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So Jeremiah 40, especially chapters 40 to 44, they almost seem like they don't belong to the book of Jeremiah. We ended chapter 39 with the Babylonians basically taking over Jerusalem, and we saw the stories of three men, including Jeremiah, and how they were treated by the Babylonians depending on how they operated themselves, how God would protect them or deliver them or not. It's an interesting part now because you've got the Babylonians taking the remaining Jews into captivity, and then you've still got some of the poor left on the land. It almost just feels like a totally different story. So what we get from the next four chapters is just a lot of history, or the next five chapters I should say, 40 to 44. We get a lot of history as to what took place during that time. So you could imagine there being a lot of turmoil, a lot of uncertainty after the Babylonians have come in and wiped that place out. All the leaders that you used to have, they're gone. There's obviously a lot of death that took place, and now you've got the poor of the land trying to take over, trying to make something of the life that remains. And so what we get is mostly historical events, and we want to see what kind of lessons we can learn from this. And so there's a lot of, like I said, a lot of uncertainty. And what I noticed in chapter 40, one thing that we can learn in Jeremiah chapter 40 is the concept of trusting. The title for the sermon this morning is Knowing Who to Trust. I think we get a lot of great examples here as to who can we trust, how can we trust. Of course we know that we ought to trust the Lord. And let me just start off by reading Proverbs 29 verse 25. Proverbs 29 verse 25, it says, The fear of man bringeth a snare, but whoso putteth his trust in the Lord shall be safe. So whoso putteth his trust in the Lord shall be safe. Of course the prophet Jeremiah had his trust in the Lord. And even though we had a foreign power taking over Israel, or taking over Judah I should say, Jeremiah being faithful to the Lord, being someone that trusted the Lord, he was taken care of. You know, we saw in the previous chapter that he was let go free. In fact when we start this chapter, in chapter 40, Jeremiah's under bondage again, he's in chains, and some people may think it's a contradiction in the Bible because in the previous chapter he was let go free. So we'll try to explain that as we go along. So as I said, the title for the sermon this morning is Knowing Who to Trust. Knowing Who to Trust. Let's start there in verse number one. Jeremiah chapter 40 verse number one reads, The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, after that Nebuchadnezzar, the captain of the guard, had let him go to Ramah, when he had taken him, being bound in chains among all that were carried away captive of Jerusalem and Judah, which were carried away captive into Babylon. So we see here that we've got Nebuchadnezzar, the captain of the guard, and we also have Jeremiah in chains. He's been taken away captive, just like all the other Jews, right? All of the last Jews that remain that have been taken into captivity into Babylon. Well, we have Jeremiah now bound in chains, being taken into captivity. And as I said, it may seem like a contradiction from what we read in Jeremiah chapter 39. So let's just go back to Jeremiah chapter 39. Let's remind ourselves, Jeremiah chapter 39 verse number 14. Jeremiah 39 verse number 14 reads, Even they sent and took Jeremiah out of the court of the prison, and committed him unto Gedalel, the son of Ahakam, the son of Shaphan, that he should carry him home, so he dwelt among the people. And so we have these events. Hold on, was Jeremiah let go after the court of the prison? And there's two ways to explain this. There's two ways to kind of say this. We don't have the exact explanation in the Bible how this happened, but I'll give you my preference as to what I believe took place here. And so I believe chapter 39 is just a quick summary, okay? Jeremiah was in the court of the prison. He was under arrest there, you may remember, by King Zedekiah. And so when the captain of the guard, Nebazadon, came, he eventually, yeah, let Jeremiah go free. But I believe chapter 39 has not given us the full detail of how that took place, how he was let go free. And so when we cite Jeremiah 40, we have the fact that, yes, he was in prison, he comes out of the prison, he's still in bondage, he's still in chains, and he's being led out into Babylon with all the other Jews, but then the captain of the guard, Nebazadon, come and releases him on his way to be taken into captivity. So I believe chapter 40 just gives us greater detail of what took place in chapter 39. The other opinion that's out there as to what took place is maybe Nebazadon did let Jeremiah go free from the court of the prison, and then the other view is, well, maybe, as a Jew, he's walking around free, and others, you know, other guards, other soldiers of Babylon, basically, see this Jew walking around freely, which is a bit unusual, right, because, you know, it's not meant to happen, they're all meant to be taken captive, and maybe other soldiers basically take Jeremiah again, chain him up, and he starts being taken into captivity, and then, again, the captain of the guard, Nebazadon, sees Jeremiah, you know, chained up by, you know, surprise, hey, I'll let him go free, and lets him go free once again. So anyway, my first, my, the way I lean, of course, is that chapter 40 just gives us greater detail of the release of Jeremiah, but at the end of the day, it doesn't really matter, but this is where, you know, some people will take the Bible and say, well, there's a contradiction here. There's no contradiction. Many times the Bible does this. You know, it gives us a summary, it gives us a high level view of what took place, and then in other chapters it gives us the greater detail as to how those things developed, okay. So there's no contradiction there at all. There's probably even other ways to explain what took place between Jeremiah 39 and chapter 40. So anyway, we see Jeremiah in chains being taken into captivity. Let's keep going. Verse number 2. And the captain of the guard took Jeremiah and said unto him, the Lord thy God have pronounced this evil upon this place. Now this is what's quite interesting, because you have the captain of the guard here, Nebuzaden, and he, you know, he's from a