If you wish to follow along,
turn to Jeremiah chapter 29. I am going to read the whole
chapter of Jeremiah 29. But before I do, let me say that
Jeremiah 29, 30 and 31 all go together. Remember, I mentioned
to this, you to this a few Sundays ago, at least, maybe last Sunday,
that much of Jeremiah are What we have are messages that Jeremiah
either preached or letters that he wrote to people, and then
we have them then later compiled together. But Jeremiah chapter
29, 30, and 31 all go together. I will read as a starting chapter
29, but before I do, let me say this. My message for this morning,
the title of it is Jeremiah and Christ's First Advent. I have something for you this
morning. I pray God that God has something for you this morning. So let's begin reading Jeremiah
chapter 29. Are you there? All right, Jeremiah 29. Now these are the words of the
letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem unto the
residue of the elders which were carried away captives and to
the priests and to the prophets and to all the people whom Nebuchadnezzar
had carried away captive from Jerusalem to Babylon." So Jeremiah
is writing this letter to the people in Babylon that had already
been carried away with this one captivity, that is after that
Jeconiah the king and the queen and the eunuchs, the princes
of Judah and Jerusalem and the carpenters and the Smiths were
departed from Jerusalem. That's stated by Jeremiah in
the chapter that I preached from last Sunday. Now it goes on by
the hand. of Elisa, the son of Shaphan,
and Jemariah, the son of Hilkiah, whom Zedekiah, king of Judah,
sent unto Babylon to Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, saying, 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 unto Babylon. So who gets the credit for the
captivity? God does. Nebuchadnezzar was
just God's pawn. Nebuchadnezzar was just the means
that God used to accomplish his sovereign purpose. But then listen
to what Jeremiah tells the people in Babylon. Build ye houses and
dwell in them. and plant gardens, and eat the
fruit of them. Take ye wives, and beget sons
and daughters, and take wives for your sons, and give your
daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters,
that ye may be increased there and not diminished. And seek
the peace of the city, whether I You see it again whether I
have caused you to be carried away captives and pray unto the
lord for it For in the peace thereof shall ye 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. These
are the people in babylon now deceive you, neither hearken
to your dreams, which ye have caused to be dreams." Don't listen
to them and don't listen to yourself. You see it? That's what he's
saying. That's applicable to every one of us today. Don't
listen to liars and don't listen to yourself. 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. And 70 years it would be. There was no way to shorten that,
and there was no way it would be lengthened. It was 70 years. Repentance and faith could not
change that. God had decreed 70 years. And even rebellion in Babylon
could not increase that. It was purposed 70 years. years. For thus saith the Lord, that
after 70 years be accomplished at Babylon, 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." And isn't that the good thing? We often
forget about how God thinks toward us. He never forgets his thoughts
toward us. For I know the thoughts that
I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace. Think
about it, my brothers and sisters, no matter where God has taken
you, whether it be as in the case of Peter, who got to preach
on the day of Pentecost, and a few days after then, and it
says thousands believed, right? Or whether it be Job sitting
in his house, offering sacrifices for his sons and daughters, fearing
they may have offended God in some way, and God wipes out everything. Or whether it be because of your
own sin. And disobedience. Somebody says
that's license. You don't need license. I don't need license.
We drink up iniquity like water. God says, thoughts of peace and
not evil. He's writing this to the captives
who are in captivity, Mason, because of their sin. Thoughts
of peace and not of evil to give you an expected end. Then shall you call upon me,
and I'm going to add this, and only then. It's only after God
visits someone that they will ever call upon Him. Then shall
you call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I, and
I will hearken, I will hearken unto you. So prayer is not useless
if it's started by God. visiting the soul, is it? And
ye shall seek me and find me. Isn't that good? When ye shall
search for me with all your heart. And what does that mean? Let
me just try to explain it or not explain it, but give you
just an example. In other words, when this is your primary goal,
that's what he's talking about. When finding me is your primary
goal, that's when you'll find me. Look, 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
where I have driven you, saith the Lord, not just Babylon, not
just Babylon. And I will bring you again into
the place which I caused you to be carried away captive. That
is, I will bring you back into the land of Israel. Because you
have said, Now look, he's still writing. Because ye have said,
the Lord hath raised us up prophets in Babylon. Now remember, Jeremiah's
writing to these people in Babylon. And he said to these people in
Babylon, beware these people that are prophesying to you where?
In Babylon. And beware your own ideas about
this matter. God's already given you his word
about this matter. It's how it is. So he says, because
ye have said, the Lord hath raised us up prophets in Babylon. Know
that thus saith the Lord of the king, that sitteth upon the throne
of David, and of all the people that dwelleth in this city, and
of your brethren that are not gone forth with you into captivity. Thus saith the Lord of hosts.
