All right, let's take our Bibles
and turn back to the book of Jeremiah chapter 3. Jeremiah chapter 3. I'm just
going to just pick right up where I left off. The Lord had commanded his people,
turn. I'm married to you. And now we
behold the fulfillment. of all of His promise. He said,
I'm going to be merciful to you. I'm married to you. I'll be merciful. And Almighty God grants all of
His grace, mercy, compassion in the promised Messiah. He accomplishes what He says
He's going to accomplish. The scripture declares in verses
16 I'm going to try to go from 16 to the end of the chapter.
16 to 18. It shall come to pass when ye
be multiplied and increased in the land, in those days saith
Jehovah the Lord, they shall say no more the ark of the covenant
of the Lord. Neither shall it come to mind,
neither shall they remember it. He's talking about the covenant,
the ark of that covenant. In the Old Testament, they walked
around. He's talking about that ark,
that ark that was inside the Holy of Holies. He said it's
not going to come to their mind anymore. They're not going to
remember it. Neither shall they visit it.
Neither shall that be done anymore. At that time, they shall call
Jerusalem the throne of the Lord. And all the nations shall be
gathered unto it. To the name of the Lord, to Jerusalem.
Neither shall they walk anymore. after the imagination of their
evil heart. In those days, the house of Judah shall walk with
the house of Israel. They shall come together out
of the land of the north to the land that I have given for an
inheritance of your fathers." Now, he said there's coming a
time when there's not going to be any more ceremonies. There's
not going to be any more shedding of the blood of animals, bulls,
goats. There's not going to be any more
of the types, the shadows, The arch, where the priest would
go in, the high priest, Aaron would go in there one day a year. One time, one time a year, one
day a year. He'd go in there and he'd sprinkle
it with the blood. The Lord said, it's going to
come a time when it's not going to be remembered anymore like
that. Why? Because the Lord Jesus himself,
the antitype, the fulfillment of all the types. He is going
to appear. And Jeremiah is saying there's
not going to be anymore, no more remembrance, no more worship
with that ark, no more. He's going to come into this
world, he's going to live for it and die for his people. He's
going to fulfill what all of those animals that were slain
pictured. He's going to do that. And that
blood sprinkled on the mercy seat is gonna be his blood that
was shed, and he's gonna absolutely save his people from their sins. But now listen in verse 19. Listen
to this question. Almighty God, ask a question
that only God can answer. But I say it, not Jeremiah, this
is the Lord. How shall I put thee among the
children? Now who put his people to be
the children? Who chose? Jeremiah or God? Well you know the answer to that.
The Lord chose. How shall I put thee among the
children and give thee a pleasant land as a goodly heritage of
the host of nations? How am I going to do that? Now you think the Lord is asking
that for information to himself? This is for us. This is for us
to contemplate. How is God going to do that? How is God going to show mercy
and compassion to whomsoever? He said, how shall I put thee
among the children and give thee a pleasant land, goodly heritage
of a host of nations? And I said, thy shall call me
my father and shall not turn away from me. How is that going
to be done? Well, according to the scriptures,
here's what the scriptures bear out. How is He going to put us
to be His children? Well, first of all, He's going
to have to love us. That's what Jeremiah 3.15 says. I've loved
you with an everlasting love. I've called you. I'm going to
choose you. I'm going to place you in my
Son. That's what Ephesians 1 says. He's adopted us to himself. How am I going to do this? I'm
going to love you. I'm going to choose you. I'm
going to put you in the surety. I'm going to send my son into
this world to pay your debt. And I'm going to look to him
alone to earn a righteousness. And I'm going to take that righteousness
that he earns and I'm going to clothe you before myself. And I'm going to send my spirit
And I'm going to seek you out. I'm going to regenerate you.
I'm going to give you a new heart. Give you faith. Then I'm going
to keep you until my son comes and receives you unto us. And he's done this. He's done
all. He's performed all of his will
and pleasure according to his purpose to show mercy to us,
redeeming us, and saving us. And he's going to now reveal.
He said, this is what you're going to do. Thou shalt call
me my father. You're going to call me father.
I'm going to give you a heart for me. And you're going to call
me, I'm going to call you my children. I'm going to reveal
to you. I'm going to reveal to you what I've done for you, how
I've saved you from yourself. And he said, you're not going
to turn away from me. You're not going to turn your
face You're not going to turn back. You're not going to turn
away from me. You're not going to turn from after me. You're
not going to leave. Why? Because I'm going to keep
you by my grace. And we absolutely realize, Lord,
only you could have done this for us. And Lord, you must have
done this for us. Because of our rebellion in Adam,
we're in trouble. Look at verse 20. Surely, as
a wife treacherously departed from her husband, so have you
dealt treacherously with me, O house of Israel, saith the
Lord. We admit we've departed from
the one who loved us, gave himself for us, the one who provided
for us, the one who has distinguished us to be his out of all the nations,
And we've done it with our eyes wide open. Nobody is sitting
here, well I just couldn't help what I do. This is us. We're
doing what our nature dictates. We've done it. We've done it
and we've treated him disrespectfully and we admit in agreement with
the Lord. We've done evil in his sight.
