Jeremiah 23. An old friend of mine was asked the secret of good
preaching. Old brother A.D. Muse from Louisville,
Kentucky, died in 1954. I met him. He preached over at Pollard for
me, and I preached for him. Down in Louisville, I was 28 years old, and he was on his
deathbed. We didn't know it at the time,
but I was down there preaching in a meeting, and his wife came
to me down in the auditorium. He was sick. He lived upstairs
over at the place where he preached, Harts Harbor Tabernacle. And
she said, Brother Muse wants to see you before you leave.
So I went up to see him, talked to him, sat down by his bed,
not knowing it's the last time I'd see him. But he had a, what he called,
Harts Harbor Tabernacle on Market Street, North Market Street in
Louisville, Kentucky, 505 North Market Street. And people came
there to hear him preach on Sunday afternoon. He was an evangelist
on the radio and traveled a lot. And they fed people. It was sort
of a rescue mission. Harts Harbor Tabernacle. He had 16 rooms upstairs. 16 rooms in that great big building.
Auditorium downstairs and a basement where his books were stored.
16 rooms upstairs. R. G. Lee, president of Southern
Baptist Convention, came there every year and preached for them.
They had been praying back in the 1920s, the turn of the century. Anyway, he said, Mayhem, I'll
tell you what you ought to do. You ought to go up there, pollard
and resign, and come down here and work with me. He said, we'll
start a preacher school here. He said, We've got 16 rooms here,
and we'll invite young preachers and their wives just to come
here and live, and we'll keep them and feed them and teach
them the gospel. He didn't have a dime, you know.
Barton said he was always going to strike out today three times
and knock a home run tomorrow, but he was an optimist. I told
him I believed I'd just stay where I was, you know. I appreciated
him. honoring me like that. That was
a great honor to me, 64 years old, in his last days. But anyway,
he sat there. Somebody asked him, what was
the secret of good preaching? The secret of good preaching,
to which he replied, he said, My subject is always the Lord
Jesus Christ. Always I preach Christ. And secondly,
my proof of what I'm preaching before the people is always the
scriptures. I don't use my feelings or education
or learning, I use the word of God as my proof. And thirdly,
my method, my subject's Christ, my proof, the scriptures, my
method is just to preach the word of God and always leave
the results to the Holy Spirit. and the power of God, because
it's not by might, it's not by power, it's by my Spirit, sayeth
the Lord. And the reason this is the way
I preach is because, as Paul said, that their faith should
not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God. That's
good preaching, and that's the secret of good preaching. This is not the way of all preachers
today, and this is not the way of all preaching. There have
always been preachers and pastors who are not true to Christ, who
are not true to the scriptures, and who do not depend on the
Spirit of God to accomplish the results. Jeremiah writes about
them here in Jeremiah 23. He says in verse 1 and 2, Woe
be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture,
saith the Lord. Therefore thus saith the Lord
God of Israel against the pastors that feed the people, or are
supposed to feed them, that's their job, that's their calling,
that's what they're sent to do, but they don't. He said, You've
scattered my flock and driven them away, and you've not visited
them, you've not fed them. Behold, I visit you, I visit
upon you the evil of your doings, saith the Lord." Now, that's
just always been true. Our Lord Jesus called them wolves
in sheep's clothing. He said, You'll know them by
their fruits, but they'll come to you, these false preachers,
as wolves in sheep's clothing. Paul called them the ministers
of Satan. That's right, that's a hard charge, but he said Satan
himself is transformed into an apostle of Christ. And it's no
strange thing if his ministers come to you as angels of light
and ministers of righteousness. Not Christ's righteousness, but
your own ministers of Satan. Peter called them false teachers,
which many people follow. Now, I want you to read back
here in Jeremiah 6, in the earlier parts of the book of Jeremiah,
what he says about these false preachers. And Peter said there were false
prophets among Israel, as there shall be false preachers among
you. And in Jeremiah 6, verse 13,
here is the way the Prophet Jeremiah describes them. Jeremiah 6, verse
13, "...far from the least of them, even to the greatest of
them, every one is given to covetousness." That's their problem, covetousness. "...and from the prophet even
to the priest, every one dealeth falsely with people." And if
you have a covetous nature, it will lead you to deal falsely
for gain. Then in the next verse he says
this, they give people false assurance. I was watching a preacher
on television the other day, Sunday afternoon, and he said,
Now, all of you who are lost, bow your head and pray this prayer.
