry than to burn. And so this is the, you know, the general consensus of people is they have a burning desire to be married, to have that physical relationship, to have children, to have a family. Well, if that's you, get married, Paul is saying, okay? Paul is not saying it is better if you stay unmarried. No, if God has given you that direction, that instruction, that general, and of course that is the general understanding of the Bible, that to get married, if that's your desire, get married. But there are some, in other words, that will not burn for that, okay? They don't have that desire. You know, Paul did not have that desire for the opposite sex. You know, God had given him a specific gift, a special command for him to remain unmarried, okay? You say, well, for what purpose? Why is it that some people remain unmarried? And why is it the Lord's asking for that? Why is the Lord giving certain people that gift? Well, drop down to verse number 32 now in the same chapter, 1 Corinthians 7, 32. 1 Corinthians 7, 32, because it says this. But I would have you without carefulness. So Paul is saying, look, it's better to not have too many cares in your life, okay? He says this, for he that is unmarried careth for the things that belong to the Lord, how he may please the Lord. Interesting, huh? So if you're single, if you're a widow, you know, you ought to be seeking, how do I please the Lord, all right? Now, look at verse number 33, but he that is married careth for the things that are of the world. Now, this is not talking about, you know, worldliness, not talking about the sinful lust of the flesh, that's not what he's referring to. He says here, how he may please his wife, okay? So if you're married, your priority ought to be to please your wife. If you're a wife, your priority ought to be how do I please my husband? And if you're single, if you're a widow, your priority ought to be how do I please the Lord, okay? So what Paul is saying is this, okay? That he does not want people to be selfish, where I'm gonna live my life just for me. You know, some people remain single because they do not want to have the responsibility of being married, they don't want the responsibility of family, they don't want the responsibility of children to please the Lord, no, to please themselves, all right? It's gonna cost money to have kids, I'd rather enjoy my wealth, I'd rather enjoy my holidays, traveling and experiencing life, and it's all about me, me, me, it's selfishness. Paul is saying that's not how we ought to be, okay? If you're married, it's about being selfless, it's about loving your spouse, okay? But if you're single, hey, that's not an excuse to be selfish, just because you're not married doesn't mean you ought to be thinking only about yourself, you ought to be prioritizing the Lord and what the Lord wants from your life. And so brethren, if you're single today, if you're a widow today, you ought to be thinking not what can I get out of the world, but what does God want from me? You know, you're gonna be able to do greater things for the Lord, you'll be able to go out so many more than the person that is married. I understand that, I understand that being a husband with children, you know, my family takes up a lot of my time, and it's good, I don't complain about that, okay? We see that is the proper role. If you're married, your mentor will be looking after your family, but if you're single, you ought to be prioritizing the Lord first and foremost. All right? So this is God's method to prevent selfishness, whatever state you find yourself in, you ought to be looking out for someone else's needs. Now, in the same chapter, drop down to verse number 28, because you might be saying, well, then is it wrong to get married? I wanna please the Lord. Listen, even the married person pleases the Lord, okay? Being married pleases the Lord. Having children pleases the Lord, okay? But your priority is your family. I can't say, well, you know what? I'm gonna dump my wife and kids, because I just wanna go and please the Lord. I'm gonna put God's work first in my life, and I'm just gonna dump my family, because they're getting in the way, they're taking up my time. No, that is the proper responsibility of a married person. That's what God wants, that's what God expects, is to raise a godly family. All right, look at verse number 28. It says, that same chapter, but, and if thou marry, thou hast not sinned. Okay, getting married is not wrong. It's not a sin, okay? Just in case you're wondering, right? No, it's proper, right? In case you're misunderstanding what Paul is saying here. And if a virgin marry, she have not sinned. Nevertheless, such shall have trouble in the flesh, but I spare you. So it says, look, if you're married, you're gonna have other troubles. You're gonna have other concerns. You're gonna have concerns about your wife, you're gonna have concerns about your kids. He goes, but if you're single, I'm trying to spare you from that, in case God has given you that gift to remain single, to only please the Lord. But you can see this is something very unique, something very special that God gives to certain people. You know, as much as I do, the majority of people have that burning desire to be with the opposite sex, to get married, to have children, right? That is the common nature that God has put within man, but God can alter that by giving people a special gift where they can remain single, unmarried, and they're very happy in that way, okay? But if you're looking at that single unmarried person, and all they do is live for selfish desires, that's not the person, okay? Not only is it about being single and not wanting to get married, but that their passion and desire is only for the Lord, to serve the Lord, to do His work, all right? So if you can please turn to 1 Timothy 3 for me, please. 1 Timothy 3. And look, I don't know. You know, there could be someone in this church, could be one of my kids. I kind of don't want it to be my kids, I'm looking forward to the grandchildren, okay? But there could be someone, right? Or someone that comes in late in our church that has been given this special gift by God, and they just have no desire to get married at all. Now kids probably have no desire right now to get married. Once you hit those teenage years, you're gonna be thinking about these things, right? But you know, and they need to understand that they're not unusual, that they're not weird. Well, maybe they are a little bit unusual, okay? But God has given them a special gift. They've got a special purpose to serve the Lord with their lives. 