28. It is very, very rare for me to
know very far in advance what I'm going to be preaching, but
two, maybe three weeks ago I read this chapter while studying for
something else and knew immediately when I got to the end of the
chapter, God had given me my message for you tonight. Jeremiah
28, Then said the prophet, the faithful
prophet Jeremiah unto Hananiah the prophet, the lying, conniving,
self-serving prophet Hananiah, The Lord hath not sent thee,
but thou makest this people to trust in a lie. Therefore, thus
saith the Lord, Behold, I will cast thee from off the face of
the earth. This year thou shalt die." This year thou shalt die. Would to God I could speaks with such plainness
that every heart here would hear his word addressed specifically
to you. This year thou shalt die because
thou hast taught rebellion against the Lord. So Hananiah the prophet
died the same year in the seventh month. How wise we would be to consider
the word of God to Hananiah on this particular occasion. We've
come, in God's good providence, to the end of the year, just
a few hours, if God should be pleased to permit, another new
year shall dawn. As we anticipate the dawning
of the new year, We would be very wise, as Brother Larry Criss
read back in the office, to number our days and apply our hearts
to wisdom. Oh, Spirit of God, teach me to
number my days. Mark them off one by one. Number our days. Understand they
have been numbered by our God from eternity, and the number
shall not be added to nor diminished by one. So apply your heart,
O my soul, to Jesus Christ alone, who of God is made unto us wisdom. Apply your heart to Christ, who
alone is wisdom and can teach us wisdom. who alone is wisdom,
whose delights are with the sons of men. How wise we would be
if we could learn of God to live every day in this world as though
we were dead sure that day were our last. What a difference that might
make in what we do, what we choose, what we value, how we behave. Lord Jesus, tear
every rival to you from my heart. Let this word from God be sounded,
perhaps sounded with a qualification So that it reads, this year you
may die, or perhaps even this year you will probably die. And
it may very well be that it is God's word to you just as it
stands. This year thou shalt die. Die we must. we must. I am a dying man. You and I are eternity bound
people. Eternity bound people. Eternity bound people. We died in our father Adam And
because we died in our father Adam, we came forth from our
mother's womb, speaking lies, born in spiritual death. And
because of sin, because we are sinners, we must die. There is not a clearer declaration,
not a more unmistakable declaration of the universal depravity of
all men than the fact that all die. Die we must. at God's appointed time. I know
we've come to New Year's, and carnal men celebrate the
dawning of the New Year as carnal men with utter frivolity. Let us enter the New Year, if
indeed we do enter the New Year, with sober minds and spiritual Shall we live on, on God's earth,
as lauders standing in the way of others? Or shall we serve
the generation in which we live? Shall we be drones in God's vineyard
covering the ground? Or shall we be laborers in His
vineyard? I ask God to arise by His Spirit,
causing us to devote ourselves, causing me to devote myself in
utter consecration to my Redeemer, in utter consecration to His
cause in this world, in utter consecration to the furtherance
of the gospel, to the saving of His people for the glory of
His name. I know that a lot of times people talk about
being People being too devoted to a cause. Listen to me. You can't be too devoted to Christ. What foolishness. Every now and
then, people properly concerned, and I'm thankful, concerned for
meal, caution, you ought not do this, you ought not go there,
you ought to take care of yourself. Somebody a couple of years ago
sent me tape that was preached at a preacher's conference, the
title of the message was, Burnout in the Ministry. And I thought to myself, that's
just what I want to do. I want to burn out in it, in the preaching of the gospel
of Christ. Perhaps you ask, well, Brother Don, shouldn't we rejoice
and be happy as we remember things past and anticipate things new? Shouldn't believers of all people
have a real heartfelt joy on such an occasion as this?" And
I answer, yes. We should be filled with joy
at Thanksgiving. We should be filled with adoration
and praise to our ever-gracious God as we remember the days and
months and years of His grace we've experienced. Oh, my soul. Our biographies could be written
in one word, grace. Just grace. The Lord God has
loved you, my brother, my sister, with everlasting love, set His
heart on you before the world was, chose you as the object
of His mighty operations of grace, as the object of His heart's
desire. He sent His Son, redeemed you
with His precious blood. He's called you by His Spirit.
