WEBVTT 00:00:11.330 --> 00:00:15.150 If you would, please turn to Jeremiah. At the 00:00:15.150 --> 00:00:17.050 same time, we're going to go through the doctrinal 00:00:17.050 --> 00:00:19.670 focus. Jeremiah, and then you're also going to 00:00:19.670 --> 00:00:25.410 turn to John 12. John 12, and then mark your 00:00:25.410 --> 00:00:28.969 Bibles, and then we'll start there. Westminster 00:00:28.969 --> 00:00:33.130 Confession. Of the Holy Scripture, chapter 1, 00:00:33.229 --> 00:00:37.640 section 4. Let's read together. The authority 00:00:37.640 --> 00:00:41.140 of the Holy Scripture, for which it ought to 00:00:41.140 --> 00:00:44.979 be believed and obeyed, depends not upon the 00:00:44.979 --> 00:00:49.439 testimony of any man or church, but wholly upon 00:00:49.439 --> 00:00:54.420 God, who is the truth itself, the author thereof, 00:00:54.500 --> 00:00:57.899 and therefore it is to be received, because it 00:00:57.899 --> 00:01:03.100 is the word of God. All right, so why is this 00:01:03.100 --> 00:01:07.409 an important topic? Well, we live in some very 00:01:07.409 --> 00:01:12.829 wild days. I mean, I've seen more prophets come 00:01:12.829 --> 00:01:14.609 out of the woodwork this year than I've ever 00:01:14.609 --> 00:01:22.750 seen. That's kind of wild. And a lot of men and 00:01:22.750 --> 00:01:27.750 women, which is interesting, claim they hear 00:01:27.750 --> 00:01:32.090 a word from God, but it never matches the word 00:01:32.090 --> 00:01:36.750 of God. So that's a pause for all of us. It should 00:01:36.750 --> 00:01:42.150 be a pause for you. That someone hears a word 00:01:42.150 --> 00:01:46.030 from God, but then it does not match the word 00:01:46.030 --> 00:01:49.390 of God. And we go, he's a prophet. Let me say 00:01:49.390 --> 00:01:51.609 it this way. If I lived in the Old Testament 00:01:51.609 --> 00:01:57.409 as a proclaimer, a messenger of God, and I got 00:01:57.409 --> 00:02:01.489 one word wrong, they would stone me to death. 00:02:02.620 --> 00:02:07.379 Stone me to death. I would be killed. In our 00:02:07.379 --> 00:02:11.259 society, a man or a woman claimed that they have 00:02:11.259 --> 00:02:14.539 a message from God. They not only get one word 00:02:14.539 --> 00:02:16.860 wrong, they get it wrong, period. And they're 00:02:16.860 --> 00:02:27.840 called prophets. Why? Why? And why in Christendom 00:02:27.840 --> 00:02:32.139 do many believe what they say? And keep going 00:02:32.139 --> 00:02:37.919 back to these people. It's because they don't 00:02:37.919 --> 00:02:42.659 know the truth. And so God's people only speak 00:02:42.659 --> 00:02:47.159 what God has already said. Real true prophet. 00:02:47.800 --> 00:02:52.900 A messenger from God only speaks what God has 00:02:52.900 --> 00:02:56.900 already said. There is nothing more that we need 00:02:56.900 --> 00:03:02.039 besides the word. There's no new revelation. 00:03:03.599 --> 00:03:10.659 Okay? So we're going to ask the Lord that he 00:03:10.659 --> 00:03:13.560 would guide us through his word as we read Jeremiah 00:03:13.560 --> 00:03:16.439 and John, that we would come to understand the 00:03:16.439 --> 00:03:19.240 importance of speaking only what God has already 00:03:19.240 --> 00:03:25.280 said, not creating some new revelation. So Father, 00:03:25.340 --> 00:03:27.159 we come before you and we thank you. We thank 00:03:27.159 --> 00:03:30.110 you for your word. We thank you that your word 00:03:30.110 --> 00:03:32.069 is living and active, sharper than a two -edged 00:03:32.069 --> 00:03:35.770 sword, divides bone and marrow, soul and spirit, 00:03:35.870 --> 00:03:38.150 judges the thoughts and intentions of the heart 00:03:38.150 --> 00:03:40.930 of man. We thank you that we can come before 00:03:40.930 --> 00:03:44.490 you knowing that you have represented yourself 00:03:44.490 --> 00:03:49.050 through your word, through your church, and that 00:03:49.050 --> 00:03:52.849 you have given your church everything for life 00:03:52.849 --> 00:03:56.250 and godliness, which is your word. We thank you 00:03:56.250 --> 00:03:59.580 that... You have inspired your word that you 00:03:59.580 --> 00:04:04.039 have, you have through the inspiration guided 00:04:04.039 --> 00:04:09.879 men to write exactly what you have said. So Lord, 00:04:09.900 --> 00:04:11.819 as we open up your word and go through Jeremiah 00:04:11.819 --> 00:04:15.780 and John, and we see Jesus, help us to see that 00:04:15.780 --> 00:04:20.959 even Jesus only spoke what you have said. We 00:04:20.959 --> 00:04:22.860 praise you and thank you for your faithfulness 00:04:22.860 --> 00:04:27.139 and goodness in Jesus name. Amen. So let's read 00:04:27.139 --> 00:04:30.319 some very important statements here. I want you 00:04:30.319 --> 00:04:31.639 to notice we're going to go through verse one 00:04:31.639 --> 00:04:33.899 through 12, and then we're going to go to John 00:04:33.899 --> 00:04:38.060 44 through 50. The words of Jeremiah, the son 00:04:38.060 --> 00:04:44.019 of Hilkiah, one of the priests who were in Anathoth 00:04:44.019 --> 00:04:48.720 in the land of Benjamin, to whom the word of 00:04:48.720 --> 00:04:52.560 the Lord came in the days of Josiah, the son 00:04:52.560 --> 00:04:56.720 of Ammon, king of Judah, in the 13th year of 00:04:56.720 --> 00:05:01.920 his reign. It came also in the days of Joachim, 00:05:02.060 --> 00:05:05.959 son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the end of 00:05:05.959 --> 00:05:10.540 the 11th year of Zedekiah, the son of Josiah, 00:05:10.620 --> 00:05:14.360 king of Judah, until the captivity of Jerusalem 00:05:14.360 --> 00:05:17.660 in the fifth month. So here's the idea I want 00:05:17.660 --> 00:05:24.139 you to get. God sent his word to Jeremiah. In 00:05:24.139 --> 00:05:28.519 these three particular time periods. Specifically 00:05:28.519 --> 00:05:32.439 up until the captivity of Jerusalem. Why? Because 00:05:32.439 --> 00:05:34.500 there will be a period of time when God will 00:05:34.500 --> 00:05:39.579 not be speaking. And he doesn't speak through 00:05:39.579 --> 00:05:44.459 just anybody. He speaks through this one boy. 00:05:48.339 --> 00:05:52.079 Now the word. Of the Lord came to me saying, 00:05:52.220 --> 00:05:55.339 before I formed you in the womb, I knew you. 00:05:55.399 --> 00:05:57.980 And before you were born, I consecrated you and 00:05:57.980 --> 00:06:03.639 I appointed you a prophet to the nations. Then 00:06:03.639 --> 00:06:07.019 I said, ah, Lord God, behold, I do not know how 00:06:07.019 --> 00:06:10.500 to speak for I am only a youth. But the Lord 00:06:10.500 --> 00:06:13.519 said to me, do not say I am only a youth for 00:06:13.519 --> 00:06:30.810 to all. Then the Lord put out his hand and... 00:06:31.160 --> 00:06:33.699 Touched my mouth and the Lord said to me, behold, 00:06:33.920 --> 00:06:38.079 I've put my words in your mouth. See, I have 00:06:38.079 --> 00:06:40.879 set you this day over nations and over kingdoms 00:06:40.879 --> 00:06:44.720 to pluck up, to break down, to destroy, to overthrow, 00:06:45.000 --> 00:06:48.779 to build, and to plant. And the word of the Lord 00:06:48.779 --> 00:06:53.379 came to me. Jeremiah, what do you see? And I 00:06:53.379 --> 00:06:56.470 said, I see an almond branch. And the Lord said 00:06:56.470 --> 00:07:00.029 to me, you have seen well, for I am watching 00:07:00.029 --> 00:07:08.310 over my word to perform it. Turn to John 12, 00:07:08.449 --> 00:07:15.370 44. And Jesus cried out and said, whoever believes 00:07:15.370 --> 00:07:18.930 in me, believes not in me, but in him who sent 00:07:18.930 --> 00:07:24.399 me. Whoever sees me, sees him who sent me. I 00:07:24.399 --> 00:07:27.399 have come into the world as light so that whoever 00:07:27.399 --> 00:07:31.720 believes in me may not remain in darkness. If 00:07:31.720 --> 00:07:35.839 anyone hears my words and does not keep them, 00:07:35.980 --> 00:07:39.240 I do not judge him. For I did not come to judge 00:07:39.240 --> 00:07:42.839 the world, but to save the world. The one who 00:07:42.839 --> 00:07:50.740 rejects me does not reject my words as a judge. 