1 Timothy 3, please. And some might say, well, what about you, Pastor Kevin? You know, you're the pastor of a church. You ought to be pleasing the Lord first and foremost, shouldn't you? And I've heard preachers, I've heard pastors say this. They say, well, this is how I prioritize things. God comes first. And look, God should always come first, okay? God comes first. Then they'll say, then second comes the church, you know? The church which Christ has died for as the pastor, right? Then comes my family. Hold on. That's not what Paul taught in 1 Corinthians 7, okay? There's something more important to church. You know, and I love you, brothers and sisters. I do. I love this church. I love the church up in Queensland. All right, brethren. But there's something more important to me than the church. Okay? What did Paul say? That as a married man, I ought to be seeking to please my wife, okay? My family comes first, okay? Then church, believe it or not. Okay, it does, all right? If I'm going to have to sacrifice, I hope this never happens in my life. But if I have to make a decision to sacrifice my family or sacrifice the church, I'm gonna sacrifice the church. I would rather step down as the pastor and ensure that my family remains faithful and together and loving each other. And I would much rather look after my family than care about the church, okay? You say, why is that? Because they're in 1 Timothy chapter one. Sorry, chapter three, 1 Timothy chapter three verse one. It says, this is a true saying. If a man desire the office of a bishop, that's a pastor, he desire for good work, look at this, a bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behavior, given to hospitality, apt to teach. You know one of the requirements of a pastor is to be the husband of one wife. Brethren, if I lose my family, I disqualify myself from being able to serve the church, okay? That means if I have my family together, if I have them faithful and loving the Lord, that helps me get to the point where I can be the pastor of a church. And it drives me insane when I see pastors sacrificing their families for the church, for other people. It's like, what? You've got your priorities mixed up, all right? I mean, how many pastors have I seen? They love the church and they're trying to serve people, they're trying to serve God and they neglect their families and their wives don't love them, their children go to the devil, the children go to the world and it's like, well, okay, I've stuffed up there, hey, but I'm the pastor of a church, who cares? It's the family that made you qualified to have the church and be pastor in the church. You cannot be a bishop, you cannot be a pastor without having your family together, all right? So brethren, I'm just telling you honest truth, all right? If I see my family falling apart because I'm giving too much to the local church, if this is taking up too much of my time, I'll just step down and say, brethren, I'll just be a regular church member because I need to focus on my family, all right? That's what God wants, okay? So you can see here that probably the highest office that we have today is to be a pastor, okay? So you can do more to serve the Lord if you remain single. Yeah, you can, you know, if you're single, you can do other things. But you know what, as a pastor, you're also preaching about family, you're preaching about raising children, you're preaching about marriage, okay? And if you don't have that expertise of yourself, if you haven't got that experience yourself, how can you possibly teach other people? You know, sometimes I see, I hear about people that are Roman Catholics and they go to their priests for marriage council. The priests are not allowed to get married. How do you go to a man who's never had a wife, who's never had children, or supposedly, they're not meant to, right? And try to get marriage council from them. They're just gonna destroy your marriage. You know, you wanna destroy your marriage? Yeah, go to ask council from someone that is not married. Okay, if you need council, you go and ask somebody who has experience and has been successful in that area that you're looking for council from, okay? So the pastor must be married, okay? You can't just say, well, I wanna be a pastor and not be married because I can do more for the Lord. You know, I can serve the Lord more. No, you can't, okay? You're gonna fail at the job, you're gonna destroy marriages, you're gonna destroy families by doing that. Now, can you please turn to Matthew 19, please? Matthew chapter 19, Matthew chapter 19. So as you can see, Jeremiah has been given this special gift by God, just like Paul was, all right? God does not want him to get married, does not want him to have kids, you know? And let's understand this a little bit further in Matthew 19, verse 11. These are the words of Jesus Christ. Matthew 19, verse 11. And again, Jesus is just finishing preaching about marriage and divorce, right? But in verse number 11, he says, and he said unto them, all men cannot receive this saying, save they or accept they to whom it is given. So God is, Jesus Christ is saying, there is something given to some men. Paul called it a gift, okay? It's a gift that has been given, right? But not all men can receive this saying, only some, okay? What is this saying? Look at verse number 12. For there are some eunuchs. Now, what's a eunuch? A eunuch is a man who has no desire for the opposite sex, basically. We have, look at this. For there are some eunuchs, look at this, which were so born from their mother's womb. Now, let's stop there for a minute. This is speaking about eunuchs. You know, all of us have genetic defects, did you know that? You know, we're not genetically perfect, but we still operate quite well. God's creation is amazing. Okay, we all have genetic, you understand this, right? And one of the major concerns for pregnant mothers are always like, you know, I hope my child is born without any major genetic defects. You know, hopefully they're not, you know, born without Down syndrome or other issues like that. But you know, there are some people that are born with a genetic defects where, you know, their reproduction, you know, organ just doesn't work. You know, it can happen, okay, where that happens, right? And then therefore that person, because they don't have the same, you know, testosterone that maybe gets generated in a man and the desire for a woman, where they just don't have that in their nature because they were born with that genetic defect, okay? So that's what his friends say. There are some eunuchs born of a mother's womb because they're born with that genetic defect. And then it says, and there are some eunuchs which were made eunuchs of men. Now, this is the worst one, okay? Some eunuchs are made eunuchs of men, okay? So this is where you'll see about this in history books and even it's covered in the Bible, where one nation would conquer another nation and to stop the men from fighting back, they will castrate them, okay? That will, you know, I don't know how to say that, okay? We're being too graphic, right? They'll remove that part of the body so they don't, again, generate that testosterone and be, you know, it's kind of like farmers where they would take a