He's kept you in His hand. Grace. Grace. That's been our
experience From beginning to now, grace. We know a little bit. We know
a little bit about it. But His grace has been operating
for us since before the world was made. And His grace directing
our steps according to His purpose before ever we knew His name. His grace ordering our affairs
all the days of our lives, the Lord performeth all things for
me, the psalmist said. And this is a matter of indescribable
proportions. Above all people, I say to you
and me, we ought to rejoice. Rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I say rejoice. Let your
moderation be known to all men, the Lord is at hand. And if God
has said of me, if God Almighty has said of me, this year thou
shalt die, my heart replies, my times are in thy hand. That'd be all right. That'd be
all right. Say, well, you're just preaching
now. No, I'm telling you exactly the truth. Either that or I'm
a lying prophet like Hananiah. One of the two. My times are
in his hands. Would you tell me where I could
place them in wiser, more tender, more caring hands? My times are
in thy hands, my God. I want them there. Now, consider
this. Just the possibility I'm not
a prophet. I can't tell you what tomorrow
will bring. So I can't speak to you like
Jeremiah did to Hananiah and say, this year thou shalt die.
But I can and must say, soon you shall die. And it may be
before the new year ends. Indeed, it may be before it begins. This year you may die. You, and you, and you, and you,
and you. But I'm so young. Go out to the
cemetery out here tomorrow if you live that long, and you'll
find out there are lots of bodies of dead people younger than you. Youth is no security, no guarantee
against death. Youth is no promise of old age. This year you may die. You see, your life, your life
is just about the most unsubstantial thing on God's earth. Just about the most unsubstantial
thing on God's earth. It is just about the greatest
uncertainty in the world. You don't have assurance of another
day, much less another year, even another moment. None. People are concerned about conserving
trees and snakes and such as that. Try conserving yourself. But people all over the world
are doing that. No, they're just trying. You're not going to add
one breath to your lungs by anything you do. And all it takes is for
God to cover your mouth and you're gone. Just about the most uncertain
thing in this world is your life. It's a vapor. Find me some strength in a vapor,
will you? It appears for a little while, and it vanishes away.
This year, you may die. Thousands died since this time
last year. I was driving to the airport
a few weeks ago, and just about the time you get to the airport
in Louisville, they've got signs up warning you to slow down.
And they, toward this time of the year, they start putting
up the number of folks who have died in traffic accidents on
the highways in Kentucky. I thought it was a shocking number.
Last year, last time I saw the sign, 960 people died just in car accidents. 960. In this state alone. Thousands have died. Thousands
more will next year. But Pastor, I'm in good health.
God can change that in a heartbeat. have a prospering business, maybe
you're trying to advance your education, maybe you have a family
to raise and care for, and so you have great plans, great aspirations,
and you set aside other things that you realize are important,
things concerning life and eternity in Christ and the glory of God
and the will of God. Push them to the side because
I have important things that are more pressing right now in
this time. After all, Eternity is a long
ways off. This year you may die. You may not be prepared. You
may do your dead level best to try to avoid thinking about it
all the time. This year you may die. I wish
I could somehow stir up your soul and mind every day we live. to think about dying that day. Every day. So that's morbid.
