WEBVTT 00:00:00.689 --> 00:00:03.089 and the Father's Day greeting to all of you. 00:00:03.450 --> 00:00:06.150 And it's good to see our friends the Mercs here. 00:00:06.610 --> 00:00:08.449 We're delighted you've come to worship with us 00:00:08.449 --> 00:00:11.250 this morning. In honor of Father's Day, I thought 00:00:11.250 --> 00:00:13.349 I would tell you a story about Paul when he was 00:00:13.349 --> 00:00:16.750 a little child. This is as true as all the stories 00:00:16.750 --> 00:00:19.929 he's told about me. Just want you to know that. 00:00:21.010 --> 00:00:22.969 When he was a little boy, he was acting up in 00:00:22.969 --> 00:00:25.469 church. Now, it's hard to believe that Paul was 00:00:25.469 --> 00:00:28.370 being disobedient in church, and so as he was... 00:00:28.089 --> 00:00:31.690 They were, as a family, heading home. They decided 00:00:31.690 --> 00:00:33.750 on the punishment. It would be that Paul had 00:00:33.750 --> 00:00:37.649 to sit by himself at the noon dinner. And so 00:00:37.649 --> 00:00:40.130 they got the table all prepared for the family, 00:00:40.149 --> 00:00:42.750 and then they had a little table where they prepared 00:00:42.750 --> 00:00:46.270 a meal for Paul, where he was to sit by himself. 00:00:47.049 --> 00:00:50.149 And his father bowed to give thanks for the food. 00:00:50.950 --> 00:00:53.929 And as he was about to finish, Paul interrupted, 00:00:54.710 --> 00:00:57.539 and he said, and Lord, we thank you. for preparing 00:00:57.539 --> 00:01:00.340 a table before me in the presence of my enemies. 00:01:03.799 --> 00:01:06.379 Do you ever feel that way that as a parent you've 00:01:06.379 --> 00:01:10.719 become an enemy? There are seasons of life where 00:01:10.719 --> 00:01:14.900 so it seems to be. There is no responsibility 00:01:14.900 --> 00:01:18.980 that is more awesome to a parent than that of 00:01:18.980 --> 00:01:23.480 disciplining the child. When we train our children 00:01:23.480 --> 00:01:27.400 what we're really doing, you know, is training 00:01:27.400 --> 00:01:33.219 them how to train their children. That's a scary 00:01:33.219 --> 00:01:38.239 thought. Because you see, we set in motion good 00:01:38.239 --> 00:01:43.359 or ill for coming generations. And that's what 00:01:43.359 --> 00:01:46.900 our text today in Jeremiah 32 touches on. I invite 00:01:46.900 --> 00:01:48.939 you to open your Bible to this Old Testament 00:01:48.939 --> 00:01:52.500 prophet, where we continue looking at the prayer 00:01:52.500 --> 00:01:58.319 that Jeremiah offered to God. which reveals the 00:01:58.319 --> 00:02:03.819 mightiness of God. I'm going to pick up the theme 00:02:03.819 --> 00:02:05.900 at the very beginning of the prayer in verse 00:02:05.900 --> 00:02:24.770 17, Jeremiah 32, where it says, who show us loving 00:02:24.770 --> 00:02:28.789 kindness to thousands. That's what we looked 00:02:28.789 --> 00:02:31.629 at last week and seen that God is mighty in His 00:02:31.629 --> 00:02:38.129 grace. But Jeremiah goes on to say, but, repay 00:02:38.129 --> 00:02:42.930 us the iniquity of fathers into the bosom of 00:02:42.930 --> 00:02:48.650 their children after them, O great and mighty 00:02:48.650 --> 00:02:56.650 God. Like us, Jeremiah lived in turbulent times. 00:02:58.110 --> 00:03:00.590 The fabric of the nation of Judah was coming 00:03:00.590 --> 00:03:05.449 apart. It was on the brink of destruction because 00:03:05.449 --> 00:03:09.169 the people had disobeyed the voice of the Lord. 00:03:10.530 --> 00:03:17.189 They had followed false idols and gods. The impending 00:03:17.189 --> 00:03:21.400 doom had to be no surprise to them. They as a 00:03:21.400 --> 00:03:25.800 nation had been amply warned by God. It is good 00:03:25.800 --> 00:03:30.340 for us to remember that just as families are 00:03:30.340 --> 00:03:37.939 disciplined, so are nations. God disciplines 00:03:37.939 --> 00:03:42.439 and judges the nations of the world. Let me give 00:03:42.439 --> 00:03:46.680 you three biblical examples of this idea. Examples 00:03:46.680 --> 00:03:48.939 that could number probably into the hundreds 00:03:48.939 --> 00:03:53.780 from the Bible. The first example of God disciplining 00:03:53.780 --> 00:03:56.280 the nations is found in the book of Jeremiah. 00:03:57.280 --> 00:03:59.900 For near the end of the book, in chapters 46 00:03:59.900 --> 00:04:05.340 through 51, we find recorded the words of Jeremiah 00:04:05.340 --> 00:04:10.439 to the surrounding nations of Judah. He speaks 00:04:10.439 --> 00:04:16.319 to Egypt. He speaks to Edom, Ammon and Moab, 00:04:16.500 --> 00:04:22.069 the Philistines and Syria. And to each of these 00:04:22.069 --> 00:04:25.810 nations, Jeremiah, the prophet of God, pronounces 00:04:25.810 --> 00:04:30.189 doom and judgment upon them because of their 00:04:30.189 --> 00:04:33.610 ungodliness and because of their treatment of 00:04:33.610 --> 00:04:38.029 his people. And so we see one example within 00:04:38.029 --> 00:04:41.529 the book of Jeremiah. There is another example 00:04:41.529 --> 00:04:44.589 that is found in the book of Daniel. Daniel was 00:04:44.589 --> 00:04:47.829 a contemporary of Jeremiah. He had been carried 00:04:47.829 --> 00:04:52.850 off to Babylon. in the first invasion of the 00:04:52.850 --> 00:04:55.930 Babylonians. But he lived in the same time period 00:04:55.930 --> 00:04:58.170 as Jeremiah. They may have known each other. 