Behold, I will send upon them the sword, and the famine, that
is these false lying preachers and people who pay heed to them. Thus saith the Lord of hosts,
behold, I will send upon them the sword, the famine, and the
pestilence, and I will make them like vile figs, remember that?
That cannot be eaten, they are so evil. And I will persecute
them with the sword, and with famine, and with pestilence,
and will deliver them to be removed to all the kingdoms of the earth,
to be a curse, and an astonishment, and a hissing, and a reproach
among all the nations, whither I have Driven them Think about
it the same thing God did for some Yep, or I should change
that the one thing God did for all Did not have the same result
for all It didn't have the same result for all Because, here
it is, because they have not hearkened to my words, saith
the Lord, which I sent unto them by my servants the prophets,
rising up early and sending them, but ye would not hear, saith
the Lord. Hear ye, therefore, the word
of the Lord, all ye of the captivity whom I have sent from Jerusalem
to Babylon. Thus saith the Lord of hosts,
the God of Israel, of Ahab, the son of Coli, and of Zedekiah,
the son of Maasai, which prophesy a lie unto you in my name. Behold,
I will deliver them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, king
of Babylon, and he shall slay them before your eyes. Now he's telling some, you're
in Babylon, settle in for the long haul. Is that what he's
saying? Settle in for the long haul.
This will last 70 years. Make a life of it. Isn't that
what he says? Now let me just say, this is
not the message. No matter where you are, even if you're under
the chastening hand of your God, settle in where you are and make
a life of it. Settle in where you are and make,
oh, if I just pray and repent and read the Bible more, this'll
go away. Not if God's determined it be
there for the appointed time. Settle in, live there. Look,
and of them shall be taken up a curse by all the captivity
of Judah, which are in Babylon, saying, the Lord make thee like
Zedekiah and like Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in
the fire. Oh God, help me not to be a part
of that group. Help me not to be a part of that
group because they have committed villainy in Israel and have committed
adultery with their neighbor's wives and have spoken lying words
in my name. And let me tell you something,
false religion always leads to immorality and unrighteousness.
It just always does. It just all, ultimately, read
Romans chapter one, you'll find out where it ultimately takes
men. Right to the bottom of degradation. Look, lying words in my name,
which I have not commanded them, even I know and am a witness,
saith the Lord. Nothing we do is in secret. before God. That's right. Before
God. Thus, now notice this is This
is still Jeremiah, still writing. But now he's telling us something
specifically that God told him to give here. Thus shalt thou
also speak to Shimei, the Nehemiah, saying, thus speaketh the Lord
of hosts, the God of Israel, saying, because thou hast sent
letters in thy name unto all the people that are at Jerusalem,
to Zephaniah, the son of Messiah, the priest, and to all the priests,
saying, the Lord hath made thee priest in the stead of Jehoiada,
the priest. In other words, this man had
wrote letters back to Jerusalem and said, God made me a priest,
now y'all listen to me. God's made me the leader of worship,
now y'all listen to me. And God is speaking through Jeremiah
and saying, it ain't so. It ain't so. that ye should be
officers in the house of the Lord for every man that is mad
and maketh himself a prophet. This is what this guy was saying.
That thou shouldest put him in prison and in the stocks. He's
basically telling the people in Jerusalem, lock Jeremiah up
and shut him up because I'm in charge of this thing. That's
what he's saying. I'm in charge of this thing now
Therefore why hast thou not reproved Jeremiah of Anathoth with maketh
himself a prophet to you. Do you see the villainy? The
wicked rebellion the the hatred against God's will and God's
Word and God's prophet Listen for therefore he sent unto us
in Babylon. This is this guy still talking
about Jeremiah Sent us saying, this captivity is long. What was he saying? No, it'll
be all right. We'll get us out of this. It ain't gonna have
to last no 70 years. This won't take long. When God
says it takes 70 years, it'll take 70 years. No, no matter,
repentance and faith and prayer will change that. God said it's
gonna be 70 years. This man wrote back to Jerusalem
and said, who is this Jeremiah telling us to settle in for the
long haul? We'll be all right, I'll get us out of this mess.