00:07:52.329 --> 00:07:54.910 That I have spoken will judge him on the last 00:07:54.910 --> 00:08:00.810 day. Isn't that interesting? For I have not spoken 00:08:00.810 --> 00:08:03.990 on my own authority. But the father who sent 00:08:03.990 --> 00:08:08.230 me has himself given me a commandment. What to 00:08:08.230 --> 00:08:13.470 say and what to speak. I know that his commandment 00:08:13.470 --> 00:08:16.550 is eternal life. And what I say, therefore I 00:08:16.550 --> 00:08:22.790 say as the father has told me. Now. Why is this 00:08:22.790 --> 00:08:25.170 important? Because there's a lot of dudes out 00:08:25.170 --> 00:08:31.350 there speaking for God. A lot of people out there 00:08:31.350 --> 00:08:34.149 speaking for God. How do you know which ones 00:08:34.149 --> 00:08:38.490 are from God and which ones aren't? See, God 00:08:38.490 --> 00:08:42.809 is the only one who sends his word. Christ is 00:08:42.809 --> 00:08:47.570 the word sent. We need nothing else. There's 00:08:47.570 --> 00:08:50.470 nothing new. There's no revelation. There's no, 00:08:50.529 --> 00:08:57.169 I had a dream. There's none of that. God's word 00:08:57.169 --> 00:09:00.570 is the dream. God's word is the word. God's word 00:09:00.570 --> 00:09:03.210 is enough. It's all we need. There's nothing 00:09:03.210 --> 00:09:06.769 else that man needs. Man does not live by bread 00:09:06.769 --> 00:09:08.350 alone, but by every word that comes from the 00:09:08.350 --> 00:09:10.129 mouth of God. We talked about this for like two 00:09:10.129 --> 00:09:16.769 weeks now, right? Why? Why do we feel like we 00:09:16.769 --> 00:09:18.710 have to come up with something different or new? 00:09:22.460 --> 00:09:24.600 To me, every time I open the word, it's new. 00:09:25.139 --> 00:09:31.340 It should be new to you. John 1 .14. And the 00:09:31.340 --> 00:09:34.059 word became flesh and dwelt among us. And we 00:09:34.059 --> 00:09:36.779 have seen his glory. Glory as the only son from 00:09:36.779 --> 00:09:41.139 the father. Full of grace and truth. You guys 00:09:41.139 --> 00:09:43.159 know what John 1 .1 says. In the beginning was 00:09:43.159 --> 00:09:44.700 the word. The word was with God. And the word 00:09:44.700 --> 00:09:49.879 was God. Christ is the word incarnate. And even 00:09:49.879 --> 00:09:54.250 Christ. Only spoke what the father told him to 00:09:54.250 --> 00:09:59.169 speak. Isn't that interesting? The God of all 00:09:59.169 --> 00:10:02.330 creation who created you and I, who holds all 00:10:02.330 --> 00:10:06.470 things together in his hands, only speaks what 00:10:06.470 --> 00:10:09.990 the father speaks. He doesn't even speak his 00:10:09.990 --> 00:10:15.009 own thing. But we got men who claim they speak 00:10:15.009 --> 00:10:21.820 for God, speaking their own thing. And we're 00:10:21.820 --> 00:10:26.700 on this road because I am very concerned we're 00:10:26.700 --> 00:10:33.539 living in a, not just a post -Christian America, 00:10:33.879 --> 00:10:44.600 but a anti -truth America. And the only thing 00:10:44.600 --> 00:10:47.200 that stems the tide that plugs the hole is the 00:10:47.200 --> 00:10:54.710 church. And she must. Stand on the truth. In 00:10:54.710 --> 00:10:58.409 Jeremiah 1 -3, the words of Jeremiah, the son 00:10:58.409 --> 00:11:03.110 of Hilkiah, one of the priests who were in Anathoth, 00:11:03.110 --> 00:11:06.909 in the land of Benjamin, to whom the word of 00:11:06.909 --> 00:11:11.230 the Lord came. Did the word of the Lord come 00:11:11.230 --> 00:11:16.669 to you? It did, through Christ. That's the point. 