00:05:00.509 --> 00:05:03.829 And in Babylon, Daniel received a tremendous 00:05:03.829 --> 00:05:06.209 insight from God. You may recall the story in 00:05:06.209 --> 00:05:10.649 Daniel chapter 2, how the Nebuchadnezzar had 00:05:10.649 --> 00:05:14.730 a nightmare, a dream, and he was so terrified 00:05:14.730 --> 00:05:17.589 by it that he wanted his wise men, his astrologers, 00:05:17.629 --> 00:05:22.040 to give him the interpretation. but to test them. 00:05:23.019 --> 00:05:25.180 He said, I also want you to tell me what the 00:05:25.180 --> 00:05:29.139 dream was. And of course, none of them could 00:05:29.139 --> 00:05:34.939 do it, except Daniel. God gave to Daniel the 00:05:34.939 --> 00:05:38.339 insight to know what Nebuchadnezzar had dreamed 00:05:38.339 --> 00:05:45.579 and what it meant. And so he told him. Nebuchadnezzar 00:05:45.579 --> 00:05:49.660 had a dream of a large image. and it was made 00:05:49.660 --> 00:05:55.939 of various kinds of metal. And he, Nebuchadnezzar, 00:05:55.939 --> 00:05:58.399 and his kingdom of Babylon was represented in 00:05:58.399 --> 00:06:02.779 the gold head, the great and awesome empire, 00:06:03.060 --> 00:06:07.620 Babylon. And then moving down the statue, you 00:06:07.620 --> 00:06:11.600 come to the next portion of the statue, which 00:06:11.600 --> 00:06:14.139 represented the Medes and the Persians that would 00:06:14.139 --> 00:06:17.000 arise after Babylon. They would destroy Babylon. 00:06:18.659 --> 00:06:20.920 And they would become the great power in that 00:06:20.920 --> 00:06:24.240 part of the world. And following the Medes and 00:06:24.240 --> 00:06:27.879 the Persians would come another empire that we 00:06:27.879 --> 00:06:31.079 know now to have been the Greek empire, Alexander 00:06:31.079 --> 00:06:35.480 the Great. But that wasn't the final move. There 00:06:35.480 --> 00:06:37.680 was yet another empire to come upon the world, 00:06:37.759 --> 00:06:41.480 and that was the Roman Empire. And you know if 00:06:41.480 --> 00:06:44.060 you are aware of that image that its feet were 00:06:44.060 --> 00:06:49.920 made out of... of iron and clay indicating that 00:06:49.920 --> 00:06:52.860 it was part of the Roman Empire and yet it was 00:06:52.860 --> 00:06:56.879 different. And our understanding of that is that 00:06:56.879 --> 00:06:59.579 the feet of that image have never yet been fulfilled, 00:06:59.620 --> 00:07:02.399 that there is yet coming upon the world an empire 00:07:02.399 --> 00:07:07.480 that will be a form of the ancient Roman Empire 00:07:07.480 --> 00:07:12.759 and in fact will be the kingdom of the Antichrist 00:07:12.759 --> 00:07:17.500 in the last days of this age. And so Daniel is 00:07:17.500 --> 00:07:21.319 given this information to understand how the 00:07:21.319 --> 00:07:24.519 nations of the world would arise over a period 00:07:24.519 --> 00:07:29.000 of hundreds of years in world history. And then 00:07:29.000 --> 00:07:31.680 Daniel prays, and that's what I want you to notice 00:07:31.680 --> 00:07:35.579 in Daniel chapter 2, is what he says to the Lord. 00:07:46.060 --> 00:07:50.500 He removes kings and establishes kings. And he 00:07:50.500 --> 00:07:53.420 goes on to praise God for his wisdom and power. 00:07:55.199 --> 00:07:58.259 Daniel says it is God who causes nations to rise 00:07:58.259 --> 00:08:01.879 and it is God who puts them down when their purpose 00:08:01.879 --> 00:08:07.360 has been accomplished. God disciplines nations. 00:08:07.860 --> 00:08:12.079 He does it in a variety of ways. He does it through 00:08:12.079 --> 00:08:17.949 wars. and defeat in wars. He does it through 00:08:17.949 --> 00:08:22.189 disease and famine. He does it through economic 00:08:22.189 --> 00:08:24.790 ruin. He does it through moral collapse from 00:08:24.790 --> 00:08:31.290 within the empires happened with Rome. And I'm 00:08:31.290 --> 00:08:33.909 sure there were people who lived in various times 00:08:33.909 --> 00:08:36.629 during those empires I've mentioned who felt 00:08:36.629 --> 00:08:41.009 that nothing could ever destroy Babylon. It was 00:08:41.009 --> 00:08:46.070 too great. Its army's too awesome. Nothing could 00:08:46.070 --> 00:08:53.889 ever destroy Babylon. But God did, by raising 00:08:53.889 --> 00:08:56.129 up the Medes and the Persians, and doing it in 00:08:56.129 --> 00:08:58.429 the most amazing way, the story from Daniel. 00:09:00.649 --> 00:09:03.370 And the Persian Empire, in all of its glory, 00:09:04.149 --> 00:09:09.230 who could possibly destroy it? God did, when 00:09:09.230 --> 00:09:13.600 its time was done. God brought it into judgment. 00:09:15.639 --> 00:09:17.259 And you know, there are people who live in the 00:09:17.259 --> 00:09:19.779 United States of America who say, who could possibly 00:09:19.779 --> 00:09:23.220 ever imagine America not being the superpower 00:09:23.220 --> 00:09:29.320 of the world? We who are believers in the God 00:09:29.320 --> 00:09:31.860 of the Bible had better be able to imagine that, 00:09:32.100 --> 00:09:36.980 friend. Because just as God was able to discipline 00:09:36.980 --> 00:09:39.679 those nations, He's able to discipline America, 00:09:39.799 --> 00:09:46.759 and America is overdue. God disciplines the nations 00:09:46.759 --> 00:09:50.659 of the world. There's another example I want 00:09:50.659 --> 00:09:54.940 to point out in the prophet Joel. He foresees 00:09:54.940 --> 00:09:57.279 a day at the end of time when God is going to 00:09:57.279 --> 00:09:59.340 gather the nations of the world into what he 00:09:59.340 --> 00:10:04.059 terms the Valley of Jehoshaphat. And there God 00:10:04.059 --> 00:10:09.539 will judge the nations. So understand this, that 00:10:09.539 --> 00:10:12.740 just as we have discipline in families, so there 00:10:12.740 --> 00:10:14.980 is discipline among the nations of the world, 00:10:15.019 --> 00:10:21.759 and God is the one who disciplines. And I tell 00:10:21.759 --> 00:10:25.080 you, if Boris Yeltsin is re -elected in Russia 00:10:25.080 --> 00:10:28.419 today, as seems to be the case, the way the polls 00:10:28.419 --> 00:10:34.419 are indicating, it is the goodness of God. It 00:10:34.419 --> 00:10:37.759 is the purpose of God, because it could have 00:10:37.759 --> 00:10:44.799 been otherwise very, very easily. And when it 00:10:44.799 --> 00:10:47.059 comes to our own elections in this country this 00:10:47.059 --> 00:10:53.600 fall, God may well allow the electorate of this 00:10:53.600 --> 00:10:59.679 nation to choose what it wants, and allow us 00:10:59.679 --> 00:11:06.289 to bring judgment on ourselves. And that doesn't 00:11:06.289 --> 00:11:08.570 necessarily mean the same administration being 00:11:08.570 --> 00:11:16.210 in power the next four years. There are no magic 00:11:16.210 --> 00:11:19.850 formulas for either political party or for ones 00:11:19.850 --> 00:11:24.750 that are trying to arise. Unless this nation 00:11:24.750 --> 00:11:27.169 turns back to God, it's under the judgment of 00:11:27.169 --> 00:11:30.490 God. And it doesn't make any difference who's 00:11:30.490 --> 00:11:34.289 elected this law in that regard. God will deal 00:11:34.289 --> 00:11:38.330 with this nation. Now I'm not saying it doesn't 00:11:38.330 --> 00:11:40.769 make any difference, therefore be apathetic. 