WEBVTT 00:00:01.780 --> 00:00:03.660 Well, I thought we'd look at a couple of scriptures 00:00:03.660 --> 00:00:07.429 this morning, one from the old and one from the 00:00:07.429 --> 00:00:11.689 new, and see if we can understand some correlation 00:00:11.689 --> 00:00:16.690 or some of the similarities in the two situations. 00:00:17.800 --> 00:00:21.850 And, of course, trying to apply them to our own 00:00:21.850 --> 00:00:26.600 situation as well. So let's ask the Lord's help. 00:00:27.969 --> 00:00:30.589 Father, we do thank you this morning for meeting 00:00:30.589 --> 00:00:34.189 with us thus far. for giving us this opportunity 00:00:34.189 --> 00:00:37.030 to open your word, to study it, and to hear from 00:00:37.030 --> 00:00:39.789 you. I pray that you would own it for your glory 00:00:39.789 --> 00:00:42.630 and our good, that the Holy Spirit would empower 00:00:42.630 --> 00:00:46.490 the word this morning. Help me as I teach and 00:00:46.490 --> 00:00:49.030 preach, help all of us to receive it and to apply 00:00:49.030 --> 00:00:52.780 it to our own selves, that indeed we would be 00:00:52.780 --> 00:00:55.079 more and more conformed to the image of our Lord 00:00:55.079 --> 00:00:58.520 and Savior, Jesus Christ. And we ask it in Jesus' 00:00:58.679 --> 00:01:03.009 name. Amen. So if you'd like to open your Bibles 00:01:03.009 --> 00:01:07.799 to Jeremiah this morning, we'll start there with 00:01:07.799 --> 00:01:26.569 a few verses. Jeremiah chapter 9, beginning then 00:01:26.569 --> 00:01:37.959 in verse 5. And they will deceive or mock every 00:01:37.959 --> 00:01:41.439 one his neighbor, and will not speak the truth. 00:01:42.290 --> 00:01:44.909 They have taught their tongue to speak lies, 00:01:45.290 --> 00:01:52.609 and worry themselves to commit iniquity. So there's 00:01:52.609 --> 00:01:57.310 a stark description of... The neighborhood. I 00:01:58.590 --> 00:02:01.250 think we're familiar with Jeremiah, that he's 00:02:01.250 --> 00:02:05.629 the last prophet before the carrying away into 00:02:05.629 --> 00:02:13.449 Babylon. And he's got a very hard and dire message 00:02:13.449 --> 00:02:19.810 to deliver to the Jewish people. And he describes 00:02:19.810 --> 00:02:24.840 them there for us. And really, you know already 00:02:24.840 --> 00:02:27.590 that the first eight... chapters are very similar 00:02:27.590 --> 00:02:30.030 to this he goes into an in -depth description 00:02:30.030 --> 00:02:33.229 of their their sin and their abandonment and 00:02:33.229 --> 00:02:36.990 how terrible it is in the in the face of the 00:02:36.990 --> 00:02:42.509 lord so the question the first thing that comes 00:02:42.509 --> 00:02:45.150 to my mind anyway were there no were there no 00:02:45.150 --> 00:02:51.949 believers in israel at this time and of course 00:02:51.949 --> 00:02:55.180 the answer to that then we don't really get it 00:02:55.180 --> 00:02:58.990 out of the text or much much about it from from 00:02:58.990 --> 00:03:01.389 the book of Jeremiah itself, but we know that 00:03:01.389 --> 00:03:04.590 God testifies that he always has his remnant. 00:03:05.520 --> 00:03:09.080 So he has his faithful people there in Israel, 00:03:09.159 --> 00:03:13.550 and they're going to go into captivity just the 00:03:13.550 --> 00:03:16.659 same as the rest. They're going to receive the 00:03:16.659 --> 00:03:22.020 same judgment as the rest, even though they could 00:03:22.060 --> 00:03:25.099 rightly say to themselves that we're not guilty 00:03:25.099 --> 00:03:32.780 of this, but we're suffering it anyway. And so 00:03:32.780 --> 00:03:38.379 if you're at all familiar with society at large 00:03:38.379 --> 00:03:42.449 today, in the United States I'm speaking of, 00:03:42.550 --> 00:03:52.129 you understand that the majority of people in 00:03:52.129 --> 00:03:56.569 the United States do not know Christ. We always 00:03:56.569 --> 00:04:03.150 see these surveys like 60, 70, 75 % of the people 00:04:03.150 --> 00:04:08.080 profess to know God and to believe in Him. Well, 00:04:08.159 --> 00:04:10.659 we would have an entirely different country if 00:04:10.659 --> 00:04:13.939 75 % of the people actually did believe in God 00:04:13.939 --> 00:04:18.089 and trust Him. So we know what they're talking 00:04:18.089 --> 00:04:20.709 about, and we understand that they think they 00:04:20.709 --> 00:04:22.750 are. They think they're fine. They think they're 00:04:22.750 --> 