That's what he's talking about. I mean, look, this captivity
is long. Build ye houses and dwell in
them and plant gardens and eat the fruit of them. And Zephaniah
the priest read this letter in the ears of Jeremiah the prophet. I have no idea how Jeremiah felt
when he heard this letter, but I guarantee you he was not happy. Then came the word of the Lord
unto Jeremiah, saying, send to all them of the captivity, saying,
thus saith the Lord concerning Shimei, the Nehelamite, because
that Shimei hath prophesied unto you, and I send him not, and
he hath caused you to trust in a lie. Therefore, thus saith
the Lord, behold, I will punish Shimei, the Nehelamite, and his
seed." What is his seed? Not just his children. What is
the seed of a person? Those that follow after them. That's what he's talking about
there. When you read the book of God, and I'm gonna say something
here, I don't mean to shock you, don't take every word so literally. Does that shock you that I say
that? Don't take every word, it ain't
talking about just his children, it's talking about everyone that
listens to the, a person that is born of a lie is the seed
of that lie. And that's what he's talking
about. And he'll see, he shall not have a man to dwell among
this people, neither shall he behold the good that I will do
for my people, saith the Lord." Now, this was a Jew, an Israelite.
Well, I should say one who's of Judah. Because he hath taught
rebellion against the Lord. Now, someone might say to me,
well, what does that have to do with Christ's first advent?
Nothing but mainly this. Christ was to be born in Bethlehem,
Judea. And those people must come back
into the land for him to be born there. And there's the one reason
why. And that's what it's all about.
That's what it's all about. The reason I know that is because
if you go on to read chapter 30 and 31, you will see Jeremiah
prophesying of this one very thing, the Messiah's first advent. Now, seeing that chapter 29 is
a part of all this, I must start off my message this way. Unbelief
is hideous. My unbelief and your unbelief. It's hideous. You remember I
preached a message to you a few Sundays ago. Lord, I believe.
Help thou my unbelief. That's not an excuse. That's
just a fact of the way it is. But unbelief is hideous. God's prophet declared, captivity
is coming. Unbelief cried, if you'll look
back at chapter six and verse 14, and chapter eight and verse
11, unbelief cried, no, peace, peace. There'll be no captivity. Everything will be okay. This
is what unbelief does. His prophet said, captivity's
coming. This king, this evil, wicked
ruler is gonna overtake us because of our sin. And false prophets
and unbelief said, no, peace, peace. Captivity then begins. And God's prophet says, settle
in for the long haul. It's gonna take 70 years. What
does unbelief say? No, it's not. It's brief. It
won't take that long. No need to build houses and plant
gardens and have children. This won't take long. Unbelief
always looks to itself rather than to God. What does it say
in chapter 29? Verse 32, therefore thus saith
the Lord, these kind of people will not take part in the blessing
with my people. Isn't that an amazing statement?
You see it? Neither shall he behold the good that I will do
for my people. What's he stated there by default?
This man evidently ain't one of my people. Though he be a
full-blooded Jew. though he be an Israelite or
one from Judah. You see it? Even here, in the
Old Testament, God always makes distinction between the reprobate
and the elect, between the goats and between the sheep. Divine
judgment, now listen to me, divine judgments in circumstances never
engender repentance and faith in man. You understand that now? This is something that's easy
to forget. How often have I seen someone,
remember all of these people were professing faith in the
living God, right? Even this one guy, Shimei, he's
professing to be a priest of the Lord. God's called me to
this office, he says. How many people have I looked
at who have professed faith in the God of all glory, and in
the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and I see them go through
some trying circumstance, and so I hope God's gonna straighten
them out by that. It will not happen. Trying circumstances, even circumstances
that are of judgment and pain never engender repentance and
faith. You ever hope for that? Unbelief
is only hardened in its resolve when things like this happen.
Look at some of these people. When the captivity then actually
happened, did it make them step back and say, whoa, we need to
bow down before God? No, it even raised up their ire
even more. This is what unbelief does. You remember the account
of the Israelites when they first will come up to the land and
they sent the spies in? And God basically said, go in,
take the land. And they said, we cannot. There
are giants in this land. We cannot do this. God said,
all right, you're going back into the wilderness, and everybody
above 20 years old will die in the wilderness. And they said,
whoa, this is what unbelief does. Whoa, now wait a minute, we will
go in. And they tried. and they were slaughtered because
God had done said, fine, you won't go in, you'll die in the
wilderness. Now when God said it's going to happen, it's going
to happen. But this is the way unbelief, no matter what God
says, it has to object to what God says. Exactly. And the same
thing, there's not gonna be a captivity, oh wait a minute, captivity happened.