00:11:41.190 --> 00:11:44.509 I'm not saying that. But what I'm saying is God 00:11:44.509 --> 00:11:49.210 is the one who disciplines. And what I want you 00:11:49.210 --> 00:11:52.649 to see this morning in this message is that this 00:11:52.649 --> 00:11:56.830 God who is mighty in His loving kindness to thousands 00:11:56.830 --> 00:12:00.129 of generations is a God who is also mighty in 00:12:00.129 --> 00:12:06.210 His discipline. Mighty in His discipline. During 00:12:06.210 --> 00:12:08.669 this summer, we want to get to know God better 00:12:08.669 --> 00:12:13.710 and understand more about God. Jeremiah said, 00:12:14.629 --> 00:12:17.210 if anyone is going to glory or is going to boast, 00:12:17.309 --> 00:12:21.309 let him boast in this, that he understands and 00:12:21.309 --> 00:12:27.350 knows God. That God is the one who exercises 00:12:27.350 --> 00:12:32.470 loving -kindness and justice and righteousness 00:12:32.470 --> 00:12:37.639 in the earth. And so our goal this summer is 00:12:37.639 --> 00:12:40.559 to know what God is really like, to understand 00:12:40.559 --> 00:12:43.399 Him from the Bible. And this morning, we're going 00:12:43.399 --> 00:12:46.100 to see that God, who is mighty in grace, is mighty 00:12:46.100 --> 00:12:51.980 in justice. He is mighty in discipline. And along 00:12:51.980 --> 00:12:54.200 the way, I hope that we'll pick up some principles 00:12:54.200 --> 00:12:57.940 that will help us, who are earthly parents, earthly 00:12:57.940 --> 00:13:00.799 fathers on this Father's Day, in our discipline 00:13:00.799 --> 00:13:04.419 of our families. So stick with me. The first 00:13:04.419 --> 00:13:06.299 thing I want you to notice this morning is that 00:13:06.299 --> 00:13:08.740 God disciplines His people for disobedience. 00:13:09.279 --> 00:13:13.740 That seems very obvious, doesn't it? But don't 00:13:13.740 --> 00:13:19.000 overlook it as being too simple. Because we think 00:13:19.000 --> 00:13:24.700 today, because this is the mindset of our culture, 00:13:24.840 --> 00:13:28.179 that somehow God either doesn't exist or God 00:13:28.179 --> 00:13:36.289 is overlooking the evil of our culture. That 00:13:36.289 --> 00:13:38.509 somehow God's not involved in it because it's 00:13:38.509 --> 00:13:42.370 gone on from generation to generation And nothing's 00:13:42.370 --> 00:13:47.330 happened We need to understand the very beginning 00:13:47.330 --> 00:13:50.669 the simple point that God disciplines his people 00:13:50.669 --> 00:13:54.809 for disobedience Notice here in Jeremiah 32 what 00:13:54.809 --> 00:13:58.830 it said In verse 21 as Jeremiah continues to 00:13:58.830 --> 00:14:00.970 pray he says Lord you brought your people Israel 00:14:00.970 --> 00:14:03.230 out of the land of Egypt with signs and wonders 00:14:03.230 --> 00:14:06.210 the strong hand and an outstretched arm in great 00:14:06.210 --> 00:14:10.450 terrors. And you gave them this land which you 00:14:10.450 --> 00:14:12.970 swore to their forefathers to give them, a land 00:14:12.970 --> 00:14:15.669 flowing with milk and honey. And they came in 00:14:15.669 --> 00:14:19.509 and took possession of it. So he recounts the 00:14:19.509 --> 00:14:23.090 Pentateuch up through the book of Joshua. For 00:14:23.090 --> 00:14:28.009 God gave the people the land, but, he says, they 00:14:28.009 --> 00:14:35.340 did not obey thy voice, or walk in thy law. So 00:14:35.340 --> 00:14:37.820 now Jeremiah is bringing us up to date. He says, 00:14:37.879 --> 00:14:40.820 God, you did all of these things and yet your 00:14:40.820 --> 00:14:46.639 people did not obey. And so he says, verse 24, 00:14:46.820 --> 00:14:50.960 Behold the siege mounds have reached the city 00:14:50.960 --> 00:14:54.940 to take it. Remember, the city of Jerusalem is 00:14:54.940 --> 00:14:57.559 under siege. The Babylonian armies have surrounded 00:14:57.559 --> 00:15:00.580 it. They are building mounds of dirt toward the 00:15:00.580 --> 00:15:05.240 city walls. which they will ultimately destroy. 00:15:07.100 --> 00:15:10.820 And they will enter the city and carry off its 00:15:10.820 --> 00:15:15.559 people captives. And Jeremiah said, it's because 00:15:15.559 --> 00:15:19.659 they did not obey thy voice or walk in thy law. 00:15:24.919 --> 00:15:27.779 God disciplines his people for disobedience. 00:15:30.970 --> 00:15:34.889 So Babylon carried them off, and they were in 00:15:34.889 --> 00:15:38.309 captivity for 70 years. But why did God say 70 00:15:38.309 --> 00:15:42.789 years? Well, it's again because of disobedience. 00:15:44.330 --> 00:15:46.350 When they entered the land, God had given them 00:15:46.350 --> 00:15:49.889 a law called the sabbatical rest law. Every seven 00:15:49.889 --> 00:15:54.909 years, the land was to lie fallow. And for 490 00:15:54.909 --> 00:15:57.450 years, the people were in the land up to this 00:15:57.450 --> 00:16:00.320 point. they had never obeyed that law from God 00:16:00.320 --> 00:16:04.019 to let the land be at rest every seven years. 