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Okay, so I hope you've been enjoying the study for Jeremiah so far and it's a scary time for the land of Judah because as we've been going through the previous chapters, the Lord's been warning them time and time again, hey, you're backsliding, you've turned against the one true God of the Bible, you're turning to these false gods, I'm going to bring judgment, the Babylonians are coming, there's plenty of warning and this chapter is the first time that Jeremiah receives a vision of the destruction that's coming. He's been warning the Jews about coming destruction and he sees now the destruction through this prophecy that God gives him and he's actually in physical pain. He realizes that this is a terrible judgment that's coming and if you look at verse number 20 there, Jeremiah chapter 4 verse number 20, it starts by saying destruction upon destruction is cried and so the title for the sermon this morning is destruction upon destruction. So not only will the Babylonians come and destroy Judah, once they destroy it, they're going to destroy it again. Destruction upon destruction. I mean this is going to be, this nation is going to be wiped out by the Babylonians. This is going to be a serious captivity, a serious taking over of this land and you know, we should understand the true God that we worship. You know you go to many churches and they tell you that you know how God is loving and merciful and long suffering and I preach those things. He is loving. In fact we'll see how long suffering he is in this chapter but at the same time when his judgment comes, it comes. It comes swift, it comes severe, it comes hard, right? I mean and even you know somebody that you know does not believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, somebody that rejects Jesus Christ, their eternal judgment is in the lake of fire. You know and don't misunderstand, you know there are so many preachers that will tell you that hell is eternal separation from God. That is the furthest thing from the truth. Hell is the wrath, it's the judgment, it's the anger, it's the fires of God. It's God's anger that lights hell on fire. It's not the devil's kingdom. You know hell is not a place where the devil's torturing people. No. It's God that's throwing those souls into hell. He's casting both, he can cast both body and soul into hell the Bible says and for people that reject him and we need to understand that our God is a God that hates wickedness. He hates it when you reject his son, all right? And so sin makes us deserving of hell but what actually gets us thrown into hell is the rejection of his son. And it's the Lord God that does this destruction, you know? And yes you know we serve a loving God, don't forget. You know God is slow to anger and so you know when we turn against God, when this nation has turned against God, he's given them time to turn and repent. You know come back to me before the destruction hits and God's been withholding his anger but now Jeremiah finally sees this destruction, this judgment that God allows the Babylonians to come and take over this kingdom. Let's start with verse number one, Jeremiah chapter four verse number one. We see mentally from this, if thou wilt return, O Israel, saith the Lord. So is the Lord giving them another opportunity to return? Absolutely. It says return unto me and if thou wilt put away thine abominations out of my sight, then shalt thou not remove. It says look one last chance, you know if you guys, if you guys just come back to me, if you get rid of the abominations, what's that? The false gods, the idols, the things that you've set up, if you just turn away from the wickedness, it says then shout thou not remove. You're going to continue, okay? God's given them another chance, hey, you can continue as a city, you can continue as a nation, you continue as a people, you continue being blessed as long as you put away those wicked things. You turn back to me, God's given them another opportunity, okay? So judgment, it's on its way, God has given them another chance. Verse number two, and thou shalt swear the Lord liveth in truth, in judgment, and in righteousness and the nations shall bless themselves in him and in him shall they glory. So it says look, come back, you know, move away from your wickedness and then you can swear that you serve a living God, the Lord liveth. And Brevin, you know, we went soul winning just yesterday with the Halloween soul winning efforts. You know, how many times did I come across a Muslim that would not accept that Jesus Christ died? And they're like, well, if he died, how can he be coming back? It's like they don't want to believe in his death and therefore they cannot believe in his resurrection. You know, the idea that they're trying to convey to us is that, well, you've got a dead prophet, you know, they think of Jesus as a prophet, you've got a dead one, we've got a living one. No, listen, the Lord liveth, you know, we serve a risen Savior, you know, Jesus Christ came back from the dead, our God is alive. And then it says the Lord liveth in truth, in judgment, and in righteousness. So listen, when we're close to God, we understand that through him, we can have the truth of his word, we can also know his judgment, we can know the things that God judges by his word, we can know what he's sinful, we can know what he's holy and unholy, we can know what he's clean and unclean. And in righteousness, we know the righteousness of God, you know, instead of puffing ourselves up and thinking we're wonderful people, we know what God's standard is, which is perfection, God's standard, which is Jesus Christ, and we're going to say, Lord, you know, we've come short of that standard, you know, either we need to get saved, because you know, if you haven't trusted Christ as Savior, you need to understand that it's only Jesus that has met that perfect standard. But then in our Christian living, once you are saved, you need to understand that God has a lot of commandments, God wants us to live a certain way, God wants us to act, speak, think a certain way, right? And if we're not living to the standard he wants, then we need to understand, well, we need to reach that righteousness, we need to try to sanctify our life to be more godly in him, right? But then notice verse number two, it says, and the nations shall bless themselves in him, and in him shall they glory. So God is saying, look, Judah, Israel, look, understand that all nations, the nations shall bless themselves in him. Don't forget, when we read the Old Testament, God cared for the other nations as well. Okay, that false idea, it was only, he only cared about the Jews, he only cared about the nation of Israel, you know, that's the, no, listen, what God is asking the Jews to accept is that all the nations will bless themselves in God, and they were meant to be the nation that shone the light of God, they were meant to be the people of God that would go out and tell the other nations about the beauty of God and salvation through him, okay? But hey, they, you know, just like today, they think they're God's special people, you know, they believe they have a special place in God's heart, oh, God cares about the nations, he wanted to use them to reach the people, and so when Jesus Christ came, he had to reject that physical nation, and as a spiritual nation of Israel, it is our job today to go and preach, to be the light unto the Gentiles, to go out there and tell people about the salvation of Jesus Christ. So