And he said some things, and then when he got through, he
said, Now, if you prayed that prayer, you're saved. You've
just entered the kingdom of God if you prayed that prayer. Now,
that's wrong. And here's what Jeremiah said about it in verse
14. They have healed also the hurt of the daughter of my people,
slightly saying, Peace, peace, when there is no peace. They
are giving false peace to people. Now you say, you are not saved
by saying a few words and repeating after someone. That's misleading
people. And that's what these fellows
do. They covetous and they give peace when there is no peace.
I look at Jeremiah 14. Listen to what he says about
these preachers over here. He says in Jeremiah 14, verse
30, he says that these preachers deny that God will punish sin. See, this is the very basis of
Christ's death. God will punish sin. God must
punish sin. So to redeem a people, he sent
his Son to bear their sins and pay the debt. And therefore through
the death of the Son of God, our substitute, God can be just
and yet justify us. God forgives sin, but on the
basis of his Son's precious blood. Sins are paid for. And these
fellows say, God won't punish sin. Now listen here in Jeremiah
14, verse 13. Then said I, O Lord God, Lord
God, behold the prophets, the preachers say to people, You'll
not see the sword, neither shall you have famine, but I'll give
you assured peace in this place.' And then the Lord said to me,
These prophets prophesy lies in my name. I sent them not,
neither have I commanded them, neither spoken to them. They
prophesy unto you a false vision and divination, and a thing of
naught and deceit of the heart." This is deceitful. There is no
judgment. There is no day of reckoning.
There is no day when God will bring men to face their sins.
There is, too. Then Jeremiah 23, in our chapter
we are looking at right now, turn over to verse 23. Here is the great problem. Jeremiah 23, verse 16, "'Thus
saith the Lord of Hosts, Harken not to the words of the prophets
that prophesy unto you, they make you vain. They speak a vision
of their own hearts, and not out of the mouth of the Lord.
They tell you, this is what the Lord revealed to me. You usually
say, I got up this morning at 3 o'clock and I was praying to
the Lord, and the Lord spoke to me, and he said, I'll tell
them this. You just closed your ears right then. because he's
telling you a vision of his own heart and not out of the word
of God. Read on. In verse 17, they say,
Still unto them that despise me, the Lord hath
said, Ye shall have peace. And they say unto every one that
walketh after the imagination of his own heart, No evil shall
come to you. Now, you just listen to my visions
and my revelations and no evil will come to you. Look down at
verse 28. Now, the prophet that hath a
dream, let him tell a dream, but he
that hath my word. Now, that's what you've got there
in your lamp, and that's what I've got here on this pulpit,
the word of God. The man that has the word of
God, let him speak my word faithfully. What is the chapter of the wheat,
saith the Lord? Is not my word like a fire? Sayeth
the Lord, and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces. Therefore,
behold, I am against the prophets, saith the Lord, that steal my
words, every one from his neighbor." That's what they're stealing,
the word of God from the people. And this is so tragic. But now
let's go back to our text, chapter 23. Now let me read verse 3 and
4. That's the presence. the false
preachers. This is not something. Then verse 3, the Lord says,
But I'll gather the remnant of my flock out of all countries.
Our Lord has a flock. A flock of what? Sheep. That's
right. He said, For every sheep I have,
which are not of this fold, them I must bring. But hear, hear,
my boys, and there be one fold and one shepherd. I have a And
he says here, listen, I gather the remnant of my flock out of
all the countries where I have driven them. They are in all
kinds of countries, places, states, counties, cities. And I'll bring
them again to the fold. I'll call them. He'll bring them
all to the fold. I'll bring them in. They shall
be one fold and one shepherd, whom he foreknew predestinated
to be conformed to the image of his son. Him also he called,
whom he called he justified, whom he justified he'll glorify.