00:16:05.879 --> 00:16:08.240 So if you know your math, you take seven into 00:16:08.240 --> 00:16:13.740 490 and you come up with 70. And so God is now 00:16:13.740 --> 00:16:16.580 catching up and is going to allow the land to 00:16:16.580 --> 00:16:21.320 be idle for 70 years while his people are in 00:16:21.320 --> 00:16:24.179 captivity in Babylon. That's the reason it's 00:16:24.179 --> 00:16:29.720 70 years. Now when God disciplines, it's not 00:16:29.720 --> 00:16:34.659 because he hates Israel. In fact, God loves his 00:16:34.659 --> 00:16:39.379 people desperately. God's discipline does not 00:16:39.379 --> 00:16:44.000 arise out of hatred, but out of love. In Proverbs, 00:16:44.379 --> 00:16:47.080 again in Hebrews 12, it says, for whom the Lord 00:16:47.080 --> 00:16:52.840 loves, he what? He chastens. He disciplines. 00:16:54.320 --> 00:16:57.440 Do we parents? Discipline our children because 00:16:57.440 --> 00:17:04.099 we hate them? They think so sometimes. We're 00:17:04.099 --> 00:17:08.900 told so sometimes. But we take the time, we exert 00:17:08.900 --> 00:17:11.619 the energy to discipline them because we love 00:17:11.619 --> 00:17:15.539 them. And we know that if they continue doing 00:17:15.539 --> 00:17:18.819 the things they're doing, they're going to end 00:17:18.819 --> 00:17:22.500 up in trouble. They're going to hurt themselves. 00:17:22.579 --> 00:17:24.720 They're going to bring their lives into ruin. 00:17:25.869 --> 00:17:32.490 And so out of love for them, we discipline. And 00:17:32.490 --> 00:17:35.150 why does God discipline Israel? Because He loves 00:17:35.150 --> 00:17:40.309 Israel. He doesn't want them as a people to be 00:17:40.309 --> 00:17:44.690 under the bondage of idols. He doesn't want to 00:17:44.690 --> 00:17:47.670 see them destroy themselves in serving false 00:17:47.670 --> 00:17:53.099 gods. He loves them so much that He wants them 00:17:53.099 --> 00:17:58.160 to love Him so that He can bless them. And so 00:17:58.160 --> 00:18:03.519 He disciplines them. God disciplines His people 00:18:03.519 --> 00:18:06.160 for disobedience, and He does it out of love. 00:18:07.039 --> 00:18:08.599 The second thing I want you to notice is that 00:18:08.599 --> 00:18:13.000 God's discipline is preceded by patient warning. 00:18:14.619 --> 00:18:17.819 God had established the rules, so to speak, very 00:18:17.819 --> 00:18:22.170 early on. God says here's what I expect and if 00:18:22.170 --> 00:18:24.710 you obey I will bless you and if you disobey 00:18:24.710 --> 00:18:30.869 I will discipline you And in chapter 32 again 00:18:30.869 --> 00:18:36.150 and in verse 33 Jeremiah acknowledges that God 00:18:36.150 --> 00:18:40.230 had warned them He says they have turned their 00:18:40.230 --> 00:18:42.910 back to me. This is God now speaking to Jeremiah. 00:18:42.910 --> 00:18:46.349 They have turned their back to me not their face 00:18:46.349 --> 00:18:51.250 in other words Just as your parents say, you 00:18:51.250 --> 00:18:56.029 look at me when I'm talking to you. God is saying 00:18:56.029 --> 00:18:58.630 they did not look at me. They turned their back 00:18:58.630 --> 00:19:05.869 to me in rebellion. Though I taught them, teaching 00:19:05.869 --> 00:19:10.089 them again and again, they would not listen and 00:19:10.089 --> 00:19:15.109 receive instruction. And so what we have here 00:19:15.109 --> 00:19:18.269 is a nation that had been warned over and over 00:19:18.269 --> 00:19:22.269 and over and over again that discipline was coming. 00:19:23.170 --> 00:19:29.309 And it would not listen to God. We see examples 00:19:29.309 --> 00:19:31.990 of this warning in Jeremiah 26. If you want to 00:19:31.990 --> 00:19:35.930 turn back there just real quickly. In Jeremiah 00:19:35.930 --> 00:19:43.519 26. We find the general time period when this 00:19:43.519 --> 00:19:46.180 prophecy came to Jeremiah. It's the reign of 00:19:46.180 --> 00:19:51.460 Jehoiakim. And here's what the Lord said to Jeremiah. 00:19:51.720 --> 00:19:54.079 Thus says the Lord, verse 2, stand in the court 00:19:54.079 --> 00:19:56.339 of the Lord's house and speak to all the cities 00:19:56.339 --> 00:19:58.579 of Judah who have come to worship in the Lord's 00:19:58.579 --> 00:20:01.220 house. All the words that I've commanded you 00:20:01.220 --> 00:20:04.500 to speak to them. Do not omit a word. Perhaps 00:20:04.500 --> 00:20:08.089 they will listen. And everyone will turn from 00:20:08.089 --> 00:20:11.089 his evil way, that I may repent of the calamity 00:20:11.089 --> 00:20:14.150 which I am planning to do to them, because of 00:20:14.150 --> 00:20:17.009 the evil of their deeds." To hear an example 00:20:17.009 --> 00:20:19.769 of God's warning. Jeremiah, go down to the temple 00:20:19.769 --> 00:20:22.069 in the courtyard and speak to the people and 00:20:22.069 --> 00:20:26.670 tell them. Perhaps they will turn from their 00:20:26.670 --> 00:20:29.009 wickedness, and then I can turn from what I'm 00:20:29.009 --> 00:20:34.130 intending to do to them. Verse 5. He tells Israel, 00:20:34.559 --> 00:20:37.119 You have not listened to the words of My servants 00:20:37.119 --> 00:20:40.079 the prophets, who I have been sending to you 00:20:40.079 --> 00:20:46.839 again and again. You have not listened." Then 00:20:46.839 --> 00:20:49.160 later in the chapter we have a recounting of 00:20:49.160 --> 00:20:52.500 some words from Micah the prophet, who lived 00:20:52.500 --> 00:20:56.859 a hundred years before this, in the days of Hezekiah 00:20:56.859 --> 00:21:00.400 the king. And Micah warned the nation a hundred 00:21:00.400 --> 00:21:03.789 years before this. that God was going to judge 00:21:03.789 --> 00:21:08.230 the nation and the city of Jerusalem. And the 00:21:08.230 --> 00:21:10.710 chapter closes with another warning from God 00:21:10.710 --> 00:21:15.750 through a man named Uriah. Uriah's prophecy was 00:21:15.750 --> 00:21:19.490 strong and he fled for his life to Egypt. Jehoiakim 00:21:19.490 --> 00:21:22.529 was so upset by what he said he sent people to 