Next Sunday, we're going to celebrate
18 years together as a church, as a fellowship. And I hope everybody
will be able to be a part of that and bring some food. We'll have a meal together after
the service. And what a testimony of God's
grace that He's kept us together. and grown us in His grace for
18 years. And if the Lord tarries, I pray
that He'll give us 18 more. 18 years ago, when we met in
Petals for that first Sunday, Noah Dunbar and David Olson were
babies. Just like the little ones we
have around now. And now they're in college. They've sat under the gospel
for all these years. They've been blessed with never
having to be under Christ's denying religion. I'm so thankful for
that. And I know they are. And both
these young men have asked to profess their faith in baptism. And baptism is just simply God's
way of allowing us to publicly identify with the Lord Jesus
Christ. There's no salvation in baptism. That's done in the heart. through
the preaching of the gospel by the grace of God before baptism. Baptism is the believer's desire
to confess before other believers and before the world that when
the Lord Jesus Christ died on Calvary's cross, the only hope
that I have for life before God is that I died in him. that when
the Lord Jesus Christ raised from the grave, three days later,
the only hope that I have for life before God is that He is
the firstborn among many brethren and I'm one of His brethren for
whom He raised and I was in Him. Christ is my life, that's what
baptism is. Buried with Christ in baptism
and raised up to walk a new life, a life of faith, a life of hope
in Christ Jesus. I'm just so very grateful for
these two young men. As it's been for me a pleasure
to be your pastor, a blessing. It's been a blessing to be these
young men's pastor all their lives. And I delight in baptizing
them as I know you do. So we're going to have baptism
now. And then we'll have the Lord's table after the service,
and they'll be able to participate in that. OK? So Noah, you want
to go first? sharing with me the things that
God's been teaching him, and I'm just so thankful that he's
wanting to declare that publicly to you. So, Noah, it's our great
joy to baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the
Holy Spirit, buried with Christ in baptism. Raised to walk in new life in
Christ Jesus. Amen. Amen. David's a student in Tampa at
UCF. Just started just a few months
ago. And when he decided to go to
school there and knew that we were having services in Sarasota,
he asked, is there any way you all could pick me up in Tampa
on your way to Sarasota on Sunday nights? So David's been attending
services for the last several months with us. Every Sunday
night, we stop and pick him up. And what a joy it's been to watch
him. hear of his confession in Christ. So, David, it's with great joy
that we baptize you as a brother in Christ, buried with Christ
in baptism, raised to walk in the life of Christ Jesus. Let's stand together. We're going to sing to him from
the heart. Let's all turn to Number 199. 199 in your hardback. Sinners Jesus will receive, Sound
this word of grace to all, Who the heavenly pathway leave, All
who linger, all who fall, Sing it o'er and o'er again, Christ
receive his sinful men, Make the message clear and plain,
Christ receiveth sinful men. Come and He will give you rest. Trust Him, for His word is plain. He will take the sinful last. Christ, receive His sinful man. Sing it o'er and o'er again. Christ, receive His sinful man. Make the message clear and plain,
Christ, receive His sinful man. Now my heart condemns me not,
Pure before the law I stand. He who cleansed me from all spot,
Satisfied its last demand, Sing it o'er and o'er again. Christ receiveth sinful men,
Make the message clear and plain Christ, receive a sinful man
Christ, receive a sinful man Even me with all my sin Purge
from every spot and stain Heaven with Him I enter in Sing it o'er
and o'er again, Christ, receive a sinful man. Make the message clear and plain,
Christ, receive a sinful man. Please be seated. For our scripture reading, turn
with me to Titus chapter 3. And we'll read the first seven
verses of this. Put them in mind to be subject
to principalities and powers, to obey magistrates, to be ready
to every good work, to speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers
but gentle, showing all meekness unto all men. Here's the reason. For we ourselves, we ourselves
also, were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving
divers or different lusts and pleasures, living in malice and
envy, hateful and hating one another. We were just a bunch
of God-haters. And I guess this is one of the
most sweetest verses that I've been thinking in all the Scriptures.