It's morbid only if you're going to hell. Think about it. This year, you
may die. Now, just suppose you do. Just suppose this really is God's
word to you. This year, you shall die. What then? I see two people dying. Two people sitting in this congregation
dying this year. One of you will die, I fear,
like the rich man our Lord describes in the parable in Luke chapter
16. without righteousness, without atonement, without forgiveness,
without Christ, without grace, without God, without hope. And in hell, you will lift up
your eyes in torment. forever banished from God, forever hating, forever hated,
forever sinful and sinning, forever guilty and damned, forever cast
off, soon forgotten, Soon the folks you left behind that you
were so concerned about will think of you no longer. Soon
your name will be erased from all memory, cast off and forgotten
in hell, tormented. Tormented. No mind has ever conceived the
torments of the damned. No mind. No tongue can begin
to describe them. Our Lord speaks of it as a place
where the worm dies not and the fire cannot be quenched. Torments of body and soul and
mind and conscience with no relief and no prospect of relief. Then
all your questions will be answered. Then all your doubts will be
cleared away. Then all your speculation will
be dealt with. Then when you've lifted up your
eyes in hell, all those things about which you were skeptical,
your skepticism will be gone. And you will forever suffer the
wrath of God. Now go home tonight and try to
find some peace with your questions and your skepticism and your
doubts and your disputes and your rebellion. Ye sinners, seek
his face, whose wrath you cannot bear. Fly to the shelter of his
cross and find salvation there. But I see another sitting before
me, dying this year. You're like that other man our
Lord described in that parable, Lazarus, who in this life had
much pain and grief and sorrow and little, if anything, to give
him any consolation of comfort. No reputation, no name, no honor,
but you're carried away in the arms of angels created by God
to carry you away into the presence of Christ in glory. And no tongue
can describe all. No mind of man has ever conceived
the bliss that shall be yours. Oh, the blessedness of that land
where God shall wipe away all tears from your eyes. where former
things are passed away and there's no sorrow and no sign because
there's no sin. Death for you, my brother and
my sister, will be the end of all sin, all sickness, all pain, all sorrow,
all your longings and hopes and aspirations And the end of those things that
still trouble you so much now are your doubts and fears and
questions, your fallings and failures and frustrations, your
unbelief, your rebellion, your waywardness, and your dying. Whether I die this year or next,
Whether you die this year or next really is insignificant. It is really insignificant. It only matters that you die
in Christ. It doesn't matter when you die,
or where you die, or by what means you die. It doesn't matter
when I die, where I die, or by what means I die. It only matters
that I die in the Lord. Blessed are the dead that die
in the Lord. That's the only matter of significance
when it comes to this matter of death. To that end, I ask
that God will make my soul as a weaned child, weaned of all
that would rival my Redeemer, So that whatever my time is on
this earth, whatever days or months or years he has allotted
me in this world, I may make the best use of it, redeeming
the time, knowing that the days are evil. Here's the fourth thing. I've seen people die in peace. And I won't die in peace. Turn
over to the book of Jeremiah chapter 34 for a minute. But to all indication, it appears that this lying prophet
Hananiah died in peace. No indication at all that he
was disturbed in the least by Jeremiah's prophecy. He's a lying
prophet. He lied to God and lied to God's
people and lied to himself right up to the end and died in peace.
Now, I've seen lost men die with terror in their eyes. But I would
be lying to you if I stood here and told you that all lost men
die in fear. That's not so. That's not so. I've seen lost men die with brazen
hard-heartedness. I've seen lost men die with whole
indifference. I've seen lost men die with peace. Well, he was ready to die. He
died so peaceful. If he didn't have the peace of
God that's in Christ, his peace is a false peace. It's delusion. It's delusion. This much I know. I don't know whether I shall
die this year or not. But I know something God said
to me. I'm going to die in peace. Even if there is no peace in
my mind at the time. And that may be the case. Even
if there is no peace in my heart at the time. And that may be
the case. I'm going to die in peace. Look
here in Jeremiah 34. The Lord speaks by His prophet
again. Let's begin at verse 1. The word which came unto Jeremiah
from the Lord, when Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, and all his
army, and all the kingdoms of the earth, of his dominion, and
all people fought against Jerusalem, and against all the cities thereof,
saying, Thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel, Go and speak
to Zedekiah, king of Judah. Now this fellow Zedekiah was
not an admirable man. He was the twentieth and last
king in Judah. And he was a wicked man. And
tell him, Thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I will give this
city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn
it with fire, and thou shalt not escape out of his hand, but
thou shalt surely be taken and delivered into his hand. And
thine eye shall behold the king of Babylon, and he shall speak
with thee mouth to mouth, and thou shalt go to Babylon." And
if you read the scriptures, you'll find out that Zedekiah saw the
king of Babylon kill his sons. And the king of Babylon plucked
out Zedekiah's eyes. Zedekiah had been a wicked, godless
king following the path of his fathers until after God took
him into Babylon. Now look at verse 4. Yet hear
the word of the Lord, O Zedekiah, king of Judah. Thus saith the
Lord of thee, Thou shalt not die by the sword, but thou shalt
die in peace. With the burnings of thy fathers
and the former kings which were before thee, so shall they burn
odors for thee." They're going to bury you with honor, and they
will lament thee, saying, For I have pronounced the word,
saith the Lord. I must confess to my shame, I have so much in common with
Zedekiah. He did evil in the sight of the
Lord, as was the custom of his fathers. He fully deserved to die under
the violent sword of God's infinite justice. Me too. He provoked the Lord to anger,
teaching the people of God in Israel rebellion. Me too. But he was chosen everlasting love is the object
of God's grace. Redeemed with the precious blood
of Christ, born again by God's Spirit, made righteous before
God, forgiven and justified. And God said, thou shalt die
in peace. He said you won't die by the
sword, You won't die by the violence that you have provoked. You'll
die in peace. How can a man like Zedekiah die
in peace? How can a man like Don Fortner
die in peace? Die in Christ who is our peace. Believe in Him. Trust in Him. Well, I just believe a man saved,
he'll be so peaceful when the Lord takes him home. He might
be and he might not be, but he'll be at peace. I just believe a
man who's saved, when he gets ready to die, he'll die with
joy. He might not, but he'll die in
peace. Thou shalt die in peace. Not only that, God promised this
man Zedekiah that he would be buried honorably. He said, They
shall burn odors for you, like they burned odors for the good
kings of days gone by. I don't say too much about this.