00:21:22.529 --> 00:21:25.390 Egypt to bring the prophet back and he killed 00:21:25.390 --> 00:21:29.369 him when he got him back in Jerusalem. And so 00:21:29.369 --> 00:21:32.190 in this one chapter we have three examples. of 00:21:32.190 --> 00:21:38.150 many, for God warned over and over of coming 00:21:38.150 --> 00:21:41.750 discipline. But God's discipline is preceded 00:21:41.750 --> 00:21:46.130 by patient warning. And we see that in our text 00:21:46.130 --> 00:21:52.049 going back to chapter 32. Notice that it says, 00:21:52.470 --> 00:21:56.849 God, you repay the iniquity of fathers into the 00:21:56.849 --> 00:22:02.150 bosom of their children after them. Now the casual 00:22:02.150 --> 00:22:03.930 reader would look at this and say, well, that's 00:22:03.930 --> 00:22:09.950 unfair. Why did God punish the children for what 00:22:09.950 --> 00:22:14.950 the fathers did? Now Jeremiah is not saying these 00:22:14.950 --> 00:22:17.970 words in a vacuum. He has some reason for saying 00:22:17.970 --> 00:22:21.970 them. He is pulling this thought out of the covenant 00:22:21.970 --> 00:22:25.829 that God made with Israel. And we want to go 00:22:25.829 --> 00:22:28.960 back into that covenant and just snip out but 00:22:28.960 --> 00:22:31.880 Jeremiah is referring to. So to do that, turn 00:22:31.880 --> 00:22:39.740 back to Exodus chapter 20. Here we have the Ten 00:22:39.740 --> 00:22:45.240 Commandments given by God in Mount Sinai. And 00:22:45.240 --> 00:22:49.460 in verse 4, God says, you shall not make for 00:22:49.460 --> 00:22:53.819 yourself any idols. Verse 5, you shall not worship 00:22:53.819 --> 00:22:57.740 them or serve them, for I, the Lord your God, 00:22:57.930 --> 00:23:00.390 Am I jealous, God? Now, look at these words. 00:23:01.250 --> 00:23:06.230 Visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, 00:23:07.529 --> 00:23:10.750 on the third and fourth generations of those 00:23:10.750 --> 00:23:14.309 who hate me, but showing loving kindness to thousands 00:23:14.309 --> 00:23:20.250 of generations, to those who love me. What does 00:23:20.250 --> 00:23:26.740 it mean to hate the Lord? It's the opposite of 00:23:26.740 --> 00:23:28.359 loving. What does it mean to love the Lord, to 00:23:28.359 --> 00:23:30.559 keep His commandments? What I hate the Lord is 00:23:30.559 --> 00:23:35.839 to rebel against His commandments. And in the 00:23:35.839 --> 00:23:38.559 context here, it means not only to rebel against 00:23:38.559 --> 00:23:42.759 God, but to go into idolatry, to begin worshiping 00:23:42.759 --> 00:23:47.599 false gods. And God says, those who choose to 00:23:47.599 --> 00:23:51.200 do this will be disciplined. And I will visit 00:23:51.200 --> 00:23:53.460 the iniquity of the fathers on the children, 00:23:53.519 --> 00:23:57.809 even down to the great and great -great -grandchildren's 00:23:57.809 --> 00:24:03.069 point. Now, if we look at this text, there are 00:24:03.069 --> 00:24:07.430 some things we need to note. First of all, notice 00:24:07.430 --> 00:24:13.349 the patience of God. Here's a generation that 00:24:13.349 --> 00:24:19.109 hates the Lord. However God deals with that generation 00:24:19.109 --> 00:24:21.609 is not the subject here. The point is that God 00:24:21.609 --> 00:24:28.049 allows this attitude to continue. He is patient 00:24:28.049 --> 00:24:32.069 with generations. When there is a father who 00:24:32.069 --> 00:24:34.630 hates the Lord, most likely his sons will hate 00:24:34.630 --> 00:24:38.710 the Lord. And when they become fathers, their 00:24:38.710 --> 00:24:42.910 sons will hate the Lord. And through the succeeding 00:24:42.910 --> 00:24:47.890 generations, God is patient. God warns. God waits. 00:24:48.390 --> 00:24:52.890 God is long -suffering. God does not delight 00:24:52.890 --> 00:25:02.579 in discipline. God patiently bears with sinners. 00:25:03.980 --> 00:25:08.740 That's one thing to note. When it says that He 00:25:08.740 --> 00:25:13.339 visits the iniquity of the fathers on the children, 00:25:15.039 --> 00:25:17.680 it means that there is a time, however, when 00:25:17.680 --> 00:25:24.460 God's patience is done. There is a point reached 00:25:24.460 --> 00:25:30.099 when as it were the cup of sin is filled up and 00:25:30.099 --> 00:25:35.619 it overflows. We have an example of this in Genesis 00:25:35.619 --> 00:25:38.819 chapter 15 where God makes a covenant with Abraham. 00:25:40.559 --> 00:25:43.200 You may remember that scene where Abraham and 00:25:43.200 --> 00:25:46.900 God are alone and God tells Abraham to prepare 00:25:46.900 --> 00:25:50.480 sacrifices and he divides them in half and lays 00:25:50.480 --> 00:25:54.000 them out and then there's a terrible darkness 00:25:54.000 --> 00:25:57.319 that comes upon the scene. and God is present, 00:25:58.019 --> 00:26:01.640 and then God himself walks through these sacrifices 00:26:01.640 --> 00:26:08.000 by a smoking lamp that becomes visible. And he 00:26:08.000 --> 00:26:12.039 does this so that he can signify that this covenant 00:26:12.039 --> 00:26:15.420 he is making with Abraham depends not upon the 00:26:15.420 --> 00:26:17.660 two of them together, for if that were the case, 00:26:17.759 --> 00:26:21.680 Abraham would have walked with him. But God says 00:26:21.680 --> 00:26:27.009 this covenant depends only on me, Abraham. And 00:26:27.009 --> 00:26:29.369 then he speaks to Abraham, and he says, your 00:26:29.369 --> 00:26:33.710 descendants will come back. He says, first, they're 00:26:33.710 --> 00:26:35.509 going to go down to Egypt. They're going to be 00:26:35.509 --> 00:26:40.710 enslaved for 400 years. And then they're going 00:26:40.710 --> 00:26:43.849 to come back, and I will give them this land. 00:26:44.710 --> 00:26:47.750 And then he says, for the iniquity of the Amorites 00:26:47.750 --> 00:26:54.150 is not yet complete. People of God is saying 00:26:54.150 --> 00:26:58.089 there, the Amorites were the people who lived 00:26:58.089 --> 00:27:02.970 in that part of Palestine. And God is saying, 00:27:03.269 --> 00:27:11.990 they are wicked. They serve idols. They do detestable 00:27:11.990 --> 00:27:16.630 things. But Abraham, I am patient with them. 00:27:17.529 --> 00:27:20.490 And I'm going to allow them to live here for 00:27:20.490 --> 00:27:24.549 four more generations. And during this time, 00:27:24.569 --> 00:27:30.569 I will be patient with them. But when my time 00:27:30.569 --> 00:27:33.390 comes, I will judge them. And Abraham, when that 00:27:33.390 --> 00:27:35.569 happens, I will have brought your people out 00:27:35.569 --> 00:27:38.950 of the land of Egypt here, and I will give them 00:27:38.950 --> 00:27:42.210 the land that the Amorites now possess and will 00:27:42.210 --> 00:27:48.970 possess for four more generations. God is patient. 