God is a God of all nations, don't forget, when Jeremiah was called to be a prophet, he was told that he'd be a prophet to all nations, remember that? All nations, so this continues on. Verse number three, for thus saith the Lord to the men of Judah and Jerusalem, break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns. Now please keep your finger there, let's go to Mark chapter four, let's go to Mark chapter four in the New Testament, Mark chapter four, so he's telling the men, look, break up your fallow ground, I didn't know what fallow meant, does anyone know what fallow means? Just top of your head if someone knows about farming or anything. Well fallow ground is basically, you know, it's kind of like, you know how God had, he instructed the Israelites basically to farm their lands for six years, but on the seventh year they were to let it rest, it was like a Sabbath for the land, and the reason farmers do this, and you know, if you've got a big portion of land, you might plant on different sections, and then you might leave one section completely un-farmed for a while, and the reason you do that, the reason you leave it completely un-farmed, is because obviously when crops are growing, it's taking the nutrients out of the ground. The ground is feeding the plants and the crops nutrients, and sometimes if you've been doing it for several years, that ground no longer is fertile. Have you ever tried to plant something and it just doesn't grow? It could be that your soil is lacking nutrients, it's lacking the fertility, okay? And so the fallow ground is a ground that is not being used at this point in time, it's being left alone to allow it to become fertile again, for the nutrients to go back into that ground, and then later they can start growing crops. And so God is saying, look, break up the fallow ground, start using that ground, and sow not amongst thorns. You know, use the ground that's been used, that you've sowed for fertility, God is saying, look, be fruitful again. Come back to me, you know, start planting your seeds, start being fruitful, start being a godly nation, and stop scattering your, stop sowing amongst the thorns. And what I love about that is, you know, God is saying, look, you're wasting your time, the thorns are these ungodly wicked acts, these false gods, you're wasting time on these things, stop sowing there, and sow where it is fruitful, right? And that of course represents the Lord God. But I love this because it uses the same analogy, Jesus uses the same analogy in Mark chapter 4 verse 18 when he gives the parable of the sower, and I'm not going to go through the whole parable right now, but you may remember that some of the sow, some of the seed was sown on thorny grounds, okay? And in Mark chapter 4 verse 18, it says, And these are they which are sown among thorns. Now what did God tell Judah to do? Stop sowing amongst the thorns, right? And it says, such as hear the word, verse number 19, what does the thorns represent? It says, and the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lust of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful. Okay? So what we gather out of this parable of Jesus Christ is that if you allow the thorns in this world to take up your time and your life, you're going to be choked. You know, you won't be able to serve God the way you ought to serve. What are some of those thorns? The cares of this world, deceitfulness of riches, if you're just chasing money and finances and wealth, the lust of other things entering in, it chokes the word. And so if we use this as our illustration, when we go back to Jeremiah, and God is telling us, stop sowing amongst the thorns, God is telling them, look, you've got too many thorns in your life, you're chasing the riches, you're chasing the lust of your life, you know? And you need to stop doing that and break up that fallow ground, start being fruitful once again. Start using the fertility that you've reserved in that ground and start serving me. Back to Jeremiah chapter 4, verse number 4, Jeremiah chapter 4 and verse number 4 says, circumcise yourselves to the Lord. Let's stop there for a moment. So we know that the sign of the covenant that God made with Abraham was a physical circumcision, right? It was the cutting off of the foreskin. And so when God says here, circumcise yourselves to the Lord, you might be thinking, well, hold on, have they stopped circumcising themselves? No. Physically, they were circumcised. But what it says here is, circumcise yourselves to the Lord, now look at it, it says, and take away the foreskins of your heart. Hey, this is a spiritual circumcision, right? Take away the foreskins of your heart, ye men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, lest my fury come forth like fire and burn that none can quench it because of the evil of your doings. Now look at this, verse number 4, let me just quickly say, lest my fury come forth like fire and burn that none can quench it. We know again, hell, hell is God's fury. Hell is a fire that cannot be quenched. You know, hell is God's ultimate judgment and wrath against wickedness and those that rejected Jesus Christ. Listen, hell is a fire that cannot be quenched. And God is saying, listen, that same wrath that I have reserved for eternal judgment will fall upon Judah. They're going to face his fire, they're going to face his judgment if they don't circumcise themselves in the heart. Now let's keep our finger there, let's go to the book of Romans, let's go to Romans chapter 2 and verse number 28. Romans chapter 2 and verse number 28. So physical circumcision, you say, why did God make them do such an unusual practice? You know, physical circumcision, why did God ask them to do that? Well remember, it's a removal of the flesh. And God is telling the inhabitants of Judah, remove that foreskin from your hearts. So it's a removal of the flesh. Now, this is meant to represent a spiritual truth, right? The circumcision of the foreskin is to represent the circumcision of the heart, okay? So many things that God asked the Old Testament Israelites to do were pictures of some greater spiritual truth, alright? Now in Romans chapter 2 verse number 28, Romans chapter 2 verse 28, it reads, for he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly, neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh. So listen, the Jews of this time, yeah, they were physically circumcised, but if they weren't circumcised in the heart, it tells us here that they are not Jews, okay? Sorry, I've lost my place there. He is not a Jew, which is one outwardly. So just because you circumcise yourself on the outward, the outward flesh, that does not make you a Jew. Verse number 29, but he is a Jew, which is one inwardly, and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter, whose praise is not of men, but of God. When it says not in the letter, it's not of the law, is what the Bible's saying, right? They think, oh man, if we just circumcise, the law tells us to be physically circumcised, and that makes us God's people. No, not if you haven't circumcised yourself in the heart. That's what God cares about. The physical circumcision is supposed to represent the spiritual circumcision, and so if you've been spiritually circumcised in the heart, then you are a Jew, okay? You are a Jew, spiritually speaking, not in the physical sense, but spiritually speaking, you are the chosen people of God. If you've been circumcised in the heart, you say, well, how do I know if I've been circumcised in the heart? Please