I will bring them again to the fold, and they'll be fruitful. He said, I'm the vine and you're
the branches. Over here in John 15, listen
to me as I read it here. Listen. Abide in me and I in
you. The branch cannot bear fruit
of itself except it abide in the vine. No more can you except
you abide in me. I'm the vine, you're the branches.
And he that abides in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth
much fruit. Without me you can do nothing.
What do you say? There be fruitful. And those
people whom I love and elect and call, I'll set up suppers
over them. I'll give them pastors, not lying
pastors, but truthful pastors. I'll give them pastures that
will feed them. If you love me, feed my sheep,
feed my lambs. Just feed them. That's all you've
got to do. A pastor has got to find a field of clover and take
the sheep there. That's his job. That's his calling. That's what God sent him to do.
I'll set over them, over them, to lead them, to be overseers,
to teach them, shepherds. And they'll feed my flock. I
guarantee you they will. I guarantee you they will. They'll
feed my sheep. And my sheep are not going to
fear any more. Over here, listen to what he
said in Hebrews about that fear. He said, For as much as the children
are partakers of flesh and blood, he took the same, that through
death, his death, he might destroy him that hath the power of death,
the devil, and deliver People who fear death all their lifetime
are subject to bondage. They're not going to fear, they're
not going to fear death. No, they're not going to fear death.
And they're not going to be dismayed. I looked at that word, dismayed.
It means bewildered. That's what most religious people
are, they're bewildered, damn, they're bewildered. You know
about that. Back in years, your years gone by, they're just bewildered.
But here is what he says to his sheep in Isaiah, "'Fear not.
Don't you be afraid. I am with you, and be not dismayed.'"
He's not going to be dismayed. "'Be not dismayed. I'm your God.
You don't need any other. I'm your God, and I'll strengthen
you and I'll help you and I'll uphold you with the right hand
of my righteousness.' That's a promise. That's a promise. That's the promise that his faithful
servant delivered. That's Isaiah 41, 10. If you
want to write down, put it on the refrigerator, on the closet
door, on the medicine cabinet, that way you can look every morning.
Fear not! I'm with you. Don't be bewildered,
don't be dismayed, because I'm your God, and I'll strengthen
you, and I'll help you, and I'll oppose you with the right hand
of my righteousness. Then he said about these sheep,
I'll set over them shepherds and feed them, they won't fear,
they won't be dismayed, and neither shall they be lacking in anything. Sanctification, righteousness,
redemption and wisdom. My God shall supply all your
need according to his riches in glory through Christ Jesus,
and they'll never be lacking. He hath made us sufficient. to
inherit the inheritance of the Saints in glory. What a promise! How can these things be? Verse
5 and 6. This is the one and only gospel. This is the good news, this is
the hope of glory. Here is how a holy God can be
holy and love us. and save us and justify us. Here is the sum and substance
of redemption. Here is the announcement of the
glory to come. Here is the message of the covenant
coming to the Temple. Behold, listen, verse 5, behold,
the days are coming. That's what those angels said
to the shepherds out there on the Judean hillside. Behold,
We bring you good tidings of great joy. Unto you is born this
day. The day comes, this day, in the
city of David, a Savior, Christ the Lord. Behold, the day comes,
and this is the day that Abraham saw way back yonder, 3,000 years
before Christ was born. He said, Abraham, rejoice to
see my day. He saw it and was glad. The day
comes, saith the Lord, that I'll raise up, I'll raise up, I'll raise unto David a righteous
branch. He'll be a branch. I read that
in Isaiah 11, a branch out of Jesse, David's father, Jesse,
and David, a tribe of Judah. I'll raise up a branch out of
Jesse, the house and lineage of David If you ever think about
this, over there, let me read it to you. In those days, they
went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should
be taxed. Here is a pagan, heathen king.