pagan nation, he's from a wicked empire, but even he knows that God is the one that pronounced evil on Judah. It's quite, I find that interesting, I don't know if you find that interesting, but this guy seems to know more about the God of the Bible than the average Jew at that time. Remember, Jeremiah's preaching God's word, Jeremiah's saying God's going to destroy this place, Jeremiah's been preaching that God's going to judge this place, Jeremiah's been preaching that the Babylonians are coming and it's by God's hand that he's going to destroy Judah, and the Jews largely would not listen to Jeremiah, especially those of authority, but then you've got a pagan soldier, all right, who knows, yeah, this is God's judgment, this is God's doing. My question is, why does he know, why does he seemingly know more than the Jews who are supposed to be God's chosen people? Okay, well let's keep going. Verse number 3. So the captain of the guard knows that God said that this was going to happen. So somehow he has learnt about God's word, he's read God's word, or he's become familiar with Jeremiah's preaching. What is it that he says God said? It says here, Now where would the captain of the guard get this information? How would he know this is what God said? What is it again? The Lord had pronounced, sorry, because he has sinned against the Lord and have not obeyed his voice. That's what he's familiar with. He's familiar that God had said these words. Well when did God say these words? Well keep your finger there in Jeremiah chapter 40, and please go all the way back to Jeremiah chapter 3. Jeremiah chapter 3 and verse number 25. Jeremiah chapter 3 and verse number 25. We have the preaching of Jeremiah. Jeremiah chapter 3 verse number 25. And this is what Jeremiah preaches by the word of the Lord. It says, This is something Jeremiah preached all the way back in chapter 3. That we have sinned against the Lord our God and have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God. So then we go back to Jeremiah chapter 40. What are the words that the captain of the guard is saying? Because he has sinned against the Lord and have not obeyed his voice. Therefore this thing has come upon you. So somehow the captain of the guard had heard or had a copy, because we know Jeremiah through Baruch was writing these words in a book. Somehow the captain of the guard got Jeremiah chapter 3 in his hands. And he knew, or through his ears, he knew that this was God's doing. I find this amazing. That you have a man from another nation. Don't forget Jeremiah was a prophet to the nation. So this makes a lot of sense. Jeremiah's word was going throughout the whole world. And this captain of the guard, even though he's a gentile from a pagan nation, he heard God's word, he recognized this is God's word, this is what God says and he believed it to be true. I find that amazing. And that is the power of God's word. Sometimes we can be a people who have heard God's word, we come to church, we read God's word, we do it every day, we do it every week, and we can sort of forget the power of God's word, we become so accustomed to it. We shouldn't become that way. Because God's word is powerful that it can reach the ears of the pagans and they can believe. This is why it's so important that we put our best foot forward, we put our efforts forward to preaching God's word to Australia. Brethren, it's a pagan nation. We can't truly say it's a Christian nation when they're a Christ-rejecting country, when it's a God-forsaken land, where we don't listen to God's word, the laws that come into our nation are contrary to God's word. But here's the thing, God's word is still powerful. And we need to do the best we can with what God has given us, the resources that we've been given here at Blessed Baptist Church, to preach this pagan world. And you know what, it's still going to be powerful in the ears of many. This is why we can still see many people saved if God will use us in that capacity. Praise God that His word will never fail. We need to make sure that we do our efforts to make sure God's word goes out throughout this whole world. So that's how he knew. That's how the captain of the guard knew. He had Jeremiah 3 available to him. Now let's keep going, verse number 4. Jeremiah 40, verse number 4. And now behold, I loosed thee this day from the chains which were upon thine hand, if it seemed good unto thee to come with me to Babylon, come, and I will look well unto thee, but if it seemed ill unto thee to come with me to Babylon, forbear, behold, all the land is before thee, whither it seemeth good and convenient for thee to go, thither go. So here we have Nebazadon again, the captain, this is now he releases Jeremiah. This is why I believe this has just given us the greater detail from Jeremiah chapter 39 as to what took place. It's the same man that lets Jeremiah go. But then he tells Jeremiah, look, Jeremiah of course has put his trust in the Lord. The title for the sermon this morning was Knowing Who to Trust. And though Jeremiah's under bondage, he's in chains, he's been taken into captivity, you know what, his trust was still in the Lord. And now he's let go. The Lord has delivered him, he's let go free, and the captain of the guard basically gives Jeremiah the choice. You know what Jeremiah, if you want to come to Babylon, come. And he says, oh look after you. So this is a guy that really appreciated Jeremiah. I wouldn't be surprised if we find this captain of the guard in heaven, that he's a believer. He knows Jeremiah's a prophet of God. And he says, look, you come to Babylon, I'll take care of you. But he goes, if you don't want to come to Babylon, the whole land's before you, you can choose wherever you want to go. And as I said, this sermon is about trust and who to trust. And I'll just quickly read to you a very familiar passage in Proverbs chapter 3 verse 5. Proverbs chapter 3 verse 5, which says, Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding. Then it says in verse number 6, In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. You know, Jeremiah had a choice. Do I take the path to Babylon, or do I take the path and remain on the land? You know what, many times God just gives us many options. And I need to, I feel like I need to preach this, and I know I've preached this many times. Because many times a lot of Christians, they become very, you know, they're full of anguish and worry, and they're like, what