00:11:18.250 --> 00:11:22.129 There's nothing else we need. The word of the 00:11:22.129 --> 00:11:25.009 Lord did come to us and he gave us his word. 00:11:25.970 --> 00:11:29.250 And in his divine preservation, not only has 00:11:29.250 --> 00:11:36.450 preserved these 66 books, but he has preserved 00:11:36.450 --> 00:11:44.659 his word from generation to generation. The word 00:11:44.659 --> 00:11:46.820 of the Lord came in the days of Josiah, the son 00:11:46.820 --> 00:11:49.799 of Ammon, king of Judah, in the 13th year of 00:11:49.799 --> 00:11:54.620 his reign. It also came also in the days of Joachim, 00:11:54.720 --> 00:11:57.539 the son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the end 00:11:57.539 --> 00:12:01.960 of the 11th year of Zedekiah, the son of Josiah, 00:12:02.039 --> 00:12:05.379 king of Judah, until the captivity of Jerusalem 00:12:05.379 --> 00:12:09.120 in the fifth month. You know, there's one thing 00:12:09.120 --> 00:12:12.440 that the church will never go without that Israel 00:12:12.440 --> 00:12:18.399 did. God stopped speaking to them. But God never 00:12:18.399 --> 00:12:22.799 stopped speaking to his church. Because he speaks 00:12:22.799 --> 00:12:28.679 through his word. How many of us go to him and 00:12:28.679 --> 00:12:33.620 ask him to speak through his word? Do we spend 00:12:33.620 --> 00:12:38.379 the time in it to hear what he has to say? Lord, 00:12:38.440 --> 00:12:41.220 teach me your ways that I may know you and have 00:12:41.220 --> 00:12:43.899 favor with you. Where do we learn his ways? In 00:12:43.899 --> 00:12:49.600 his word. Second principle. God is the only one 00:12:49.600 --> 00:12:52.899 who anoints those who speak on his behalf, not 00:12:52.899 --> 00:13:00.059 man. God anoints the man. God appoints the man. 00:13:00.379 --> 00:13:11.090 God ordains the man. No one else. John 12, 44 00:13:11.090 --> 00:13:13.909 through 45. And Jesus cried out and said, whoever 00:13:13.909 --> 00:13:18.169 believes in me, believes not in me, but in him 00:13:18.169 --> 00:13:21.830 who sent me. And whoever sees me, sees him who 00:13:21.830 --> 00:13:26.509 sent me. Do you see that? Even Christ, who is 00:13:26.509 --> 00:13:29.730 the second person of the Trinity, God incarnate, 00:13:29.850 --> 00:13:36.669 was sent by the Father. He was God's. He was, 00:13:36.669 --> 00:13:41.419 in reality, The one who was appointed since the 00:13:41.419 --> 00:13:43.659 beginning of time to come and give his word. 00:13:46.899 --> 00:13:51.019 Jeremiah 1, 4 -6. Now the word came to me. The 00:13:51.019 --> 00:13:53.059 word of the Lord came to me. Do you see that? 00:13:53.639 --> 00:13:58.480 The word of the Lord came to me. Saying, before 00:13:58.480 --> 00:14:01.960 I formed you in the womb, I knew you. And before 00:14:01.960 --> 00:14:04.740 you were born, I consecrated you. I appointed 00:14:04.740 --> 00:14:09.070 you as a prophet to the nations. Then I said, 00:14:09.210 --> 00:14:11.970 ah, Lord God, behold, I do not know how to speak 00:14:11.970 --> 00:14:15.350 for I am only a youth. What's the reality here? 00:14:17.350 --> 00:14:24.110 That God before time has set aside men and preachers 00:14:24.110 --> 00:14:28.049 and those to bring the word and has consecrated 00:14:28.049 --> 00:14:31.250 them since before being born for the purpose 00:14:31.250 --> 00:14:34.049 of proclaiming the gospel and the truth of the 00:14:34.049 --> 00:14:39.500 word to the people. And it's interesting because 00:14:39.500 --> 00:14:42.639 if we claim that God is providential and God 00:14:42.639 --> 00:14:46.620 is sovereign, then we really need to