go to Philippians chapter 3, Philippians chapter 3 and verse number 2, Philippians chapter 3 and verse number 2, Philippians chapter 3 and verse number 2 reads, beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the concision. When it says concision, the ones that are circumcised, withcision, okay? Concision means withcision, those that are cut off. So speaking of the physical circumcision, look at verse number 3, for we are the circumcision, which worship God in the Spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, look at this, and have no confidence in the flesh. Hey, what is salvation? When you no longer have confidence in your flesh, you no longer have confidence, well, I'm good enough to go to heaven. No, you don't have confidence in the flesh, you put away the flesh, you put away the works of the flesh, I can't go to heaven because of the works of the flesh, and I'm going to be believing in Jesus Christ, I'm going to trust Him to get me to heaven. When you put away the flesh, and you believe in Jesus Christ, you've been circumcised in the hearts. And so the putting away the flesh is not trusting in your own physical works, not trusting your ability to get to heaven, you put that off, and spiritually you've been circumcised in the hearts, okay? And so that is what it means to be circumcised in the heart. So let's go back to Jeremiah chapter 4, and verse number 4, we can look at this in two ways, this understanding, number 1, is that many of these inhabitants of the land were not even saved. Because they've gone generation after generation after generation, you know God speaks of their forefathers and their fathers that they have rejected against God, you know, many of these Jews are not even saved, okay? And that's why they've gone after other gods, that's why they're worshipping all these idols, okay? Just because they're doing the temple sacrifices, just because they're doing the traditions, it doesn't matter because they've not been circumcised in the heart. Now of course there were many that were saved, Jeremiah being one of them, okay? Many of them were saved, but the nation as a whole, many of them had rejected God, you know? And the other way you could sort of understand this is maybe some of them were saved, but again, they've just been caught up with society, and they're not living for God, they're not loving God, they're not following after God, and so there's that reminder of being, you know, you're circumcised in the heart, you've got to get back to that position with God, okay? Now let's go back to verse, let's go back to Jeremiah 4, verse number 5, Jeremiah chapter 1, verse number 5, now what we're about to read here, so God's given them a chance, come back, come back, circumcise your hearts, follow me, and what we're about to read now is if they don't turn back to God, that they need to get ready for war, okay? But the Babylonians are coming, if you're not going to turn back to God, God's not going to help you, you better get ready for war, verse number 5. So this is what God is telling Jeremiah to declare, it says, declare ye in Judah and publish in Jerusalem, and say, blow ye the trumpet in the land, cry, gather together and say, assemble yourselves, and let us go into the defense cities, set up the standard towards Zion, retire, stay not, for I will bring evil from the north and a great destruction. So God's saying, listen, if you're not going to come back, get ready for war, get ready, get into your defense cities, you know, set your face ready for warfare, and then God says, for I, at the end of verse number 6, for I will bring evil from the north. Hey, what's the evil from the north? Don't forget it's the Babylonians. Do the Babylonians come without God's blessing, without God's guidance? No, God is saying, look, I'm bringing the Babylonians, okay? This is my judgment upon you, get ready to fight if you're not going to turn back to me. If that's what you want to do, get ready for war, right? Jeremiah is crying, Jeremiah is warning the nation about the coming judgment of God, okay? But we know that they get destroyed by the Babylonians. In other words, they did not listen to the prophet. And brethren, you know, this is why I don't get upset. When I preach God's word, I do my best, you know, and I love the brethren, I preach God's word, and if I see somebody in church not doing it, so, well, I mean, Jeremiah's had even worse, right? Jeremiah's been warning this city, this nation for so long, you know, people don't always listen to the preaching, you know, they still continue on their way, and one day God's hand of judgment is going to fall upon those that disobey Him. So look at verse number seven. It says, the lion is come up from his thicket. Now the lion here represents Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonian Empire. The lion is come up from his thicket, and the destroyer of the Gentiles is on his way. So they're conquering other nations of Babylon, right? They had a huge kingdom. They conquered many nations as well as Judah. And so the destroyer of the Gentiles is on his way, and he's gone forth from his place to make thy land desolate, desolate means empty, and thy cities shall be laid waste without an inhabitant, okay? Now if you can just keep your finger there, let's go to Jeremiah chapter 50, and let's go to Jeremiah chapter 50, and let's just go here very quickly. Just I want to show you this term of this use of the word the lion here. Jeremiah chapter 50 in verse number 17. Jeremiah chapter 50 in verse number 17. The Bible reads, Israel is a scattered sheep. Now it says Israel. He's speaking about the Northern Kingdom. Remember the Northern Kingdom is Israel? Israel is a scattered sheep, and then it says the lions, now we have a lion in plural, the lions have driven him away. First the king of Assyria hath devoured him. So the Assyrians took the Northern Kingdom into captivity, and then it says, and last this Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, hath broken his bones. So the Assyrians came, and they, you know, took the Northern Kingdom into captivity, and then Nebuchadnezzar's come in, and he's going to take care of the Southern Kingdom. And so the Bible refers to these two rulers as lions. So let's go back to Jeremiah chapter 4 verse number 7. I just want to show you that, because I think I've heard some people preach, well the lion, he's the devil. No, no, it's referring to Nebuchadnezzar, it's referring to these kingdoms that have taken over this land, all right? Now let's go to verse number 8. Will this gird you with sackcloth, lament and howl, for the fierce anger of the Lord is not turned back from us. So what's the first thing? Get ready for war, and then your city's going to be destroyed, and now after these cities are destroyed, you're going to lament, you're going to cry, you're going to put on the sackcloth, you're going to be mourning about the destruction that you face. You're not going to be prepared for this great loss, it's going to be great sadness in the land. And as we're studying through the book of Jeremiah, it's not till the final chapter, Jeremiah chapter 52, that we finally have the Babylonians come in and lay waste of the nation, okay? But obviously Jeremiah as a prophet of God is seeing this through God. God's allowed him to see this free vision through this prophecy and he's able to speak of these things like he speaks like it already happened, but it hasn't happened yet. It happens right at the end of the book of Jeremiah. And so in verse number 8 it says lament