00:27:49.900 --> 00:27:53.059 And we must not think that God's patience with 00:27:53.059 --> 00:27:55.420 the United States of America means that he is 00:27:55.420 --> 00:28:03.079 overlooking our sins. We must not deceive ourselves 00:28:03.079 --> 00:28:07.380 in the thinking that somehow, because some horrible 00:28:07.380 --> 00:28:09.500 thing hasn't happened to America, we haven't 00:28:09.500 --> 00:28:13.539 had some great collapse yet, that God has neglected, 00:28:13.759 --> 00:28:16.339 that God has forgotten judgment. That is not 00:28:16.339 --> 00:28:24.039 the case. God is patient. And over and over and 00:28:24.039 --> 00:28:30.680 over again He has warned this nation. And someday, 00:28:31.740 --> 00:28:36.240 and only God knows when, He will bring the discipline 00:28:36.240 --> 00:28:42.660 that is needed and deserved. And it will be not 00:28:42.660 --> 00:28:45.339 only the discipline that will fall on that generation 00:28:45.339 --> 00:28:48.609 living at that time, but the accumulated discipline 00:28:48.609 --> 00:28:54.329 of previous generations. I like the comments 00:28:54.329 --> 00:28:57.809 of Tylen Delich, who wrote for another generation, 00:28:58.789 --> 00:29:02.569 but who are very insightful into the Hebrew language. 00:29:03.309 --> 00:29:05.670 Listen to what they say regarding the text in 00:29:05.670 --> 00:29:09.869 Exodus. The human race is a living organism in 00:29:09.869 --> 00:29:13.650 which not only sin and wickedness are transmitted, 00:29:13.650 --> 00:29:18.210 but evil. as the curse of sin and the punishment 00:29:18.210 --> 00:29:22.390 of wickedness. As children receive their nature 00:29:22.390 --> 00:29:27.269 from their parents, so they also have to bear 00:29:27.269 --> 00:29:31.829 an atone for their father's guilt. There reigns 00:29:31.829 --> 00:29:36.210 in the world a righteous and gracious God who 00:29:36.210 --> 00:29:40.130 not only restrains the course of his judgments, 00:29:40.450 --> 00:29:43.430 as soon as the sinner is brought to reflection 00:29:43.430 --> 00:29:46.650 by punishment, and hearkens to the voice of God, 00:29:47.869 --> 00:29:50.970 but who also forgives sin and iniquity of those 00:29:50.970 --> 00:29:53.549 who love him, keeping mercy to the thousandth 00:29:53.549 --> 00:29:57.410 generation. They go on to say the words here 00:29:57.410 --> 00:30:02.630 neither affirm that sinning fathers remain unpunished, 00:30:03.410 --> 00:30:05.769 nor that the sins of the fathers are punished 00:30:05.769 --> 00:30:08.869 in the children and grandchildren without any 00:30:08.869 --> 00:30:12.069 fault of their own. They simply say nothing about 00:30:12.069 --> 00:30:14.920 whether... and how the fathers themselves are 00:30:14.920 --> 00:30:19.960 punished. And in order to show the dreadful severity 00:30:19.960 --> 00:30:24.240 of the penal righteousness of God, these words 00:30:24.240 --> 00:30:26.720 give prominence to the fact that punishment is 00:30:26.720 --> 00:30:30.839 not omitted, that even when in the long suffering 00:30:30.839 --> 00:30:35.660 of God it is deferred, it is not therefore neglected. 00:30:38.339 --> 00:30:40.700 Listen to those words carefully, my friends. 00:30:43.420 --> 00:30:45.960 For those are words that apply not only to ancient 00:30:45.960 --> 00:30:50.660 Israel, but to every civilization that has ultimately 00:30:50.660 --> 00:30:55.460 come under the judgment of God. In the long suffering 00:30:55.460 --> 00:30:58.119 of God, that judgment may be deferred, and during 00:30:58.119 --> 00:31:06.839 that time, God pleads, God warns. But because 00:31:06.839 --> 00:31:10.259 God declares, doesn't mean that he neglects, 00:31:10.680 --> 00:31:16.089 and judgment will come. In the hundred and twenty 00:31:16.089 --> 00:31:20.210 years preceding the flood, God pled with the 00:31:20.210 --> 00:31:27.029 world to the preaching of Noah, to no avail. 00:31:27.809 --> 00:31:32.690 God's long -suffering waited, waited for the 00:31:32.690 --> 00:31:39.930 human race to respond, and it would not end judgment 00:31:39.930 --> 00:31:46.890 day. God's discipline is always preceded by patient 00:31:46.890 --> 00:31:50.730 warning. And the final thing to note is this, 00:31:50.869 --> 00:31:55.230 that God's discipline is not intended to be destructive, 00:31:55.490 --> 00:32:00.930 but instructive. You see, God in His discipline 00:32:00.930 --> 00:32:04.890 of His people wants us to learn to love Him and 00:32:04.890 --> 00:32:13.599 to learn wisdom. That is for our own good. God's 00:32:13.599 --> 00:32:16.579 heart is grieved when He sees us going the wrong 00:32:16.579 --> 00:32:20.160 way, because He knows where that's going to lead 00:32:20.160 --> 00:32:23.819 us. He knows the pain. He knows the sorrow. He 00:32:23.819 --> 00:32:29.339 knows the loss. He knows the destruction that 00:32:29.339 --> 00:32:31.880 awaits at the end of that path we're taking. 