bull, right? And they need that bull to work the land, to plow the land, but that bull can be very aggressive and so they'll castrate the bull so it's more calm and they can use it for, as a beast of labor. It's known as an ox at that point, right? And so, hey, some people have done this to men, okay? And as we go through Jeremiah, we see that the Babylonians are gonna come and take the people into captivity. You know, we also have in the Bible saying that some of those people were made into eunuchs when they were taken into captivity. So the same idea, we wanna take some of the men, we wanna take some of the best men, the ones with knowledge and wisdom that can actually be a benefit to our society, but we don't want them fighting back, so let's castrate them. You know, let's stop that. So that's that part. Some people are made a force to be eunuchs. You know, that would be a terrible fate, but anyway. And then it says in verse number 12, and there be eunuchs which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake. He that is able to receive it, let him receive it, okay? And then there are some eunuchs, okay? This is that special gift that Paul was speaking about. This is something that is given by God, you know, it's a special thing. There's nothing genetically wrong with them. They're not castrated, but they just don't have in a spiritual sense a desire to, you know, have a wife and children. But what they ought to be focused on, if they're gonna be eunuchs for that purpose, they ought to be eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake. So they can spend most of their time, most of their efforts, most of their care on the things of God. And you say, I can't do that, Pastor Kevin. Well, look, he that is able to receive it, let him receive it. So you can see that this is something very unique, something very special, okay? If you have a burning desire to be with the opposite sex and have a family, you're not a eunuch, okay? That's not you, okay? This is something very specific, something very special. So I hope that makes sense to you, okay? It's not saying that a married man is somewhat worse off to serve God. No, because you've got to be a married man to hold the highest office that God has in the local church, right? So it's just that you can prioritize different things. And as a married person, it's not wrong to prioritize your family. In fact, that's what you're commanded to do, to look after your spouse, to look after your children. That's what God wants from you. It's not a sin to be married, okay? So I hope that clarifies any maybe misunderstanding that might be on that topic. Let's go back to Jeremiah 16 and verse number three. Jeremiah chapter 16 and verse number three. The whole point on that, brethren, is don't be selfish, you know? Who are you serving? You've got to be serving somebody. And if you're a single person, if you're a widow, you ought to be prioritizing God. God, what do you want me to do today? You know, when I wake up in the morning, I'm like, well, what does my family need? They need to be fed. Do we have food? Do we have enough to pay the bills? You know, am I complimenting my wife the way that I ought to, right? And so that's, while you're single, you don't have to worry about those things. So focus, give your attention to the things of God. And listen, don't thumb up your nose to people that are married. You know, just because you can get out so many more than others that are married, don't think, oh man, I'm so much better of a Christian than they are. Listen, they're doing what God wants them to do. Okay, looking after their families. All right, Jeremiah 16 verse three. For thus saith the Lord concerning the sons and concerning the daughters that are born in this place and concerning their mothers that bear them and concerning their fathers that beget them in this land. So again, you know, God's told Jeremiah, I don't want you to get married and have kids because this is gonna be the result of those that have families during this time when God's wrath and judgment falls upon them through the hand of the Babylonians. Verse number four, they shall die of grievous deaths. They shall not be lamented, neither shall they be buried, but they shall be as dung upon the face of the earth and they shall be consumed by the sword and by famine and their carcasses shall be meat for the fowls of heaven and for the beasts of the earth. So God is preventing Jeremiah from suffering in the same way that the people of the land are suffering. Okay, their families are gonna be torn apart. Okay, people are gonna lose their loved ones, right? And when God says there'll be no lament, there's no opportunity to have a memorial service, that there's no opportunity to have a funeral, okay? There's no opportunity to remember those that have passed, now their body's just gonna lay there like dung on the earth and they're gonna be eaten up by the wild animals, by the birds, okay? Verse number five, for thus saith the Lord, enter not into the house of mourning, neither go to lament nor bemoan them, for I have taken away my peace from this people, saith the Lord, even loving kindness and mercies. Now, I don't know how many of you guys are aware, this is kind of off topic, but I just thought about this this morning, okay? First Works Baptist Church, Los Angeles, a few of you guys have been there, Pastor Bruce Mejia, we've been praying for that church, we've been praying for them, right? They've been protested by the homosexuals, okay? They've been protested by the sodomites, okay? Those filthy perverts, and if you woken up to the news this morning, okay? They've graffitied the building, they've graffitied the church building, and they've planted some explosive device which blew out the windows of the building, all right? Hey, these are not peaceful people, okay? God told here, this wicked nation, for I have taken my peace from this people, all right? And God is saying to Jeremiah, listen, I've taken my peace away from the people of this nation, don't you go and enter into the house in the morning, neither go to lament or bemoan them. Brethren, you know these homosexuals, they've gone too far, they've been rejected by God, they've rejected God, God has rejected them, that's why they hate Christianity, that's why they hate the Bible, and they do these wicked things against God's people. But here's the thing, brethren, no matter what they try to do, they're gonna suffer our worst fates. God's peace has been removed from them, all right? God's judgment's gonna fall upon them, God's wrath is gonna fall upon them, all right? And guess what, I'm not going to mourn for them, I'm not gonna lament for them. As Christians, as people that believe the Bible and love God, yes, sometimes we get sad and upset about people that suffer and die, but I'm not going to lament, I'm not gonna mourn, I'm not gonna weep over homosexuals that face the punishment of God because