00:04:26.620 saved. They think they're going to heaven, but 00:04:28.420 --> 00:04:30.860 they're ignorant. They don't know the way to 00:04:30.860 --> 00:04:36.220 heaven. They only think they do. They have confidence 00:04:36.220 --> 00:04:40.120 in their faith, perhaps we could say. Their faith 00:04:40.120 --> 00:04:43.850 is what's going to save them. We know that our 00:04:43.850 --> 00:04:48.199 faith saves no one. The Lord Jesus Christ is 00:04:48.199 --> 00:04:51.279 the Savior for sinners. We must have faith in 00:04:51.279 --> 00:04:58.120 Him and His finished work to be saved. But these 00:04:58.120 --> 00:05:00.519 folks, these Jews, you know, they had the law, 00:05:00.740 --> 00:05:03.540 they had the testimonies, they had the sacrifices, 00:05:04.000 --> 00:05:07.379 and they were going through all the same stuff 00:05:07.379 --> 00:05:11.180 that they always did. They thought they were 00:05:11.180 --> 00:05:16.339 worshiping God. They didn't care. All that they 00:05:16.339 --> 00:05:19.779 cared about, really, was carrying on their customs, 00:05:19.879 --> 00:05:23.540 traditions, and believing that they would be 00:05:23.540 --> 00:05:25.899 fine in the end because, indeed, they were the 00:05:25.899 --> 00:05:31.379 chosen people of God. And we know again that 00:05:31.379 --> 00:05:34.649 that's just not right. That's not true. Jeremiah 00:05:34.649 --> 00:05:37.790 describes them here. They're a bunch of lying, 00:05:38.110 --> 00:05:42.220 deceiving, mocking. People. They don't care anything 00:05:42.220 --> 00:05:44.199 for each other. They don't care anything for 00:05:44.199 --> 00:05:53.189 God. In verse 5 we read. I mean in verse 6 we 00:05:53.189 --> 00:05:57.050 read. Thy habitation is in the midst of deceit. 00:05:58.170 --> 00:06:02.170 Through deceit they refuse to know me. Saith 00:06:02.170 --> 00:06:05.970 the Lord. So they deceive. They deceive each 00:06:05.970 --> 00:06:09.139 other. They deceive themselves. They're just 00:06:09.139 --> 00:06:14.519 full of it. They refuse to know God. And so. 00:06:16.199 --> 00:06:18.860 We have the same situation today, do we not? 00:06:19.949 --> 00:06:24.449 They refuse to know God. If you go to witness 00:06:24.449 --> 00:06:27.670 to somebody, when you've done that in the past, 00:06:27.790 --> 00:06:31.730 and you try to explain to them that they're lost, 00:06:32.110 --> 00:06:35.930 they might just laugh you off, they might just 00:06:35.930 --> 00:06:39.560 dismiss you, they might get mad at you. But whatever 00:06:39.560 --> 00:06:41.740 it is, they're going to continue on in their 00:06:41.740 --> 00:06:47.920 deceit of themselves. They're not lost. and they 00:06:47.920 --> 00:06:52.639 really resent you for telling them that they're 00:06:52.639 --> 00:07:01.050 lost. Judgmental people are Christians. Who are 00:07:01.050 --> 00:07:04.810 you to judge me? Well, hopefully you've explained 00:07:04.810 --> 00:07:06.930 enough that it's not you that's judging, that 00:07:06.930 --> 00:07:10.689 the Word of God is the judge, and comparing you 00:07:10.689 --> 00:07:15.019 to the Word of God, you're found guilty, as we 00:07:15.019 --> 00:07:21.480 all would apart from Jesus Christ. So hopefully 00:07:21.480 --> 00:07:26.300 the fact that we're such a minority, in our day 00:07:26.300 --> 00:07:29.879 and in our time, isn't anything that depresses 00:07:29.879 --> 00:07:35.839 us, anything that upsets us. Do we have a need 00:07:35.839 --> 00:07:41.459 to be accepted by society? That's a dangerous 00:07:41.459 --> 00:07:45.379 thing. You shouldn't need to be accepted by society. 00:07:46.129 --> 00:07:49.069 You should be willing to face the reality that 00:07:49.069 --> 00:07:51.449 you're exactly going to be the opposite. You're 00:07:51.449 --> 00:07:55.310 not going to be accepted if you are living out 00:07:55.310 --> 00:07:59.290 a consistent Christian life. They will reject 00:07:59.290 --> 00:08:03.930 you just as they have rejected Christ, just as 00:08:03.930 --> 00:08:08.629 these Israelites did. They're hopeless. They're 00:08:08.629 --> 00:08:11.850 helpless. And then in verse 7, the Lord says, 00:08:12.050 --> 00:08:15.769 Therefore, thus saith the Lord of hosts, Behold, 00:08:15.870 --> 00:08:20.930 I will melt them and try them. For how shall 00:08:20.930 --> 00:08:26.939 I do for the daughter of my people? Punishment 00:08:26.939 --> 00:08:31.009 is necessary. God says, He declares it. They've 00:08:31.009 --> 00:08:33.429 earned the judgment they're about to receive. 