He decides all of a sudden to tax everybody. Well, God brought that to pass. He decided he would steal everybody's
money, and he sent out a decree. And this taxi was the first made
when Cyrenius was governor of Syria. Everybody went to be taxed. Everybody had to go to their
city to be taxed. And here's Mary down there, down
there where they lived. And she's nine months pregnant. And she's got to ride a donkey
with her husband Joseph and go all the way to Bethlehem, the
city of David. See, that's what the next verse.
He went up from Galilee out of the city of Nazareth unto Jerusalem
to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem because he was
of the house and lineage of David. God said, Behold, the day is
coming, the day Abraham saw. The day is coming when I raise
up a branch, a Savior, a Messiah from the
house and lineage back to David and Jesse. He's going to be born in Bethlehem.
Well, where is that little Jewish maiden with that child to be
down there in Nazareth going to get to Bethlehem? What excuse
would she ever have to go to Bethlehem? That heathen king
said, That's where you've got to go to be taxed. So that's
where she went. They didn't have any room. There
were so many people there, all these people, descendants of
David, they had to be taxed, no room for them in the inn. So they went down there to a
cow stable. And that's where she had her firstborn son, the
Son of God, born among cattle in poverty sore, living in meekness
by Galilee's shore. She put him on a bed of hay. I tried to house him. I'll raise
up, the day is coming, I'll raise up, this is written, this right
here is written, hundreds of years before Christ came. I'll
raise up a righteous branch, a godly, holy branch. He's righteous,
he's holy. He's holy because righteousness
is not only in him and from him, it's of him. He is the King of
righteousness. He's the Holy One of God. Let
me read you something over here in Luke 4. Listen to this. Our Lord came
upon a man possessed of demons. In Luke 4, verse 34, in the synagogue
Luke 4, verse 33, in the synagogue there was a man which had a spirit
of an unclean devil, and cried out with a loud voice, saying,
Let us alone! What have we to do with thee,
thou Jesus of Nazareth? Are you come to destroy us? We
know who you are.' The world didn't know. He was in the world
and the world didn't know him. He came to the Jews and they
didn't know him. But this devil knew him. Satan knows him. He said, I know who you are.
You are the what? The Holy One of God, the only
one. And nobody else is the Holy One
of God but him. I know who you are. And then
he said it again over here in chapter 41, and the devils came
out immediately, and all of them cried out, You are the Christ,
the Son of God. And our Lord rebuked them and
told them, shut up, shut up, and not to speak. They knew he
was the Christ. You see that right there? They
knew he was Christ. But you shut up. My sheep are
not going to hear the gospel from the devil. They are going
to hear it from me. They are not going to hear it
from the devil. If you don't hear the gospel
from the devil, you are going to hear it from him and his servants. I'll raise up a righteous branch
of the house of Jesse, watch it now, a King, King of Kings
and Lord of Lords. I've set my King on the holy
hill of Zion, and he'll reign. He'll reign. He was King on that
cross. Even on that cross, in the weakest
moment of his entire human existence, dying, he turned And with the
keys of heaven, he opened the door. He has the keys of hell
and death. And he said, today you'll be
with me in paradise. He's King. And he'll reign and he'll prosper.
Well, Jesus is sure failing in this day. Not many people are
believing on him. Everybody he chose is believing on him. Everybody
he calls is believing on him. Everyone whose heart he opens,
they believe on him. as believed on him, to them gave
he power to become the sons of God, which were born, not of
natural genealogy, not of the will of the flesh, not of the
will of man, but born of God. He that believeth on the Christ
is born of God." They believed him. You prosper, the pleasure
of the Lord shall prosper in his hands. He shall not fail
you. And listen, and watch this now, and he will execute judgment
and justice in the earth. Our Lord Jesus Christ executed
judgment and justice. God set him forth to do a propitiation
for sins, for sins that have passed, that God may be just
and justify. Our Lord didn't save us by hook
or crook, by sleight of hand. He saved us by meeting the law
head on and keeping it, and at the cross meeting judgment and
justice head on and satisfying it. The servant of God's law
was pulled from the sheen and stuck into the heart of the Son
of God, and he paid the utmost fathering for all of our sins,
judgment and justice. I'll tell you the results. And
in his belly, Judah be safe. Our Israel shall dwell safely.