come to 00:14:46.620 --> 00:14:48.919 the reality that God is the one who chooses that. 00:14:51.860 --> 00:14:54.460 Just because one seems gifted doesn't mean he's 00:14:54.460 --> 00:15:02.720 right. There's a lot more to it than that. Principle 00:15:02.720 --> 00:15:06.120 number three, the one whom God sends speaks only. 00:15:06.600 --> 00:15:10.080 What the Lord commands and nothing else. This 00:15:10.080 --> 00:15:13.580 is important. Because you can't speak anything 00:15:13.580 --> 00:15:21.000 outside of the scripture. Why? Because the scripture 00:15:21.000 --> 00:15:23.580 is the final authority in all things. It is the 00:15:23.580 --> 00:15:29.240 word of God. Even in translation. God has divinely 00:15:29.240 --> 00:15:34.360 preserved it. And you can clearly distinctly 00:15:34.360 --> 00:15:37.429 see the differences. of those that are bad translations 00:15:37.429 --> 00:15:41.470 versus those that are good translations. Because 00:15:41.470 --> 00:15:43.970 the good translations speak the truth consistently, 00:15:44.070 --> 00:15:50.909 regardless if it's King James to ESV. It's not 00:15:50.909 --> 00:15:56.850 just the King James. And so we also have men 00:15:56.850 --> 00:16:00.929 who say that that's the only word of God. See, 00:16:01.029 --> 00:16:04.340 Scripture says, Jesus says, My sheep know me 00:16:04.340 --> 00:16:07.679 and they know my voice. We know his word if we 00:16:07.679 --> 00:16:10.059 belong to him. And we also proved that out last 00:16:10.059 --> 00:16:12.759 week. Because you cannot know the word and understand 00:16:12.759 --> 00:16:14.740 the word unless the spirit of God is present 00:16:14.740 --> 00:16:18.899 in your life. It's impossible outside of the 00:16:18.899 --> 00:16:22.159 spirit of God to know and hear the word of God. 00:16:25.059 --> 00:16:29.240 1 Corinthians 2 .14. Along with all the scripture 00:16:29.240 --> 00:16:37.490 we read last week. Look what it says here. John 00:16:37.490 --> 00:16:42.190 12, 46. I have come into the world as light so 00:16:42.190 --> 00:16:44.669 that whoever believes in me may not remain in 00:16:44.669 --> 00:16:48.710 darkness. What brings us out of darkness? Christ, 00:16:48.710 --> 00:16:56.809 his word. Your word is a lamp unto my feet and 00:16:56.809 --> 00:17:04.839 a light unto my path. So in Jeremiah 1, 7 -8, 00:17:05.039 --> 00:17:09.440 it says this, But the Lord said to me, Do not 00:17:09.440 --> 00:17:15.660 say I'm only a youth. For to all to whom I send 00:17:15.660 --> 00:17:19.500 you, you shall go. In other words, you don't 00:17:19.500 --> 00:17:22.460 have a choice, Jeremiah. Where I tell you you 00:17:22.460 --> 00:17:26.500 will go, you're going to go. I kind of like Jeremiah. 00:17:27.440 --> 00:17:30.700 He doesn't have a debate with God, unlike Moses. 00:17:31.679 --> 00:17:35.480 Moses was like, yeah. And he said, fine, I'll 00:17:35.480 --> 00:17:40.519 give you Aaron. Remember that? Yeah. Moses is 00:17:40.519 --> 00:17:43.680 a little braver than Jeremiah, I think. Jeremiah 00:17:43.680 --> 00:17:47.420 just knows. Okay. And wherever I command you, 00:17:47.500 --> 00:17:49.940 whatever I command you, you shall speak. Do you 00:17:49.940 --> 00:17:54.819 see that? Jeremiah only speaks what God has commanded. 