00:08:34.240 --> 00:08:36.899 And He goes on and He says, What would you think 00:08:36.899 --> 00:08:41.360 I would do? I'm God. Would you think that I would 00:08:41.360 --> 00:08:44.759 just wink at this? That I would just allow this 00:08:44.759 --> 00:08:48.840 to continue? That this affront to me, this grievous 00:08:48.840 --> 00:08:53.539 sin of abandonment of their Redeemer, the Lord, 00:08:53.720 --> 00:08:58.809 God Almighty, is going to go unpunished? And 00:08:58.809 --> 00:09:01.750 if it did go unpunished, I would no longer be 00:09:01.750 --> 00:09:07.049 God. That's what the verse is telling us. So 00:09:07.049 --> 00:09:11.320 that's what we, again, need to accept. We need 00:09:11.320 --> 00:09:17.970 to understand this. All of these so -called natural 00:09:17.970 --> 00:09:23.419 disasters. What are all these wars? What is all 00:09:23.419 --> 00:09:28.659 this persecution? What is it if it's not the 00:09:28.659 --> 00:09:34.500 hand of God? What would we expect? What would 00:09:34.500 --> 00:09:37.129 we expect in our own country? This country that's 00:09:37.129 --> 00:09:39.830 been founded so closely on the word of God and 00:09:39.830 --> 00:09:43.309 its beginnings. Yes, I know it had flaws and 00:09:43.309 --> 00:09:45.029 everything else. I'm not going to go into the 00:09:45.029 --> 00:09:48.370 whole history of the beginning of the United 00:09:48.370 --> 00:09:51.490 States. But there's never been another country 00:09:51.490 --> 00:09:58.100 ever like it, ever established on truths that 00:09:58.100 --> 00:10:01.360 are given by God himself, not by the government. 00:10:01.639 --> 00:10:05.720 The freedoms that we enjoy, we're declared to 00:10:05.720 --> 00:10:10.629 receive from God. not from our government. And 00:10:12.360 --> 00:10:16.259 having said that then, completely, at this point 00:10:16.259 --> 00:10:19.919 in time, gone our own way, completely. What do 00:10:19.919 --> 00:10:25.529 we expect God to do? How many times have you 00:10:25.529 --> 00:10:28.470 heard a politician or any kind of speaker anywhere 00:10:28.470 --> 00:10:31.870 say, God bless America, at the end of the speech 00:10:31.870 --> 00:10:36.059 or whatever? Why? Why would God bless America? 00:10:36.360 --> 00:10:40.740 Why would we expect to be blessed? We live amongst 00:10:40.740 --> 00:10:43.799 a deceitful people. We live amongst the people 00:10:43.799 --> 00:10:46.860 that have turned their backs on God. We live 00:10:46.860 --> 00:10:50.440 amongst the people that believe that they can 00:10:50.440 --> 00:10:56.669 be saved just by any kind of reason, any kind 00:10:56.669 --> 00:11:01.549 of way. Refuse to acknowledge the Lord Jesus 00:11:01.549 --> 00:11:06.620 Christ as the only Savior of mankind. What is 00:11:06.620 --> 00:11:12.500 God to do? Well, if he brought judgment upon 00:11:12.500 --> 00:11:16.980 his own chosen people. we can rest assured that 00:11:16.980 --> 00:11:19.919 he's not going to hold back his judgment forever 00:11:19.919 --> 00:11:22.919 upon the United States or any other nation that 00:11:22.919 --> 00:11:29.120 he should choose to judge. That should be a subtle 00:11:29.120 --> 00:11:37.480 fact in our lives. In verse 8, their tongue is 00:11:37.480 --> 00:11:42.120 an arrow shot out. It speaketh deceit. One speaketh 00:11:42.120 --> 00:11:45.320 peaceably to his neighbor with his mouth, but 00:11:45.320 --> 00:11:49.519 in his heart he layeth his weight. In other words, 00:11:49.539 --> 00:11:54.049 again, just two -faced, deceitful people. Shall 00:11:54.049 --> 00:11:57.330 I not visit them for those things, saith the 00:11:57.330 --> 00:12:01.210 Lord? Shall not my soul be avenged on such a 00:12:01.210 --> 00:12:05.070 nation as this? And the only answer that can 00:12:05.070 --> 00:12:10.029 be given is yes, of course. The nation has earned 00:12:10.029 --> 00:12:15.009 everything that they will receive from you. And 00:12:15.009 --> 00:12:17.870 as you I'm sure know, as I said already, this 00:12:17.870 --> 00:12:21.429 book of Jeremiah is full of this condemnation 00:12:21.429 --> 00:12:27.039 upon Israel. But here in the midst. Of all of 00:12:27.039 --> 00:12:30.360 this judgment and all of this declaration of 00:12:30.360 --> 00:12:36.259 guilt, we come to verse 23 and 24 of the 9th 00:12:36.259 --> 00:12:45.649 chapter. We read in verse 23, Thus saith the 00:12:45.649 --> 00:12:50.580 Lord, Let not the wise man glory or boast in 00:12:50.580 --> 00:12:57.440 his wisdom. What does that mean? Well, and again, 00:12:57.539 --> 00:13:01.399 this is so true in our day. The wise man thinks 00:13:01.399 --> 00:13:03.940 his wisdom is going to save him. is going to 00:13:03.940 --> 00:13:06.980 preserve him. He's going to be recognized for 00:13:06.980 --> 00:13:10.600 how wise that he is in the sight of his contemporaries. 