Who is this Judah? He's not a Jew which is one naturally,
he's a Jew which is one spiritually. He's not a Jew which is of the
flesh, but he's a Jew of the Spirit. And all that the Father
hath given to the Son, they are true Israel. They are true Judah. You see, Judah is the tribe of
the king-priests. And that's what he's made us
under our God, kings and priests. We are all of Israel. And in
his day, Judah shall be saved. Israel shall dwell safely. He's
not talking about the twelve tribes of Israel. He's talking
about true Israel. They're not all Israel, which
are of Israel, but those who are of the election of grace.
And this is his name, whereby he shall be called. They're not
just calling him this because some preacher taught him to.
This is his name. This is his name. He said, unless a child
is born, unless a son is given, and his name shall be called
Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father,
the Prince of Peace. That's his name. Some people
called him the Carpenter. That wasn't his name. That's
his occupation. Some people called him a drunkenest
man. He loved to eat. He liked good wine. But that
wasn't his name. That was his appetite. Some people
called him the son of Mary, but that wasn't his name. That was
his earthly heritage. But his name is the Lord, capital
L-O-R-D, the Lord. That's his name. Jehovah, God
my Savior. That's his name. That's his name. This is his name. Now let's take
these words one at a time, just one at a time. First, he's the
Lord. There is no other. He is the
Lord. Not a Lord, he is not a God.
He is the Lord. Over in Isaiah 45, about 4, 5
or 6 times, he said, Now you look to me, I'm the Lord, and
there's no other. And you'll be saying, You look to me, I'm
the Lord, there's none else. There's no other Lord, there's
no other Jehovah. He's the Lord Jehovah, God my Savior, that's
his name. till God in human flesh I see. My thoughts no comfort finder. The holy, just, righteous three
are terrors to my mind. I want nothing to do with the
majesty, the throne of majesty and the throne of power and the
throne of omnipotence and the throne of Elohim. I want to deal
with the throne of grace, upon which sits Jehovah, my He is
the Lord, the Lord of Righteousness. He was made of a woman, and in
the flesh, on this earth, he stood before the Father, a man
as holy and perfect as God himself, who could say to God, I've glorified
you on Now you glorify me with the glory
which I had with thee before the world." Well, that's a man
talking, the man of Christ. No one can say that. The only one who could look at
the whole crowd and say, which of you can convince me of one
sin? He knew no sin, he did no sin,
but more than that. He was tried in all parts as
we are, yet without sin. He not only was a perfect man,
but he was tried, tried by Satan personally. You've never been
tried by Satan personally. We can't claim that distinction.
We've been tried by a few little insignificant imps, but not by
him. Because everybody he ever came
to, he whipped them. Go through the scripture, except
once. Except once. He was tried in all parts as
we are, yet without sin. Not only that, but added to that,
that he was righteous and tried. They all tried him. The forces
of evil and hell and earth were turned to tear that man down.
They couldn't do it. Added to that, he willingly took
all the sins of all the elect of all generations in his And his one great sin offering,
he suffered, bled and died under the justice and judgment of Almighty
God for their sins, and never opened his mouth in opposition. But he went like a sheep before
her shearer's dog. He is righteousness. Thirdly, he is our righteousness. He is our righteousness. That's what the scripture says,
Christ is the end of the law, the goal of the law, the consummation
of the law, the satisfaction of the law, to all them that
believe. He is our righteousness. He is
mine and yours. That's right. Paul prayed, O
that I might be found in him, not having my righteousness,
but his. You see, our righteousness, the life of Christ, constitutes
the holiness and righteousness in which we stand, in which we
are clothed, in which we are accepted, in which we are rewarded,
as if that righteousness were our own. We are accepted by God
as if we did it. Because he was us, we are one. And by his active obedience and
the holy merits of his life, he accomplished for us a perfect
holiness. And by his dare on the cross,
he accomplished a perfect atonement and satisfaction. So in him we
have wisdom, righteousness, holiness, and redemption, and therefore
are accepted. And then, if you will, turn to
Jeremiah 33. I told you this word, the branch,
is used 5 times with a capital B. It's used dozens of times,
talking about we're the branches and he's the vine and we're the
branches, but this is he's the branch. Here's the third time
now, Jeremiah 33, verse 15. Listen, in those days, and at
that time, will I cause the branch? of righteousness to grow up unto
David, and he will execute judgment and righteousness in the land.
