Are you broken before God under
the heavy load of guilt, sin? Is your heart crushed with a
heavy burden, inward conflict, trial? Are you going through a time
when you feel utterly abandoned by God? or abandoned by everyone
but God. If not, you will. And I have a message for you. My message is found in Jeremiah
chapter 3, I'm sorry, Lamentations chapter 3, where Jeremiah records
his experience. in God's providence. As you read this third chapter
that we read earlier, it is very difficult to really know whether
this is Jeremiah speaking about himself personally, or whether
this is the Lord Jesus speaking through his prophet prophetically.
The reality is I'm sure it is both. And it is written as it
is so that we might understand that our great high priest on
high truly is touched with the feeling of our infirmities. Sometimes I have friends who
speak to me about their heartaches and I hurt for them and I can
sympathize with them but I cannot enter in to what they experience
because I've never experienced it. Will you hear me children of
God? He who is God our Savior he who
sits upon the throne of universal monarchy and holds the reins
of this world holds them in hands that feel everything you feel a heart rules him that has been touched
by everything that touches you. Now, Pitch, you don't really
mean that. Oh, I really mean that. I really mean that. There is no emotion, no pain,
no agony known to the human heart that is not known to the God-man,
our Savior. No hurt you go through as a result
of your sin that he didn't go through as
a result of your sin he's moved with compassion he's
touched with the feeling of our infirmities now Jeremiah in this
passage of scripture was a man in deep, deep trouble. His heart
was heavy. His mental anguish was great.
His body was wracked with pain. His name was slandered everywhere
by the very people who ought to have cherished it. His life
was in imminent danger. His family was taken into bondage
in captivity. And yet this old prophet understood
clearly that everything he experienced, everything that he saw with his
eyes and felt in his heart had come to pass in all the bitter
pains that came upon him. All that he experienced within
and without were but the strokes of his heavenly father's most
tender compassion and love. Strokes of chastisement, yes.
Strokes of pain, yes. Strokes by the rod of affliction,
yes. Strokes intended to make him
hurt, yes. But strokes that would do him
good and not harm. He said in the first 17 verses
of this chapter, 24 times he said God did this. God did this. It was my God who broke my teeth.
It was my God who broke my bones. It was my God who laid in wait
like a bear or a lion ready to devour me. It was my God who
hedged me about. It was my God who made my chain
heavy. It is my God who brought me into
derision. It is my God who made me a reproach
and a song to people all the day long. My God did this. And
he did it because of his great love for me he did it in infinite
wisdom he did it according to his wise purpose and in the midst
of his soul's trouble when he was seeking inside he said in
verse 15 he hath filled me with bitterness he hath made me drunken with
wormwood He hath broken my teeth with
gravel stones. He hath covered me with ashes.
He hath brought me into mourning. And thou hast removed my soul
far off from peace. I forgot prosperity. Forgot what
it was like to feel good. Forgot what it was like to be
pleasant. Forgot what it was like to be
happy. Can't remember a pleasant thing. And I said, my strength
and my hope is perished from the Lord. Remembering mine affliction
and my misery, the wormwood and the gall, my soul hath been still
in remembrance and is humbled in me. Then, it seems immediately,
he sees the foolishness of his unbelief. He'd been looking in
here. Oh my soul, Larry, that's where
we're always in trouble. Looking in here. Look at me. Look at me. Look at me. Look where I'm going. Look where
I'm feeling. Looking in me. And looking in
himself. And looking at his troubles.
And looking at his woes. He's filled with bitterness and
unbelief. But then looking away from himself
to his savior. His soul is refreshed with hope.
His heart is revived with expectation. His spirit is lifted with confidence. He says in verse 21, this I recall
to my mind, therefore have I hope. I look out at the The Babylonians
have carried my family and my friends and the Church of God
away into captivity. I look at what those people I
have loved and served have done to me. I look at the crowds around
me, and I look at the pains within me, and all I feel is despair. And I look away. Took God on
His throat, and I have hope. Hope. Hope. A good hope through
grace. A hope that maketh not ashamed. The hope of eternal life which
God who cannot lie promised before the world began. Hope that saves. Now this hope is not a vain wish. It is not an empty desire, but
rather it is confidence based upon the goodness and revelation
of God in Jesus Christ the Lord. It is the hope I pray God will
give you. I hope, the hope that sustains
you. Let me show you this hope as
Jeremiah described it. This is what gives us hope. This
is what gives us peace. This is what gives us confidence.