and how, and of course lament is where we get the word lamentations, so the book of Lamentations once again was written by Jeremiah. Okay, why is it called Lamentations? Because Jeremiah finally sees, it's kind of like part two, Lamentations is like part two of the book of Jeremiah. So after Nebuchadnezzar lays waste Jerusalem and the nation, Jeremiah himself is mourning, Jeremiah himself is lamenting, and he's very sorrowful and very sad about what's happened. That's why we have the book of Lamentations. Let's keep going, verse number 9, and it shall come to pass at that day, save the Lord, that the heart of the king shall perish, and the heart of the princes. So it says look, the king, those of the royal family, their hearts are going to perish. Like they thought they were going to be brave, they thought they were going to be able to take on the Babylonians, they thought they could fight, but it's going to perish. They're going to, you know, they're not going to have that courage, they're going to realise that this is a battle that's been lost. So it's talking about the governing authorities, but then it says, and the priests shall be astonished. Now we're talking about the religious leaders. The priests shall be astonished, and the prophets shall wonder. So what this is telling us is that the Jews are going to be surprised to lose. They're going to be overconfident, but they're going to get smashed, they're going to be destroyed, even the prophets of the land are going to wonder, it's like, what? You know, why is this brethren? You know, even in Australia, we have many so-called prophets, you know, so many people preaching false gospels and preaching a false Christ, and it's all, everything's good, you know, they don't preach against sin, and you know, everything's fine, they don't preach against abortion, they don't preach against homosexuality, they're worried that, you know, they're going to be found out for what they believe, and they'll just preach nice things, they'll preach peace and safety, hey, even when the Babylonians are coming, hey, don't worry, we're going to defeat them anyway. And when the Babylonians do come and destroy them, they're going to wonder, it's like, what happened? We weren't prepared for that. And listen, there's only few Jeremiahs in this world, that's how it's always going to be. I wish that every church had a Jeremiah, I wish every church had a man preaching God's Word with boldness, you know, telling people the truth, telling people that God is a judging God, God is a wrathful God, hey, get right with God, I hope so many people are preaching this, you know, I wish that even all, at least all the IFB churches were preaching, you know, God's judgment, but so many are not. They feel like they're going to turn people off, they feel like when people will leave the doors if I preach about hell, and if I preach about God's wrath and God's judgment, and they're afraid of people leaving, I say, listen, if people want to, if people leave over that, let them leave, let them leave, you know, the call of the preacher is just to preach God's Word boldly, you know, just tell people, God's judgment is coming, hey, even for God's people, you know, if you disobey God, if you sin against God, God's hand of chastisement can fall upon you, and that hand of chastisement can be very severe, can be very severe, I know when I sin against God, I just go before God, I'm sorry, God, please hold back your judgment, please be merciful, Lord, because I know God's hand can be severe, you know, I've experienced God's chastisement in my life, okay, and I also know when God's been merciful, when I know when maybe God, you should chastise me, but I guess I've come with a humble heart and he's allowed me, you know, just like, you know, the inhabitants of Judah, where he says, look, return back to me, and you know, things will be settled, you'll still be standing, no, they didn't listen, they didn't listen to Jeremiah, right, and so Jeremiah is just seeing this coming, destruction coming, and yeah, the prophets that the people were listening to, they were wondering, the priests, they were astonished, they had no idea that such destruction was coming, in other words, they weren't listening to Jeremiah, okay, verse number 10, then said I, ah, Lord God, surely thou has greatly deceived this people in Jerusalem, saying ye shall have peace, whereas the sword reaches unto the soul, so these are the words of the false prophets, they've been preaching peace, it's all gonna work out, don't worry about it, you know, no, you know, the sword is coming, verse number 11, at that time shall it be said to this people and to Jerusalem, a dry wind of the high places in the wilderness, toward the daughter of my people, not to fan, nor to cleanse, so now God uses another illustration, he used like lions, now he's using the illustration of a wind, he's saying, hey, listen, there's a wind coming, a dry wind that's coming to the land, and it's not a wind to fan, you know, like this is a fan, right, and we turn on the fan, get a bit of wind, it's nice and relaxing, cools you down, and it's, you know, a nice little breeze, you know, on a hot summer's day, people like that afternoon breeze that comes through, it's like, ah, nice, so it's not that kind of wind that's coming, it's not that nice wind that's coming, right, it's not the kind of wind that will, ah, what else did it say there, um, sorry brethren, I lost my place again, verse number 12, oh yeah, sorry, verse number 11, it says, nor to cleanse, so sometimes a wind can come past, and just, you know, get rid of the dust, you know, blows away the dust, it's not that kind of wind that's coming, verse number 12, even a full wind from those places shall come unto me, now also will I give sentence against them, okay, so he's saying, look, a violent windstorm is coming, you know, this is a storm, this is a wind that's going to blow hard against you, again, speaking of the Babylonians, and then in verse number 13, behold, he shall come up as clouds, and his chariots shall be as a whirlwind, his horses are swifter than eagles, woe unto us, for we are spoiled, talking about the military might of the Babylonians, it's like a whirlwind, it's going to come and just destroy the land, okay, this strong wind on its way, verse number 14, oh Jerusalem, wash thine heart from wickedness, that thou mayest be saved, how long shall thy vain thoughts lodge within thee, another chance to repent, another chance to get right with God, you know, Jeremiah's seen what's happening, Jeremiah's seen what's about to take place, once again, God gives him another chance, you know, again, wash yourself from your wickedness, get right with me, right, verse number 15, for a voice declare from Dan, Dan is one of the tribes of Israel, and publish affliction from Mount Ephraim, and so this is speaking about the Northern Kingdom, because Dan made up the Northern Kingdom, so Dan, he's saying, the Northern Kingdom is going to publish your affliction, let's keep going, I'll make sense of that soon, verse number 16, make ye mention to the nations, behold, publish against Jerusalem, that watchers come from a far country, and give out their voice against the cities of Judah, and so because Israel is in the Northern Kingdom, they're further north, right, and the Babylonians are coming from the north, well the watchers of Israel, they're starting to see this military gather together, right, they're starting to see these troops, they're starting to see these chariots make their way