does God want me to do with my life? You know, God gives us many options. So long as they're not sinful, so long as they're not wrong, so long as they're not contrary to God's word, God gives us freedom, he gives us liberty, okay? And so we need to, many times, just decide what path we're going to take. But whatever path we take, Reverend, our job is to acknowledge him, and he shall direct our paths, okay? So we might take path A, or path B, you may take path B, alright, take path B, acknowledge God, and he's going to direct you in that path. You might say, well I'll take path A. Well great, take path A, acknowledge God, and he'll direct you in that path, okay? And so there's not just this one way of doing things, many times God gives us many options. So long we trust in the Lord, and we acknowledge him, we thank him for the freedoms, for the options that he does give us, he'll direct us in the paths to take, alright? So, you know, it's great for Jeremiah, he's trusting the Lord, he's free, he's got the freedom now to choose what he wants to do. But what we'll find in verse number 5 is the captain of the guard seemingly has a change of heart, okay? Let's see what that is in verse number 5, it says, now while he was not yet gone back, so look at that passage, now while he was not yet gone back. So remember, Jeremiah's been let go free, he's on his way to Babylon, the captain of the guard says, hey, choose which way you want to go, come with me to Babylon if you want, and Jeremiah has not yet gone back, okay? Meaning that Jeremiah had set his mind to go to Babylon. He just thought, you know what, well Babylon's the place to be, okay? God has been, you know, that's where the captivity's going to be, that's where we're headed, that seems to be where God wants me to go, so he starts taking that path to Babylon, right? He doesn't go back. And he says, well, this captain, you know, he's my friend, he's going to take care of me, all right, things are going to go well with me, I can be used by God in Babylon, that was probably in Jeremiah's mind, and so he's headed toward Babylon. But then he says this, he said, so this is the captain of the guard saying, and I do believe this is the captain of the guard, okay, that says these words, but then it says, go back also to Gedaliah, the son of Ahicham, the son of Shaphan, whom the king of Babylon have made governor over the cities of Judah, and dwell with him among the people, or go whether so ever it seemeth convenient unto thee to go, so the captain of the guard gave him victuals and a reward, and let him go. So for whatever reason, we don't know exactly why, but Nebuchadnezzar here basically has a change of mind, he realizes Jeremiah's still following him to Babylon, he says, you know what, no, go back, go to Gedaliah the son of Ahicham. And Gedaliah here has basically made governor over Judah. So Nebuchadnezzar left Gedaliel as governor to take care of the poor of the land, to organize themselves, of course they're going to be paying their tribute and their taxes to Babylon, they're still under Babylonian rule at the end of the day. It's kind of like in Jesus' time, where you had Jesus walking through Judea, but they were under Roman rule. The same kind of situation, Judah now is under Babylonian rule. And so the captain of the guard, for whatever reason, seems to have a change of mind. Maybe he thinks Jeremiah's better suited back on the land with those that remain on the land. And so he gives him victuals, so that's a bit of food, and a reward. So some money lets him go, so Jeremiah can take care of himself. Now let's go back to Jeremiah 39 once again, let's remind ourselves who this Gedaliel is. So in Jeremiah 39 verse 14, which we already read, but Jeremiah 39 verse 14 it says, And they sent and took Jeremiah out of the court of the prison, and committed him unto Gedaliel. So there's that same person, the son of Ahicham, the son of Shaphan, that he should carry him home, so he dwelt among the people. So just a reminder, Gedaliel has been made governor by Nebuchadnezzar, to govern over the poor of the land. Now let's keep going, because this person becomes an important name and important person in this chapter. So let's pay attention to his story. Verse number 6. Then went Jeremiah unto Gedaliel the son of Ahicham to Mizpah, and dwelt with him among the people that were left in the land. Now let's just remind ourselves, I know I spoke about this last week, but just a reminder, who is this Gedaliel? He's the son of Ahicham, what's the significance here? Well go back to Jeremiah 26 for me, go to Jeremiah 26 and verse number 24. Why do I believe Gedaliel was made governor? And we'll look at Jeremiah 26 verse number 24. This was a time when Jeremiah was supposed to be put to death. But it says here, nevertheless, the hand of Ahicham. So Ahicham is the father of Gedaliel. Nevertheless, the hand of Ahicham, the son of Shaphan, was with Jeremiah, that they should not give him into the hand of the people to put him to death. So Ahicham, the father of Gedaliel, was a supporter of Jeremiah. The people wanted to put Jeremiah to death, but Ahicham comes and defends Jeremiah and looks after the man of God. And so I personally believe that Ahicham was a believer. These are things that we kind of make judgments on because of how they behave, especially with God's word or with God's men. And so Gedaliel gets the blessing of growing up with a father who's a believer, a father who's listening to Jeremiah, who believes Jeremiah is the true prophet of God. And so I believe also Gedaliel is someone that supports Jeremiah in the long run. Because Gedaliel basically does take in Jeremiah and governs over him for this period of time. And so once again I think we just see the providence of God's hand looking after not just Jeremiah, but looking after the people and the families that supported Jeremiah, even when others wanted to put him to death. Now let's keep going. Jeremiah 40, verse number 7. Now when all the captains of the forces which were in the fields, so these are the soldiers of Judah. Even they and their men heard that the king of Babylon had made Gedaliel, the son of a high camp governor in the land, and had committed unto him men and women and children and of the poor of the land, of them that were not carried away captive to Babylon. You might say, well, why are there still soldiers in Judah? Weren't they defeated by the Babylonians? Well, yes, many, many of