00:17:58.119 --> 00:18:00.980 So should that not also be the litmus test for 00:18:00.980 --> 00:18:06.180 all of those men who claim to be prophets and 00:18:06.180 --> 00:18:15.539 speak something outside of the word of God? Verse 00:18:15.539 --> 00:18:18.980 eight, do not be afraid of them for I am with 00:18:18.980 --> 00:18:22.680 you to deliver you, declares the Lord. Jeremiah, 00:18:22.759 --> 00:18:24.119 you're going to go and you're going to speak 00:18:24.119 --> 00:18:27.990 and they're going to get upset. They're going 00:18:27.990 --> 00:18:30.549 to want to kill you. That's what Elijah said. 00:18:31.750 --> 00:18:36.970 Elijah said that. Haven't these people killed 00:18:36.970 --> 00:18:40.890 all your prophets? But don't worry, I'm with 00:18:40.890 --> 00:18:48.170 you, Jeremiah. Why? Principle number four, the 00:18:48.170 --> 00:18:52.549 word of God is the final, is and has, I was supposed 00:18:52.549 --> 00:18:56.500 to put end there, is and has. The final authority 00:18:56.500 --> 00:19:03.559 over all things. By it, God sets free, judges, 00:19:03.799 --> 00:19:08.960 gives life, and destroys. Isn't that interesting? 00:19:10.359 --> 00:19:12.160 That's how powerful the word of God is. Look 00:19:12.160 --> 00:19:15.579 what it says in John 12, 47 through 48. If anyone 00:19:15.579 --> 00:19:20.380 hears my words and does not keep them, I do not 00:19:20.380 --> 00:19:23.299 judge him, for I did not come to judge the world, 00:19:23.359 --> 00:19:26.490 but to save the world. The one who rejects me 00:19:26.490 --> 00:19:31.089 and does not receive my words has a judge. The 00:19:31.089 --> 00:19:36.289 word that I have spoken will judge him on the 00:19:36.289 --> 00:19:38.789 last day. What is the judge? The word of God. 00:19:39.970 --> 00:19:44.710 The word of God judges us. That's why it is sharper 00:19:44.710 --> 00:19:47.509 than a two -edged sword. I mean, it literally 00:19:47.509 --> 00:19:52.849 judges my thoughts and intentions. It knows what 00:19:52.849 --> 00:19:56.869 I'm thinking and why. I'm thinking it. Do you 00:19:56.869 --> 00:19:59.589 know why you think the way you think? I don't 00:19:59.589 --> 00:20:00.769 think there's a single person that understands 00:20:00.769 --> 00:20:03.230 why we think the way we think. I don't understand 00:20:03.230 --> 00:20:07.650 sometimes. Like, why am I thinking that? But 00:20:07.650 --> 00:20:14.390 God knows. Jeremiah 1, 9 through 10. Then the 00:20:14.390 --> 00:20:18.109 Lord put out his hand and touched my mouth. And 00:20:18.109 --> 00:20:22.170 the Lord said to me, behold, I have put my words 00:20:22.170 --> 00:20:27.039 in your mouth. Anyone who says they received 00:20:27.039 --> 00:20:32.099 a vision or a prophecy from the Lord needs to 00:20:32.099 --> 00:20:38.000 be very careful what they are about to say. Because 00:20:38.000 --> 00:20:43.019 here, God put his words in Jeremiah's mouth, 00:20:43.119 --> 00:20:47.539 and Jeremiah only spoke exactly what God said 00:20:47.539 --> 00:20:51.859 he should speak. And that's important. Would 00:20:51.859 --> 00:21:01.250 we not agree? So, see, I have set you this day 00:21:01.250 --> 00:21:04.890 over nations and over kingdoms to pluck up and 00:21:04.890 --> 00:21:08.529 to break down, to destroy and to overthrow, to 00:21:08.529 --> 00:21:12.269 build and to plant. Why is he saying that? I've 00:21:12.269 --> 00:21:16.549 put my word in your mouth so that when I send 00:21:16.549 --> 00:21:18.730 you over the nations and over the kingdoms, you 00:21:18.730 --> 00:21:20.849 can pluck up and break down, destroy and overthrow. 00:21:22.369 --> 00:21:26.150 It's because the word of God, purpose of the 00:21:26.150 --> 00:21:28.069 word of God is to reveal to you the condition 00:21:28.069 --> 00:21:33.349 of your heart. It's to show you that there is 00:21:33.349 --> 00:21:37.250 a holy, righteous God that you have to answer 00:21:37.250 --> 00:21:40.650 to. And if anything, it should break me to the 00:21:40.650 --> 00:21:44.470 point and pluck me to the point that I turn to 00:21:44.470 --> 00:21:51.789 God in repentance away from my sin. That it should 00:21:51.789 --> 00:21:55.329 be destroyed and overthrown. When the word of 00:21:55.329 --> 00:21:58.109 God comes, the word of God comes to build and 00:21:58.109 --> 00:22:03.430 to plant. So though I'm using an individual description 00:22:03.430 --> 00:22:05.750 here, the reality is it's the same for every 00:22:05.750 --> 00:22:09.549 nation and kingdom. And what you see in our world 00:22:09.549 --> 00:22:13.730 today is the turning away, the nations turning 00:22:13.730 --> 00:22:18.109 away from the king of all kings, thinking they 00:22:18.109 --> 00:22:23.420 can rule and govern themselves. So much to the 00:22:23.420 --> 00:22:26.619 point that they've turned away from sound biblical 00:22:26.619 --> 00:22:34.359 truth to fallacies and mythology and false philosophy. 