they're wicked and they're vile and they're disgusting, they're haters of God, right? So Jeremiah's being told, hey, don't lament for these people. My peace has been removed from these people. Say, that sounds very hateful, Pastor Kevin. Does this not sound hateful to you, how God is dealing with the people of Judah who have turned against the Lord time and time again? In fact, he called them a reprobate nation, and these sodomites, what are they? They're reprobate by God. God has removed his peace from them, okay? They're vile and disgusting. I'm not gonna mourn for them. I'm not gonna lament for them. I'm not sad that these people have been rejected by God. So be it. They hated God first. They rejected God first, okay? Now, I know this has nothing to do with Jeremiah, but I have to throw that in somewhere, all right? But listen, I support First Works Baptist Church. I support Pastor Prisma here. We ought to be praying for them, okay? They're our brothers and sisters in the Lord. We're gonna see them in heaven, okay? We're gonna be with them for all eternity in heaven, and I wanna be able to face those people and say, hey, we love you, we support you, we've been praying for you, and I'm not going to be a Christian that even if I might not say things a certain way, even though I might not do things a certain way, even though sometimes I see pastors do things, and I'm like, well, I don't think I would do it that way. Hey, that's still my brother in Christ, and I still love them, and I'm gonna support them. I'm not gonna support the media, and I'm definitely not gonna support the sodomites, okay? I'm always gonna support my brothers in the Lord, okay? Always. And some of you guys know this. Even when I disagree with certain things, they're still my brother. I still love them, and I'm gonna have their backs against this wicked world, all right? Now, back to Jeremiah there. Verse number five is God says, I will take away my peace from this people. Well, you know what? Please go to John 14, please. Go to John 14. Because we live in a time where peace is being removed. People are fearful. People are concerned. I keep going on about the virus. I'm sick of talking about the virus. But anyway, we're in the situation that we're in, and people are fearful. People are concerned. And it almost feels like some of that peace has been removed, and we might get agitated. We might get frustrated about everything that's going on in this world. And you know, you wouldn't be the only one because your pastor also gets frustrated about these things. But look at John chapter 14 and verse number 25. John 14 and verse number 25. Jesus Christ says in John 14, 25, these things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you, but the comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name. He shall teach you all things and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. So brethren, we've been given a great privilege, okay? We have the indwelling of the comforter, okay? Meaning that we can never lose the peace of God truly, because we always have the Lord God in us, you know, the comforter, the Holy Spirit, which not just gives us comfort. Hey, the word comfort, you know what that means? It's like Spanish con and fort is like strength. He comes with strength. You know, when we're downcast and we're upset, the Holy Spirit comes, he doesn't just dry our tears, but he strengthens us. That's the whole point of being comforted. He lifts us up. This is something that God has given every believer, okay? Look at verse number 27, Jesus Christ says, peace I leave with you. My peace I give unto you. So brethren, the Holy Ghost, the comforter, guess what it is? It's the peace of Jesus Christ. He gives us peace, okay? And so no matter what goes on in this world, okay? No matter how much trial we go through, we know that we can have the peace of God. Jesus Christ has left us his peace. He says, look, not as the world giveth, give I unto you. The world has an idea of what peace is, but that's not the peace that Christ gives us, okay? The world thinks, well, that's peace between nations, not going to war. Listen, no, it's beyond that. We have the peace of God in us, okay? Which comforts us, which strengthens us. Then he says, let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. So, you know, as we go through this time of COVID and restrictions, are you either troubled or are you afraid, okay? And if you're afraid or you're troubled, brethren, this is why you have the Holy Ghost indwelling you, okay? Jesus Christ said, I want you to have my peace. My peace I leave unto you, okay? And so what you need to do then, brethren, if you are troubled or if you are afraid, okay, that means you're lacking the peace. You need to go to the Lord God. You need to go to Jesus Christ. You need to get in touch with the Holy Spirit of God, which will comfort you and give you the peace necessary to get through this time, okay? God has given us great peace, you know? And unfortunately for these people in Jeremiah's days, God says, I removed my peace from them. In other words, they're troubled. They're afraid, okay? They're not being strengthened by the comforter, okay? They've lost that peace of God, but, brethren, we have it. We have it, okay? So I don't care how bad things get in this world. We can be at peace. You know, we can have everything burning down. We can have God's judgment completely falling upon this land. And as Christian, we ought to be like, got the peace of God, okay? I'm alive today. Hey, maybe I can get someone saved today. I've got the Holy Spirit of God. I'm comforted. It shouldn't bother us. You know, how bad? Well, it shouldn't bother us. It shouldn't bother our, you know, at the peace that we have of God, I should say, okay? And we can continue doing the great things that God wants us to do. Back to Jeremiah, please. 16, verse number six. Jeremiah 16, verse number six. Both the great and the small shall die in this land. They shall not be buried. Neither shall men lament for them, nor cut themselves, nor make themselves bold for them. Neither shall men tear themselves for them in mourning to comfort them for the dead. Neither shall men give them the cup of consolation to drink of their father or for their mother. And so God is telling the people of the land, you're not gonna have the opportunity to mourn. God does not want them to have any peace, okay? Because just a reminder, in Matthew 5, four, Jesus Christ said, blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted. God is saying, look, I don't even wanna comfort you. In other words, I don't even want you to mourn. Because hey, that's the first step of being comforted, right? Mourn, you know, get off your chest, the sorrow, the anguish, you know, you go to God with the things that you're strong with, and God says, you know what, if you do that, I'll comfort you. These people of the land, they don't even get to step number