We've departed in heart. Oh, but when he's shown us how
he's loved us, regenerated us, kept us. He called us to Himself. Let me tell you some of the evidence
of regeneration. Now look at verse 21. A voice
was heard upon the high places, weeping supplications of the
children of Israel. But they have perverted their
way. They've forgotten the Lord, their God. Now here's an amazing
thing. The voice was heard upon the
high places. In those high places of rebellion,
in those high places of false worship, when they would go after
other idols and other gods, a cry was heard. The Lord says a cry
was heard in the very place where they were. He met us where we
were. Where did He meet Saul of Tarsus? Where did God meet him? On the
road to Damascus. On the very road to Damascus.
And he stopped him where Paul was at his high place, in that
place of rebellion. He stopped him, light shined
around him. And he said, Saul, Saul, why
persecutest thou me? Who art thou, Lord? I'm Jesus.
Lord, what would you have me to do? Where did he meet the
prodigal? Where did he meet the prodigal
son, the rebellion? Where did he meet him? He was
out there. spent all of his inheritance
from his dad and brought it to his living. He was out there
feeding the swine and the scripture says he came to himself in the
very place of his rebellion. In the very place where he was
doing just exactly what he wanted to do and a voice was heard upon
the high places weeping supplications of the children of Israel. The
scripture declares But the sacrifices of God, those sacrifices of a
new man which God approves are a broken spirit, a spirit crushed
under the consciousness of guilt. A broken and contrite heart,
O God, thou wilt not despise. Now here is a turned sinner. Turned by God. He never turned
himself. We never turn. Almighty God turned
us. Psalm 34 18, the Lord is nigh,
the Lord is near to help unto them that are of a broken heart
and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit. And then the scripture
sets forth, unless because of the wiles of the devil, the accusations
of the of the evil one, of the cause of a heart of unbelief. God Almighty has broken the hearts. He stops us. He stops us dead
in our tracks. He speaks of Him. He said, turn. He told us to turn. Then He turned
us and stopped us where we were in our rebellion and broken now
and thinking, is there any way, is there any way that Almighty
God would receive one like me? Is there any way that Almighty
God could have mercy upon you? You just don't know what I've
done. You have no idea what I've done. Voices weeping, supplications
of the children. They perverted their way. They've
forgotten the Lord their God, and they know it. They know it.
I tell you, every believer, again, knows what He is. I don't have
to look at you and say, I'll tell you what, you never catch
me doing what y'all did. Buddy, let me tell you something,
here's the problem right here. I'm the problem right here. Unless
they should be discouraged, look at verse 22, the Lord says again,
return. Return, you backsliding children,
and I will heal your backslidings. You come, and I'm going to heal I've got quite a few. You could
ask my mama. My mama told me one time, she
said she earned every gray hair that she's got raising me. You
did say that, didn't you, Granny? Yes, she said it. I can tell
you. I can tell you stories. I've
got scars. I've got battle scars just of
my stupidity. I mean, I could, man, I could
show you. I got a scar right here. I ran, my cousins and I,
we were running, playing jailhouse chase at night. I don't, that's
what we called it. I ran through a thornbush, had
big old thorns, and I ran into that thornbush at night and opened
up my, right here, jaw right there. I had to run home. My
head rushed me to the, you know. I was running around school one
time, and I ran smack daddy in there, boy's tooth cut right
here. I got a scar right here. About two years ago, I was up
on a hill there at the house. I was going to burn a thing.
I got a scar right there. I don't know if you can see it.
It's a good one. I opened up that wrist right
there and walked in the house. And Glenda said, what did you
do? I had to go and get this sewed up. And I've got them all
now. And they sewed them up for me.
Doctors told me, they said, well, they'll heal. They'll be fine.
They'll heal. They're not completely, because I still got the scar.
I can still show you right there, and right here, and right here,
and this finger that almost cut off right here. I can show you,
they're not completely. This is not what the Lord's talking
about right here. It's not that there's going to be some remembrances. He says, I'm going to heal your
backslidings. John Calvin said this about that
word, heal. He said, I'm going to blot out
your guilt. The Lord says there won't be
any remembrance. There's no record. You know what
this is? That's justification. The Lord
Jesus Christ, having taken our sin, and bore our sin. He took all of our sin. Now I'll admit, you know this,
the presence of sin is still there, the presence, but the
guilt, the guilt of it, the guilt of it. There is therefore now
no condemnation. There is no guilt. They're justified
before God. I'm going to heal. John Gill
said this, it's an act accomplished by the application of the blood
of Christ. When I see the blood, no guilt. I'll pass over you. The law looks
at God's people now in Christ. They're healed. They're healed.