Well, it won't be long. Exactly. Unbelief always has
to go contrary to the word of the living God. Yes, sir. Unbelief
is only hardened in its resolve. Repentance must be granted. Yeah, repentance must be granted. Look
at chapter 31. Look at verse 18 and 19. This
is the same thing now. Jeremiah's still writing. I have
surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself thus. Thou hast chastised
me. And I was chastised as a bullock
unaccustomed to the yoke. Think of it, did the chastisement
itself do anything? No, I'm just like a wild bullock,
just kick and pull against it. But then look at what he says,
turn thou me and I shall be turned. Do you see it? The yoke itself
doesn't do it. It takes a sovereign act of God
himself. Turn thou me, and I shall be
turned, for thou art the Lord my God. Surely after that I was
turned, I repented. And after that I was instructed,
I smote upon my thigh. I was ashamed, yea, even confounded,
because I did bear the reproach of my youth. Faith is a sovereign
act of God itself. Look at chapter 29, and we read
it in verse 10 through 14, didn't we? For thus saith the Lord,
that after 70 years be accomplished at Babylon, I will visit you
and perform my good word toward you and cause in you to return
to this place. All of that trouble didn't make
a difference. What made a difference? 70 years had to elapse, then
God would visit them. Do you see it? God would visit
them. For I know the thoughts that
I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, not
evil, to give you an expected end. God's expected end. God's expected end. Then shall
you call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will
hearken unto you, and ye shall seek after me. And we've read
it over and over and over. You see, repentance and faith
are tried by troubles. They're manifest for what they
truly are by troubles. True faith and true repentance
will be manifest for what they truly are through trying, chastising
circumstances. But trying, chastising circumstances
never engender, they never create repentance and faith. Look at
the world and the convulsions it goes through and the bad that
happens to people. Does it force them to run to
God in repentance and faith? No, they'll shake their fist
in the face of the living God. walk along and tell them, this
is the hand of God. And they'll say, I hate that
God then. Or they will say, well, no, that's
not really God. Any way to escape the truth of
who God is and his word. Again, I say, repentance and
faith are tried by troubles. They're never, ever created by
troubles. Oh, God, don't leave me to myself. That's basically what it boils
down to. Oh God, don't leave me to myself. And that's exactly
what Paul said in Romans chapter nine, verses 27, 28, and 29. He basically said this, quoting
from the Old Testament prophet, I think it may have been Isaiah,
except God had left us a seed. A remnant. A small group compared
to the whole. If God hadn't have done that,
we'd have been just like who? Sodom and Gomorrah. My brothers
and sisters, that's what we are, apart from the grace of God. Sodomites. That's what we are
in heart by nature. Let us never forget where our
blessings come from. Whatever the blessings may be,
they come from God. Repentance only comes and always
comes in connection with the truth. That's what Paul said
to Timothy, 2 Timothy 2 verse 25, that God may give unto them
repentance to the acknowledging of the truth. Trouble will never
make you repent. It may make you wish you hadn't
done what you had done. It may make you try to straighten
up your life and live more morally, but true repentance only comes
and always comes in connection to the truth. Grant them repentance,
what? To the acknowledging of the truth. All other repentance is futile.
is man-centered and man-ordained and has no honor toward God.
Not only that, faith only comes and always comes in connection
with the truth of the gospel. No one can believe on Christ
until they first what? Hear. Until they first hear. Faith cometh, cometh what? Cometh
in whatever way. cometh into being, no, God is
the author of faith, but cometh into you, and don't ever, I believe
that person's a believer, but they don't believe the gospel,
then they're not a believer. That's just how simple it is. Because faith cometh by hearing,
and hearing how? By the word of God, and if you
look at the context, he's talking about the preaching of the gospel
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Even Jeremiah shows us this.
We're gonna begin to look at it. I said this is Jeremiah and
Christ's first advent. Christ, according to Jeremiah,
Christ is the only hope and he's always our hope of this. Look
at chapter 30, the next thing. The word that came to Jeremiah
from the Lord saying. Now if you'll read 30, 31, when
you get to 32, you see the word came to Jeremiah, but you find
it's a different time period. You see what I'm saying? So if
you look back, you'll see chapter 29, 30, 31, all are connected. 32 then begins a different timeframe. It's a different, I say a different
message, it's a different event, a different circumstances. Look
at what he says, chapter 30, one through nine. The word that
came to Jeremiah from the Lord saying, thus speaketh the Lord
God of Israel saying, write thee all the words that I have spoken
unto thee in a book. Here's one of the reasons why
we have this here today. You know, yes, sir for lo the days
come so that's the snow. It wasn't that day Exactly. Is
that true? Yeah, that's the snow. It wasn't
that day For lo the days come saith the lord that I will bring
again the captivity of my people israel and judah Saith the lord
and I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their
fathers and they shall possess it Amen Now someone says well,
this must be the babylonian captivity. I'll just hold tight on it Look,
and these are the words that the Lord spake concerning Israel
and concerning Judah. For thus saith the Lord, we have
heard a voice of trembling, of fear, and not of peace. Now these
people are saying, we realize what God did to us because of
our sins, but God did it for our good. Look, ask ye now, and
see whether a man doth travail with child. Wherefore do I see
every man with his hands on his loins, as a woman in travail,
and all faces are turned into paleness? Alas, for that day
is great, so that none is like it. It is even the time of Jacob's
trouble, but he shall be saved out of it. Is that not what he's
promising here through Jeremiah? Now here's the question. Now,
maybe not everybody here. How many of you all was taught
what the day of Jacob's trouble is? And the day of Jacob's trouble
was the seven year tribulation. You wanna raise your hand? I
was when I was young. You know that's a lie straight from the
pits of hell. This is the only place this statement is ever
given. The time of Jacob's trouble. What is the time of that trouble?