them were, especially those of Jerusalem. Now these captains of the forces, now where were they? They were in the fields. So these are soldiers that have been fighting the Babylonian armies, but instead of being under siege in Jerusalem, they were out in the open, they were in the fields, so they were able to sort of escape, run and hide, these kinds of things. So you can imagine that it's a little bit tough for them. They realize that Gedaliel has been made governor by the king of Babylon, the same power that they were fighting, and this king of Babylon puts this Jew, Gedaliel, as governor. So you can imagine them being of two minds here. Is this guy good or is he bad? This governor, is he doing the same powers that we were fighting, now that power has put him as governor in the land. But they hear about all these people being gathered together. Gedaliel, apparently, by what we see in this chapter, seemed like a great governor, seemed like the kind of guy that people could get along, could get under, could get under his authority. He seems to have good organization skills to get people together and become productive on the land. Now, let's keep going. Verse number eight, it says, And they came to Gedaliel, that's the captains, that's the soldiers of the field, right? They came to Gedaliel to Mizpah, even Ishmael the son of Nathanael, this is another name that you need to remember, Ishmael. And then it says, and Johannan, so that's another name that I want you to remember, Ishmael and Johannan, these are captains of the soldiers that were out there in the field. Now, neither Ishmael nor Johannan are good people. I want you to just remember this, they're both wicked people. Let's keep going. And Jonathan, the sons of Careah, and Sarahiah, the son of Tanhumeth, and the sons of Ithhai, the Netaphthalites, and Jezaniel, the son of Meachathalites, they and their men. So we have a list of all the captains here of the soldiers of the field. So they all come to Gedaliel, they want to be part of this new, you know, reconstructed Judah under Gedaliel. Now, let's keep going. As I said, neither Ishmael nor Johannan are good men in this, okay? Verse number nine, And Gedaliel the son of Ahicham, the son of Shaphan, swear unto them and to their men, saying, Fear not to serve the Chaldeans, dwell in the land, and serve the king of Babylon, and it shall be well with you. Boy, that seems almost traitorous, right, to say such words. This is the same army, the Babylonians are the ones that were meant to be fighting. But Gedaliel says, you know what, fear not to serve the Chaldeans, right? Dwell in the land, serve the king of Babylon, and it shall be well with you. What is it saying? Even though there's a wicked power, you know, in place, you know what, they've been ordained by God, this is the new power of the land, just obey them, just serve here in the land, and things will be well with you. Now, what does this sound like? This sounds like the preaching of Jeremiah, doesn't it? This is what Jeremiah's been preaching this whole time, right? Surrender to the Babylonians, give yourself to the Babylonians, and things will be well with you. Well, this is why I believe Gedaliel is a great man and another believer, because he's basically now saying the exact same things that Jeremiah was preaching in the past, but once again, do you think this is popular preaching? Do you think these are popular instructions, right? Especially to the captains that were fighting Babylon, and now they're being told, look, just surrender, just, you know, just relax, the war's over, we've been defeated, they're the new power now, okay? Just relax, you know, and things will be well with you, just be obedient and things will be well with you. And brethren, again, we're in further lockdowns, right? And, you know, I hate bringing this up, but this is just a reality, you know, it's a strange time, and, you know, there's a power in play, there's, you know, new powers, emergency powers put in place, you know, in our land, and I just want you to, I want things to be well with you, you know? They're not asking us to sin, all right? They're not asking us to do anything wicked, all right? We may not like them, we know how wicked they are, but listen, things will be well with you if you just remain calm, you just be obedient, all right? Just submit, okay? And things will be well with you, all right? Gadallio is a good governor, okay? He's a good governor, he understands new powers, but he also wants things to be well with his people, okay? He's trying to put people together, even the forces that were fighting against that power before. He's trying to get the people together, hey, I want things to be well with you, just serve the king of Babylon, everything will be just fine, okay? So when I look at Gadallio, I see a man who's the right kind of person to be put in charge, okay? He listens to Jeremiah, he's preaching the same thing, he says the same thing that Jeremiah says, his father was a believer, a defender of Jeremiah, okay, we know he's a godly man, hey, he's not just a godly man, but he found grace in the eyes of King Nebuchadnezzar, King Nebuchadnezzar would say, hey, this guy's going to make a great leader, let's put him in charge, he's not rebellious, he's not stubborn, and he loves the people, the people that he's been put over, he loves the people, he wants it to go well with him, this guy makes up a good leader, this is what you want when you're looking for leadership, okay, at Gadallio. Now let's keep going. Verse number 10, as for me, he goes, behold, I will dwell at Mizpah to serve the Chaldeans, okay, this is what Gadallio was saying, I'm going to serve the Chaldeans, all right, which will come unto us, but ye gather ye wine and summer fruits and oil and put them in your vessels and dwell in your cities that ye have taken. He goes, look, man, just take advantage, right, everyone's been taken away, we have the choice of cities that we want to live in, we have the choice of farming that we want to farm, all right, just gather your fruits, just relax, the war is over, okay, we need to stop fighting, just be calm, be at peace, all right, and let's just, you know, continue living your life, okay. So let's keep going, verse number 11. Likewise, when all the Jews that were in Moab and among the Ammonites and in Edom and that were in all the countries, so these are other Jews, these are Jews in the Gentile nations, I guess they have, probably