This is what gives us contentment in this world. And I can't stress
this sufficiently. I know we live in this age where
everybody has got to have some way to blame somebody for everything
happens to them. We live in an age where the philosophy
of the age and the psychiatrist and psychologist and educators
and counselors and preachers, everybody on this earth tells
you how good you are and how that everything happens to you
is somebody else's fault. And you look wherever you can, try
to find some way to cope. Some way to cope. Children of God, The only way
to cope in this world is not to cope with it. The only way to handle things
in this world is not to handle them. Don't do it. The only way to find peace in
this world is to look away to Christ and believe God. That's all. And exactly in proportion
as you and I believe God, we will walk in this world with
peace and contentment. Exactly in proportion as you
and I believe God, we will walk in this world, no matter what,
with peace and contentment. Number one, our hope is God's
mercy. It is of the Lord's mercies that
we are not concerned. It is of the Lord's mercies that
we are not concerned. Now some folks have hope because
of their family relations. Some folks have hope because
of the church they're in. Some folks have hope in their
religious work. Some folks have hope in their
religious experiences. They look back on the past, look
back on what they've done, and in the midst of difficulties
and trials they try to look back and cling to that and say, now
I've got some hope. They have hope because sometime or another
they've known what it was to say a prayer. Have hope because
they've made it a sin. Have hope because of some feeling
or emotion they've experienced. But the believer's hope is that
God will deal with him in mercy. That's all. Mercy. Give me mercy, Lord. Be merciful,
O Lord. Be merciful. It is of the Lord's
mercies that we are not concerned. I read a tremendous article by
Pastor Bruce Crabtree this week, came out in his bulletin a few
weeks ago on the prayer, give me not riches. Tremendous article. You'll probably see it in a few
weeks in the bulletin. You see our wealth will either
consume us or be consumed in many ways. Our health is consumed with sickness,
disease, and old age. Our bodies will soon be consumed
with death. Our families are consumed in
so many ways, but we are not consumed. Neither in our being
nor in our well-being. We are not consumed because of
God's mercies. That's all. Read the fourth chapter
of 2 Corinthians and listen to how Paul describes the things
he endured. He says, that's alright, we don't
think. We're not consumed. We're not consumed. How come?
Because of God's mercies. How I love that word mercy. Here
it is in the plural. The mercies of God upon us did
not begin in time. They're not mercies that are
God's response to what we experience. Oh no. God's mercies to us are
are eternal covenant mercies. And those mercies of God that
we experience in time, which appear to be God's reaction to
our need, are God's anticipation of our need, and mercies that
He ordained and gave us in Christ before the world began. Hold
your hands here in Lamentations 3 and turn to Ephesians 1. Ephesians
chapter 1. You see, before the world began,
the Lord our God ordained all things concerning us, and he
anticipated our need of mercy and took care of it before ever
the need arose. Ephesians 1, Paul says in verse
3, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who
hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places
in Christ, according as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation
of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before
him. In love, having predestinated
us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself according
to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of the glory of
his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. Now look what he gave us before
the world began. All spiritual blessings. Christ. Adoption as sons. acceptance
in the beloved. He anticipated our need, and
supplied our need, and now in time as we come to need, He fulfills
our need according to His eternal covenant mercies. Turn over to
Hebrews 6. Here again, we turn right back
to Ephesians 1, to Hebrews chapter 6. Paul says in verse 17, where
is God willing more abundantly to show unto the heirs of Thomas
the immutability of his counsel? I don't think I ever noticed
until this morning, just this morning, this statement. God willing more abundantly to
show to the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel. God Almighty is anxious for you,
heirs of his promise, anxious for you to know the immutability
of his counsel. So he confirmed it by an oath,
that by two immutable things in which it is impossible for
God to lie, we, knowing the immutability of his counsel, knowing the immutability
of his purpose, knowing that his promise is sure, knowing
that he sits on the throne, knowing his purpose is steadfast, that
we might have Yet strong consolation. What a word. Strong comfort. Strong peace. Strong ease. Strong consolation. Did you ever notice how we describe real strength? Real strength. like a rock, stone wall, unmoved, no trembling, no fear, strong, has a strong man, let
folks say what they will, he's not As a strong man, let folks
do what they will, be not affected. As a strong man, let the storm
roll, ease at peace. How can that be? Strong consolation,
strong consolation. You, that means Skip and Sandy
Graffefter, strong consolation, strong ease, strong ease. Who have fled for refuge. to lay hold on the hope set before
us which hope we have as an anchor of the soul sure and steadfast
Not only are his mercies eternal covenant mercies. Look at Ephesians
1 again. They're blessed redemptive mercies.