Now look what he says. Alas, for that day is great, so that
none is like it. It is even the time of Jacob's trouble, but
he shall be saved out of it. Now I'm here, I hold to certain
things when it comes to future events, but this book dictates
to me what I believe about God and about anything, not some
system that men come up with. And many of the commentaries
who are pre-millennial will tell you the time of Jacob's trouble
is the seven-year tribulation. That is not so. Now look, this
is all, you read it, you go back and check all of this for yourself
later at home and read this. For it shall come to pass in
that day. What day? What day? The day of Jacob's trouble. Is
that what it says? You don't need me to interpret
that. Just look at what it says, right? For it shall come to pass
in that day, saith the Lord of hosts, that I will break his
yoke from off thy neck. What is? This bondage that you're
under. And will burst thy bonds, and
strangers shall no more serve themselves of him, but they shall
serve the Lord their God and David their king. whom I will
raise up unto them." Who do you think he's talking about right
there? He's not talking about a resurrected
or reincarnated David the son of Jesse. He's talking about
David's greater son, Jesus Christ the Lord. Now look, I'm not gonna
read the rest of it because of time. Read the rest of it and
start then, you'll see there's no breaks. This is still what
God was telling Jeremiah and what Jeremiah wrote down for
us in this passage. Look at chapter 31 and verse
one. At the same time. Is that what
it says or does it not? And go back and look and see
if I'm trying to twist you around. This ain't something new that
I'm believing. This is just what the word of
God says. And God said to Jeremiah, Jeremiah wrote it down, and we
have it before us preserved in the English language. At the
same time, saith the Lord, I will be the God of all the families
of Israel, and they shall be my people. What are they? The
elect of God. Yes, sir. The elect of God. And here's the timeframe. What
was the time of Jacob's trouble? It was in particular that time
when God left off giving them a profit for almost 400 years. And they had settled in under
Roman occupation, even in the promised land. That's the time
of Jacob's trouble. And that is in the very day in
which God said he would deliver them at the same time, God says,
and then look at what he says, look. In verse 14 of the same
chapter, and I will satiate. That means just fill up to where
you're so full you just can't take no more. You ever sit down
and eat so much that you almost felt sick because you ate so
much? and I will satiate the soul of the priests with fatness,
and my people shall be satisfied with my goodness, saith the Lord.
This is what, still look at it, go back and read it. It's the
same day, the same time of Jacob's trouble. The time when God would
set up David as their king. Does that not, go back and read
it. Now look, saith the Lord, thus
saith the Lord, a voice was heard in Ramah. Lamentation and bitter
weeping, Rahel weeping for her children, refused to be comforted
for her children because they were not. What in the world is
Jeremiah talking about? Turn to Matthew chapter two and
we will read the time frame. Matthew chapter two. I'm saying
to you, my brothers and sisters, in this small group, let us bow
to thus saith the Lord and nothing else. Whether we can make it
all fit in a nice little package, that's not the point. The point
is to look at every passage of scripture and take it from God
as God said it. And look at what it says, here
it is. Matthew chapter 2 and look at verse 16 In the next
few verses then Herod when he saw that he was mocked of the
wise men Was exceeding wrath You remember what happened there?
Don't you those wise men came to her and said we've seen his
star in the east We've come to worship him And they were warned
in a dream that this guy's not for this man's good. This king
here, he's not looking for his good. They were warned to go
out another way. When he was mocked, he was exceeding
wrath and sent forth and slew all the children that were in
Bethlehem. God sent them people right back
to the land and guess what happened? Several hundred years later.
A bunch of their little babies were slaughtered by this one
hateful, cruel, wicked man. That's right. Yes or no? That's
right. Yeah. Amen. Look, and in all
the coast thereof, from two years old and under, according to the
time which he had diligently inquired of the wise men, then
was fulfilled. That's right. Does that know
what this is? then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy
the prophet, saying, and he quotes that very verse. Jeremiah was preaching the coming,
the first advent of the Lord Jesus Christ. Do you see it? Yes, sir. Christ alone always
satiates true need. And that's it. He's the one that
will fill your soul with fatness. Well, what about the priests?