These days it's becoming common for folks to have cremation for
their loved ones. But throughout the scriptures,
people were buried. And it has been long the tradition
of believing people to bury their dead, because in burying their
dead, we honor the body of the one who has left, and I'm all
for it. You say, well, we don't want to honor that dead body.
Why not? God did. He's going to raise up that dust.
And the dead are buried by believers, not cast off like wild beasts
to rot in the field, or cast off like useless ashes into the
air, but buried in a secure, safe place in the earth, so that
the angels of God, watching over their bodies in hope and anticipation
of another day, when that body, so incorruptible, shall be raised
in incorruption. The Lord said to Zedekiah, you're
going to die in peace and I'm going to see to it that they
bury you with honor and hope. They're going to bury you like
Abraham buried Sarah, his wife. Like they buried Joseph when
they brought him out of Egypt. They shall bury you in honor
and in respect and in hope of the resurrection. And they told
him something else. Told him something else. And
I don't have any idea. of anything at all, because we're
not told, that happened after the captivity with regard to
Zedekiah. The Scriptures don't tell us
anything he did. The Scriptures don't tell us
any noble thing about him. His sons were murdered, slaughtered
violently. His eyes were plucked out, so
now this blind king in bondage with Judah is to all things physical,
and to all things apparent, an utterly useless man. But God did something in his
heart. And God did something in his life. And after he had
lost everything, except his Redeemer. After he had lost everything,
He became tremendously useful to God's people. How do you know
that? Because the Lord said, Zedekiah,
when you die in peace and they bury you in honor, they shall
lament you as the loss of a great blessing and cry a laugh. Oh, Zedekiah's gone. Zedekiah's gone. Well, why would
you lament that? You had to lead him around by
the hand. He's blind. He couldn't defend himself or
defend you. He's blind. He had no riches. Nebuchadnezzar
took all his wealth. He's blind and poor. He's king
of nothing! You're captives! He's blind,
and poor, and helpless! Yes, but He walks in light that
no man can see, and now guides us with light that no man can
perceive, except children of the light. Who's going to guide
us now? Oh my God, for whatever time
I live on this earth to make me like Zedekiah. What do you
mean, Pastor? You remember back in Zechariah
8, the Lord promised that it shall be in the place where you
were a curse? I shall make you a blessing.
Remember that? The Lord took Zedekiah into Babylon
and he was a curse. He had been a curse to everybody
he had influenced all his life. A curse. A shame. A reproach. Oh, but he was a powerful king.
He was a curse, a shame, and a reproach. Oh, but he was respected
by everybody. No, that's not respect. That's not respect. No. No, that's
the pretense of respect because folks are scared of you or they
can get something from you. That's not respect. He was a
curse to everybody around him. Brought his family to shame and
ruin. He brought his kingdom to shame
and ruin. But in the land of the curse, God made him a blessing. So that when he died in peace,
the children of Israel buried him with honor and burned for
him odors of sweet incense before God in remembrance of him, as
they had burned odors for their fathers in sweet incense, remembering
their fathers for good. And they lamented him as a great
loss. God, make this man who has been
a curse all his life, a blessing to your people. I sure would like to leave the
world like that, wouldn't you? Psalms of Grace book number nine.