But after the kindness and love of God our Savior toward man
appeared, who do you know that's kind like our God? What a God
we have, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according
to His mercy He saved us by the washing of regeneration and renewing
of the Holy Ghost, which He shed on us abundantly through Jesus
Christ our Savior. that being justified by His grace,
like our brother Robert Horton brought the other day, grace
is the difference, being justified by His grace, we should be made
heirs according to the hope of eternal life. We have a God that, well, He's
beyond words. Let us pray. Holy and gracious
Father, how we do thank you that truly you are the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us with all spiritual
blessings in the heavenlies. And we come before you now again
to hear what a glorious gospel of salvation that we do have.
Father, as sinful and yet In Christ, we're perfect, and we
stand before you holy and righteous. Beyond our understanding, Lord,
but we believe it. And we thank you now, Lord, as
we again seek to glorify our Lord Jesus Christ and to lift
Him up. Give our brother grace to do
this, for we ask it in Jesus' precious name. Amen. Let's stand together once again.
We'll sing the hymn that's on the back of your bulletin. Would
you turn with me in your Bibles to Jeremiah chapter 29. Jeremiah
chapter 29. I've titled this message, How
Then Shall We Live? how then shall we live how do
we how do we exist in this world what is god what would lord have
us to do children of israel were carried
off into babylon for seventy years they were exiled in that
godless society and uh... the lord gave them a prophet to speak God's Word
to them during that time. He gave them several actually.
One of them was Jeremiah. And the Lord instructs the children
of Israel in this passage as to how they are to live in Babylon. Now if you're a child of God,
if you're a believer, if you know the Lord Jesus Christ as
your Lord and Savior, You know that you live in Babylon. That you live in a godless society. Men have a form of godliness
perhaps, but they deny the power of it. They don't know your God.
They worship another God. And just like the idolaters of
Babylon, who had all their different forms of gods so the Babylonians
today that live in your neighborhood and they live in my neighborhood
and live in this city and in this country we're just we're
we're we're strangers we're we're in a we're we're we're in a strange
country we're pilgrims we're we're we're out of out of the
culture, aren't we? We just are. And so the principles
that the Lord has given the children of Israel through Jeremiah as
to how they should live in Babylon are the same truths that apply
to us today. And we'll begin reading in verse
four of Jeremiah chapter 29. Thus saith the Lord of hosts,
the God of Israel, unto all that are carried away, captives, whom
I have caused to be carried away from Jerusalem to Babylon." Now
the first thing to remember is the Lord put you in Babylon.
He puts you right where you are. He puts you right there on your
job, on your street, with your neighbors, and with us in this
country. Wherever we are, we can be sure of this. God put
us exactly there. How long were they in Babylon?
70 years. What does God say the life of
a man is? Three score and 10. 70 years. This is our life here in this
world. This is the believer's life. Build ye houses, and dwell
in them, and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them. Take ye
wives, and begat sons and daughters, and take wives for your sons,
and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters,
that they may be increased there, and not diminished. And seek
the peace of the city, whether thy have caused thee to be carried
away captives, and pray unto the Lord for it. For in the peace
thereof shall you have peace. For thus saith the Lord of hosts,
the God of Israel, let not your prophets and your diviners that
be in the midst of you deceive you, neither hearken to your
dreams which you cause to be dreamed, for they prophesy falsely
unto you in my name. I have not sent them, saith the
Lord. For thus saith the Lord, that after 70 years be accomplished
at Babylon. the Lord's going to accomplish
his purpose in your life and in my life living right here
in Babylon where we live. I will visit you and perform
my good word toward you in causing you to return to this place. For I know the thoughts that
I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace and not
of evil, to give you an expected end. Then shall you call upon me,
and you shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you.
And you shall seek me and find me when you shall search for
me with all of your heart. And I will be found of you, saith
the Lord, and I will turn away your captivity, and I will gather
you from all the nations and from all the places whither I
have driven you, saith the Lord. I will bring you again into the
place whence I have caused you to be carried away captive. I see in this passage of scripture
five things that God says his children are to remember in Babylon. How they ought to live in this
Babylonian culture that God has put us in for the entire length
of our lives. And I want to spend just a moment
on the first point Because I've heard recently believers, people
that I know, I think they're believers. There's something
here that needs to be heard from God, or every child of God, as
to how we're to relate to this culture that we live in. And
I've heard believers say things that ought not to be said about
about governing authorities, about trying to change the culture. And the Lord's very clear here
about how his children are to, now I remind you that the Lord's
people now are living in just as godless a culture as you and
I live in. And perhaps outwardly more so.