What about this? There were priests there. One of them held him in
his arms. Did he not? Eight days old when
he came to be circumcised and he held him in his arms and he
said, Lord, now I can depart. I've seen yourself. He was holding
David, Joe, in his arms. God's greater Son. God's only begotten Son. And that's the exact meaning.
He says it was fulfilled. That's the timeframe. That's
the period. So you have anybody else come
up with those little catchphrases as I warned you about last Sunday?
Well, the time of Jacob's trouble, you know automatically if they
say it's any other time than Christ's first advent, they have
no idea what they're talking about. They're following a system,
not the word of God. Go back and read it for yourself.
You see, Christ brought in the new covenant. Look at chapter
31. Go back to Jeremiah, chapter
31. Still a part of this same thing. Jeremiah chapter 31, verse
31. Behold, the days come, saith
the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel,
with the house of Judah, not according to the covenant that
I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the
hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, which my covenant
they break, although I was a husband unto them, saith the Lord. But
this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of
Israel after those days, saith the Lord. After what days? When
the covenant is established. Right? I will put my law in their
inward part, and write it in their hearts, and I will be their
God, and they shall be my people, and they shall teach no more
every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know
the Lord, for they shall all know me from the least unto the
greatest of them, saith the Lord, for I will forgive their iniquities,
and I will remember their sins no more. And the amazing thing
is, the Apostle Paul comes along, and in the book of Hebrews quotes
that almost word for word. And he says Christ is the mediator,
not shall be. God is saving. No, let me stop. God has saved and is saving Judah
and Israel. And he done it through the work
of his son when he came to this world to die as the sacrifice
for sins. That's salvation. Any other salvation
look for? is not the promise of God. Christ alone, Christ alone brought
in the new covenant, and the apostles clear about that. Go
back and read it sometime. Hebrews chapter eight, verses
one through 12. Not only that, but Jeremiah says Christ is the
hope of all of God's seed. Check with chapter 31 again,
and look at verse 35. Thus saith the Lord, Now he's
almost ready to wind this thing down. We're getting right up
next to chapter 32 now. Thus saith the Lord, which giveth
the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and
of the stars for a light by night, which divideth the sea when the
waves thereof roar. And you think about this, how
accurate this was that stars and the moon and gravity and
all of that affects the waves of the sea. Think about it, the
God who created this world knew that way back then. Gave that
little tidbit to Jeremiah way back then. But this book ain't
a book about science. It's a book about something far
greater. Look, the Lord of Hosts is his name. If those ordinances
depart from before me, all these people said, oh, this is gonna
happen, calamity's gonna fall, the earth's gonna cease. Not
until God Almighty wraps this thing up, it won't. You mark
it down. I don't care how many vowed deeds,
fields there are, and I'm not saying we ought to try to accomplish
some, but it doesn't matter. It's not gonna thwart God's purpose.
If those ordinances depart from before me, saith the Lord, then
the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before
me forever. Now someone says, but wait a
minute, a nation? Yeah, what kind of that? A spiritual
nation. a holy people, a peculiar people. Natural Israel did not seek after
the truth of the Messiah and they are cast off. Paul even
says the unbeliever, individual unbelieving Jews are broke off. Is that what it says? Go back and read Romans chapter
11. The nation that God loves is the nation of his elect. It's
the nation of His elect, and Israel still is a nation before
Him. It didn't take 1949 for it to happen. His nation was
alive and well when Jesus Christ came the first time, because
He saved them. And He satiated their soul, began to satiate
their souls with the blessings of His grace. And he's been doing
it ever since. And we Gentiles, a bunch of wild
olive branches, guess what happens when we, by the grace of God,
believe? He grafts us into that. Turn to Romans chapter 11, and
I want to read just this one verse. Oh, God help us to concentrate
on these things and not other things. Listen to Romans chapter
11. Or I'm sorry, yeah, it is. Yeah, Romans chapter 11. Look
at what it says in verse 16. And you go back and read it,
who's he talking about? Israel. But you'll find out that, you
know, what did Israel do? There's a remnant. That's who
true Israel is, the remnant. Now let me tell you, our millennials,
post-millennials, and pre-millennials, all of them, lot of them rather,
still get it wrong when it comes to this. They talk about an elect
within an elect. That's why I mentioned it to
you last Sunday. It's not an elect within an elect. True Israel
are the elect of God. That's what it's all about. The
remnant are the elect, and the elect are God's nation. Look
at what it says, Romans 11, verse 16, for if the first fruit be
holy, and it is, the lump is also holy, and if the root be
holy, so are the branches. Let me tell you something, as
I told you last Sunday, every Jew had great and high privileges
And every church member who's under the sound of the preaching
of the gospel, even today, has great privileges. But that doesn't
guarantee they're one of God's elect. Because look, and if some
of the branches know it, they were holy. They were holy. Holy, what's set apart by God.