one to mourn. They don't get to step number one to remember their loved ones and those that have gone before. God does not want them to even experience that, to even receive the comfort of God. God's peace has been removed from them, okay? Now, one thing that was quite interesting, it says there, neither shall men lament, verse number six, lament for them, nor cut themselves, nor make themselves bold for them. Now, if you read this quickly, you might be thinking, well, maybe it was a practice of the day to cut yourself when someone died, or to shave your head, you know, to make yourself bold when someone dies, okay? You might be thinking that, and God's saying, hey, that's not gonna happen. But if you keep your finger there, and let's go to Deuteronomy chapter 14. Deuteronomy chapter 14, please. Deuteronomy chapter 14 and verse number one. And Christian, can you get me a cup of water? Deuteronomy chapter 14, verse number one. The reason Jeremiah has to preach is to the people of God isn't because that's their normal custom. They had actually adopted the wrong kinds of tradition, the wrong kind of customs. In Deuteronomy chapter 14, verse number one, it says, ye are the children of the Lord your God, ye shall not cut yourselves, nor make any boldness between your eyes for the dead. So what did God say? Don't cut, when people die, don't cut yourself, don't shave your head, all right? Why, because you're my people, he says. Let's keep going, look at verse number two. For thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God, and the Lord have chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto himself above all the nations that are upon the earth. So God says, look, I need you to be peculiar. You're my people, you need to be different from the rest of this world. So when people die, don't cut yourself, don't make yourself bold, because if you do that, all you're doing is following the pagan traditions of the Gentiles. And God says, I don't want you to conform yourself to the way of the Gentiles. I don't want you doing these things that make it look like you're the Gentiles. No, you're my people. So what's happening in the day of Jeremiah? They're not acting like the people of God. They're not a peculiar nation, are they? They're doing the exact same things as the Gentiles. Exactly what God told them not to do, I'm gonna cut myself and make myself bold anyway. And so part of the judgment, where God does not want them to mourn, number one, is not to give them the comfort, okay? But also number two, God is preventing them from being like the rest of the nations. It's not even, you know, they're in a worse state than what these wicked Gentile nations were doing, right? They can't even cut themselves or make themselves bold. All right, now you're saying, well, you know, Pastor Kevin, does that mean I can never shave my head? No, I mean, this is, of course, something very traditional, okay? And it said there in verse number one, nor make any boldness between your eyes for the dead. So this is not a complete boldness that they were doing. Though for some reason, they were just making themselves bold, like between the eyes, maybe just a minute, maybe like a reverse tomahawk. You know the tomahawk hairstyle where you got the, you know, you got that punk's hair and then you got all bold here. I don't know if you guys know what I'm referring to. Well, it's kind of like the opposite. They've got hair on these sides, but then between the eyes, they make themselves bold, okay, for the dead. Okay, so that, I've never seen a Christian have that hairstyle, so I don't think you have to preach against that. But listen, if you ever have the desire to have that kind of hairstyle, just remind yourself, that's not what God wants from you, okay? I don't think that's gonna happen, but that's the case, okay? And you know, and the reason God is so angry at them, you know, in Romans 12, we need to remember this, okay? Because a lot of us, you know, I grew up in a Christian home, you know, I'm blessed. You know, of course I've been affected by the world to some extent, but not as much as those that have been born into a non-Christian family and have experienced all the things of this world, and then they realize I have to come out of that, and you know, oh man, God's word is so different. In fact, it seems like almost everything that I used to do is opposite to what God wants me to do, right, for those that have been saved out of the world. And we need to remind ourselves that we are the people of God, we are a peculiar people, and we ought to not conform ourselves to the rest of this world. We ought not to look like them, we ought not to behave like them, we ought not to react like them, okay? Because in Romans 12, two, it says, and be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind that ye may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. You know, whatever you do, brethren, however you live out your life, the clothes that you wear, you need to ask yourself the question, you know, is this pleasing to God? Is this good, you know? Is this acceptable by God? And if it is good and acceptable by God, then go ahead and do it, okay? But if you say, well, this is not pleasing to God, God will not accept that, and in fact, if I do this, I'm gonna be just like the world. Well, that's something you need to renew in your mind. You need to be that peculiar people, right? That was a problem with Judah. They had gone the way of the world. You need to keep yourself safe from being like the world. Back to Jeremiah 16 and verse number eight. Jeremiah 16, verse number eight. God tells Jeremiah, thou shalt not also go into the house of feasting, to sit with them to eat or to drink. For thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, behold, I will cause to cease out of his place in your eyes and in your days, the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride. So basically God is telling Jeremiah, listen, I don't want you to mourn for those that are dying and suffering. At the same time, I don't want you going and parting it up with, because right now God's judgment has not yet fallen, right? So the people of the land, they're still going about and enjoying life and partying and having their feasts and having their good time and getting married and all the celebrations that go with that. God's telling Jeremiah, I don't want you to participate in that, okay? And so we just see this challenge that God has given Jeremiah, don't mourn, don't rejoice, okay? I just want you to be focused. Again, this kind of reminds me of the job of the eunuch of the kingdom of God, say your priority, your focus needs to be on the things of God, all right? Verse number 10, and it shall come to pass when thou shalt show this people all these words that they shall say unto thee, wherefore have the Lord pronounced all this great evil against us? And what is our iniquity? For what is our sin