00:13:11.080 --> 00:13:14.240 We just had all the Nobel Prizes he'd given out, 00:13:14.340 --> 00:13:18.389 and everybody's bowed down to the Nobel Prize 00:13:18.389 --> 00:13:20.470 winners. I'm sure they had some good things to 00:13:20.470 --> 00:13:23.970 say and have done some good things, but they're 00:13:23.970 --> 00:13:29.250 lost as they can be. They're fools, according 00:13:29.250 --> 00:13:31.850 to Scripture, because they don't even acknowledge 00:13:31.850 --> 00:13:37.389 God in their heart. The wise man, are you chasing 00:13:37.389 --> 00:13:42.190 wisdom as your savior? Are you chasing wisdom 00:13:42.190 --> 00:13:44.049 as the thing that's going to get you through 00:13:44.049 --> 00:13:49.279 this life? For years, I don't know, they can't 00:13:49.279 --> 00:13:51.840 say it anymore because the schools are so terrible, 00:13:51.940 --> 00:13:54.840 but they said, if only we could educate the population. 00:13:55.720 --> 00:13:59.460 If only we could just get people educated. That 00:13:59.460 --> 00:14:02.879 would do it. That would change society. Well, 00:14:03.059 --> 00:14:06.679 they evidently haven't done it enough. because 00:14:06.679 --> 00:14:09.600 it hasn't had any effect on society. The wise 00:14:09.600 --> 00:14:12.559 man, though, boasted his wisdom, and he's a fool 00:14:12.559 --> 00:14:17.600 for doing so. And he goes on. Neither let the 00:14:17.600 --> 00:14:22.120 mighty man glory in his might. The powerful man. 00:14:23.330 --> 00:14:25.669 All of those that have a position of authority, 00:14:25.929 --> 00:14:28.929 we could say. I'm taking care of this situation. 00:14:30.389 --> 00:14:33.309 You ever heard the politicians, especially when 00:14:33.309 --> 00:14:35.190 it's coming here to elections, they're going 00:14:35.190 --> 00:14:38.100 to take care of this thing. They're going to 00:14:38.100 --> 00:14:41.720 fix everything. I have the power. Elect me, and 00:14:41.720 --> 00:14:45.139 I'll have the power to do it. Of course, nothing 00:14:45.139 --> 00:14:47.200 changes. After the election, everything just 00:14:47.200 --> 00:14:49.419 keeps going on the same as it was, and it's just 00:14:49.419 --> 00:14:53.750 on a downhill spiral. But they're confident in 00:14:53.750 --> 00:14:56.669 their own power to save themselves, to rectify 00:14:56.669 --> 00:15:00.409 society, to however we want to apply it, however 00:15:00.409 --> 00:15:05.820 they apply it. Power is sought after. It always 00:15:05.820 --> 00:15:10.320 has been. It's no new thing. Men seek power. 00:15:10.539 --> 00:15:15.759 They want control. So remember that, even in 00:15:15.759 --> 00:15:18.139 our personal lives, that there's a good application 00:15:18.139 --> 00:15:22.649 there. So many young married people. It's natural 00:15:22.649 --> 00:15:26.129 for a man to lead. It's natural because it's 00:15:26.129 --> 00:15:30.179 his God -given role for a man to lead. But in 00:15:30.179 --> 00:15:35.799 how he leads is the question. So we can't just 00:15:35.799 --> 00:15:41.279 take this thing at face value. What I say goes. 00:15:42.370 --> 00:15:48.679 That's a lousy attitude. There's a spirit there 00:15:48.679 --> 00:15:54.850 that's wrong. You should lead. You should certainly 00:15:54.850 --> 00:15:58.250 and most assuredly lead in the spiritual life 00:15:58.250 --> 00:16:03.070 of your family. If you are a man, if you are 00:16:03.070 --> 00:16:08.340 a man of God, if you are a leader, you will lead 00:16:08.340 --> 00:16:13.019 in the spiritual realm far above everything else. 00:16:14.379 --> 00:16:17.850 That's what the man of God does. But he puts 00:16:17.850 --> 00:16:22.370 no confidence in it. He's not saving his family. 00:16:22.470 --> 00:16:26.289 He's simply being faithful to God. He's not going 00:16:26.289 --> 00:16:29.009 to be able to set everything right. He can't 00:16:29.009 --> 00:16:32.779 have that kind of confidence in himself. He's 00:16:32.779 --> 00:16:37.090 got to transfer that confidence to God. Put his 00:16:37.090 --> 00:16:41.509 trust, his full trust in God to work in his family. 