Had special privileges. That's what he's talking about.
Same thing he meant, his meaning when he says a woman's a believer
and she has an unbelieving husband and let that child be born to
a believer and an unbeliever. He said your children are still
holy. It doesn't mean they're accepted of the Lord. It means
they're not bastards. That's what he's talking about.
They're not illegitimate. And look at it, and if some of the
branches be broken off, and they were, he tells us that. Because
of unbelief. And thou, being a wild olive
tree, were grafted in among them, and look at that last phrase,
and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive
tree. And he goes on, don't take this
for granted. Don't be high-minded. Don't take
this for granted. You see, why is it that like unbelieving Israel
and Judah and Jerusalem of old, men always reject God's word
and wanted to put it as some past thing or some future thing?
You ever noticed that? You get to some of these passes,
especially a bunch of them in the Old Testament. Well, that
talks about the millennial kingdom. Who said so? I'm not denying
a millennial kingdom. I'm just saying, who said so?
Who made them the priest and the prophet and the king? Take
God's word for what it says. It's there in black and white.
It's God opened my eyes and helped me to crush my prejudices before
your word. And this thing will begin to
open up for you. It ain't about having a little slip of paper
and having everything in its proper order. It's about bowing
down to the truth of God. And when you do, He'll give you
comfort. He'll satiate your soul. He'll allow you to enjoy the
root and the fatness of the olive tree. You see, is Christ King? Matthew 2 and 2 says He was. It says He was born King of the
Jews. He ain't gotta come back to be king. He was born king
of the Jews. Even Nathaniel said that. You're
the king of Israel. Look at it, John 1 49. And then
when you get to John chapter 19 verse 15, what did the rebellious
Jews, the bad figs, what were they crying? We have no king
but Caesar. You see the difference? You see
the difference? Oh, my brothers and sisters,
I don't care if you, I'm glad if you believe in premillennialism.
If you don't, you're wrong. But let me tell you something,
don't let your premillennialism dictate what you believe about
God's word. Take the word for what it says,
because you'll lose out on the experience blessings when you
try to make it fit your own ideas. Christ is king, so let us what?
Declare it! He's king now. He's king now. Somebody said we've got to sit
on David's throne. He already said David's going to come. Didn't
Jeremiah say David will be their king? So wait a minute, why do
we pick and choose, even us pre-millennials, when we want to be a little symbolic
and not be symbolic? Think about that for a while,
folks. because it fits our system. We'll pick and choose because
it fits your system. No, look at what the word of God says
and take an overall view of everything. Don't try to pigeonhole anything
to make it fit what you are. Jeremiah warned him, don't think
about your own dreams. Don't think about your own thoughts.
Is Christ mediated a new covenant? Hebrews 12 says he is. I want
to read this. I know I'm going a little long,
but we'll eat here in a moment. Look at Hebrews chapter 12. Hmm look at verse 22 turn to
it Hebrews chapter 12 verse 22 Now the writer is writing to
Hebrews He's writing to Jewish believers But I know according
to the Apostle Paul. I'm a part of that if I've been
grafted in am I not? So look, but you are coming to
Mount Zion Really? I never been over yonder Is he talking about that Jerusalem
which is below I No, you know what the scripture calls that
Jerusalem now, which is below? Sodom and Gomorrah, where our
Lord was crucified. Think about that. Isn't it amazing
how you got these pre-millennials running around talking about
Jesus Christ's gotta be in the temple? One of these days, sit
upon David's throne in the palace one of these days. Who is the
one that the Apostle Paul says is gonna sit in the temple? The
Antichrist. Isn't that what it says? It actually
says that. He'll set himself in the temple
and he'll act like he's God. And all of these so-called pre-millennials
that believe Christ is gonna reestablish the temple and the
palace and all of those practices, they'll be the first people to
be worshiping with that group of apostates. Just the way it
is. It's Christ the mediator. Look,
you're coming to Mount Zion and under the city of the living
God, the heavenly Jerusalem. There's the one that matters,
folks. There's the one that matters.
That's the Jerusalem God's bringing his nation to. Yes, sir. As I
told you last Sunday, what did I say? If God is going to create
a new heavens and a new earth, then why am I worried about this
one? Exactly. Right? Why do I think anything
really matters about this one other than God moving us to that
accomplished end? There's also gonna be a new Jerusalem.