that we have committed against the Lord our God? So Jeremiah's preaching all this damnation or this judgment and what are the people of the land saying? Why are you preaching about this? Why are you telling us that God's gonna destroy us? What's our sin? We've not sinned against God. What iniquity are you talking about Jeremiah? Now look, are they being sarcastic or do you think they actually really believe that? You know, I think they truly believe that they're right with God. I believe that they truly think we've not sinned against the Lord. And you know, one of the things that, you know, I'm sure you probably experienced is that when you sin and you start to accept, well, I'm just a sinner. And you get comfortable in your sin. You know, brethren, when you sin, it ought to make you uncomfortable. Okay, it all makes you uncomfortable. I realize that when you sin, you're given into a pleasure for a period of time. There is a pleasure for a season in sin, okay? But once you've sinned, you ought to be like, I shouldn't have done that. You know, the new man, although the flesh is like, whatever. The new man, the spirit that God has put in you ought to be saying, why did you do that? You know, there ought to be some guilt associated with that, okay? There ought to be some sorrow. There ought to be some, you know, just being upset that you gave into that sin, gave into that temptation. You know, there is a reality that we're gonna sin till the day we die, I understand that, okay? But when we do sin, it ought to upset you. You know, you've grieved the Holy Spirit, okay? There ought to be something in you that drives you to go, you know what, I've sinned against the Lord. And when you realize I've sinned against the Lord, I better go and confess that to the Lord right now. I want to be right with the Lord. That's the point behind it, to drive you back to the Lord so you don't lose that fellowship that you ought to have with God. But listen, when you get comfortable in your sin, when you say, well, I'm just gonna sin till the day I die anyway, I know I'm going to heaven. You know, I'm just gonna keep, you know, enjoying this sin. You know, you get comfortable. And then, you know, soon you'll think, this doesn't bother God. Soon you think, I'm right with God. Soon you think, I've not sinned against the Lord. You've got to be careful, all right? You've got to be very careful because I guarantee you, there are sins in your life today, there are sins in my life today that we do and we just think nothing of it. You know, we've gotten so comfortable, we've gotten so used to it, okay? And we just think there is no inequity. Why, what's wrong with that, okay? And so, you know, the Bible speaks about searing your conscience, it's possible. And this has more to do with false prophets and maybe even reprobates, but you know what? It is possible, you know, that certain sins, as Christian people, as saved people, that we just get so comfortable and we just don't even think about it anymore. We don't even confess it to the Lord anymore. We don't even blush about it anymore. We don't even get ashamed about it anymore, right? And if you're in that state about a sin, brethren, you need to realise that's what's happened to Judah and God's anger, God's judgement is going to fall upon them. So I don't want you to be like that. I want you to go, you know what, Lord, there is this sin that hasn't bothered me and this sin that I've been enjoying and I've never gone to confess it to you because I've just, I've realised I've blinded myself. And that's what sin does. Sin blinds you from the reality that it's something God hates. And you need to go and sort that out with the Lord. You know, ask God to give you that burning, that hatred, you know, against that sin that you enjoy so much. Verse number 11. Then shalt thou say unto them, because your fathers have forsaken me, so sorry, the question was, why is God going to judge us? Why are you telling us this stuff? Okay, well, this is why. Then thou shalt say unto them, this is how you respond, because your fathers have forsaken me, save the Lord, and have walked after other gods and have served them and have worshipped them and have forsaken me and have not kept my law. Say, well, hold on, why are you judging us, God? That was our fathers. Our fathers did the wrong thing. Why didn't you judge our fathers? Don't forget, God is long suffering. Don't forget, God gives people time to get things right. God does not want to, you know, pour his wrath and his judgment upon his nation and upon his people. God wants people to get things right. And we see, if you read through the Bible, you'll see sometimes the next generation gets right with God. And so God has given them the opportunity to get right with him, okay? Now, listen, you're not going to suffer for the sins of your forefathers, okay? The sins that my fathers have done, God's not going to judge me for that, okay? And the sins that my grandfather has done, God's not going to judge me for that, okay? It might sound that way for here, but keep going. Verse number 12, and then it says this, and ye, so that's about the current generation, and ye have done worse than your fathers, okay? I've given you a chance. Your fathers were wicked, you're even worse. You're more wicked than your fathers, okay? For behold, ye walk everyone after the imagination of his evil heart, and they have not hearkened unto me. Therefore, will I cast you out of this land into a land that ye know not, neither ye nor your fathers, that's the land of Babylon, of course, that they're taken into, and there shall ye serve other gods day and night, where I will not show you favor. All right, so we see the judgment of God once again, that they're going to be taken into captivity into a land that they did not know, okay? They were so comfortable in the land, God's going to take them away. They're going to worship other false gods, you know, the gods or the Babylonians, instead of the gods they wanted to worship. Now, there is a major theme in the book of Jeremiah, and this has to do with the imagination of your heart. That's what God just mentioned there, right? That they had done according to the wickedness of the imagination of their heart. Yeah, as you read through Jeremiah, you'll notice that God keeps bringing this up time and time again. So I want you to keep your finger there, and let's go to Genesis chapter six. Genesis chapter six. And I've already preached on this. But you need to remember, okay, that our hearts are wicked, okay? You just need to remember this. I don't care how right you are with God right now. I hope you're right with God. You know, I hope you're walking with God. I hope you're picking up your Bibles and you're praising God and you're serving God. You know, yes, but at the same time, don't forget, your heart is wicked. And if you give into the imaginations of your hearts, you're going to end up in a bad