00:16:41.710 --> 00:16:44.710 To work out the difficulties. To lead in the 00:16:44.710 --> 00:16:50.250 proper direction. All of those things. Then lastly, 00:16:50.330 --> 00:16:54.230 he says, Let not the rich man glory in his riches. 00:16:55.539 --> 00:16:59.950 And so again, can riches save anybody? Of course 00:16:59.950 --> 00:17:04.660 not. Can riches do anything in the spiritual 00:17:04.660 --> 00:17:11.480 realm? Riches alone cannot. No, they can't. They're 00:17:11.480 --> 00:17:15.930 powerless. Now, if you have the Spirit of God 00:17:15.930 --> 00:17:18.490 and you're following Christ and you have been 00:17:18.490 --> 00:17:22.490 blessed with money, you have a rare opportunity 00:17:22.490 --> 00:17:26.359 to put that money to good use in following the 00:17:26.359 --> 00:17:29.380 leading of God. But the money itself is not going 00:17:29.380 --> 00:17:32.799 to accomplish anything spiritually in your life. 00:17:33.569 --> 00:17:37.410 It could even be a hindrance. It could give a 00:17:37.410 --> 00:17:41.950 false security. I'll never forget, as long as 00:17:41.950 --> 00:17:46.150 I live, I had a great job. I mean, I was on top 00:17:46.150 --> 00:17:49.109 of the world. One of the best jobs that you could 00:17:49.109 --> 00:17:53.269 have in society back then. A friend of mine was 00:17:53.269 --> 00:17:57.390 losing his job, and he did. And he kept coming 00:17:57.390 --> 00:18:00.869 to me for counseling. And I kept counseling him, 00:18:00.990 --> 00:18:03.190 telling him, you know, the Lord's in charge, 00:18:03.349 --> 00:18:05.150 blah, blah, everything, you know. But all the 00:18:05.150 --> 00:18:08.750 while I'm telling him and counseling him in these 00:18:08.750 --> 00:18:12.240 things, I'm saying to myself, am I being prepared 00:18:12.240 --> 00:18:15.799 for something else? Is God using all of this 00:18:15.799 --> 00:18:18.539 in my life to prepare me for what's coming next? 00:18:19.099 --> 00:18:25.420 And sure as anything, I lost my job. And I had 00:18:25.420 --> 00:18:27.980 to apply all of that stuff that I was telling 00:18:27.980 --> 00:18:31.160 him to myself. And, you know, I was thankful 00:18:31.160 --> 00:18:34.319 that I did have the experience of at least trying 00:18:34.319 --> 00:18:36.859 to help him and then going through the whole 00:18:36.859 --> 00:18:40.519 thing. And I was prepared, but I did. I lost 00:18:40.519 --> 00:18:46.549 my job. And from going to the top rung of employment 00:18:46.549 --> 00:18:51.420 to nothing. So anyway, that's another story, 00:18:51.460 --> 00:18:54.960 though. But riches, riches cannot save you. They 00:18:54.960 --> 00:18:57.880 will not save you. And my family was just as 00:18:57.880 --> 00:19:00.420 happy and contented and everything else when 00:19:00.420 --> 00:19:05.250 I was out of work as when I was in work. So the 00:19:05.250 --> 00:19:07.430 Lord takes care of all. And of course, we weren't 00:19:07.430 --> 00:19:12.529 in debt. We didn't have any debt. So, you know, 00:19:12.549 --> 00:19:15.269 it wasn't like everything was going to come crashing 00:19:15.269 --> 00:19:19.630 down on us. So money wasn't the object. Riches 00:19:19.630 --> 00:19:25.039 were nothing to me. So, in all of these, this 00:19:25.039 --> 00:19:31.109 is more warning here in 23. More negatives, we 00:19:31.109 --> 00:19:34.369 might say. Don't trust in those things. Don't 00:19:34.369 --> 00:19:36.970 put any confidence in those things. Don't seek 00:19:36.970 --> 00:19:41.619 those things. And then we come to the kicker, 00:19:41.619 --> 00:19:44.880 right amongst all of this negativity, all of 00:19:44.880 --> 00:19:49.779 this judgmentals. Verse 24. But let him that 00:19:49.779 --> 00:19:54.009 glorieth glory in this. that he understandeth 00:19:54.009 --> 00:19:58.259 and knoweth me, that I am the Lord, which exercise 00:19:58.259 --> 00:20:02.359 lovingkindness, or mercy you might have, judgment 00:20:02.359 --> 00:20:07.559 and righteousness in the earth. For in these 00:20:07.559 --> 00:20:13.309 things I delight, saith the Lord. So there's 00:20:13.309 --> 00:20:16.410 God again, revealing himself in the midst of 00:20:16.410 --> 00:20:19.470 this judgment. Speaking primarily, I'm sure, 00:20:19.470 --> 00:20:22.789 to his people that are... Going to endure these 00:20:22.789 --> 00:20:27.710 sufferings along with all the rest. But we can 00:20:27.710 --> 00:20:31.289 take this to our hearts. And this is what we 00:20:31.289 --> 00:20:35.309 glory in. Do you glory in this? Do you spend 00:20:35.309 --> 00:20:38.609 your day glorying in this? That you know and 00:20:38.609 --> 00:20:43.339 understand the Lord. Is that your boast? Are 00:20:43.339 --> 00:20:47.170 we boasting in Him? Do we understand the privilege 00:20:47.170 --> 00:20:51.759 it is to know and understand the Lord? Or do 00:20:51.759 --> 00:20:54.170 we just... Kind of just take it for granted? 