And when the Lord instructs His children in the New Testament,
He's talking to believers that are living under the rule of
evil men like Nero. You know, it's... The first thing that I see in
this passage of Scripture is between verses 4 through 7. Let's
read them again. Thus saith the Lord of hosts,
the God of Israel, unto all that are carried away captive, whom
I have caused to be carried away from Jerusalem unto Babylon,
build ye houses, dwell in them, plant gardens, eat the fruit
of them, take ye wives, and begat sons and daughters. He's not
saying take wives and sons and daughters from the Babylonians,
but he's saying, you know, marry, raise your families, Give your
daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters,
that you may increase there and not diminish. Seek the peace
of the city, whether I have caused you to be carried away captive,
and pray unto the Lord for it, for in the peace thereof you
shall have peace." The first point is that the Lord
is giving us some some counsel as to how we are
to live peaceably with all men whenever possible. How that we are to be responsible
and productive citizens in the culture in which he has us. We're
not to crawl into a hole. We're not to build a wall around
ourselves and make ourselves into some sort of commune We're
not to separate ourselves from the world in that sense. We're not to isolate ourselves.
We're not to engage in jihad against the world, and I'm not
talking about ISIS and Islam. I'm talking about those who call
themselves Christians who have gotten engaged in all sorts of
crusades in trying to Christianize their culture. The only thing
Christian in the world, the only thing Christian in the world
is the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is not a Christian
nation. It's not our responsibility to
try to Christianize it in the sense that we enforce rules and
laws and regulations. You know, there's all this scare
in the world about, you know, the radical Muslims want to enforce
Sharia law in the world. And there are people who call
themselves Christians and want to do the same thing with, you
know, with Christianity. And that's what the Lord's saying
here. He's saying live responsibly, peaceably, build your houses,
go to work, raise your children, and whenever possible be at peace
with all men. Now the only time that's not
possible is if someone requires me to do something that God says
don't do or someone requires me not to do something that God
says to do. At that point, I have a higher
power that I have to answer to. And I'll just have to suffer
the consequences. If you tell me I can't preach the gospel,
Like believers have had to live under that sort of reign in generations
gone by, then you'll have to put me in prison or burn me at
the stake because God's called me to preach. I have to say with
Peter to the Sanhedrin, you decide for yourself whether it be right
between you and God. As for us, we can do nothing
but obey God. If you say that I have to do
something that God says don't do, then I'll just have to suffer
the consequences for that. I've thought long and hard about
those two things, and I cannot think of one single example of
anything that the governing authorities that you and I live under are
requiring us to do that God says don't do or telling us not to
do that God says to do. Can't think of one. If you can
think of something, you tell me. Paul said in 1 Timothy 2, verse
1, I exhort therefore that first of all supplications, prayers,
intercessions, and the giving of thanks be made for all men,
for kings, and for all those that are in authority. This is
New Testament now. that we may live quiet and peaceable
lives with all godliness and honesty." There's no place for
God's people to rebel against the governing authorities. We
ought to be the best citizens that this world knows. And I've heard believers speak
things about what they're going to do and not do in relationship
to obeying the governing authorities that they ought not to be speaking.
They ought not to be saying. Turn to me to Romans chapter
13. You may not like some of the
things that our governing authorities do, and that's fine. Daniel says that God has put
over the nations the basest of men. Tuesday we go to vote. Vote!
But know in voting that you're probably going to be voting for
the lesser of two evils. Be responsible and be at peace
with all men whenever possible. be productive, that you might
live peaceable lives, knowing that God has put you there, that
God has put the governing authorities there, that everything is exactly
as God ordained it to be, and it's not our place to fight against
it. It's not our place to fight against it. Look at Romans chapter
13 verse 1, Let every soul be subject to higher powers, for
there is no power but of God. The powers that be are ordained
of God. Whosoever therefore resists the
powers, resists the ordinance of God. And they that resist
shall receive to themselves damnation. The rulers are not a terror to
good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then be afraid of the
power? Do that which is good, and thou
shalt have the praise of the same. For he is the minister
of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is
evil, be afraid. For he beareth not the sword
in vain, for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute
wrath upon him that doeth evil. Wherefore, you must needs be
subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake."