place, okay? And listen, there's nothing good in your heart. There's nothing good, all right? You know, this is why we need God's word. This is why we need God's heart. We need God's will, all right? And we submit our will to the will of God. And we know that's going to be good for us, okay? God wants the best for us. But if we give into our heart's desires, brethren, it's going to be a disaster, a disaster, okay? It's always going to be contrary to the things of God, all right? In Genesis six, verse five, this is the story of course of Noah and God flooding the earth. It says, and God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. Brethren, if you just go according to your heart, what does your heart tell you? Should I marry this person? What does your heart tell you? This person's not saved. This person hates God, but I really like them. What does your heart say? I'll get married to him. Your heart is a bad counsel, okay? It's just evil. It's in fact, it's evil continually. Okay, that's part of the flesh. That's part of this sinful nature that we have. Look at verse number six, and he repented the Lord that he have made man on the earth and he grieved him at his heart. And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast and the creeping thing and the fowls of the air, for it repents of me that I have made them. So of course, this is where God plans to destroy the people on the earth, but with a flood. Back to Jeremiah 16. The reason I wanted to read that to you is I just wanna show you the consistency of the Bible. From Genesis to Jeremiah, don't trust your heart, okay? Don't trust your heart. If you get all emotional about a topic and you need to make a decision, I always advise people, don't make decisions based on your emotions. Calm down first. Just get rest, take a day, get some sleep, think about it, give a few days, think about things logically, think about things biblically, don't react out of your heart, okay? Because this is where strife and turmoil and just bad decisions come from when you just follow your heart, okay? And I'm telling you, it's going to be against the will of God all the time, continually, okay? This is why we're commanded to walk in the new man. We're commanded to walk after the Spirit of God, okay? Back to Jeremiah 16, verse 14. Therefore, behold, the days come, save the Lord, that it shall no more be said, the Lord liveth that brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt. Now, this is not something negative, okay? It sounds negative, but look at verse number 15. It says, but the Lord liveth that brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north, the land of the north as the Babylonians, and from all the lands whither he had driven them, and I will bring them again into their land that I gave unto their fathers. So he's not saying you're going to forget about how God delivered you out of Egypt. But no, there's going to be a more present thing that you speak about, all right? You're still going to, verse number 15, say the Lord liveth, but you're not going to be saying the Lord liveth because we came out of Egypt. You're going to say the Lord liveth because we came out of Babylon, okay? And so God has again given them the hope. Listen, during this time of your captivity, there's coming a time when you guys, once again, not necessarily this generation, but the subsequent generations are going to come out of the land and come back into the Holy Land, the land that God promised these people, so long as they were right with God, okay? And so this is something, just a quick reminder that it's good to think about the past and how God has seen you for the past, but always be looking for the more present help of God. It's one thing to say, well, I used to go soul winning in the past. I used to serve God in the past. That's good, but are you serving God today? Are you preaching the gospel today? Are you doing what God wants from you today? That's more important. That's more present than what took place in the past. The past is good, okay? But again, let that be a stepping board to get where you are today, that you're serving God, right? So he's given them this promise that they're going to come back to the land. Now, I want to pause here for a moment because I'm an independent fundamental Baptist, okay? And I love the IFB churches. I love them. New IFB, old IFB, I love them, okay? If they're my brother in the Lord and they're serving the Lord and doing what the Lord wants from them, I love them. I love those churches, okay? But a lot of these churches teach things from Jeremiah. And I'm not saying they take this verse necessarily, but there are many verses they will take out of the books of the Bible like Jeremiah. We will read about the Jews here coming out of the land of the North or from all the lands with our hair driven them. And they'll say, see, God was talking about 1948, right? When the Jews, they were all over Europe and America. In fact, they haven't all come back, you know? Anyway, and they're saying, look, in 1948, God reestablished the nation of Israel and the Jews have come back. This is the fulfillment that we read about in books like, and in prophets like Jeremiah. But I want to just always keep things within context. What are we reading here, okay? I mean, I'm telling you, I can't tell you how many times I've heard pastors and preachers use Bible verses about the Jews coming out of Babylon, back in their, you know, it's back to their land. In the past, they already took place, you know, before Christ and trying to take that and saying, well, that's about 1948. That's about now, you know, God fulfilling. Listen, God, that's not the fulfillment of the Jews back in the land. That's not the fulfillment of the future Israel and Judah that serves the God. Listen, the fulfillment, okay, of Israel, you know, having one king over them and the entire world praising God is the millennium, the millennium. That's when Christ comes back, okay? And he rules and reigns from Jerusalem. But this is not only for Jews. It's not only for people of one nationality. This is for all believers that are in Jesus Christ that will rule and reign with Christ. That's the fulfillment of the stuff that has to do with the future. But so many times they take passages like this. Well, see, God promises them. Yeah, God promised them to come out of Babylon. Keep it within context. How do you not read the Bible and understand this? It boggles my mind sometimes, right? But that's the direct context. It's about Babylon here, right? Now, why is it, though, that God seems so angry at these Jews? In fact, the southern kingdom, God says, you've done worse than the northern kingdom. We know that the northern kingdom never recovered, okay? Why has God given the southern kingdom the opportunities to come back to the land? You know, when God just told them they're even more wicked than the northern kingdom, they're even more wicked than