either they had migrated in the past or they fled when they knew the Babylonians were coming, they fled to these other nations. But when they hear, what's going on, let's keep going, heard that the king of Babylon had left a remnant of Judah and that he had set over them Gedalel, the son of Ahicham, the son of Shaphan, even all the Jews returned out of all places whither they were driven and came to the land of Judah to Gedalel and to Mizpah and gathered wine and summer fruits very much, okay. They say, oh, these are the Jews of these other nations, they had fled to these other places, man, Gedalel was in charge, you know, things seem to be going well with the port of the land that are left there, let's go back and let's just join part of the remnant that remained there of the land. So Gedalel was doing a good job of organising the Jews, getting them all together, all right, he's a positive influence, all right. So, you know, I personally think Gedalel was a great man, a great leader, he's doing a great job, okay. But he has some weaknesses which we'll look at very shortly. Let's keep going. First number 13. Moreover, Johanan, so remember I said, remember that name Johanan, okay, he's one of the captains and this guy's not a good man. Moreover, Johanan, the son of Careah, and all the captains of the forces that were in the fields came to Gedaliah to Mizpah and said unto him, Dostoev certainly know that Baelish, the king of the Ammonites, have sent Ishmael, the son of Nathanael, to Slathe. Remember I told you Ishmael is not another good man, okay. And then it says, but Gedalel, the son of Ahicham, believed them not. So you have all these captains that were part of Judah's army, right. And they all come to Gedalel, okay, and who were they? Let's try to remember the names. So it's all the captains besides Ishmael because Ishmael is an assassin, okay. He's been commanded by the king of the Ammonites to kill Gedalel, right. So you have all the other captains, I guess they see Gedalel, they see him doing a great job, they don't want this guy to be assassinated. So you have Johanan and you have his brother Jonathan, you have Sarahiah, you have the sons of Ephai, we don't know how many sons, but at least two. We have Jezaniel. That's at least six captains that are warning Gedalel about their fellow captain Ishmael that Ishmael is going to end up killing you, okay. He's been commanded by the king of the Ammonites to assassinate Gedalel, okay. But what does Gedalel do? It says at the end of verse number 14, but Gedalel, the son of Ahicham, believed them not. Now I told you, this title for the sermon today was, you know, knowing who we can trust basically, okay. Now brethren, let me put it this way, he didn't believe the words of these men that Ishmael was going to kill him, okay. Now in chapter 41, without giving too many spoilers away, chapter 41 he does get assassinated by Ishmael, okay. He didn't believe them and he ends up being killed by Ishmael, okay. So who should he have trusted in that situation? He should have definitely trusted these other captains, right. I mean, there was a great majority there warning him that this guy is not a good man, okay. So knowing who to trust. And brethren, you know, another time we already spoke about trusting the Lord. You know, one great thing about knowing that about the Lord, we can trust him 100% of the time. You know, whatever he says in his word, his promises, we can trust him 100%, you know. I know that I'm saved, I know that I'm going to heaven because my trust is 100% in the Lord, okay. The only person that you can trust 100% of the time, all the time, is the Lord God. There is no other man that you can trust in that way, okay. And so what I want to tell you is basically sometimes it can be difficult to trust men. When do we trust men, okay? Well, let me tell you, when you've got a majority of people trying to tell you something, trying to look out for you, and telling you, hey, we've got one fellow guy who's bad, who's out there trying to hurt you, you know what, you better listen to that counsel, okay. These are experienced captains. They know how to fight. They know what this man is thinking. He's one of their fellow captains, okay. And Gadiel does not believe them. So can you please keep your finger there. Let's look at some passages in Proverbs. Let's go to Proverbs 11 verse 14. Go to Proverbs chapter 11 verse number 14. Proverbs chapter 11 and verse number 14. The Bible reads, where no counsel is, the people fall. Now Gadiel definitely fell. He died, okay. But then it says, but in the multitude of counselors, there is safety, okay. In the multitude of counselors, there is safety. You see, you had a multitude of counselors coming to Gadiel, okay, and there was safety in that counsel, but he did not heed. He did not listen to him. This is one of the weaknesses of Gadiel, okay. He's been made a leader, and one of the worst things is, you know what, when you're a leader, yes, you call the shots, you have to make decisions, but the worst thing is not listen to those that are under you, okay. These guys came with a great concern, a true and serious concern, but Gadiel did not believe them, and it was in the mouth of multiple speakers. Please go to Proverbs 15 verse number 22. Proverbs 15 verse 22 reads, without counsel, purposes are disappointed, but in the multitude of counselors, they are established. Now brethren, if you've got to make a big decision in life, okay, my advice to you is go to multitude of counselors, okay. You know, you want to get words of advice. You want to get some experience. You want to get some wisdom, okay. Don't turn to just one person. Hey, turn to the Lord, amen. He's going to give you the answer. Turn to his word, amen. You know, you get answers there, but if you need something further, all right, if you're not just hearing from the Lord, maybe the Lord's going to use other men to help guide you. You know what, you want to be looking for multitude of counselors. You want to hear what a lot of people have to say, and you know, it's in the multitude of counselors that I have made certain decisions about church. You know, when I made the decision to come down to Sydney for the 12 months, you know what, it wasn't just my decision. You know what, I thought about it. I thought, you know, yes, this is an option. This is what we can do, but you know what I did next? I took it to all the families. I took it to all the men in my