00:20:55.940 --> 00:20:59.000 We don't give it its proper place in our lives? 00:20:59.589 --> 00:21:03.240 I don't know. Those are questions. Well, we have 00:21:03.240 --> 00:21:05.779 to ask ourselves constantly, have we drifted? 00:21:05.799 --> 00:21:10.529 Have we gone away? Or are we still on the trail? 00:21:10.609 --> 00:21:15.170 Are we still hot after God? And who is this God? 00:21:15.430 --> 00:21:19.369 Who is this Lord that you know, that you trust? 00:21:19.950 --> 00:21:24.109 Well, this is who He is. He exercises loving 00:21:24.109 --> 00:21:26.930 kindness, judgment, and righteousness in the 00:21:26.930 --> 00:21:31.609 earth. He doesn't have to say in heaven, that's 00:21:31.609 --> 00:21:34.289 where he is, and obviously all is right in heaven. 00:21:35.019 --> 00:21:39.319 But in earth, he's running the show. And he's 00:21:39.319 --> 00:21:44.079 a merciful God. He's full of mercy, loving kindness. 00:21:44.420 --> 00:21:47.779 He's full of it. That's who he is. His judgment 00:21:47.779 --> 00:21:52.519 is not who he is. His normal activity here is 00:21:52.519 --> 00:21:56.140 loving kindness, judgment, and righteousness. 00:21:57.519 --> 00:22:02.599 This is what he delights in. This is his delight, 00:22:02.779 --> 00:22:07.890 to show mercy. Judgment, we could say, substitute 00:22:07.890 --> 00:22:13.680 for discernment. We make judgments all the time. 00:22:13.720 --> 00:22:18.089 We have to be a discerning people. Can we discern 00:22:18.089 --> 00:22:20.970 the hand of God in our lives, in our personal 00:22:20.970 --> 00:22:24.460 lives, in leading us along the way? He delights 00:22:24.460 --> 00:22:29.329 to do it. That's who he is. Does that mean we're 00:22:29.329 --> 00:22:31.750 going to escape all trouble? No, of course not. 00:22:32.579 --> 00:22:37.619 We live in a land full of deceit, hatred, rejection 00:22:37.619 --> 00:22:41.750 of God. Just think how bad this place would be 00:22:41.750 --> 00:22:44.970 if God would abandon it entirely. That he pulled 00:22:44.970 --> 00:22:48.710 off all his restraining power that he exercises 00:22:48.710 --> 00:22:54.769 over people. It's unimaginable how bad this place 00:22:54.769 --> 00:22:59.900 would be. But anyway, his delight is in these 00:22:59.900 --> 00:23:05.259 things. This is what he takes delight in. So 00:23:05.259 --> 00:23:09.700 can we from that say that when we exercise discernment, 00:23:09.700 --> 00:23:13.059 when we make a good judgment, that he delights 00:23:13.059 --> 00:23:17.160 in that? Of course. When you show love and kindness, 00:23:17.240 --> 00:23:20.160 when you're merciful, does he delight in that? 00:23:20.279 --> 00:23:25.099 Yes. You're reflecting him. You're showing the 00:23:25.099 --> 00:23:29.029 world who he is. You're showing the world or 00:23:29.029 --> 00:23:32.910 you're showing one another who he is when you 00:23:32.910 --> 00:23:38.470 do this. When you act righteously, you are showing 00:23:38.470 --> 00:23:42.250 the Lord to be righteous. He delights in those 00:23:42.250 --> 00:23:46.690 things. He takes delight in us because he delights 00:23:46.690 --> 00:23:50.089 in the characteristics that we are displaying 00:23:50.089 --> 00:23:54.579 when we are displaying them. They are himself. 00:23:54.880 --> 00:24:00.000 We receive them from him. We know and understand 00:24:00.000 --> 00:24:03.299 him, and therefore we can do these things. We 00:24:03.299 --> 00:24:07.349 do exercise these graces, as they're commonly 00:24:07.349 --> 00:24:10.309 called. Righteousness, judgment, or discernment. 00:24:12.140 --> 00:24:16.920 Love and kindness. He delights in these things. 