00:32:34.140 --> 00:32:37.480 And so in His love, He brings discipline against 00:32:37.480 --> 00:32:42.799 us. so that he might somehow turn us from our 00:32:42.799 --> 00:32:51.279 way to walk on the right path. The missionary 00:32:51.279 --> 00:32:53.299 was talking to me between service, and he said, 00:32:53.440 --> 00:32:55.759 my people with Chimula in Mexico, and because 00:32:55.759 --> 00:32:59.539 of that, you know, with Ken, some of you, he 00:32:59.539 --> 00:33:04.420 said, they have a saying that says, God doesn't 00:33:04.420 --> 00:33:11.339 know how to hurt us. As they have learned the 00:33:11.339 --> 00:33:14.240 word from their culture, that's how they said, 00:33:14.339 --> 00:33:18.579 God does not know how to hurt us. What that means 00:33:18.579 --> 00:33:22.420 is that God may discipline us, but it is not 00:33:22.420 --> 00:33:25.839 to our harm. It is not to our destruction. It 00:33:25.839 --> 00:33:29.579 is so that we might learn, that we might be instructed 00:33:29.579 --> 00:33:35.140 in his ways, and then turn and then be blessed 00:33:35.140 --> 00:33:40.519 by God. That's what he wants. And so God's discipline 00:33:40.519 --> 00:33:44.079 is not destructive, it's instructive. Now the 00:33:44.079 --> 00:33:46.920 discipline may mean pain, it may mean loss, but 00:33:46.920 --> 00:33:49.480 the point is that God through that is teaching 00:33:49.480 --> 00:33:57.160 us to obey Him. Obviously there is some clear 00:33:57.160 --> 00:34:00.380 application here to ourselves and not just to 00:34:00.380 --> 00:34:08.349 Israel. When we disobey God, God will patiently 00:34:08.349 --> 00:34:14.349 warn us. And if we will not listen to God, He 00:34:14.349 --> 00:34:17.670 will discipline us, because He loves us too much 00:34:17.670 --> 00:34:23.789 not to discipline us. He loves us too much not 00:34:23.789 --> 00:34:28.789 to teach us what to do, so that we can experience 00:34:28.789 --> 00:34:35.139 the best of His blessings. This morning there 00:34:35.139 --> 00:34:37.800 are some of us that need to respond to God's 00:34:37.800 --> 00:34:43.559 discipline in our lives by turning around. So 00:34:43.559 --> 00:34:47.219 before we go I want to point out to you four 00:34:47.219 --> 00:34:49.920 principles that arise to me out of what we've 00:34:49.920 --> 00:34:52.320 talked about this morning to help me as a father 00:34:52.320 --> 00:34:57.380 in my discipline. I hope that these principles 00:34:57.380 --> 00:34:59.900 may give you who are parents some guidance in 00:34:59.900 --> 00:35:03.289 disciplining your children. We can do no better 00:35:03.289 --> 00:35:05.969 than to follow the example of our Heavenly Father 00:35:05.969 --> 00:35:11.030 in discipling those that are in our care. Principle 00:35:11.030 --> 00:35:13.969 number one, to discipline your child is to prove 00:35:13.969 --> 00:35:18.489 that you love him. You will hear otherwise from 00:35:18.489 --> 00:35:22.789 your child. But to discipline your child is to 00:35:22.789 --> 00:35:25.900 only prove that you love him. Someone has said 00:35:25.900 --> 00:35:28.820 allow a pig and a boy to have everything they 00:35:28.820 --> 00:35:31.159 want and you'll end up with a good pig and a 00:35:31.159 --> 00:35:38.500 bad boy. The reason that we discipline our children 00:35:38.500 --> 00:35:41.139 is because we love them so much we know that 00:35:41.139 --> 00:35:44.099 if they continue doing this it's going to lead 00:35:44.099 --> 00:35:48.820 them into trouble. And so we interfere, we intervene 00:35:48.820 --> 00:35:54.000 and out of love we discipline. Number two. Let 00:35:54.000 --> 00:35:57.280 your expectations be clearly stated in advance, 00:35:58.599 --> 00:36:02.320 and repeat warnings of discipline as appropriate. 00:36:04.699 --> 00:36:06.900 Children shouldn't be surprised when they're 00:36:06.900 --> 00:36:09.179 disciplined. They should know that it's coming 00:36:09.179 --> 00:36:12.000 because of what's happened, what they've heard 00:36:12.000 --> 00:36:17.000 before. Rearing children is like drafting blueprints. 00:36:17.000 --> 00:36:21.159 You have to know where to draw the lines. Children 00:36:21.159 --> 00:36:26.460 need lines. Draw them clearly and warn them about 00:36:26.460 --> 00:36:29.320 the lines. Let them know. And when they are crossed, 00:36:29.460 --> 00:36:34.219 let the discipline come. Number three, temper 00:36:34.219 --> 00:36:38.480 your discipline with mercy. Always keeping the 00:36:38.480 --> 00:36:44.219 goal of training in view. Never allow your discipline 00:36:44.219 --> 00:36:49.139 to go over the edge into destruction, for you 00:36:49.139 --> 00:36:52.139 are destroying the child. God intends for us 00:36:52.139 --> 00:36:56.750 to... to break the will, the stubbornness of 00:36:56.750 --> 00:37:00.269 the child, but not to destroy the spirit of the 00:37:00.269 --> 00:37:04.570 child. So temper your discipline with mercy, 00:37:05.090 --> 00:37:08.010 keeping training before you. You don't have to 00:37:08.010 --> 00:37:11.130 prove that you're bigger. You don't have to prove 00:37:11.130 --> 00:37:15.789 that you're the boss. All you have to do is prepare 00:37:15.789 --> 00:37:19.659 that child to live wisely in discipline. And 00:37:19.659 --> 00:37:22.460 finally, remember that your discipline must begin, 00:37:22.679 --> 00:37:28.320 must begin with your own example. Your children 00:37:28.320 --> 00:37:31.440 are not only heirs of your possessions, your 00:37:31.440 --> 00:37:35.920 children are heirs also of your values and your 00:37:35.920 --> 00:37:39.360 character, and they will take those into life. 00:37:40.239 --> 00:37:43.019 And so, remember that your discipline begins 00:37:43.019 --> 00:37:46.260 with your own life. The character of your child 00:37:46.260 --> 00:37:49.760 tomorrow is shaped by what He learned from you 00:37:49.760 --> 00:37:55.679 today. Now we expect our children to obey us 00:37:55.679 --> 00:37:59.039 and to learn from our discipline. Should God 00:37:59.039 --> 00:38:03.780 have any less of an expectation? And so how are 00:38:03.780 --> 00:38:08.480 you responding to God's loving discipline, His 00:38:08.480 --> 00:38:11.019 instruction in your life? There are many tales 00:38:11.019 --> 00:38:15.210 told about ships. that for one reason or another 00:38:15.210 --> 00:38:17.949 lose their way in the channel and end up on the 00:38:17.949 --> 00:38:23.909 rocks, broken, ruined. Sometimes it's because 00:38:23.909 --> 00:38:26.309 the captain was asleep. Sometimes it's because 00:38:26.309 --> 00:38:28.949 the compass was wrong or because of a malfunction. 