In other words, you submit yourself to the authority of governing
authorities, not only so that you don't suffer the consequences
of your rebellion, but do it out of conscience sake because
it's the right thing to do. It's the right thing to do. For
this cause, pay ye tribute also." Pay your taxes. Say, well, I
don't like the way the government is spending my taxes. You don't
have any control over that. For they are God's ministers
attending continually upon this very thing. Render therefore
to all their dues, tribute to whom tribute is due, custom due,
custom is due, fear to whom fear is due, honor to whom honor is
due. Speak honorably. of those in
governing authorities. They are God's ministers. He
has put them there. Jude said it like this. Of those
false prophets, he said, they are filthy dreamers. They defile
the flesh. They despise dominions. In other words, they stand in
opposition against the governing authorities, and they speak evil
of dignities. What did the Lord say when He
stood before Pilate? My kingdom is not of this world. Go back with me to our text. Look at verse 7. And seek the
peace of the city, whether I have caused you to be carried away
captive, and pray unto the Lord for it. For in the peace thereof
shall you have peace. This is a very important principle.
I've thought long and hard about this. In the American Revolution,
you had the patriots and you had the loyalists, and the patriots
won. And you say, well, look where
we are now. Well, look where we are now. You know, I don't
know that we're any better off than had we stayed under the
crown. God brought the king down in England. How could we as a
believer, believing what God has said, stand with the patriots
against the governing authorities of Britain? Believing what God says, I'm
afraid I would have had to have been a loyalist. I would have had to have been.
Couldn't have been a rebel against God and against his governing
authorities. And so we have a whole nation
of rebels now, don't we? And we do. And we are. That's
just our makeup. That's our nature. We're a bunch
of rebels. Rugged individualists. Americans
that stand their ground. We're going to have our way. You know, what would have happened?
Perhaps we would have avoided a civil war. What would have
happened had we enjoyed the prosperity that England enjoyed back in
the middle part of the 19th century and we'd been united to that?
We don't know. It was all of God, no question about it. And
we are where we are by the grace of God and he ordained it all.
I'm just making the point that how are we to live? or to live
humbly before God and before men and be subject to the authorities
that He's given to us. And that's what the Lord told
the children of Israel. When you go to Babylon, you get a
job, you go to work, you build your houses, you provide for
your family, you be at peace with all men whenever possible,
knowing that God puts you there. And you submit yourself to Him
and to all the authorities that He puts over you, whether it
be the policemen or the governing authorities or your boss or whoever
it is. Humility and submission and responsibility. Isn't that so clear? Isn't that
clear? Verse 8. I'm sorry I had to belabor
that point. I think that we have a certain
mindset about ourselves that's not good and it's not biblical.
And it needs to be rebuked and it needs to be corrected. Verse 8, So the first point is,
how are we to live? We're to live peaceably, responsibly
and productively in this world. It doesn't stop there. We're
to live discerning, discerning the difference between truth
and error. We're to live discerning the
difference between that which is profane and that which is
holy. And I'm not talking about discerning
the difference between Fleshly pleasures and living a you know,
I'm talking about the gospel Look what he says in verse 8
for thus saith the Lord of hosts the God of Israel Let not your
prophets and your diviners that be in the midst of you There
has never been more false prophets in any culture that I can think
of in looking at history. I than you and I have in our
culture today. There's never been more of a
proliferation of them. There's never been more of a
spewing of poisonous doctrine than there is in the culture
that you and I live in right now. Between the television and
radio and the internet and mega churches and all the stuff that's
going on in religion and the Lord's warning us. Look what he says. They'll deceive you. Neither
hearken to your dreams which you cause to be dreamed. Don't
follow after your imagination. Don't follow after what you think
is right and wrong. What sayeth the scriptures? What
does God say about who Christ is and what he's accomplished
and what is the gospel and who are we in light of that? For they prophesy falsely against
you in my name. I have not sent them, saith the
Lord." Listen very carefully and remember
this statement. The truth is not discerned by
vocabulary. The truth is discerned by definition. you'll find a lot of people using
the same vocabulary that we use. But if you listen to them define
their terms, and in a sense preaching is nothing more than defining
the terms of Scripture. We're comparing the spiritual
to the spiritual, and we're declaring what the truth is. The truth
is discerned not by vocabulary, it is discerned by definition. What do you mean by that? Listen
to what a man says. Listen to what they mean by what
they say. Listen to how they define their
terms. Listen to what they say about
Jesus. They'll use His name, but they deny the fact that He
actually accomplished the salvation of His people. That's what his
name means. He shall save his people. They've denied the fact that
what he did on Calvary's cross was sufficient in and of itself. They call him Jesus, but they
strip him of the meaning of his name. They say he's the Christ,
but they don't believe that he was sent of God in the full power
of the Spirit of God as the Messiah to save all Israel. They don't believe that. They
believe that he's making an attempt to save. Try the spirits, John
said, and see whether they be of God. And that's what the Lord
says. How should you live? Live responsibly. Live peaceably. Live productively. But live discerningly
also. Listen to what's being said.