00:22:40.140 --> 00:22:43.200 And I think as a church, just in general, the 00:22:43.200 --> 00:22:45.359 church in America has to come to the realization 00:22:45.359 --> 00:22:49.779 that we are living in a post -Christian society. 00:22:52.559 --> 00:22:57.579 And the only stem, again, of this onslaught is 00:22:57.579 --> 00:23:01.079 the church. And the only thing the church can 00:23:01.079 --> 00:23:07.400 do is to preach the entirety of the truth. Because 00:23:07.400 --> 00:23:11.799 by that, people will turn and repent. And by 00:23:11.799 --> 00:23:15.700 that, we can build and plant. And Jesus even 00:23:15.700 --> 00:23:19.160 uses the example of planting. The farmer who 00:23:19.160 --> 00:23:23.740 sows the seed. He sows the word of God called 00:23:23.740 --> 00:23:35.720 the gospel. So, fifth principle. God watches 00:23:35.720 --> 00:23:39.500 over his word to accomplish and succeed in which 00:23:39.500 --> 00:23:43.519 he sent it. Look what it says in 49 to 50. For 00:23:43.519 --> 00:23:48.099 I have not spoken on my own authority, but the 00:23:48.099 --> 00:23:52.099 father who sent me. Has himself given me a commandment. 00:23:52.200 --> 00:23:56.220 What to say and what to speak. And I know that. 00:23:56.299 --> 00:24:01.099 His commandment is eternal life. Do you hear 00:24:01.099 --> 00:24:04.160 that? Remember I talked last week about the gospel. 00:24:05.839 --> 00:24:09.420 And that the reality of the gospel. Is a command. 00:24:10.220 --> 00:24:16.119 To salvation. And you can't obey a command. Unless 00:24:16.119 --> 00:24:19.579 the spirit of God is present there. It requires 00:24:19.579 --> 00:24:26.319 God for us to be obedient. But here, and I know 00:24:26.319 --> 00:24:30.539 that his commandment is eternal life. Have we 00:24:30.539 --> 00:24:34.539 ever heard, talked about the reality of the commandment 00:24:34.539 --> 00:24:37.299 of the gospel? Not just to go and preach it, 00:24:37.420 --> 00:24:43.559 but to come. God commands, he calls, and he wants 00:24:43.559 --> 00:24:49.220 you here. And what I say, therefore. Jesus says, 00:24:49.279 --> 00:24:53.279 I say as the Father has told me. And that's exactly 00:24:53.279 --> 00:24:58.099 what Jesus says in Mark chapter 1. Repent and 00:24:58.099 --> 00:25:01.440 believe the gospel. It's a command. It's an imperative. 00:25:01.700 --> 00:25:07.400 It's not an option. Especially for those who 00:25:07.400 --> 00:25:10.299 belong to him. And in Jeremiah 1, 11 through 00:25:10.299 --> 00:25:14.640 12, very similar. And the word of the Lord came 00:25:14.640 --> 00:25:19.529 to me, saying, Jeremiah. What do you see? And 00:25:19.529 --> 00:25:22.730 I said, I see an almond branch. Now that's a 00:25:22.730 --> 00:25:26.750 whole nother sermon. Not going there. We'd be 00:25:26.750 --> 00:25:29.369 here at least another 30 minutes. All right. 