church at New Life Baptist Church, and I said to them, hey guys, what do you reckon? I'm thinking about going to Sydney. You know, do you have any concerns? What are your thoughts? And you know what, all the men that I turned to, you know, they all said, hey, you know what, that's a great idea. You know, get down there. They need their pastor down there. We'll take care of things here. You know, you've set things up, and we'll take responsibilities. We'll preach. We'll do this. We'll do that. We'll make sure that everything's taken care of here on the Sunshine Coast so you can go down to Sydney and bless the people down there. You know what, and once I heard from the multitude of counselors, and they were all supportive, they all thought it was a good idea, then I put in motion, you know, the steps needed to come down to Sydney. Even though I'm the head of the church, you know, I'm not the head of the church. Jesus Christ is the head of the church, okay, but even though I'm the pastor of the church, you know, I still found it important to go to the multitude of counselors and hear from them. You know, I had to make a decision about the future of this church as well. You know, and I went to multiple people to get their thoughts, you know, about, you know, where do we go in the future of this church, and, you know, I still haven't made a full decision as to what that is, but, you know, through the hearing of multitude of voices, you know, I see that it was very, you know, very consistent, and I had to make a decision, right, for this church, which I won't go into right now, but you know what, it's hearing from a multitude of counselors that's going to help you make the right decisions in life. You know what, God will many times use the people around you, okay, who love the Lord, who have great wisdom, to help guide you in the steps that you need to take, okay. So, you know, can we trust man? Yes, but let's go to man with a multitude of wisdom, multitude of counsel, okay, go hear lots of different advice, and then make the right decision based on who you can trust the most. Now, can you please go to Proverbs 24 and verse number 6. Proverbs 24 and verse number 6. Because there's something else that I want to say is that, you know, even though, you know, we should seek multitude of counselors, the majority are not always right, okay, the majority are not always right. And as I said, the title for the sermon this morning is knowing who to trust. So, you want to make sure you go to the right counselors, you want to make sure that you go to counselors that you can trust, okay. So go to Proverbs 24 and verse number 6. The Bible says, for by wise counsel thou shalt make thy war, and in multitude of counselors there is safety. So there is safety in multitude of counselors, but remember what kind of counselor we're looking for? For by wise counsel. What is wisdom? Wisdom is not just knowledge, but someone that has taken that knowledge and put it into action, okay. Someone that does well, he puts it into action, and you see success in their life, they're productive, they do well, that's true wisdom, okay. So you're looking for somebody with the experience. You're looking for someone that you can trust, okay. Now, let me just give you some advice as to what wise counsel looks like, who are the kinds of people that you can trust. And I've heard this in many different sort of iterations, but basically when you're, you know, in order for you to develop trust in a man, there are sort of three things that we are looking for, like subconsciously looking for, that help build your trust in somebody, okay. Now, what are those? Well, number one, it's someone that you have built a positive relationship with, okay. It's important that we have relationships with people, you know, that we get, you know, we get along with people. Well, those that have been the most positive influence in your life, you know, those generally are people that you learn to trust more. That's number one, but that's not just it, okay. Number two, it's someone that has made good judgment in their lives, okay. They're experienced, they're wise, that's another way of saying it, right. They're experienced, you can see that they do well in their life, right. You might look, you know, if you're struggling with your marriage, you might go to a person that you can see they have a great marriage, that they love their spouse, right, they have a great family. This is the kind of person that you might go to for counsel and advice because you can see that they've got good judgment, they've got good experience, they do well in what, with what they've been given, right. So that's the second thing that you kind of look for in somebody in order to build trust, okay. And the third thing is that they are consistent, okay. There are, you see this as a consistent person, meaning that not only do they give good counsel, but they themselves follow that counsel. Or what they say, they do, all right. What they promise to do, they accomplish, okay. They're not unstable people, they're very consistent. They don't, you know, what they say is what they do. You know, they're genuine, okay. And so when you have all these three elements and you can identify somebody with all these three elements, then that's somebody that you would build, you know, that you essentially have built trust toward that person, okay. Now, this works the opposite way as well because you might say, well, how trustworthy am I? You know, do people trust me? Well, look at yourself in those same things, you know. Are you a positive person in somebody's life? Do you have positive relationships? You know, are you someone that people can look at and say, hey, that person makes good judgments, okay. They've got great experience, you know. He makes the right decisions in life. You know, people look at you, are you someone that's consistent or are you sort of all over the place, right. You decide one thing and then you decide something else, you know, totally different in your life. Well, you know what, if you can look at yourself and say, well, I'm not very trustworthy then, well, this is something you need to work on, okay. You should be someone that we can trust. You should be someone that people can feel comfortable going to for wise counsel, okay. But these are the kind of, these are the three elements, right. Now, look, we're not always going to have positive relationships. We're not always going to make