Discern the difference. There's going to be lots of false
prophets among you. I did not send them. I did not send them." The man says, God loves everybody.
I did not send them. God wants you to be saved. Oh,
he's trying. Won't you let Jesus come into
your heart? God didn't send him. Be discerning. Well, you know, now that you're
a believer, you gotta go back to the law in order to have a
rule of life. God didn't send him! Don't let a man put you under
the law. God didn't send him. Be discerning. And sometimes
the counterfeits, you know, Satan is not omniscient. He doesn't
know everything. And he's learned some things
over the years. And just like anybody else, he's become more
proficient in the things that he's learned. And the counterfeits
today are as close to the real thing as the counterfeits have
ever been. But there's still counterfeits.
A counterfeit's a worthless counterfeit. I don't care how close it looks
to the real thing. Now, I'm not suggesting that
we go around inspecting counterfeits. Don't do that. If you work for
the FBI and you worked in the counterfeit department, you wouldn't
sit around studying counterfeits. You wouldn't do it. There's too
many of them. As soon as you learn one counterfeit,
somebody would change something and come up with another one.
You become thoroughly familiar with legal tender. You know what
the real thing looks like, so that if anything comes across
your desk that doesn't look exactly like that, it's a counterfeit.
It's a counterfeit. So how do I be discerning? Look to Christ. Listen to his
gospel being preached. Read his word. Familiarize yourself
with him. Lord, would you make yourself
known to me? Because I can be deceived. And
if it were possible, even the elect would be deceived. I'm
so thankful it's not possible. The Lord's gonna keep His children.
But He's commanding us here, be discerning. Be discerning. You say, well, doesn't the Bible
say, judge not according, judge not that you be not judged?
I've heard that so many times. People say, well, you know, you're
just, y'all are too judgmental. John chapter 7 verse 24, Judge
not according to the appearance, but judge righteously. Stand in judgment over what is
being done. Is the righteousness of Christ
everything in salvation? Is His law-keeping my law-keeping? Is His death my death? Is His
resurrection my resurrection? Is He my life before God? Is all the blessings of God right
now in the heavenlies, in Christ, seated at the right hand of the
Majesty? Is Christ my life? The Lord said to the disciples,
beware of the leaven of the Pharisees. And the next verse says, and
they thought the Lord was abusing them because they didn't have
any bread with them. And he said, no, beware of the doctrine of
the Pharisees. What was the doctrine of the
Pharisees? Salvation by works. Free will, works gospel, under
the law, that was the doctrine of the Pharisees. And the Lord
said, beware of it, for a little leaven leavens the whole lump. The false prophets that God did
not send are wolves in sheep's clothing. They have transformed
themselves to look like ministers of righteousness. The Lord said
they present themselves as angels of light. Somebody got offended at me because
they heard me say that we didn't need a man as a priest. We have
a priest, the Lord Jesus Christ, and these religions that come
up with dressing up a man and making him to be a priest, put
him in woman's clothing and call him father. And I thought, boy,
if I really told them what I believed, they would be offended. In fact,
the man over there with a cone hat on his head in Rome is the
devil incarnate. He is the whore of Babylon. I make no apology for that. Be
discerning. Be discerning. Because he has
many children that aren't all Catholic. Be discerning. There are many false prophets.