So how should I think about the one that exists now? It's under
the judgment of God. heavenly Jerusalem, and to an
innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly of the
church of the firstborn." That's Old Testament Jews? People who
were believers before there ever was a Jew? Abraham was the first
one, the Hebrew. Look at it. Church of the firstborn,
which are written in heaven, and to God the judge of all,
and to the spirits of just men made perfect, and to Jesus, the
mediator of the new covenant. He's already established that
new covenant. Anybody teaches you that God's
salvation of Israel is yet to come is wet behind the ears. God's salvation of Israel started
before the foundation of the world. That new covenant was
ratified with his blood when he died on that tree, and God
throughout the rest of time and eternity is saving his nation
from their sins. To Jesus, the mediator of the
new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaketh better
things than that of Abel, don't refuse him that speaks. You see, you may have all your
ducks in a row, but if you miss Christ's first advent, you'll
know nothing of the glory of the second. Now that's just what,
if I could sum it up, Mason, that's me putting it in order.
If you don't know the glories of the first advent, you ain't
gonna experience the glories of the second. And it's that
simple. I mean, I can tell you when it's
all gonna happen. I can't do it. I used to think
I could, Some of you may remember this been many years ago. I sit
down at my computer and I wrote for days and weeks and months
and I was getting all this lined out and It was probably about
six or seven months Mason and I had type and had page after
page and had everything I thought lined up in a row and you know
what my computer crashed and I lost it all and And now I say, thank you, God. I was tore up back then. I was tore up. Thank you, God,
because I knew nothing. I had what other people told
me was taking their word as gospel truth and was just finding my
passages to fit what I wanted. It don't work that way. And I
don't care what a man preaches the gospel, you honor him, love
him, support him in it. But I don't care if he's all
millennial, post-millennial, pre-millennial, or a preterist,
he don't have all these ducks in a row. They ain't nobody got
it all figured out. And that's just, the more I read
this book, the more I find out I don't have it all figured out.
And none of the systems make it all simple. They don't. All of them's got some good points.
Because all of them come from the word of God. But we all,
all of them got some bad points because we put in our own little
dreams. Don't we? That's all I'm saying to you,
my brothers and sisters. Is Christ the mediator of the new covenant?
Yes, he is. Then let us press the claims
of him upon men and women. And lastly, has Christ saved
Israel and Judah? According to Matthew chapter
one, verse 21, the promise of his first coming was he, call
his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins. The New Testament as a whole
says he did. He is and he shall. And if you read Romans chapter
11, look at it, and I'll close this thing up. Romans chapter
11, and let me find it, verse 17 again. I had to go to it before,
but look at it, Romans 11, verse 17. And if some of the branches
were broken, notice some. Yeah. Not all. Exactly. Aren't you glad? Yes, sir. Every
Jew that's one of the elect takes God for that, don't they? Yes,
sir. And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being
a wild olive tree, were grafted among them, and with them partakest
of the root and fatness of the olive tree, boast not against
the branches. Don't you boast about, those
old dirty, unbelieving Jews. Yeah, we're a bunch of dirty,
unbelieving Gentiles as well. It's only the grace of God that
brought us to where we are in Jesus Christ. Boast not against
the branches, but if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but
the root thee. In other words, you don't know
what you're bragging about. That's what he's saying. If you
do, you don't even know what you're bragging about. Thou wilt
say then the branches were broken off, that I might be grafted
in. Well, he doesn't argue that, does he? No. Well, because of
unbelief, they were broken off. And thou standest by what? Here's
the one thing. Here's the one place where you
stand before God, and I stand before God, and any man or woman
will ever stand before God by faith. Your works won't cut the
mustard. Only a God-given faith can. Look at our brothers and sisters
Israel of old. Look at the church of old. Look at us today. Thou standest by faith. Be not
high-minded, but fear. For if God spared not the natural
branches, take he lest he also spare not thee. He's taught don't
be presumptuous on God. Don't think God owes you something
because of you. That's what he's talking about.
Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God. On them
which fail, that's what we've been reading about. What? Severity.
Bad. Destruction, misery, corruption,
and Mason, ultimately, damnation. But toward thee, goodness, if
thou continue in his goodness, otherwise thou also shall be
cut off. And I tell you what, if God brings
him back to faith, he'll graft him right back in again. Isn't
that what he goes on to say? That's his business. Now, men
can argue about the details of it all they want to. I've tried
to give you at least a rounded definition of it this morning.
Summing up this way, don't consider the glories of the second advent
unless God Almighty's satiating your soul with the glories of
the first. You're whistling in the dark
if you do. Whether you're a Jew or Gentile, whistling in the
dark. Be with us. Continue to be with
us, Lord, as we eat together and fellowship together. Oh,
God, teach us. I'm so ignorant. We're so ignorant.
But Lord, you who created all things and ordained all things,
give us that which is necessary for the day. Help us through
this life in Christ's name. Amen.