the best judgments. We're not always going to be consistent because we're mad, okay, because we fail, we make mistakes. But of course, somebody that has a lot of these things together, that's generally the person that you want to go to and seek wise counsel, okay. As I said, the title for the sermon this morning was Knowing Who to Trust. Now, Gadalliol should have trusted these captains, okay. They are men of war. They know Ishmael, okay. These are people that know the man and, you know, there was a multitude saying, hey, you know, and they're looking out for him. They're looking out for his good, okay. I think that's a positive attitude to have, a positive relationship, but Gadalliol decided not to believe them. Okay, let's go back to Jeremiah 40 and verse 15. Then Johanan, so Johanan is one of these other captains I told you about. You know, it seems like in this chapter that he's a good man, but I'm telling you in subsequent chapters you realise this guy's a wicked man, okay. But in this chapter he seems like a good man, okay. Then Johanan, the son of Careah, spake to Gadalliol in Mizpah secretly, okay. So first he comes with all the other captains, publicly, and they warn him, but now he comes to him secretly, all right. Saying, let me go, I pray thee, and I will slay Ishmael, the son of Nathanael, and no man shall know it. Wherefore should he slay thee? That all the Jews which are gathered unto thee should be scattered, and the remnant in Judah perish. So again, we learn that Gadalliol was a great governor, okay. He has caused the Jews to be gathered together, okay. And Johanan says he's got a concern that, you know, if Ishmael kills him, that the Jews are going to be scattered. They're not going to be together. And he says, look, I'll secretly go and kill Ishmael. Okay, just tell me, give me the word, and I'll secretly go and kill him. As I said to you, this guy's not actually a good guy. He's a wicked man, okay. Now, as I said, this is about knowing who to trust. Now, when people come to you with secret plans, okay, that's a person that you're not going to trust, okay. Let me just make that very clear, okay. People come to you secretly with secret plans, okay. It might sound very flattering that they come to you secretly, man, I trust you, let's sort this out, let's talk about this. But brethren, let me tell you something. When people act secretly, that is not someone you want to trust, okay. As I said, this guy ends up being a wicked man. I'm going to read to you from some Psalms. Actually, if you can turn with me, keep your finger there. Let's go to Psalm 17, verse 12. Go to Psalm 17 and verse number 12. Psalm 17, 12 reads, Who's the wicked man? The wicked man is the one in verse number 12 that's acting like a lion, you know, hunting from its secret place. You know, that is what a lot of wicked people are, you know. People are secret, let me tell you about this, let me tell you about that. And they create plans, hey, you're the only one I can trust with this, you know, what's just between you and I here. Listen, brethren, that's somebody that you should not trust, okay. They're trying to buddy you up, but I'm telling you, all right, yeah, this guy wants to go and kill Ishmael, but that's the same kind of guy that's going to backstab you later in the future, okay. Please go to Psalm 64 now. Go to Psalm 64 and verse number 2. Psalm 64 and verse number 2. Psalm 64, verse number 2 reads, Hide me from the secret counsel, there it is, of the wicked, from the insurrection of the workers of iniquity, who wet their tongue like a sword, and bend their bows to shoot their arrows, even bitter words. Okay, so what do we learn? The wicked, they have secret counsels, okay. They talk about how we can take down this person, you know, how we can, you know, destroy this person's life. Please don't get involved in any secret plans, okay. Hey, when it comes to this church, okay, don't get involved in any secret, you know, meetings or anything like that. Hey, these are the words of the wicked, okay. They've got bitterness in their mouths. These are people that you cannot trust, okay. When they act secretly rather than publicly, how he originally acted with all the other captains warning Jeremiah about Ishmael, okay. Back to Jeremiah 40 please and verse number 16. Jeremiah 40 and verse number 16 says, But Gadalel, the son of Ahicham, said unto Johan and the son of Kirah, Thou shalt not do this thing, for thou speakest falsely of Ishmael. Now actually, Johan was speaking truthfully of Ishmael. As I said in the next chapter, Ishmael actually does kill Gadalel, okay. So what's the next point, you know, of this, you know, knowing who to trust? Well, the next point that I have for you, brethren, is don't be naive, okay, or don't be overly trusting, okay. Don't be naive, don't be overly trusting. You know, the Bible says in Psalm 118 verse 8, It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man. Okay, it is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man. Now, this was Gadalel's downfall, okay. He was too trusting, he was too naive, you know. He thought that all these people were happy for him to be governor. He thought, you know what, I'm just working hard to get everyone together, right, to be faithful, you know, to Babylon, to be faithful to the words of Jeremiah. You know, we're just going to serve here on the land, and, you know, the more people together, the greater. You know, he's great, he's a great governor, he's getting everyone together, but he's too trusting, he's too trusting, and it ended up leading him to his death. You know, I have been told many times that I'm too trusting, you know, that I trust people too much. And you know what, it's because I want to trust people. Like, I want to trust everybody that makes up Blessed Up Baptist Church, I want to trust them. Everyone that makes up New Life Baptist Church, I want to trust them. You know, when it comes to when I was working a secular job, I wanted to trust the colleagues that I worked with. When I interacted with people in my family, I want to trust people. You know what, I don't want to live a life where I'm just constantly, you know, doubting people's intentions, constantly concerned, is this person going to hurt me? You know what, I think that would lead me to a miserable life, you know, just constantly, you know, thinking negative of everybody. I'd rather think positive of everybody. I'd rather, I do want to trust people, okay? But