Many will raise up in my name. They will use the same vocabulary
you use. They will talk about Jesus. They'll
talk about God. They'll talk about Christ. God
says, I did not send them. You live in a world that has
a proliferation of false prophets and false religions. Beware! Beware! Try the spirits to see whether
they be of God. You hear somebody, you know,
feel good gospel. Well, that's popular, isn't it?
Free will gospel. It's all about you gospel. Knowledge
puffs up gospel. Doctor sounding brass and tinkling
cymbals. That's all they are. There's
no truth in them. If they speak not according to
this word, to this law and this testimony, it is because there
is no light in them. You've either got the gospel
or you don't have the gospel. The gospel, like holiness and
like righteousness and like everything else about God, is an absolute. It's one way or the other. It's
life or death. There's no gray area. There's
no gray area. Be discerning. Don't be deceived. For thus saith the Lord of hosts,
the God of Israel, Let not your prophets and diviners deceive
you. Don't hearken to their dreams.
They prophesy falsely in my name. You see that in verse 9? I've
not sent them. Well, if God didn't send them,
who sent them? How shall we live? Live responsibly, live productively,
live peaceably with all men whenever possible. Live discerningly and
live expectantly. Look at the next verse. For thus
saith the Lord of hosts that after seventy years be accomplished. Expect God to accomplish his
purpose. He's going to do it. Expect it. Just expect God to be a God of
purpose. Expect everything that He does
to have an end, an expected end. You see that in the next verse?
Look what it says. I will visit you and perform
my good word towards you in causing you to return to this place for
I know the thoughts that I have towards you. Thoughts of good,
not of evil. Expect God to love you. Expect
Him to. You know, it's amazing to me.
I thought about this. Sometimes believers and unbelievers just
have reversed views about God. You've seen the thing on the
interstate that says God is not angry. Well, that's the unbeliever's
hope. When the scripture says God is
angry with the wicked every day. That's what the Bible says. God
is angry with the wicked every day. We can't say God is not
angry indiscriminately. But how often times his children
think that he's angry with them. And they hide from him and they
avoid him. And they don't come to him. I can say, if you're a child
of God, He's not angry with you. He's not angry with you. I know
the thoughts that I have towards you. Thoughts of good, not thoughts
of evil. He views you in Christ. He loves you the same way that
He loves the Lord Jesus Christ. Can He love Christ any more than
He loves Christ? Can He love Him any less? Can
He love you any more or any less than He loves you? No! I've loved
you with an everlasting love. Expect Him to have a purpose
and expect Him to be kind. He delights in showing mercy
toward His children. When your children are in rebellion,
they avoid you, don't they? And we do the same thing. We
do the same thing. I know the thoughts that I have
towards you. And it grieves a parent's heart
when their children avoid them, doesn't it? It grieves their
heart. Oh, come to me. Let's embrace. Let me forgive you. Let's rejoice
together. I have good thoughts towards
you. And if you being evil know how
to give good gifts unto your children, how much more will
your heavenly Father give good gifts to them who ask Him? Behold
what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we
should be called the children of God. I know the thoughts that
I have for you. Thoughts of good, not thoughts
of evil. I've redeemed you. I've put your
sin away. I'm not angry with you. You don't have to hide from me.