Verse 7. In whom we have redemption through
his blood. The forgiveness of sins according
to the riches of his grace. We have redemption. We have forgiveness. We have this redemption and forgiveness
by the blood of Jesus Christ. We have the forgiveness of sin
according to the riches of his grace. And God will have the
riches of his grace. Strong consolation. These mercies
are saving, regenerating, preserving mercies. I know what's going on. Yeah,
I feel pain. Yes, I've experienced shipwreck. Yes, I've been beaten. Yes, I've
been left for dead. Yes, I've been stoned. Yes, I've
gone through all those things, but my life fiction, which is
that for a moment, Works for me a far more exceeding eternal
way to glory. Cause you see I don't look at
those things which are saved. They're just temporary. They
ain't gonna last but a minute. I look at those things that are
eternal. Eternal. Things above. Cause I'm going to glory. I'm
on my way to another land. I'm on my way to another life.
Bless God, this one just really doesn't matter. Just really doesn't
matter. That's exactly what Paul said
in 2 Corinthians 4. God's mercies, special, daily,
appointed, providential mercies to do you good. Turn to Romans
chapter 11. After Paul explains to us God's
good purpose in the casting away of Israel
and the gathering of the Gentiles, God's good purpose in the way
his prophets were treated by Israel and in the way his son
was treated by Israel. So that he might have mercy upon
all his elect scattered through all the world. He looks back
over the space of time that he had seen. over all the history
recorded in this book and this is what it says verse 33 Oh the
depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God how
unsearchable are his judgments and his ways past finding out I hear these news folks, brilliant educated
folks, and when it comes to spiritual
things, they're dumb as a box of rocks. Very brilliant folks,
trying to explain God's relation to the universe. And then they
start talking to preachers, and they make the news folks look
smart. who has known the mind of the
Lord? who told him what to do? who
gave him advice? who has been his counselor? or
who has first given to him and it shall be recompensed to him
again? oh no, oh no for of him and through him and to him are
all things to whom be glory forever. Amen. God's mercy is sovereign,
immutable mercy. That is what it means to Oscar
Bale. God Almighty is always merciful
to you. When he breaks your teeth, yeah
he did it cause he's merciful. When he hedges your way, cause
he's merciful. When he makes your division,
cause he's merciful. When he causes everybody to fight
with you, cause he's merciful. When he causes everybody to turn
their tongues down on you, cause he's merciful. Merciful. He says
the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting upon
them that fear him. before ever God spoke the world
into existence when nothing existed but God Almighty and His love
for me He was merciful and through all the course of time until
God Almighty says time shall be no more it is done until all
eternity God Almighty is merciful to me His mercy is from everlasting
to everlasting. I'll head back to your lamentations.
Our hope is in God's mercy. And our hope is in His indestructible
love. His compassions fail not. my soul. God's love for you, my brother,
my sister, is inexhaustible, immutable, indestructible. Oh pastor you didn't mean to
say that did you? That's what I wrote down, that's what I meant
to say. Inexhaustible, immutable, indestructible. There's nothing
you can do to exhaust, change or destroy his love for you. And that can't be said for anybody
else. There's no circumstance into
which you can come by your own hand or by the hand of another
that will exhaust, diminish, change or destroy God's love
for your soul. He loved you with an everlasting
love. He loves you freely. And he'll love you to the end.