And in those days shall Judah be saved," that's us, and Jerusalem
shall dwell safely, that's the City of God. And this is the
name whereby he shall be called. He has said that over there.
But this is the name by which she shall be called, that City
of God, that Kingdom of Christ, that Church of the Lamb. shall
be called the Lord our righteousness." This is our name now. Righteousness is not just the
garment we wear. It's the life of Christ in us. He who knew no sin was made sin
for us that we might be actually made the righteousness of God
in him. of the divine nature. That's
just too magnificent and too vast for a fellow to try to bring
it down to human words. It can't be. We'll just have
to know in part and be happy and prophesy in part and be contented
until that which is perfect is come. But the perfection is already
in here. That's your name. That's the
name of the branch, and that's Now, two other verses, I'll just
look at them briefly. Turn to Zechariah, chapter 3. Zechariah 3, verse 8. You'll want to turn there and
look at it. Zechariah 3, verse 8. Zechariah 3, verse 8. wonder that, oh, what a wonderful
bunch they are, God's people. But behold, I bring forth my
servant, the branch. Behold, the stone that I have
laid before John. I lay in Zion a stone, he said,
a tribestone, a sure stone, a steep corner stone. This is Christ. A stone having seven eyes, that's
omniscience. He knows everything and everybody.
I know my sheep, too. Behold, I'll engrave their names
upon his breastplate and upon his hands,' saith the Lord of
Hosts, and I'll remove the iniquity of the land in one day." I'll remove it in one day, the
branch, the stone, the tried cornerstone. It was our High
Priest with our names engraved on his hands and on his breastplate. And when he takes our sins and
puts them away, goes into the Holy of Holies as our representative,
God says, I remove the iniquity of the whole land, of Judah, of the kingdom in one
day. I remember the sins no more.
Separate them from them as far as the east is from the west.
In Christ there is no sin. One more scripture, Zechariah
6, here is the fifth time that the branch, capital B, is used. Zechariah 6, verse 12, Now speak
to him, saying, Lest speaketh the Lord of hosts. Isn't that
what we are supposed to preach? I'm coming down to the end of
what I started with, preach the word. You read that, preach the
word. speak to him, saying, Thus speaketh
the Lord of hosts, saying, Behold, the man," the man, Jesus Christ,
whose name is the Banch, the root of Jesse, he'll grow up
out of his place like a cruel and wisdom-favored God-man. He'll build the temple of the
Lord. He said, I'll build my church. Even he shall build the
temple of the Lord, and he'll have all the glory. He'll bear
all the glory that's his, to God be the glory. He'll sit and
rule on his throne. He'll come up there, as the Father
said, and sit at my right hand, and I'll make your enemies your
foes. And he'll be a priest upon that throne, a King-priest. Brethren,
we've got to have a priest. We've got to have a prophet to
reveal the truth to us. We have to have a priest to offer
a sacrifice and intercede for us. We've got to have a King
to reign over us. You be a king, priest on the throne, and the
counsel of peace shall be between them both." Between whom? The
Father and the Son. My God, why have you forsaken
me? Your sins have separated you
and your God. And when those sins are paid for, peace. Between you and God. God is angry
with the wicked. I was angry with me, I read that
a while ago, didn't I? But not anymore. Why? Christ
died. Peace. Therefore, being justified by
Christ, we have peace with God. Peace between the Jew and the
Gentile. Jews wouldn't have anything to do with the Gentiles, and
the Gentiles said, You don't have anything to do with us. They do when they
are saved. In Christ, it is either male or female, bond or free,
old or young, rich or poor, Jew or Gentile. He made peace with
the brother of the cross. All right, that's the message,
the righteous