00:25:30.170 --> 00:25:32.470 Well, probably longer, but we're not going to, 00:25:32.470 --> 00:25:34.369 but it's not going to do the almond branch thing 00:25:34.369 --> 00:25:38.009 right now. Jody will tell you, we were sitting 00:25:38.009 --> 00:25:40.130 in the office because I go through sermon prep 00:25:40.130 --> 00:25:41.910 with her and I'm thinking through stuff. And 00:25:41.910 --> 00:25:43.450 she was like, well, the almond branch. And I'm 00:25:43.450 --> 00:25:45.650 like, oh, and if we go and look up the almond, 00:25:45.710 --> 00:25:49.950 it's a whole nother thing. Verse 12, then the 00:25:49.950 --> 00:25:52.430 Lord said to me, you have seen well. Here's the 00:25:52.430 --> 00:25:56.410 point. For I am watching over my word to perform 00:25:56.410 --> 00:25:59.890 it. This should terrify every preacher in the 00:25:59.890 --> 00:26:04.910 pulpit. That when you don't rightly handle the 00:26:04.910 --> 00:26:10.470 word of God, God is watching over his word. And 00:26:10.470 --> 00:26:13.130 he will make sure it accomplishes what he intends. 00:26:14.950 --> 00:26:18.759 But to us who handle the word, As preachers, 00:26:18.839 --> 00:26:28.299 we should tremble in awe and respect. And this 00:26:28.299 --> 00:26:33.539 is one of the things that really brings me trepidation 00:26:33.539 --> 00:26:38.279 for these men who claim to be preachers and prophets 00:26:38.279 --> 00:26:43.539 and pastors who don't take in the responsibility 00:26:43.539 --> 00:26:52.940 of it. There are several prophets, quote unquote 00:26:52.940 --> 00:27:01.380 prophets out there. Pastors and teachers. And 00:27:01.380 --> 00:27:04.920 so I want you to be careful when you watch on 00:27:04.920 --> 00:27:08.960 YouTube. Prophets who claim they're prophets. 00:27:13.099 --> 00:27:15.539 If they don't preach the word, if they don't 00:27:15.539 --> 00:27:17.559 teach the word, if they don't proclaim the word, 00:27:17.759 --> 00:27:25.799 run. They're not prophets. If it doesn't exactly 00:27:25.799 --> 00:27:29.680 match the word of God, run. Because they're not 00:27:29.680 --> 00:27:33.119 prophets. If a preacher preaches a message outside 00:27:33.119 --> 00:27:39.819 of the word, run. He's not a preacher. If a pastor 00:27:39.819 --> 00:27:42.579 shepherds his people outside of the word, run. 00:27:42.859 --> 00:27:47.980 He's not a shepherd. If a teacher teaches anything 00:27:47.980 --> 00:27:51.000 outside of the word, run. He's not a teacher. 00:27:53.230 --> 00:27:56.430 But the scripture says in the last days, many 00:27:56.430 --> 00:28:00.430 will turn and heap up teachers who tickle their 00:28:00.430 --> 00:28:12.529 ears. Because they don't want the truth. And 00:28:12.529 --> 00:28:16.450 the only way for you to know the truth is spend 00:28:16.450 --> 00:28:21.609 time in it. And if you're a believer in Christ. 00:28:23.139 --> 00:28:28.000 The very truth has set you free. So my challenge 00:28:28.000 --> 00:28:36.500 to you is to get into the word. Read it. Listen 00:28:36.500 --> 00:28:42.859 to it. Study it. Meditate on it. Memorize it. 00:28:42.900 --> 00:28:48.059 Whatever you need to do to get it. You need to 00:28:48.059 --> 00:28:54.049 eat the word. Father, I want to thank you so 00:28:54.049 --> 00:28:56.589 much for your faithfulness. We give you praise, 00:28:56.710 --> 00:28:58.710 honor, and glory. We thank you for your word. 00:28:58.789 --> 00:29:01.390 And we thank you that you've made it very clear 00:29:01.390 --> 00:29:07.490 that your word is to be proclaimed exactly as 00:29:07.490 --> 00:29:12.670 you intended it to be proclaimed. We give you 00:29:12.670 --> 00:29:16.309 praise, honor, and glory that what you have sent 00:29:16.309 --> 00:29:19.400 your word to do, it will... That you watch over 00:29:19.400 --> 00:29:24.259 your word to ensure that it is performed. We 00:29:24.259 --> 00:29:29.099 give you praise. Help us to hold fast to the 00:29:29.099 --> 00:29:32.480 word of God. Hold fast to the sound doctrine. 00:29:32.819 --> 00:29:38.640 To the teachings of the apostles. And to spend 00:29:38.640 --> 00:29:44.759 time listening to your beautiful words. We praise 00:29:44.759 --> 00:29:48.500 you and we thank you in Jesus' name. Amen. Please 00:29:48.500 --> 00:29:49.400 stand as I bless you.