down, and they're like, hey, Southern Kingdom, I know we don't always get along, but the Babylonians are coming, right, this stuff is being published, all the other nations know the Babylonians are coming, that they've got a target, they're on their way, and so people are declaring the coming destruction of the Lord, and Brevin, when I think about this, it's not all that different to us as soul winners, when we go out and knock the doors, what are we doing? We're warning people, right, we're not always soul winning, you know, you don't always get a soul saved at the door, but the very least that we're doing is soul warning, we're warning people the coming judgment of God, you know, if as a sinner, someone that rejects Christ, you're on your way to hell, you know, and so we're like that Northern Kingdom that's seeing the judgment of God coming, time is ticking away, God's judgment is coming, eternity is coming, hey, get right with God, this is your chance, before God's judgment falls upon you. Verse number 17, as keepers of a field, are they against her roundabouts, because she had been rebellious against me, saith the Lord, thy way and thy doings have procured these things unto thee, this is thy wickedness, because it is bitter, because it reacheth unto thine heart bitterness, because it is bitter, hey this nation had become bitter against God, you know one of the worst sins, like I tell you, the two worst sins that I just, this is my opinion, this is not Bible, okay, I'm just telling you, I think the two worst sins that you can struggle with in life is pride and bitterness, okay, I've had bitterness, I think we've all had bitterness, I think, you know, it's not normal if you don't have bitterness, but bitterness is when somebody has done you wrong, maybe they haven't even done you wrong, maybe it's out of envy, maybe they're successful, maybe they're doing well, and you wish you had a bit of that success, and you're looking at other people, and you grow bitter, and you're like well what about me, or someone's wronged you, it's like where's that guy going to apologize, when is he going to make things right, hey he owes me money, when's he going to pay you back, alright, and so there's some type of wrong, or just some type of envy that's in the way, and you grow in bit, bitterness just keeps growing, you've got to deal with bitterness immediately, if you're bitter this morning about something, listen just give it over to God, and say God I don't know why I'm so bitter about this, just give it to God, and ask God to help you overcome it, it's the worst thing you can have, bitterness does not destroy the person that you're thinking about, bitterness only destroys you, it only destroys you, it only makes you weak, it makes you sick, it can make you physically sick being bitter against somebody, okay, and you can see here this nation has become so bitter, okay, this Jeremiah you're preaching, this judgment, we don't like that, who's this Jeremiah coming to preach, because your bitterness is stopping you from coming back to me, your bitterness is bringing destruction upon me, before it's going to be too late, okay, let's keep going, actually I'm going to turn to, I'm going to read to you from James chapter 3 verse 13, I'll be quick, it says James chapter 3 verse 13 who is a wise man, that endured with knowledge among you, let him show out a good conversation, his works with meekness of wisdom, so he says look if you're wise, it's someone that's a wise man, let him have a good conversation or good behavior, his works should show his good behavior, he should be meek and should have wisdom, hey he's been endowed with knowledge, hey that's good, there's that type of wisdom that we should be aiming for, but then it says in verse number 14, but if you have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lying not against the truth, and then it says this wisdom, speaking of the wisdom that you think you have by being bitter, descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish, devilish, okay you know why it says devilish, it's because the devil has bitterness, remember the devil Lucifer wanted to be like the Most High, he was bitter, he envied God's position, and because he could not have that position with God, he grew in bitterness, he sinned against the Lord, he came to Adam and Eve and tempted them in the garden, all right, and now here's the devil, he's Satan right, and his eternal punishment is coming in the lake of fire, bitterness can destroy you, it's called devilish because it's a devil that started with that bitter nature, and if you have bitterness brethren, you're just basically following after the steps of the devil, you think you're wise when you're bitterness, but no it's a wisdom that's an earthly wisdom, it's sensual, it's not a wisdom from above, let's keep going Jeremiah chapter 4 verse 19, Jeremiah 4 verse 19, now again Jeremiah has seen the destruction through some type of prophecy, some type of vision by God, and now he's in pain, he's in physical pain, he says my bows, my bows, I am pained at my very heart, my heart maketh a noise in me, he says look I can hear my heart beating, you know, he's in so much turmoil to see the coming destruction, his heart starts beating, starts thumping, you know, he's worried about the destruction that's coming, he says I cannot hold my peace because thou hast heard, oh my soul, the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war, he's seen the vision of the destruction that's coming, it's too much for him, all right, he's just, you know, have you ever just, have you ever been like physically sick because you're so worried, you know, where you just, you just, you just fall sick, you know, and you got so many concerns and worries like that, he's just so many concerns, you know, obviously Jeremiah loves the people, he loves souls, you know, he, you know, this is a land that God was supposed to bless them in, you know, this was a land that's supposed to love God and glorify God and, and then he's seen now, it's wasted, it's destroyed, it's too much, you know, I'm, I can't experience really that but I think the closest I can explain this, this is silly illustration but it's closest I can explain it, so when I was dating my wife Christina before we got married and everything, I'll pick her up to church, she lived in Concord and I lived in, where did I live, Canley Vale, so not even too far from here, right, and so I would, I would drive, you know, drive the car, pick up my wife and I would always take the M4, right, and so you drive the M4 and, you know, when you drive a road you become familiar with everything, right, you become familiar with anything, anyway, so afterwards, after we started, because then we got married, blah, blah, I don't have to travel the M4 anymore, then I went to Queensland, you know, started a new life after church, I came back to Sydney and I had to travel on the M4 and I'm like, oh, this, this brings back a lot of memories, right, I'm starting to see all the streets again and, you know, I'm coming back to memories of picking up my wife to take her to church and all that kind of stuff but then as I'm driving through the M4, all of a sudden it's like, what is this, I don't even know where I am anymore, like, there's been the construction, things have changed, buildings have changed, now there's a tunnel, where's that tunnel going, I don't know, and it's like, I'm unsettled because what I was expecting to see, you know, I was expecting to experience something, had all changed, have you