even, you know, and, you know, being overly trusting, yeah, you can be overly trusting to a fault, okay? To the point where it might cause you death, okay? Where someone actually is extremely wicked and they want to destroy you, okay? But, you know, at the end of the day, unless you're a proven devil, I do trust just about everybody, okay? Everybody that I deal with. And you say, how can you do that, Pastor? You know, you're telling us not to be naive, not to be overly trusting, okay? Well, here's the thing. This is something that I've learned in my life. I do want to trust people in general, but I only trust someone as far as I can trust them, okay? I only trust people as far as I can trust them, meaning that I do not trust man 100%, 100% of the time. The only one that we can trust 100% of the time, as I said, brethren, is the Lord God himself, okay? So I do, you know what? When it comes to everybody in this church, and when it comes to people that I interact with, I trust them to an extent, okay? You know, I've got next door neighbors, you know, I trust them that we're going to get along with, you know, that they're not going to cause us any troubles. They're not going to jump over the fence and rob things, you know, steal things from my backyard. I've got a certain trust with my next door neighbors, but guess what? I'm not going to trust them with my kids. You know what? You can only trust someone as far as you can trust them, okay? Speaking of my kids, you know what? I let my kids sometimes, you know, go and visit other families, other children, but I never let them sleep over. My kids are not allowed to sleep over at anybody's house, just even church families, okay? My kids are not allowed to sleep over at their house. But you know what? They do sleep over at my parents' house. They do sleep over at my mother-in-law's house. Why? Because I trust them with my children, okay? Do I trust families in my church with my kids? I do, but only so far, okay? Because my job is to look after my children, okay? And so one thing that I've learned is that, you know what? It's fine to trust people, but only trust them as far as you can trust them. That's it, okay? It's not like I'm like black and white, where I trust somebody 100% and I trust somebody 0%. I have no trust in somebody. You know what? There are some people that I trust 10%, some people that I trust 20%, some people that I trust 50%, some people that I trust 80%. The only person that I trust 100% of the time, of course, is the Lord God, okay? And you just need to learn how to manage that in your life, okay? And this is the best way to remain positive, the best way to remain protective of the people that you have. You know, the things that I learned in my life as to how far I can trust somebody is basically there are certain things in my life that I'm looking to protect, okay? Gadallio should have protected his own life, okay? And he made the mistake there, okay? But there are certain things that I've been called to protect. And let me just share with you what they are. Number one, you know, the most important thing that I'm protecting is my Christian testimony, my walk with the Lord, my relationship with the Lord, okay? So if this is something that I'm seeking to protect, then am I going to trust people? Yes, but to a certain extent, okay? When I make friends, I'm not looking to make friends with people that are going to be negative in my life. I'm not looking to make friends that are going to cause me to sin, who are going to cause me to be tempted to live a wicked lifestyle. You know, I got along with my work colleagues. You know, we worked together. I was friendly with people. Sometimes even after work, I'd go out and kick a ball around with them, play some soccer with them. But you know what? I did not get too personal in their lives because I know at the end of the day, they're unsaved, they're wicked, you know, and if I hang around them too much, I'm going to end up, you know, committing the same kinds of sins. I'm going to be tempted in the same way because we're made from the same flesh and blood, right, in the same way. So to protect my testimony, you know what? I limited how many friends or how friendly I would get with certain people. The next thing that I'm protective over is my family. I already mentioned my kids, my wife, of course, and sometimes I have to trust other people with my family to some extent, but only to the point that I can trust them. You know what? I'm not going to leave my family in the hands of somebody that might end up destroying the lives of my children, right? So I trust people as far as I can trust them with my family. The next things that God has entrusted me with, of course, are the two churches, New Life Baptist Church and Blessed Hope Baptist Church. And you know what? When it comes to church, you've got to trust a lot of people. You know, right now, I'm down in Sydney, meaning that I've trusted the men at New Life Baptist Church to take care of that church, okay? Does that mean I let them do whatever they want? No. My fingerprints are still all over that church. I'm still communicating with that church. I'm still there organizing the preaching. I'm organizing the finances. I'm organizing everything. So, you know, in case I'm not thinking there's a wicked person, again, I want to trust everybody. But hey, you never know. Some wicked person might rise up and seek to destroy that church, okay? But of course, I've still got my hands over that church. And when I return to the Sunshine Coast, guess what? My hands are still going to be over this church, right? Even though I'm going to have to entrust men to continue this church, continue the ministry of this church, right? But these are things that God has given me to look after, and so I'm going to trust certain people, but I can only trust people as far as I can trust them, okay? So, brethren, in conclusion, as I said to you, this gives us a great chapter learning how we can trust certain people, okay? In conclusion, number one, the only one that you can trust 100% of the time, of course, is the Lord God, okay? Number two, when you're seeking to trust men, okay, trust the multitude of wise counsel, okay? Those people with experience, those people that have built trust in your life, okay? Number three, do not trust men with secret plans, secret agendas. Don't trust those people. And number four, don't be naïve and overly trusting. Okay, let's pray.