Come, let us reason together." And when the Lord reasons with
you, what does He do? He shows you what He's done in
the sacrifice of His Son in order to make things right between
you and God. Live expecting. Live expecting there to be an
end to your life. Now I know that for our young
people, I talk about this a lot, I'm sure that turning 60 years
old has influenced me in this regard, I'm sure of that. But
I wish I had somebody tell me, as often as I try to tell you
when I was younger, how brief this life is. It's a vapor. And you're grass. And all your
flesh is like the grass of the field. It flowers for a little
bit and then it's mown down. Expect it. Expect it. Somebody is going to be having
a funeral for you soon. I went to one yesterday. And
we are all going to be there. And it's not going to be long. And the only way to be able to
live in this world is to live in view of death. Wisdom is looking at life from
the other side of the grave. And if you're not looking at
your life from the other side of the grave, then you're not a wise
person. Is this coming sooner than you
and I think? And I don't say that to be morose
or to be negative in any way. I say it to give you hope, to
encourage you. Paul said when he was talking
about the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, he said, encourage
one another with these words. He's coming! What great hope! Otherwise, you're just going
to get caught up in this world and lose sight of the truth. I know the thoughts that I think
toward you, saith the Lord. Thoughts of peace! Thoughts of
peace! You have peace with God through
the Lord Jesus Christ! Now I know that we all want the
peace of God that passes understanding. We want comfort, we want joy,
we want peace, we want happiness. Those things, if you live your
life in pursuit of happiness, I promise you, it'll be a vain
pursuit that you'll never achieve. If you pursue happiness, you'll
never find it. happiness, joy, and peace is
the byproduct of having peace with God. And the only hope you
and I have of having peace with God is to have an advocate before
the Father, Jesus Christ, the righteous one, who has satisfied
the demands of God's law and put away all the sins of all
of his people once and for all. We have peace with God. Peace
with God. If God before me, who can be
against me? It is God that justifies. Who is He that condemns? If I'm justified before God,
what else matters? What else matters? Pursue peace with God and you
will experience the peace of God. Pursue peace with God in
the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will experience the peace of
God. They go hand in hand, but one
comes before the other. How are we to live in this world? We're to live productively, discerningly,
expectantly. Look at verse 12. Then shall
you call upon me and you shall go and pray unto me and I will
hearken unto you and you shall seek me and find me when you
shall search for me with all of your heart. We're to live
prayerfully. You know what prayer is. Prayer
is faith breathing. That's all it is. And without faith, it's impossible
to please God. For they that cometh to him must
believe that he is. Faith is what, prayer is what
believers do. It's just an expression of our
total dependence upon him. Lord, if you don't help me, I've
got no place else to go. If you don't save me, I won't
be saved. If you don't provide for me, I've got no place else
to go. Who am I going to adore? Who
am I going to praise? Lord, if You don't forgive me,
how am I going to be forgiven? If You don't impute to my account
the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ, how am I going
to have righteousness? If You don't make me holy, how
am I going to be holy? If You don't sanctify me, if
You don't justify me before You, how am I going to be justified?
Lord, if You don't glorify me, If you don't keep me and take
me successfully into your presence, how am I going to get there? Prayer is faith breathing. It's the expression of our hope.
Look at verse, the last one. How do we live in this world?
Live responsibly, peaceably, and productively among the Babylonians. It's God's will, not our place
to change the world. In fact, going back to that first
point, the best thing you can do to change the world is to
be responsible, productive, and peaceful with all men. Discerning, expectant, prayerful,
and look. Look at verse 14. And I will
be found of you, saith the Lord. I will be found of you. Live hopefully, hopefully in
the promises of God. I'll be found of you. Have you been found in Him? So
I don't know. Is He all your righteousness
before God? Do you have any other righteousness? Is He all your hope in salvation? Is He all your confidence before
the throne of God? Is He all your acceptance before
God? Is He all your comfort? All your
sanctification? Is He your reason for rejoicing? In Him was life. Is He your life? And the life
was the light of men. Is the Lord Jesus Christ the
light of truth to you? If He is, If He's everything and you're nothing, then He's been found of you.
He's been found of you. Let's pray together. Our Heavenly Father, we're Thankful for your word, we pray
that your Holy Spirit would cause us to remember the things that
you've said. Cause us to believe them. Cause
us, Lord, to find all our hope in the accomplished work of the
Lord Jesus Christ. Cause us to find Him to be all
our righteousness. Cause us to hope in Him for our
justification before Thee. Cause us, Lord, to be the true
circumcision which worship God in the Spirit and rejoice in
Christ Jesus and have no confidence in the flesh. Oh, Lord, we pray
that You would cause us that we might know how we ought to
live. We thank you for this table.
We pray that you would bless the bread and the wine to our
hearts through faith as we see them representing the Lord Jesus
Christ in his life and in his death. We pray it in his name.
Amen. All right, let's stand together.
Number 191, if the men would come please and distribute the
bread and the wine.