experienced that, where, you know, you're so familiar with something, hey, maybe it's a shop that you're familiar with or a restaurant that you go to often and they close down, it's like, it's like a party that's, it's like, what, you know, it's a party that's missing, it's all changed, well, you know, could you imagine when we think about Sydney, you know, when you think about the city, we think about, you know, it's a wicked city, but hey, you know, there's some nice scenery, like we have the Harbour Bridge, nice, you know, the Centrepoint Tower, the Opera House, hey, these are nice designs, but could you imagine if God gives you a vision, like, you know, we think of Sydney, you think of those, those things, right, and then all of a sudden you see Sydney and the buildings are burnt down, there's a fire, people have fled, there's death, you know, there's, you know, there's definitely been war, there's some foreign power that's come in and just wiped the land, you know, and all of a sudden you look at the city that you're familiar with, that you've grown up with, you see the destruction, you know, and it's like, what happened, right, I mean, you know, it's too much, and, you know, for Jeremiah, he could just feel that pain, it's all gone, it's all been changed, the land has been completely overrun, let's look at verse number 20, it says, destruction upon destruction is cried, it's not just destroyed, even the destruction has been destroyed, just destruction upon destruction for the land, the whole land is spoiled, suddenly are my tents spoiled and my curtains in a moment, so people live in tents, you know, I mean, some people had buildings, you know, the more wealthy, but then other people had tents, you know, all the houses are ransacked, verse number 21, how long shall I see the standard and hear the sound of the trumpet, so Jeremiah said, how long is this, like this was, just how long, when is it going to end, when is this destruction going to end, right, verse number 22, for my people is foolish, they have not known me, they are sottish children, the word sottish, I'll look this up, means they're stupid, literally, it just means they're stupid people, they're stupid children, and they have none understanding, they are wise to do evil, but to do good, they have no knowledge, they know how to do evil things, they know how to do wicked things, but to do good, they have no idea, they're so stupid, God is saying to them, can you imagine God using these words, do you hear this, do you hear this about God in your average church, God calling his people foolish and stupid, you know, but that's how God feels about it right now, right, verse number 23, verse number 23 is important because, oh let's read it first, I beheld the earth, now I want, I'm gonna ask the question, so please feel free to answer, what do you think verse number 23 is about, okay, I beheld the earth and lo it was without form and void, and the heavens and they had no lights, let's keep going, I beheld the mountains and lo they trembled and the hills moved lightly, I beheld and lo there was no man and all the birds of the heavens were fled, I beheld and lo the fruitful place was a wilderness and all the cities thereof were broken down at the presence of the Lord and by his fierce anger, what is that about, it's not a trick question, the wrath of God upon, upon the cities, yeah, I mean I'm just telling you that, I'm not, that's not a trick question at all, I'm just telling you that because when you read your Bible, you read within context, now if you're reading from Jeremiah, you understand that what I just read is the destruction of Judah, the cities Jerusalem and all the other cities around them, right, and so like people have fled, they've tried to run away and escape, that's why there's no man, even the birds have fled, there's nothing there for the birds, they've just found some other place to rest themselves but the reason I say that is because if you look back to verse number 23 and this is for the men that I was teaching on the Friday where we had the men's thing, I know I didn't even teach that much but there's a lot of great truths in what I said, I told you that in the Bible every verse there is only one truth, there is one correct interpretation, there is only one truth, okay, this is the rule for the Bible but then you can take the principle of that truth and apply in many many ways, okay, and this is where we talk about the Bible being a very deep book, the Bible have many layers, this is why one preacher can preach one verse another preacher preaches the same verse but they have a totally different, not a contradiction but they preach totally different sermons because the Bible does have many layers, many layers, right, and so when you read verse number 23, the one truth within context where it says and it was without form and void is about the destruction of Jerusalem and Judah, right, now let me explain this to you because there is a false teaching called the gap theory, has anyone heard of the gap theory, this is where it comes from they use this verse to teach on the gap theory, now let me explain something to you, I got some blocks from the kids, okay, it's the best way I could illustrate this, let's pretend this, I'll do it this way, let's pretend this yellow thing is the temple of God in Judah, you know, the orange are the walls of Jerusalem or something, you know, let's say the red one is the palace of the king, you know, and I don't know, let's say these blue things are people like walking around and so there's, that's what it looks like before the coming destruction, right, so it's all set up and so what's happening is when the Babylonians come through destruction upon destruction, you know, the people, they flee, people flee, you know, the city gets burnt down, you know, the birds fly away, they actually destroy the temple of Solomon and you're left with that, okay, you're left with that, now when you read verse number 23 it says, I beheld the earth and lo it was without form and void, what's void mean? Empty, so is it empty now? It's all been burnt down, right, so it's empty and without form it no longer has the form that it once had, right, so that, that should be straightforward, that shouldn't be complicated, right, it's without form and void, okay, so now please keep your finger there, go to Genesis chapter 1, Genesis chapter 1 for me, Genesis chapter 1 and so those that teach the gap theory and I'm going to admit to you, I'm going to confess my faults to you, I believed in the gap theory for about two weeks, okay, and if you don't know what the gap theory is, I'll just explore, I was playing it soon, but I remember because I was kind of young, I was like 19 or something and I realized the King James Bible is God's truth and I was trying to find, you know, resources and preaching from the King James Bible and so I just go on the internet, the internet was kind of, you know, not quite developed as it is today, but I found this website, I think it was called King James Bible, I don't know, I can't remember, it was called something, okay, and this website taught on the gap theory, but I was excited to learn the King James Bible and, you know, and let's just read it now in Genesis chapter 1 verse number 1 and it says, in the beginning God created the heaven and the earth, verse number 2, and the earth was without form and void, hey that's the same language that was used in Jeremiah, you know, without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep and the spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. Now I'm not sure if C.I. Schofield created the gap theory, but he definitely made it popular in his Schofield reference Bible. You need to be careful with the Bibles you read, you know, I would recommend just get a Bible where it's just God's Word only, that's my recommendation, okay, that's my recommendation, but I'm not saying there are other Bibles maybe with words of maybe there are saved men with good words, but the problem is, you know, when you read your Bible, the Bible tells us that it's the Holy Spirit that teaches us, okay, and what happens, and I know because I've had study Bibles, I know what it's like where you read a portion of scripture and you're like I don't know what that means, well let me just see what the study Bible says, let me see what the words of man says about that passage, and so what happens is you become lazy, you become dependent on men and you lose the reliance of the Holy Spirit. I found my knowledge of the Bible grow, you know, exponentially when I just moved away from all those notes, you know, in the commentaries and just started to read the Bible for what it is, okay, but what the Scofield reference Bible teaches is that there is a gap between Genesis 1-1 and Genesis 1-2, because let's look at verse number two again, it says, and the earth was without form and void, okay, without form and void, and so when we saw that in Jeremiah chapter 4, it's speaking about the cities that were once on there, right, and they were destroyed and then the land was without form and void, and so they would take that and instead of teaching that about being about Judah, a one truth, that's what it's about, they take that and they say well that's about Genesis chapter one, that's about Genesis chapter one and between chapter verses one and two, and so they say see, before God created Adam and Eve, God created a pre-Adamic race, there were other people populated in the earth, you know, there were other cities, and let me just read to you from the Scofield notes, it says between these verses it will say the first creative act, the first creative act, that's before Adam and Eve according to them, the first creative act refers to the dateless past and gives scope for all the geologic ages, what does that sound like to you, geologic ages, well in the early 1900s, evolution was becoming a major, you know, thing that was being taught and Christians did not know how to combat that, and they should know how to combat that, you just read the Bible, the Bible says this is not true, that's false, that's how you combat it, right, it's your faith in the word of God, but they did not know, and so Scofield says, well we've got to make time for these millions of years, and all these geologic ages, and all these dinosaurs, and all these, you know, so-called, you know, animals that have come before, we need to make time for that, and maybe here, well not maybe, he says it definitely is, you know, between Genesis one and two, there's been a time of, you know, who knows how long, potentially millions of years, potentially billions of years, and during that time there was some civilization, and who will teach during this time, that's when Satan rebelled and was cast out of heaven, okay, that's what they'll teach, and they'll take Jeremiah chapter four, now brethren, that's, that would be completely taking that out of context, that'll be completely contradicting what Jeremiah chapter four's teaching us, and you're forcing nonsense, just to accommodate for evolution, okay, and so what they'll say is, well see it says without forming void, so surely there must have been cities, and then when we see that the earth is covered with water, God must have flooded the earth and destroyed it all, that's why now it's without form and void, now let me explain to you Genesis one and chapter two, it says, so it says, verse number one, in the beginning God created the heaven and the earth, and it says, and the earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep, and the spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters, so on day number one God creates heaven, he creates earth, but earth is, is just filled with water, there is no land mass, there are no birds, you know, there are no clouds, there are no the sun and the moon, they're not created, okay, it's completely dark, there's no lights, because you know, God creates light soon, and so when we think about God's creation, we know that one day, you know, God later creates animals, and creates Adam, and he creates Eve, and he creates the Garden of Eden, you know, in his creation, and you know, he creates, you know, obviously in the first chapter, he creates all wonderful things there on the land, hey, but when he creates heaven and earth, he hasn't yet created all those things, right, it's not that it's speaking that it was destroyed, it's just because it's not created all those things just yet, it's without form and void, it's empty, all right, and it hasn't got all the formation that God will, you know, put into the seas, and the lands, and all that kind of stuff, that God will put in other words, so being a void, and sorry, and being without form and void, yes, can speak about something that was already constructed and destroyed, but it can also speak about your, at the very beginning, before you construct, and before you build on those things, so these two things, even though it's using the same phrase, they're not the same passage, you know, Jeremiah's not now all of a sudden, you know, preaching about Babylonians, oh, by the way, what happened in creation, that's just stupid, okay, and you know, as preachers, we have to be careful, understand, there is one truth, there is one interpretation, okay, in the passages, otherwise you're going to find yourself in a lot of problems, okay, all right, back to Jeremiah chapter four, please, Jeremiah chapter four, verse number 27, Jeremiah chapter four, verse number 27, it says, for thus, oh, by the way, before I read that, let me just read to you Exodus 20 verse 11, let me just finalize this whole gap theory thing, so they teach that God had a pre-ademic race, and then six, sometime in the future, in six days, God creates everything, Adam and Eve and all that kind of stuff, right, but here's the thing, in Exodus 20 verse 11, it says, for in six days, in six days, the Lord made heaven and earth, Genesis 1, 1, you know, in the beginning God created heaven and earth, so that's, that's, that's in six days, so when God created heaven and earth, it's part of that six day creation, right, for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, then it says, the sea and all that in them is, and rest of the seventh day, whereof the Lord blessed the seventh day and hallowed it, so the Bible's very clear that in six days God created everything, including the heaven and the earth, okay, so there is no gap of millions of years, okay, or otherwise you'll end up with contradictive scriptures, now the people that teach in the gap theory, you know, your average mainline IFB church will not teach, they know it's nonsense, they know it's rubbish, they read Jeremiah chapter four and they know it's got nothing to do with creation, right, the people that do teach that stuff are those that follow Peter Ruckman, if you don't know who Peter Ruckman is, he's a very popular preacher, but I'm telling you he preaches a lot of crazy things, a lot of unusual weird things, including the gap theory, and so those that have Peter Ruckman as their mentor, they tend to