Having loved his own, which were in the world. I'm sure you have. Did you ever
read through the gospels and follow just that little three
and a half year period of time? when those disciples called by
our Lord on this earth walked after him. And you talked
about a fickle, up and down, learning and never learning. I wouldn't have pastored that
church for three and a half years, I'll tell you that. He wouldn't
have. No. But the scripture says, having
loved his own, which were in the world, he loved them to the
end. And he's going to love you to
the end, Bob Pontcher. To the end. To the end. I'll tell you something else
about this love of His. His compassions, they fail not.
They are new every morning. Is it alright if I talk to you
like the Scriptures do about God? Every day of Rex when he
wakes up, his love for you just as new as it was before the world
was made. New every morning. Every morning.
New. New. There's something special about
that new love, isn't it? Boy falls head over heels in
love with this girl. Man, there's something special
about that. He's fresh in love. What do I have to do to convince
you of it? You just name it. You just turn your head that
way it's done. You just think, what is it I have to do to convince
you that I'm committed to you with all my being? That I'm loving
with all my being? Okay, buddy. I'll go get the
moon today. Fresh new love. God's love for
you is new with every rising sun. And yet never changing. Never changing. Our hope is in His faithfulness. They, God's compassion are new
every morning. is thy faithfulness how can I talk to you about God's
faithfulness I commend you for your faithfulness
But I want to tell you something, your faithfulness won't sail
your boat for a second. You get in trouble, your faithfulness
won't amount to anything. And I sure ain't about to talk
to you about my faithfulness. You see, it is not our faithfulness
to God that keeps us or comforts us, or gives us peace. Lindsay, it's God's faithfulness
to us. A child doesn't have great comfort
and peace because the child is faithfully, dutifully obedient
to the mom or dad. The child has peace because the
child learns from experience, dad will be faithful to me. It
is not my faithfulness to God that sustains me. You get to talking about your
faithfulness to Him, and when a little cross wind blows your
way, you'll say, well, why does this have to happen to me? I'm
such a good man. But you understand that your
faithfulness is nothing. His is everything. And this has come to pass because
God cannot deny himself. He's faithful. He's faithful. I have experienced it all my
life. and I've experienced it with
knowledge for 37 years and he's proven to me that if
we believe not his faithfulness doesn't even
depend on you believing him If we believe not, he abideth
faithful. He cannot deny himself. Let your conversation be without
covetousness, and be content with such things
as you have, for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor
forsake thee. Fourth, I hope Is it God himself? Jeremiah says here, The Lord
is my portion, saith my soul. Therefore will I hope in him. My portion. The Lord is my portion. What's that talking about? Portion is that part that's given
to you. Your portion is the lot of your
inheritance. Your portion is your lot in life. Your portion is what you have. That's what you have. Your portion
is what has become yours by right. Your portion. The Lord's my portion. He's my lot in life. Did you get that? He's my lot
in life. He is the lot of my inheritance. He is my possession. My possession. He's my rightful possession.
Because he made himself mine. The Lord is my portion. He's
my portion. And this is what the prophet
said, he said it twice. The portion of Jacob is not like
my portion. He's the former of all things.
And Israel is the rod of the shepherds. The Lord of hosts
is his name. Christ is our portion. Now you who know him, will bear
me witness. He's a suitable portion. He's
just exactly what we need. He's a sufficient portion. He's
everything we need. He's a sweet portion. He's what
we want. He's a sure portion. He's always
ours. He's a satisfying portion. He's really all we want. Now listen to this. As Christ
is our portion, we are his portion. This is what he said. The Lord's
portion is his people. Jacob is the lot of his inheritance. I'm not pausing because I'm thinking
about saying this, I'm pausing because I want you to think about it.