00:38:29.630 --> 00:38:33.070 Inevitably it's because the rudder was in the 00:38:33.070 --> 00:38:37.769 wrong direction. Someone has said, he who will 00:38:37.769 --> 00:38:41.269 not answer to the rudder must answer to the rocks. 00:38:45.889 --> 00:38:48.570 The rudder of some of you here today is in the 00:38:48.570 --> 00:38:51.530 wrong position, and it's leading you toward doom. 00:38:52.250 --> 00:38:54.469 And God is putting pressure in your life. He 00:38:54.469 --> 00:38:58.389 is trying to get that rudder to change and to 00:38:58.389 --> 00:39:04.570 turn you away from the rock. Will you today turn? 00:39:07.010 --> 00:39:09.730 Will you yield to the pressure God is bringing 00:39:09.730 --> 00:39:14.030 into your life? Will you turn from the rock? 00:39:15.920 --> 00:39:21.260 And let our loving Father embrace you and bless 00:39:21.260 --> 00:39:26.119 you and fill your life with the good things that 00:39:26.119 --> 00:39:32.039 now He can't give you. Let's pray. Let's pray. 00:39:34.000 --> 00:39:38.599 Father, we are many here, fathers and parents. 00:39:40.179 --> 00:39:45.139 We are all children. And most of us here are 00:39:45.139 --> 00:39:49.300 children of yours. And we have much to learn 00:39:49.300 --> 00:39:52.219 about you being mighty not only in grace, but 00:39:52.219 --> 00:39:57.079 in discipline. Forgive us when we have thought 00:39:57.079 --> 00:39:59.019 that because you've disciplined us, you've hated 00:39:59.019 --> 00:40:04.300 us. Help us to see afresh this morning how deep 00:40:04.300 --> 00:40:07.480 your love is. Oh, that only we could know the 00:40:07.480 --> 00:40:11.079 love of Christ. We could only know it fully. 00:40:12.980 --> 00:40:15.840 Thank you Lord Jesus for demonstrating your love 00:40:15.840 --> 00:40:18.119 at the cross where you took the punishment of 00:40:18.119 --> 00:40:24.139 all of our sin on yourself and died for us. From 00:40:24.139 --> 00:40:27.460 that demonstration help us to see and to understand 00:40:27.460 --> 00:40:33.219 and to feel today the depth of your love. Wherein 00:40:33.219 --> 00:40:37.619 we are resisting your hand in our lives. We're 00:40:37.619 --> 00:40:40.360 refusing to listen though again and again you've 00:40:40.360 --> 00:40:43.599 spoken. I pray that there will be a significant 00:40:43.599 --> 00:40:50.280 decision that we will make to yield. God help 00:40:50.280 --> 00:40:54.679 that mother, that father, that young person, 00:40:54.940 --> 00:41:03.219 that grandparent, to yield, to repent, to come 00:41:03.219 --> 00:41:10.059 home. And today know the blessing of a father. 00:41:10.590 --> 00:41:18.710 who loves them so desperately. I'm going to ask 00:41:18.710 --> 00:41:20.949 you to stand with me and our heads bowed and 00:41:20.949 --> 00:41:23.110 eyes closed. We're going to sing our commitment 00:41:23.110 --> 00:41:28.530 and our prayer. In my life, Lord, be glorified. 00:41:28.550 --> 00:41:32.329 And as we sing it, if you have particular needs, 00:41:35.090 --> 00:41:37.329 and you need to come today because your heart 00:41:37.329 --> 00:41:40.789 is heavy and you're broken, You're burdened. 00:41:40.849 --> 00:41:42.710 You want a significant change. You want someone 00:41:42.710 --> 00:41:45.210 to pray with you. I invite you to just look out 00:41:45.210 --> 00:41:48.090 and come here to the front as we sing this chorus. 00:41:48.829 --> 00:41:51.070 Don't wait. Don't hesitate. Just come right now 00:41:51.070 --> 00:41:53.550 as we sing our prayer of commitment to the Lord. 00:42:19.059 --> 00:42:21.920 Glorify today. Let's sing about our home as well. 00:42:22.219 --> 00:42:24.280 You come with God as speaking to your heart. 00:42:26.199 --> 00:42:55.980 In our home, Lord, be glorified. Lord, thank 00:42:55.980 --> 00:42:57.940 you for meeting with us. Help us to know you 00:42:57.940 --> 00:43:01.139 better through seeking you this summer. And may 00:43:01.139 --> 00:43:05.079 this prayer of Jeremiah and your revelation of 00:43:05.079 --> 00:43:11.000 yourself in this prayer help us to gain better 00:43:11.000 --> 00:43:14.719 understanding and insight. And I pray that we 00:43:14.719 --> 00:43:19.159 will be able to glory as these weeks pass, that 00:43:19.159 --> 00:43:25.690 we understand and know you, the Lord. And I pray 00:43:25.690 --> 00:43:28.989 that you will cause the result of this to filter 00:43:28.989 --> 00:43:31.690 out in our lives as dads. God, I pray for the 00:43:31.690 --> 00:43:33.929 fathers, especially in this congregation this 00:43:33.929 --> 00:43:37.110 morning, to whom there is great responsibility 00:43:37.110 --> 00:43:41.170 in child discipline. I pray for every parent. 00:43:41.949 --> 00:43:44.309 God, that you will give us that wisdom and that 00:43:44.309 --> 00:43:47.050 grace and that spirit that we need, that self 00:43:47.050 --> 00:43:51.070 -control that will enable us to discipline our 00:43:51.070 --> 00:43:58.329 children as you faithfully discipline us. We 00:43:58.329 --> 00:44:00.550 commit ourselves to you and we pray that in deed 00:44:00.550 --> 00:44:04.510 you will be glorified. God, we pray in closing 00:44:04.510 --> 00:44:10.150 too for our nation, that our country, that the 00:44:10.150 --> 00:44:15.150 people of this nation may repent of its wickedness 00:44:15.150 --> 00:44:21.690 and turn to you and be spared the judgment that 00:44:21.690 --> 00:44:26.590 is coming. In Jesus' name, Amen. Word is there.