The scripture sets forth, the Lord has told them, He said,
I will heal. Return your backsliding children. There won't be any record. In
Christ. There is no record. There is
no record. If you've ever said or ever heard
somebody say they describe justification as just as if I'd never sinned,
don't ever say that again. Don't ever say that again. It's
not just as if I'd never. In Christ, we never did. There
is no record. I know what I am. Well, I know
what I am too in Adam. But there's a new man created.
And this old man is going to be put off. And the only thing
that's left is that new man created in righteousness. In righteousness. I'm going to heal. You return
to me. I will heal. I'll heal the backsliding
of His children. For God to declare us in Christ
to have never turned at all. That new man created in righteousness
has never turned. He's never turned. That which
is born of God, what? Sinneth not. We've never turned. Only as we are declared to be
found in the Lord Jesus Christ can God Almighty says, there's
no record. I'll heal you. And hear the confession
now. Now you listen to the confession
of all that have been mercifully, powerfully, called by grace,
and taught of what God Almighty says He's done for them. Now
this, I'm going to admit something to you. I can't even enter into
what I just told you. I can by faith. I believe it.
I believe that. But I just cannot grasp hold
that right now, in Christ, I'm saying it and I hear it. And
I know it's right. And I know the scripture says
that which is born of God sinneth not. I know that. I know that's
right. I know that's right. And God
says I'm going to heal and I know what that word heal right there
means. No guilt. No charge. No record. No record. No record. Justification. No record. I've never done it,
I've never done it in Christ. I've never done it in Adam, that's
all I do, but in Christ. But I say this and I say, Lord,
how can this be? How can it be, Lord, that there's
no record? The blood of Christ has cleansed
us from all iniquities. And His robe robes us in righteousness. And we stand before God complete
in Him. And in Him, He's paid the debt. He bore the sin away. I don't
have any sin to answer for. And I'm holy. I'm holy. In Christ,
robed in His righteousness. No record. The believer says, The latter
part of 22, Behold, we come unto thee. Thou art the Lord our God. You are our God. This is the
God that's saved right here. It's not God trying to save.
This is God. This is God Almighty that saved.
Blessed words from the heart of those made willing in the
day of God's power. All that the Father giveth me
shall come to me, and him to come to me I will in no wise
cast out. Lord, is it truly so that I have nothing to answer
for? No condemnation to them to be in Christ Jesus. Lord,
is it truly so that in Christ I'm righteous, I'm holy, robed
in the righteousness of Christ? We are as holy as He. robed in Him. He is our righteousness. Verse 23. This is what they say. This is what a believer says.
When God calls them out of darkness, truly in vain is salvation hoped
for from the hills and from the multitude of mountains. Truly
in the Lord our God is the salvation of Israel. This is what a believer
says. All of the things and mess and stuff that I gave myself
to. Trying to earn a righteousness
before God. Trying to put away my guilt.
Trying to do for the Lord. Here's the hopelessness of everything
else outside of Christ. Brought to ourselves a sense
of our need of forgiveness. And we'll say this truly in the
God of this Bible right here. This is salvation. This is salvation
right here. Not something I'm trying to do,
it's what God Almighty alone can do. Truly in the Lord, Jehovah,
the triune God, Father who chose, the Son who redeemed and the
Spirit of God who regenerate and keep. Truly in Jehovah, our
God is the salvation of Israel, God's elect, the objects of His
mercy. Last two verses, for shame. hath
devoured the labor of our fathers from our youth, their flocks,
their herds, their sons, their daughters. We lie down, and our
shame and our confusion covereth us. For we've sinned against
the Lord our God, and we and our fathers from our youth, even
unto this day, and we've not obeyed the voice of the Lord
our God." What is he doing? I'm going to admit. Acknowledge. Acknowledge. This one. Because
of our rebellion, that we've had against the God of our hope
in Adam. Not only our rebellion, but our
Father's rebellion. We come from somebody that was
doing the same thing that we're doing. The reason of our shame
and our chastisement. We're guilty and we prostrate
ourselves before the Lord for the shameful thing that we've
done. We've sinned against you. That's what David said, I acknowledge
my sin. Now, in these closing words of
Israel's Israel, us, God's people. In the closing words of our acknowledgement
of what we are, here's what we say. Lord, like Peter, save me. Lord, save me or I'm going to
perish. I'm going to perish. And here's
a promise. Come unto me. All ye that labor
heavy laden, I'm going to give you rest. This is what God does
to backsliding Israel. This is what he does. He said, I'm going to heal you.
Why? You're married. I'm married to
you. You're mine. You're mine. I've chosen to show
mercy to you. And I shall show mercy. I have
shown mercy. I will show mercy. And Israel says, Lord, you're
right. Lord, I acknowledge. Thank you,
Lord, for saving my soul. Thank you for making me whole.
Thank you for showing mercy to a worm like me. And God, forgive
me, Lord, for not acknowledging to you, Lord, that which is due
you. Lord, take away this body of
sin, this body of death. Lord, I come, I come in heart
by your grace, for Christ's sake, amen.