00:24:18.279 --> 00:24:22.720 So in the face of all the bad things that are 00:24:22.720 --> 00:24:26.670 happening, this is what we remember. They're 00:24:26.670 --> 00:24:33.009 not coming in between us and our Lord. He is 00:24:33.009 --> 00:24:35.930 to us a loving kindness, ever showing mercy, 00:24:36.309 --> 00:24:40.609 ever exhibiting righteousness, ever exhibiting 00:24:40.609 --> 00:24:44.089 judgment or discernment. Yes, chastisement when 00:24:44.089 --> 00:24:47.559 we need it. We should be thankful for that. We 00:24:47.559 --> 00:24:49.559 should be thankful that the Lord just doesn't 00:24:49.559 --> 00:24:52.839 leave us wander off indefinitely. He does bring 00:24:52.839 --> 00:24:58.589 us back. Okay, so that's the situation as it 00:24:58.589 --> 00:25:07.000 was in Israel. Horrible judgment to come. So 00:25:07.000 --> 00:25:12.460 just very briefly here, I wanted to read Colossians. 00:25:12.700 --> 00:25:20.789 And I can't recommend a book of Colossians to 00:25:20.789 --> 00:25:24.490 you enough. If you're looking for, in the coming 00:25:24.490 --> 00:25:26.930 year perhaps, what to do for your devotional 00:25:26.930 --> 00:25:29.569 time or whatever, get yourself a good, solid 00:25:29.569 --> 00:25:35.099 commentary on Colossians. And study it. Study 00:25:35.099 --> 00:25:38.980 it in detail. And I think you'll be blessed. 00:25:39.730 --> 00:25:42.789 more than you could ever imagine. Because Christ 00:25:42.789 --> 00:25:46.269 has the preeminence in this book. And he's talking 00:25:46.269 --> 00:25:50.390 about giving Christ the preeminence that he should. 00:25:51.220 --> 00:25:56.410 And it's a wonderful, wonderful, I don't like 00:25:56.410 --> 00:25:59.930 the word manual of Christian living, but it gives 00:25:59.930 --> 00:26:09.759 us many, many good points to ponder as we attempt 00:26:09.759 --> 00:26:14.430 to live out our life for Christ. So just briefly, 00:26:14.509 --> 00:26:18.900 in chapter 3, it says, we read right there in 00:26:18.900 --> 00:26:21.519 the first verse, if, and when you see if in the 00:26:21.519 --> 00:26:26.259 scripture, it's the same word as since in like 00:26:26.259 --> 00:26:29.400 90%. This is one of those things, one of those 00:26:29.400 --> 00:26:34.619 places. So it says, since ye then be risen with 00:26:34.619 --> 00:26:39.609 Christ. Do you understand that? Do you know God? 00:26:39.750 --> 00:26:41.930 Do you understand that? Do you know that you 00:26:41.930 --> 00:26:47.829 are risen with Christ? You were. You can't not 00:26:47.829 --> 00:26:52.529 be risen with Christ. It tells us to seek those 00:26:52.529 --> 00:26:56.569 things which are above. Where Christ sitteth 00:26:56.569 --> 00:26:59.650 on the right hand of God. Notice he sitteth. 00:26:59.650 --> 00:27:02.809 His work is finished. He's not standing there. 00:27:03.009 --> 00:27:06.569 He's not pacing back and forth. He's not looking 00:27:06.569 --> 00:27:10.690 to. Everything is completed. He sits down at 00:27:10.690 --> 00:27:13.210 the right hand of God. The work is finished. 00:27:14.410 --> 00:27:17.509 Does that mean he's not mediating? No, it doesn't. 00:27:17.960 --> 00:27:21.869 But he's mediating the finished work. There's 00:27:21.869 --> 00:27:24.849 no more work to be done. It's all done. It's 00:27:24.849 --> 00:27:28.730 all finished. It's accomplished. Seek those things. 00:27:28.990 --> 00:27:33.410 And again, this is an ongoing verb. Continually 00:27:33.410 --> 00:27:38.349 seeking. Be continually seeking. Never -ending 00:27:38.349 --> 00:27:42.470 seeking. And what is this? particularly talking 00:27:42.470 --> 00:27:46.910 about seeking, seeking Him. Seeking the Lord. 00:27:47.329 --> 00:27:50.490 And it's not like you're trying to find something. 00:27:51.049 --> 00:27:54.849 You're trying to grow in your knowledge and love 00:27:54.849 --> 00:28:00.130 for the Lord. That's what we're seeking. If you're 00:28:00.130 --> 00:28:02.630 not in the Lord, obviously you've got to seek 00:28:02.630 --> 00:28:04.869 Him. You've got to beg for His forgiveness. All 00:28:04.869 --> 00:28:09.140 of that if you're a lost person. But as a Christian, 00:28:09.740 --> 00:28:13.079 You should be seeking after God to know and understand 00:28:13.079 --> 00:28:18.359 Him more. Because that's the delight. That's 00:28:18.359 --> 00:28:21.670 the wonder. That's the glory of Christianity 00:28:21.670 --> 00:28:26.400 and being a Christian. Remember having the privilege 00:28:26.400 --> 00:28:30.480 of knowing and understanding. To know God is 00:28:30.480 --> 00:28:34.960 salvation. You know, you can stay at this old 00:28:34.960 --> 00:28:40.420 base level for years. And then all of a sudden, 00:28:40.460 --> 00:28:42.039 something's going to happen. Something's going 00:28:42.039 --> 00:28:45.339 to wake you up and you're going to say, I didn't, 00:28:45.339 --> 00:28:48.700 it's going to take off. Remember the example 00:28:48.700 --> 00:28:51.579 I gave years ago about David's cactus? You that 00:28:51.579 --> 00:28:54.779 know David, you know that cactus he's got in 00:28:54.779 --> 00:28:58.259 his study? You know that messy looking thing? 