preach a lot of these unusual strange doctrines as well, but look, anybody that reads Jeremiah knows, any, any, you can read, get a child to read Jeremiah chapter four within context and they know that the form without void is the destruction that's coming upon Judah, okay, back to Jeremiah chapter four and verse number 27, Jeremiah 4 27, for thus have the Lord said, the whole land shall be desolate, see that's about creation, no, no, it's about Judah, and then it says this, yet will I not make a full end, says look, you're going to be utterly destroyed but it's not going to be the end of Judah, and of course we understand this because when the Jews are taken into captivity by the Babylonians that was a period of 70 years, and then after seven years they came back and they started to rebuild Jerusalem and the cities thereof, you know, and so it's not a complete end, it's not a complete destruction of the land and of the people, there will be a time where God will allow them to return back. Verse number 28, for this shall the earth mourn and the heavens above be black, because I have spoken it, I have purposed it, I will not repent, neither will I turn back from it, so it says the heavens shall be black, what kind of picture, what kind of imagery do you get there, so obviously the cities have been burnt down, you've got the, you know, fires, the smoke, the black smoke going into the air, so you know it's a complete destruction there, but you can see here where God is telling them, hey return, we started at the beginning of the chapter, return, come back to me, and I'm giving you another chance, I'm giving you another chance, when God's judgment falls, it falls, God doesn't repent, I have purposed it and will not repent, neither will I turn back from it. Listen, once the Babylonians are there, it's too late for Judah, okay, and brethren, you know, once God's judgment, chastisement falls upon you, it's too late, you can't run God for mercy, it's like you just got to wear out, you know, you just got to work through that chastisement, you know, and understand I should have turned back, I should have gone back to the Lord earlier, all right, God gives them chance after chance, but eventually, you know, God brings the hammer down, and again we see that in chapter 52, verse number 29, the whole city shall flee for the noise of the horsemen and the bowmen, they shall go into the thickets, so that people are fleeing, people running away from this coming army, and climb up upon the rocks, every city shall be forsaken, and not a man dwell therein, so they're running and hiding. Now we finish up on these last two verses, and God describes Judah as two types of women now, okay, two types of women where it's just too late, your destruction, your judgment has come, there's nothing more you can do now, it's too late, verse number 30 speaks of a woman who is a prostitute or a harlot, and verse number 31 speaks of a woman that's giving birth, and is describing this southern kingdom as these two types of women. Look, verse number 30, it says, and when thou art spoilt, so when the destruction comes, what will thou do? What are you going to do? Though thou closeth thyself with crimson, though thou deckest thee with ornaments of gold, though thou rentest thy face with painting, okay, in vain shalt thou make thyself fair, thy lovers will despise thee, they will seek thy life. So what he's describing here is how a prostitute in this time would dress herself, she'd dress herself with crimson, she'd have ornaments of gold, she would paint her face, okay, so it's about makeup, you know, and listen, I'm fine, you know, I don't think I'm not against makeup, but you have to be careful not to, you know, be a woman that just, you know, covers their face with all these paints, because when God looks at that kind of woman, he thinks of that person as a harlot, you know, as a person that has many lovers, right, he says thy lovers will despise thee, they will seek thy life, you know, I looked this up just for the sermon, and prostitution is considered the most dangerous profession. Now you might think being a police officer is the most dangerous profession, or joining the army is the most dangerous, no, being a prostitute is the most dangerous, you know, I mean, there are many prostitutes that actually lose their lives, they get beaten or even, you know, murdered in their practice, and so God is saying, look, what, you know, the judgment's coming, are you going to try to dress yourself up, are you going to try to beautify yourself, are you going to try to seem pleasant in the eyes of your captives, well they're going to turn against you and they're going to kill you, okay, you're going to lose your life, you know, trying to be this prostitute that you are. Then in verse number 31, it says, for I have heard a voice as of a woman in travails, this is a woman giving birth now, this is a different illustration, and the anguish as of her that bring forth her first child, you know, giving birth to the first child is always the most difficult delivery, generally speaking, because the body's not been used to that before, right, and usually, you know, my wife's had many children and as she has more children it's become easier on her body, her body's used to delivering children, but that first child is always the hardest, okay, as I mentioned the first child, the voice of the daughter of Zion, that beware of herself, that spread of her hands, saying woe is me now, for my soul is wearied because of murderers. So what this is teaching us, brethren, is once labour hits, you can't stop it, you know, God says I'm not going to repent, I'm not going to turn back, you know, once labour, listen, ladies, if you fall pregnant, once labour hits, you're not going to rest till that baby's born, it's going to come out, you can't stop it, okay, and God's using that same illustration, once Babylonians arrive, the Babylonians arrive, once King Nebuchadnezzar arrives with his armies, it's too late, now you just got to wear it out, now you just got to see it through, you know, there's nothing you can do about it, you can't try to find grace in their eyes, they're going to bring destruction upon destruction, and so, brethren, that's Jeremiah chapter 4, and we see that God is a God of wrath, you know, first of all, we saw that God is a God that gives you chances, he gives you the second chance, he gives you a third chance, he might even give you a fourth and fifth chance, because he's loving, because he's long-suffering, and we have to be careful as Christians, when we know that we're in willful sin, when we know with this obedience to God, and it's like, well, how come, hey, I'm not being chastised, I seem to be going live, just fine, and you continue in that sin, continue in that sin, continuing away from the Lord, and you're like, well, God's judgment's not coming, yeah, because God's long-suffering, God's giving you chance after chance after chance, but one day God will step in, and he's going to judge you on that sin, and when it starts, it's not going to end, you know, you're going to face the full brunt of God's judgment, you know, if you, as a believer, turn your back against the Lord, if you get into a backslidden state, you know, you could, you know, once God's judgment hits, there's no more mercy, okay, you're going to face the full brunt of his judgment, you know, in this life, not to my help, okay, but in this life, you're going to face the full brunt of God's chastisement, so let that be a warning for us, okay, let's pray.