their forefathers, they're even more wicked than all the nations that are around them. Why is it? You know, was it just for the Jews? You know, well, the rest of the Bible gives us a lot to think about here. Let's keep going, verse number 16. God says, behold, I will send for many fishers, saith the Lord, and they shall fish them. And after will I send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain and from every hill and out of the holes of the rocks. For mine eyes are upon all their ways. They are not hid from my face, neither is their iniquity hid from mine eyes. So God, again, is talking about restoration, using the parallel, using illustrations, like he's gonna be like a hunter, like a fisherman. He's gonna pull them out of Babylon and take them back into the land, right? But at the same time, even though he's given them this hope, you know, this restoration, he just reminds them that first they must come punishment for their sins, because at the end of verse number 17, he says, neither is their iniquity hid from mine eyes, okay? So we gotta deal with the iniquity first, and then we're gonna obviously bring them back into the land there, okay? Let's keep going, verse number 18. And first, I will recompense, so first, there it is, their iniquity, I'm gonna recompense their iniquity and their sin double, because they have defiled my land, they have filled my inheritance with the carcasses of the detestable and abominable things. So God is saying, I'm gonna punish them double. But the normal punishment that I would give them for what they've done, well, they're going to receive double. Now, I'm not sure exactly what that fully means, okay? But it's interesting, because keep your finger there, and let's go to Isaiah chapter 40. Isaiah chapter 40, now the prophet Isaiah also was preaching against the southern kingdom, okay? Prophet Isaiah often preached against about them, you know, that the Babylonians come in the same, you know, judgment that Jeremiah's preaching about them. And Jeremiah, sorry, and Isaiah says something extremely interesting there, how Jeremiah speaks to their sin being punished double, and in Isaiah chapter 40, please, Isaiah chapter 40, I do want you to really see this one, Isaiah chapter 40, verse number one, Isaiah 41, 40, verse one, Isaiah 40, verse one, it says, comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God, okay? So this is talking about when they will come out of the Babylonian captivity. It says here, speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem and cry unto her, for her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned, and it says, for she hath received of the Lord's hand double for all her sins. So you can see the consistency there, Isaiah's talking about the double for their sins. Say, what is that about? Well, verse number three, this is where it comes into play, okay? Because I said to you, why is God bringing them back into the land? Is that God, is this land just so important? You know, if you go and touch the sand, are you gonna be healed from all your sicknesses or something, like, what is it? What's so important about this? Verse number three tells us what's so important. Why we needed that nation back in that land during that time. Verse number three, because it says, the voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Who was given this sermon to preach? John the Baptist. Prepare ye the way of the Lord. Who's coming? The Lord was coming. Jesus Christ was coming, okay? So why is that God wanted, what, you know, we saw that he punished them double for their sin. Why is it that God wanted them to come back into the land? Because the land is so important, because the people are so important. No, because they were preparing themselves for the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. That's why, okay? And that, of course, was given to John the Baptist to preach about Jesus. Jesus Christ comes on the scene, so there's a people of God that he has to deal with and preach to and give the gospel to. That's why, okay? But was the gospel only for the Jews? Did Jesus Christ only come for the Jews, as some people teach? Well, go back to Jeremiah 16, please. I just want to show you, these things are teaching the same thing, all right? The Bible is extremely consistent. Verse number 19, Jeremiah 16, verse number 19. It says, oh Lord, my strength in my fortress and my refuge in the day of affliction. Now it talks about the Gentiles. So we talk about the Jews, yeah, God's coming, Jesus Christ is coming for the Jews. And it says, the Gentiles shall come unto thee from the ends of the earth and shall say, surely our fathers have inherited lies, vanity, and things wherein there is no profit. So the Jews are going to realize, we've inherited lies, we've inherited vanities, these false gods, these false religions, it's all vain, it's all lies, some Gentiles are going to be saying, right? Verse number 20, shall a man make gods unto himself and they are no gods? You can see it's from our idols and false gods that they worship. God says this in verse number 21, therefore behold, I will this once cause them to know, who's them? The Gentiles. Okay, the Jews there and the Gentiles cause them to know, I will cause them to know mine hand and my might and they shall know that my name is the Lord. Okay, so we end chapter 16, where the whole purpose of Jews coming back into the land, oh, it's just for the Jews. No, it's so Jesus Christ would come into the scene and preach a gospel to this nation, oh, just to the Jews. No, to the Gentiles as well. So the Gentiles realize, hey, this Jesus, this sacrifice, this God, man, this son of God who's come to die for me, that's so much better than the vanities that I've inherited from my fathers. That's so much better than the Buddhism, so much better than the Hinduism, so much better than the atheism, these things that we believe, Jesus Christ is so much better. Praise God, because so many of you are Gentiles, right? And so many of you have come from false religion and you say, that's nonsense, it's stupid. Thank God for Jesus Christ. So thank God that salvation is a free gift through his sacrifice. And so that's what you need to understand, right? Jeremiah 16, you know, when you read by itself, it doesn't seem that way, but when you put it together with Isaiah, okay, and you go back, oh no, God's got a plan for the Gentiles as well, okay? God loves the Gentiles as well. The whole point of the nation of Israel was for them to be a light to the Gentiles, okay? But because they failed, God judged them, all right? But they're coming back into the land, so they once again can be a blessing to the Gentiles through the preaching of, you know, John the Baptist, preaching about preparing the way of the Lord, speaking about that Christ is going to come and be the light to not just the Jews, but to the Gentiles also. All right, let's pray. Heavenly Father, Lord,