00:28:59.200 --> 00:29:01.819 And sat there about like this for I don't know 00:29:01.819 --> 00:29:05.079 how many years. Remember it? Well, that's just 00:29:05.079 --> 00:29:09.299 the way it is with a Christian. He finally, I 00:29:09.299 --> 00:29:12.099 don't know. I said it a thousand times. Put some 00:29:12.099 --> 00:29:16.700 water on the thing. Feed the thing. Finally, 00:29:16.839 --> 00:29:20.539 he did. And all of a sudden now, what is it like 00:29:20.539 --> 00:29:23.759 that? It's got some shoots growing out all over 00:29:23.759 --> 00:29:27.200 it. That's how a Christian is. All of a sudden 00:29:27.200 --> 00:29:32.759 he takes off. He got to the place where he really 00:29:32.759 --> 00:29:36.500 did know and love and appreciate God and have 00:29:36.500 --> 00:29:42.210 a desire to know more. To grow more and faster 00:29:42.210 --> 00:29:46.170 and be more useful. That's what Colossians is 00:29:46.170 --> 00:29:49.190 talking about. Set your affections on things 00:29:49.190 --> 00:29:54.150 above, not the things of the earth. I know we 00:29:54.150 --> 00:29:57.450 are of the flesh. We're going to be in the flesh 00:29:57.450 --> 00:30:00.890 until that day when we depart the scene and we 00:30:00.890 --> 00:30:04.569 leave our flesh behind. So we do have affections. 00:30:05.339 --> 00:30:07.960 There's nothing wrong with having affections 00:30:07.960 --> 00:30:14.829 for things that are on the earth. So every level 00:30:14.829 --> 00:30:18.950 of affection that you have for something or somebody 00:30:18.950 --> 00:30:23.809 on the earth, that should be exceeded by your 00:30:23.809 --> 00:30:27.490 affection for God, for your God, for your Savior, 00:30:27.710 --> 00:30:30.430 for the things that are above, for the spiritual 00:30:30.430 --> 00:30:36.150 realm. We don't want to be hard -hearted, unloving 00:30:36.150 --> 00:30:39.009 people. Of course not. We have affections. That's 00:30:39.009 --> 00:30:42.650 good. God gave them to us. But he expects us 00:30:42.650 --> 00:30:47.900 to use those affections primarily for him. Love 00:30:47.900 --> 00:30:51.440 him extremely. Give him the priority that he 00:30:51.440 --> 00:30:56.849 should have. That's what Colossians is about. 00:30:56.930 --> 00:31:00.269 It's what it's telling us about. What a great 00:31:00.269 --> 00:31:03.869 life it is to be a Christian. If you dig in there. 00:31:04.650 --> 00:31:07.829 And you start to experience God more and more 00:31:07.829 --> 00:31:10.109 in your life. And you start serving him more 00:31:10.109 --> 00:31:12.670 and more. And receiving thereby more and more 00:31:12.670 --> 00:31:17.349 blessings. And then verse 3, for ye are dead, 00:31:17.509 --> 00:31:20.089 and your life is hid with Christ in God. Are 00:31:20.089 --> 00:31:22.890 you dead? Do you really consider yourself as 00:31:22.890 --> 00:31:27.089 dead to yourself, dead to this world? You are, 00:31:27.369 --> 00:31:31.410 whether you consider it or not. You're dead. 00:31:31.650 --> 00:31:34.890 Your life is hid with Christ. You're in Christ. 00:31:35.269 --> 00:31:39.500 Christ is in you. He's living his life through 00:31:39.500 --> 00:31:43.950 you. You may be arguing with him. You may be 00:31:43.950 --> 00:31:46.109 at the place where you're not submitted entirely. 00:31:46.890 --> 00:31:51.069 But nonetheless, he will have his way. And when 00:31:51.069 --> 00:31:53.829 he starts to really have his way with you, that's 00:31:53.829 --> 00:31:56.109 when you will take off. That's when you will 00:31:56.109 --> 00:32:02.460 have fun. More fun. More enjoyment of God's great 00:32:02.460 --> 00:32:13.559 salvation in us. So that's the story. We live 00:32:13.559 --> 00:32:17.079 in a wicked place, but we serve a wonderful... 00:32:17.440 --> 00:32:22.279 long -suffering, faithful God. Enjoy Him in the 00:32:22.279 --> 00:32:23.680 church. Amen.