I want you to hear me. As He is our portion, we are
His portion. And we are to Him everything
He is to us. A suitable portion. kind of portion
that just suits him as our redeemer sufficient portion exactly what
he wants a sweet portion his joy and delight a sure portion
though I have the children and thou has given me and a satisfying portion everything he wants I hope is in his goodness the Lord is good the Lord is
good unless you want to see me frown
and make me growl don't ever say to me a good God Must if God is really good Don't
don't talk like that to me The Lord's good Bobby Estes it doesn't
matter what comes your way. He's good He's good He's good
And it's his goodness that brought it your way He is absolutely
good Matter of fact, our word for God is but an abbreviation
of word for good. Good. Good. In all his character, God is
good. In his mercy and in his justice. In his grace and in his truth.
In his righteousness and in his love. In his goodness, he is
good. In all his works, he's good. He's good. Whether he sends famine or plenty,
he's good. Whether he sends prosperity or
sickness, he's good. Whether he sends life or death,
he's good. Whether he sends good or evil,
he's good! The Lord is good. But he's only
good to those who wait for him. Those who wait for him. Wait
for it. To wait on the Lord is to calmly
trust Him for deliverance. Come to Isaiah 40 for a moment.
Isaiah 40. This is a remarkable display
of what I'm talking about. Wait on the Lord. Be of good
courage. He'll strengthen your heart. Those that wait on the Lord,
they shall inherit the earth. Look at Isaiah 40 verse 31. They that wait upon the Lord
shall renew their strength. Now read the whole chapter and
see the trials and difficulties and adversities he's talking
about. They that wait on the Lord, they'll renew their strength.
They shall mount up with wings as eagles, they'll soar high.
They shall run and not be weary, they'll run fast. Hang on now.
They shall walk and not faint. You know, if I were writing that,
if I had been wanting to express myself and what I think about
waiting on the Lord, being patient, believing Him, this is how I
would have written it. They shall walk and not think. They shall
learn and not be weary. And then they shall mount up
with wings as eagles. But that's not the way it is.
They that wait on the Lord. Oh, we believe Him and trust
Him. We have flights of ecstasy. But they don't last long. They
don't last long. And we learn, and learn and not
very hard, learn and do and do and do. Do whatever it is God
has for us to do. And then, as we sure enough learn
to wait on Him, as you walk, walk. Walk in the midst of trouble.
Walk through the dark valley. Walk among roaring lions. Walk
in the fiery furnace. Walk through the raging sea.
Walk through troubled waters. Walk with the calm repose of
confident faith and waiting on God. He'll take care of this
mess. Waiting. The Lord is good to
the soul that seeketh Him. to the soul like Paul who, as
I press toward the mark for the prize and the calling of God
in Christ Jesus, of getting what's behind, reaching forth to those
things that are before I press on. The soul that seeks Him,
seeks Him, seeking Him first and His righteousness because
we believe Him. And then our hope is in God's
salvation. It is good that a man should
both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord. We want you to be in something
to do. All the time. And we want something to do.
We want to do something. Whether you're talking about
the salvation of your soul or whether you're talking about
deliverance from foes and troubles and heartaches and difficulties.
Oh, I've got to do something! I've got to do something! You
do when you're going to make the trap worse. The more you
wiggle, the tighter the net gets. That's just the way it is. But
what do you do? Stand still. Stand still and watch God work. Stand you still and see the salvation
of the Lord. Is that the commandment of scripture?
You don't have to fight in this battle. This is God's battle.
He'll fight for you. Stand still and see the salvation of the
Lord. You see the salvation of our souls is His work. His work alone, He's able to
deliver us and He will. I said to a dear friend this
week, going through some difficulty, I said, I ain't going to tell
you what it says, you just go on and read it on the 1620. If you've
read it, you can go over it a little bit. The God of peace shall brew
Satan under your heels real quick, shortly. However he comes, God's
going to bring him under your heels. Turn to John chapter 11. Martha was heartbroken. Mary was devastated. Their brother was dead. And the Lord Jesus said in verse
40, Said I now unto thee, that if thou wouldest believe, thou
shouldest see the glory of God.